Fight on Climate Change - China Reports 66-Percent Drop in Plastic Bag Use

In January 2008, China banned the use of free plastic bags that are less than 0.025 millimeters thick in shops, supermarkets, and sales outlets.  This article published on the Worldwatch Insititute discussed the report card after a year.

The results?  

• 40 billion bags were eliminated according to the government estimates
• but rural area seem to continue giving out free plastic bags

How do they do it?

• a fine of $10,000 yuan (around $1,650 CAD)
• a large troop of 600,000 inspector and a well funded inspection program

Side effect?

• shut down of a plastic bag manufacturing plant in China

I think overall it’s a great thing that the China government is banning plastic bags.  I was just in Shanghai for a few days and  I must confess that I get free plastic bags everywhere I went. Some of them were quite thick at shops, but I’m not sure how many actually meets the reg! But i guess it’s still a good start!

Movie about earth by Yann Arthus-Bertrand - A hymn for the planet

Watch this movie on youtube - A hymn for the planet

I actually haven’t got a chance to view it myself but I intend to (therefore I put it on my blog). Please let me know what you think of the project =).  Some info:
HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)

Synopsis
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.

A People’s Project
By bringing us unique footage from the Earth and sharing with us his wonder and his concern, Yann Arthus-Bertrand lays a foundation stone for the world that, together, we must rebuild. The film HOME intends to shift people’s perceptions, to make us aware of the tectonic movements at work and to incite us to act.

We have a greater impact on the Earth than it can bear. We over-consume and are depleting the Earth’s resources. From the air, it is easy to see the Earth’s wounds. HOME simply sets out our current situation, while saying that a solution exists. The film’s subtitle could be “It’s Too Late To Be A Pessimist”. We have reached a crossroads; important decisions must be taken to change our world. Everybody knows about what the film says, but nobody wants to believe it. So HOME adds its weight to the argument of environmental organizations that we need a common sense approach to change our consumerist way of life.

Green Gift idea - Recycled Typewriter Cufflinks

I came across the green gift guide to father’s day on inhabitat.com, a blog with future designs/innovations including green products.  I went through the guide and am most attracted to the Recycle Typewriter Cufflinks! I like them because they’re personal and practical yet with a small environmental impact.  Do you like them?

Green Company - FROGBOX, the right way to move

If you were a student not living from home, you probably have moved several times during the duration that you’re a student.  I was personally in Kingston Ontario for about 6 years, which I moved 5 times. When I move, there are two types of moving boxes: cardboard boxes and plastic totes.  For cardboard boxes, we usually take some from grocery stores or collect used ones from the lab.  We moved so much that we know which types of boxes are sturdier than others!  Yes, those apple boxes =).  For certain items that may contain liquid (shampoo, sauces, cleaning products, …etc), we use plastic totes.  We reuse these cardboard boxes, give them away when other people need them, and we’ve recycled others when we don’t need them anymore.  We keep all plastic totes.

We try as hard as we can to not buy any boxes, and we’ve done quite well.  But wouldn’t it be nice to just rent some reusable boxes for the move?  Well, if you live in Vancouver, you’re lucky!  FROGBOX does exactly this! It’s an awesome idea and in an environmentally conscious and transient city like Vancouver, they could do quite well! The process is simple - they drop them off, you pack the boxes and move, and finally they pick up the boxes!  I would consider using it in my next move if I need more boxes!

What do you think?

Electric motorcycles gain traction in North America and world wide

I am currently in Asia for work.  My first stop is Shanghai.  Although growing up in Taiwan, I’ve never had a chance to visit China, and I had been looking forward to this trip. I enjoyed my trip so far, very imprssed with the development, size, and entertianment of the city while noticing (but not unimpressed with) some really old/rundown buildings and really good deals co-existing. Overall, I am mostly not surprised at what Im seeing in Shanghai, except the number of electric bicycles and motorcycles! I wanted to dig up the number of electric-assisted motorocycles/mopeds/bicycles in Shanghai - I want to know the “environmental impact”.  I’m sure such study exists, so when I get it I’ll share with you all.  

For now, I found another article on CTV.ca which discusses Zero S, a new generation electric scooter coming to the US this year.  Some basic specs:

• 1 charge lasts 60 miles
• mileage is equivalent to 60miles/gallon
• $9,950

The California based company Zero has had a sucessful product - Zero X, an offroad dirt bike.  Zero X was sold out (not sure how many were produced) with a 6-months long wait list.  They are not expecting the slow down of the economy would impact their sales.  In fact, in US alone, 1.1 million motorcycles were sold last year.  For Honda, 15.1 motorcycles were sold world wide in 2008.  Therefore I think there will be a pretty significant market for electric motorcycles in the world.  What do you think?