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Now Playing | In May 2010, Rulindo, Rwanda launched an ambitious plan to bring access to water and sanitation services to the entire district population. This film explores the story, challenges and ultimate success for reaching over 330,000 people with safe water in the rural and mountainous Rulindo District, and how this project is inspiring sustainable water (infrastructure and sanitation) models around the world.

Past Presentation | The Sea of Cortez is one of the most lush, bio-diverse seas on this planet. Or at least it was. Located between mainland Mexico and the California Baja Peninsula, the Sea of Cortez has been called the “Aquarium of the World” being home to over 950 varieties of fish and 30 species of marine mammals. But this maritime treasure and the creatures that call it home are in danger.

Past Presentation | This significant documentary explains the spectacular financialization of environmental conservation. If nature had a price, wouldn’t corporations and governments be less likely to destroy it? Wouldn’t putting a price on nature overturn what economist Pavan Sukhdev calls “the economic invisibility of nature”? Reality, of course, turns out to be rather more complex. What guarantees do we have that our natural inheritance will be protected? Should our ecological heritage be for sale? Is the best way to protect nature to put a price on it? Wouldn’t putting a price on nature overturn what economist Pavan Sukhdev calls “the economic invisibility of nature?”

Past Presentation | 20 years ago, a young group of social entrepreneurs started a company to sustainably harvest acai in the Brazilian rainforest. Along the way, they joined a movement of purpose-driven companies looking to change the world through an alternative economic model. These "triple bottom line" businesses measure success not only financially but also socially and environmentally. Their practice of "conscious commerce" addresses some of today’s most challenging issues. This award-winning documentary empowers viewers to be part of the solution by "voting with their dollars" and supporting brands and products that make positive change for the planet.

Now Playing | We pollute the environment upon which we depend. An exploration of the paradox of sustainable skiing and how we can protect the places we love.

Past Presentation | A short film that documents visionaries Michael Lewis (of Growing Warriors) and Rebecca Burgess (of Fibershed) as they collaborate to re-introduce industrial hemp to the American landscape.

Past Presentation | Vermont herbalists Jeff and Melanie Carpenter sold their natural products business to buy raw land and start an organic farm to grow medicinal herbs, rather than source them from half-way around the world.

Now Playing | A documentary short that focuses on a sustainability project in Cojímar, Cuba

Now Playing | In 2008, a sustainable development project began in the middle of the Kenai Fjords of Alaska, 3 hours by boat from the nearest port of civilization. Told from the points of view of crew members, project coordinators and the Native Alaskan corporation that owns the land itself, the film is both a celebration of and a blueprint for sustainable construction, as well as an exciting battle against time and the elements deep within wild Alaska.

Past Presentation | A world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

Past Presentation | This film highlights the Danish non-profit, INDEX: Design to Improve Life ® (INDEX) and the film explores its history as an international design competition and highlights the most innovative INDEX award winners. Showcased is how design can be used to plan and build affordable housing, to prevent blindness, to destroy landmines, to deliver vaccines and blood in remote areas, to clean up the oceans and to help prevent infant and mother mortality, among others. Sustainable designs/inventions that embrace the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability are examined.

Past Presentation | Though focused on West Virginia, this film serves as a cautionary tale for a world heavily relying on fossil fuels and the hefty price it exacts from society. Responding to one of the worst yet least publicized industrial contamination disasters in the US, courageous Appalachians fight to defend their human right to clean water and persevere in their quest for truth and justice. Coal Rush dramatizes the human and societal costs to a democracy of relying on cheap energy and the environmental hazards that can affect any of us - rural or urban.

Now Playing | The path to successful bio-intensive market gardening in the Last Frontier involves an enthusiasm to work in partnership with nature; to steward the soil and the multitude of organisms it contains and supports. As Alaskans contemplate the reality that a staggering 95% of food found in the grocery stores is imported, Emily Garrity and her Twitter Creek Garden operation are chipping away at this food insecurity and providing a roadmap for others to emulate. Aspiring to provide alternatives to the destructive standards of commercial agriculture, life-long Alaskan, Emily Garrity, shares her hard-won secrets in this biopic short film.

Now Playing | Join Maya van Rossum, Founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, in her exploration of New Mexico’s biggest environmental issues and the role a NM Green Amendment could play in the fight for environmental justice with: Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, legislative sponsor of the New Mexico Green Amendment; Emma Rose Cohen, CEO/Founder of the sustainable business Final; Beata Tsosie-Peña, Environmental Health and Justice Program Coordinator for Tewa Women United; Artemisio Romero y Carver, founding member of Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA); and Dee George and Penny Aucoin, fracking waste accident victims impacted residents of Otis, NM.

Past Presentation | Daniel Balima is a senior horticulturist from Tenkodogo, a small Sub-Saharan African town in Burkina Faso, where he lives with his large family and has worked since he was born 67 years ago. Daniel as a child falls ill with polio and, although growing without the use of his legs, he is able to follow his father in the family nursery, walking on his hands. He works immediately with great passion and talent so much that his disability, which for many in Africa means a marked destiny, is for Daniel an opportunity: "I could take two paths: begging or taking my life in hand and devoting myself to work with dignity." Daniel has chosen and won this great challenge and, every day, he sows and cultivates with great effort and gratitude many vegetables and plants. In over fifty years of activity he has given life to more than a million trees and this is what is most important for Daniel because, as he tells us, his country, because of the drought, needs many trees and does not stop, on the contrary, he dreams of planting another million.

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. For years, eagle-eyed environmentalists have called out banks and consumer businesses—from Barclays to fashion brand ASOS—for making misleading claims that their practices or products are sustainable, otherwise known as greenwashing.  However, lately there has been an uptick in “greenhushing,” a […]

Let's build the world that we want to live in.

Now Playing | A day in the life of Patrick Lang living a sustainable life in Malibu… filmed before his home and community were consumed by fire in the fall of 2018.

Past Presentation | This episode looks at a range of sustainable practices young Edmontonians are engaged in to bring local, healthy and delicious food to local tables. Host Paula Humby plants an apple tree.

"The last thing we want to do is take the pleasure away from eating"

Now Playing | Joep van Dijk is a passionate climate scientist. He likes to search for extreme examples that show how life can be lived sustainably. This documentary follows Joep on his CO2-neutral journey from Amsterdam to the United States of America and shows how this choice inspires himself and others to live a climate conscious life.

Hybrid solutions that combine nature with common “hard” coastal protection measures may offer more benefits in lower-risk areas. Common “hard” coastal defenses, like concrete sea...

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The last thing we want to do is take the pleasure away from eating. But bite-sized changes add up to significant environmental benefits.

Monteverde ranks among the most popular destinations in the country, attracting over 200,000 tourists annually due to its robust conservation efforts. In response to the large number of people who visit, Monteverde is starting a project aimed at gathering and processing organic waste, particularly leftover food from restaurants, with the aim of utilizing it to […] The post Monteverde Leads the Way in Sustainable Waste Management appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Drone company founders with MIT Advanced Study Program roots seek to bring aerial delivery to the mainstream.

The mushroom industry explores the potential of spent substrate, a byproduct of mushroom cultivation, for various environmental and agricultural applications.Doug Bierend reports for Civil Eats.In short:Spent substrate, the leftover material from mushroom farming, holds potential for compost, soil decontamination, biofuel, and further mushroom cultivation.Small and large mushroom farms alike face the challenge of managing the increasing amounts of spent substrate, seeking innovative solutions for its disposal and reuse.The Central Texas Mycological Society has created a community network for free spent substrate pickup, supporting local farms and environmental projects.Key quote:"If you're gonna do it, awesome, but account for this waste stream you're producing and how you're gonna get it off of your property."— Amanda Janney, founder of KM MushroomsWhy this matters:Incorporating spent substrate into farming practices supports the principles of circular economy by recycling waste products into valuable resources. This not only reduces waste but also minimizes the environmental impact of farming by decreasing the reliance on synthetic inputs.The way we eat and grow food has to dramatically change if we're going to feed the world's increasing population by 2050 and protect the planet, according to a major report released in 2019 from the EAT-Lancet Commission.

Avocados are marketed as a superfood, but growing them for an expanding world market has turned a rural Mexican state into an unsustainable monoculture

A new study shows how sugar levels influence plant growth and oil production through the protein KIN10, offering the potential for advancements in biofuel production....

In the lush jungle of northern Guatemala — in the largest protected area in Central America — 30 leaders from Colombia’s Amazon basin region are swapping strategies with local ethnic Maya farmers on how to live off this dense forest without destroying it. Under the soaring, leafy mahogany and cedar trees in the Maya Biosphere […] The post Maya Biosphere Reserve: A Model for Sustainable Land Management appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Now Playing | A documentary on the profits international chemical companies are gaining in Africa at cost of the health of small-scaled-farmers and consumers.International chemical companies sell high toxic agro-chemicals in Kenya, which are banned since long in Europe. They are banned because their ingredients cause cancer and have a major negative impact on the nature and environment. Anyhow – in developing countries like Kenya those toxic chemicals are sold without any regulations through small agro-shops all over the country. The small scaled farmers do believe in the promises of better and safer harvest those companies give. Today, the use of pesticides even inside the villages is already a daily business. Furthermore many of them already depend on hybrid seeds, old and resistant seeds supplants. Most of the consumers do not have the knowledge, how dangerous those agro-chemicals are: the WHO announced that annually 346.000 people die, caused by accidentally poisoning with those chemicals, 2/3 of them within developing countries.In the face of world food, industry is trying to push its way into the markets. On the contrary, statistics and alternative farming methods in East Africa show that it no longer needs chemicals and hybrid seeds to feed the world, but a general rethinking.

In the Solomon Islands, Indigenous tribes are leveraging the lucrative carbon credit market to sustainably protect their ancient rainforests from logging while funneling vital income to their communities.Jo Chandler reports for Yale E360.In short:Several Solomon Islands tribes have united to form the Babatana Rainforest Conservation Project, preserving their forests and selling carbon credits internationally.The project includes verified protected areas and employs local tribespeople as rangers, enhancing biodiversity and environmental stewardship.The initiative provides significant economic benefits to the tribes, supporting community developments like education and infrastructure.Key quote:"If we misuse or destroy this land, we will not have any other,"— Linford Pitatamae, leader of the Sirebe tribeWhy this matters:Natural habitats play a significant role in the carbon market because of their ability to sequester carbon naturally. By valuing the carbon stored in these ecosystems, the market incentivizes their preservation. For example, a forest that might otherwise be cleared for agriculture could be maintained as a carbon sink. The revenue from selling carbon credits can make conservation financially viable for landowners and communities, providing an economic alternative to destructive practices like deforestation.Researchers say "proforestation" policies are the fastest and most effective way to draw excess CO2 out of the atmosphere.

Travel and environmental experts break down the rise of the "green travel" movement and how to incorporate it into your next vacation.

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The suds that go down the drain can be harmful to wildlife. We’ve got tips on how to clean clothes and support nature.

Make the best of the “double brood” of cicadas with insect kimchi and tempura-fried bugs.

The advance could help make 3D printing more sustainable, enabling printing with renewable or recyclable materials that are difficult to characterize. While 3D printing has...

Cinema Verde presents an interview with Joep van Dijk the director of "CO2? CO-NEE!" Joep van Dijk is a passionate climate scientist. He likes to search for extreme examples that show how life can be lived sustainably. This documentary follows Joep on his CO2-neutral journey from Amsterdam to the United States of America and shows how this choice inspires himself and others to live a climate conscious life. Our full catalog of video interviews and streaming films is available to members at cinemaverde.org.

Design created with no concrete and completely sustainable materials is first to win new environmental prizeA garden built with “humble” terracotta made into 3D-printed bricks has won the first green medal at Chelsea flower show for being the most environmentally sustainable design.This year’s show, held in the Royal hospital gardens in south-west London, has a strong environmental theme. At the press day on Monday, Dame Judi Dench was presented with a seedling taken from the Sycamore Gap tree felled in Northumberland. Continue reading...

The snakes may be some of the most resource-efficient animals to farm on the planet, a new study suggests

Organizers must reduce the event’s carbon footprint.

Costa Rica is facing a pesticide crisis due to the high use of chemicals in agriculture and their harmful impacts on human health and ecosystems. Experts have repeatedly called for a transition to sustainable agriculture practices like agroecology, which promotes organic farming and eco-friendly alternatives. Costa Rica ranks among the highest in pesticide use per […] The post High Pesticide Use in Costa Rica Sparks Call for Sustainable Farming appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

The forum on ocean protection “Immersed in Change,” held in Costa Rica as a prelude to a crucial UN meeting in France in 2025, will culminate this Saturday with a “declaration of peace for the ocean,” organizers reported. After two intensive days of debate, calls to action, presentations of successful initiatives, and shared knowledge in […] The post Costa Rica Declares Peace with the Ocean in Groundbreaking Initiative appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

In May, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business graduated its first cohort of MBA students with a new Environmental, Social and Governance major. The program came in response to the pressure climate change has placed on businesses and industries to grapple with related financial risks—and capitalize on the transition to renewable energy.  Along […]

It shouldn’t take sustained public outrage to stop environmentally destructive projects. Nature positive offers us a way forward.

Maui authorities say they are planning to start letting residents and business owners make escorted visits to their properties in the restricted Lahaina Wildfire Disaster area later this month

Past Presentation | Rescuing Abundance is a food sustainability film starring heroes from the Pittsburgh food community. The film tells the story of how business, government, farmers, nonprofits, and college students can work together to reverse the current trend of 31% of the food produced in the United States ending up in landfills, despite millions of people going hungry every day. The ultimate purpose of the film is to develop the foundation for community-focused solutions. Business and the community can work together and drive social innovation in the food space.

Cinema Verde’s 2023 Three-Day Earth Day Celebration began with a clean-up of Ashley Creek on April 21st where community members came together and got their hands dirty while making a visible difference. Thank you to Keep Alachua County Beautiful and Current Problems for providing all the supplies to make this day successful! Attendees also had the opportunity to learn about waste dangers and management.

IDB Invest announced a partnership with Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR) to launch Costa Rica’s first blue bond. IDB Invest committed $25 million to the $50 million bond issuance while mobilizing an additional $20 million from FinDev Canada and $5 million from LAGreen. The proceeds will help increase financing for companies in Costa Rica […] The post Costa Rica’s Blue Economy Boosted by Landmark Bond Issue appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Lobbyists are increasingly confident about expansion plans as concerns for the economy start to deepenThe younger, tormented minister mulling his position before the Labour government granted Heathrow’s third runway in 2009 might have been greatly relieved to know that, 15 years later, not a shovel would have touched the ground.But now, returning to power with a revamped energy and climate brief, Ed Miliband again finds himself in a cabinet which, many in aviation hope, may usher in bigger airports and more flights – as well as enough CO2 emissions to outweigh any new solar farms. Continue reading...

Solar power could enable 400m Africans without water to tap into groundwater aquifers. However, we must ensure smaller projects do not lose out in the rush for new technologyIt’s a truly dreadful irony: for many of the 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to even a basic water supply, there is likely to be a significant reserve in aquifers sitting just a few metres below their feet.Groundwater – the water stored in small spaces and fractures in rocks – makes up nearly 99% of all of the unfrozen fresh water on the planet. Across the African continent, the volume of water stored underground is estimated to be 20 times the amount held in lakes and reservoirs. Continue reading...

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa school district adopted electric buses, heralding a new era of eco-conscious school transportation.Daniel Cusick reports for E&E News.In short:A Minnesota tribal school district becomes an early beneficiary of the Biden administration's Clean School Bus Program, transitioning to electric buses.The electric buses are seen as aligning with the tribe's values of environmental stewardship and as a teaching tool for students.Concerns remain about electric vehicles' performance in extreme climates, a challenge for the rural, colder regions where the buses will operate.Key quote:“Ultimately, we think this fits with the direction we’re going on sustainability, and the fact that we want to be attuned to clean energy and the natural environment.”— Tim Lutz, Red Lake School District superintendentWhy this matters:Electric buses contribute to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike diesel buses, which emit a considerable amount of carbon dioxide—a potent greenhouse gas—electric buses operate on electricity, substantially cutting down the pollutants released into the atmosphere. Expanding electric vehicle access will help improve air quality and mobility in low-income communities plagued by environmental racism.

Read the candidate’s responses to questions about homelessness, police accountability, Portland’s budget and taxes.

With the environment constantly changing due to global warming, future generations will have a chance only if the current population takes sustainable actions.

The culinary couple discuss zero-landfill bar programs, sustainability and the wide world of fish cookery

Earlier this summer, the United Nations reported that humanity now consumes more fish raised in farms than taken from the ocean.  The milestone was the culmination of a decades-long growth spurt in aquaculture, or fish farming, an industry that produces more than four times as much fish today than it did 30 years ago. Fish […]

Activists urge California wildlife officials to crack down on Arrowhead bottled water operations in the San Bernardino Mountains, citing harm to wildlife.

Plastic plays a critical role in virtually all industries, from agriculture and construction to healthcare and manufacturing. Time magazine has called plastic one of the four materials (along with cement, steel, and ammonia) without which modern societies would not be possible. However, as global production of this cheap, lightweight, and highly versatile material doubled during the past two decades, plastic consumption grew even faster, according to the OECD, creating significant sustainability challenges. Meeting those challenges will require disruptive innovation from companies both large and small. “Many companies are under significant pressure from employees, customers, regulators, and investors to show progress toward sustainability goals,” says Paige Marie Morse, sustainability lead at AspenTech, an industrial software provider. “For the companies that make plastics, they also feel a responsibility to meet the increasing demand for resources among a growing population, but without sacrificing sustainability.” KEY TRENDS EMERGING Three noteworthy trends in the plastics sustainability movement are legislation and mandates for increased use of recycled content in manufactured products and elimination of single-use plastics, efforts to make packaging more easily recyclable, and growing recognition that mechanical recycling alone will not be enough to meet the growing demand for recycled raw materials, says Kevin Quast, global  business lead for Honeywell’s plastics circularity business. Honeywell UOP, which develops technology and processes for the petrochemical industry, has been an innovator for more than a century. “We have been known for helping our customers transform and transition as society, technology, and regulatory environments have evolved,” Quast says. “We are not just focused on plastics circularity, we are investing in and commercializing solutions for energy storage, clean hydrogen and carbon sequestration, as well as green and renewable fuels, bioplastics, and other areas related to circularity, sustainability, and environmental improvement.” Quast notes that about 60% of Honeywell’s research and development (R&D) budget goes toward creating sustainability solutions, such as its UpCycle Process Technology. This new technology expands the types of plastics that can be recycled and creates recycled polymer feedstock (RPF), which is then used to make recycled plastics with a lower carbon footprint. SIZE DOESN’T MATTER Plastics circularity is on the radar of most companies these days, regardless of size or where on the plastics chain they reside. Jay Baker, CEO of Jamestown Plastics, a contract packaging business based in Brocton, New York, is responding to sustainability trends by proactively assuming responsibility, before regulation demands it, he says. For example, he recently developed a circularity option to keep the plastic trays used by one of his customers out of the landfill. “We collect the old trays, grind them up, and send them back to the extruder,” Baker explains. “The extruder then makes ‘new’ recycled material, and we use that material to form recycled plastic trays for this customer and keep those expended trays out of the waste stream for as long as possible.” Across the country in Palo Alto, California—and at the other end of the size spectrum—HP is taking multiple steps to improve its plastics circularity. “The elimination of unnecessary plastic is the first priority when it comes to our circularity strategy,” says James McCall, HP’s chief sustainability officer. “As of 2021, we achieved a 44% reduction in single-use plastic packaging, towards our 2025 goal of a 75% reduction compared to 2018.” Additionally, HP has committed to a goal of using 30% post-consumer recycled plastic across its personal systems and print product portfolio by 2025, and it aims to achieve 75% circularity for its products and packaging by 2030. WORLDWIDE CONCERN Plastics sustainability is a global challenge requiring global solutions, of course. Braskem, an international petrochemical company headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is working with other innovation leaders around the world to do just that. “We believe that the transition from a linear to a circular economy is key to driving sustainable development in the plastics production chain,” says Antônio Queiroz, vice president of innovation, technology, and sustainable development. “Promoting sustainable development in our operations is in our DNA. We are consistently focused on developing sustainable solutions that improve people’s lives through chemicals and plastics.” Braskem has committed to a 15% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to becoming a carbon neutral company by 2050. It was the first company in the petrochemical industr y to develop a large-scale biopolymer from sugar cane, and it develops partnerships focused on both mechanical and advanced recycling. It has multiple ventures underway in its home country, the latest being Cazoolo, an innovation hub to help customers, brands, designers, startups, and universities develop more sustainable packaging in an effort to improve plastics circularity and reduce environmental impact. Braskem is also partnering with like-minded enterprises around the world in its push for plastics sustainability. Its investment in U.S.-based Nexus Circular, an advanced recycling company, is part of its effort to expand its circular polymer portfolio. Such collaborations have helped in Braskem’s development of two new polypropylene grades with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content that can be used in a wide range of FDA food contact applications. BETTING ON INNOVATION “We know that in order to achieve real sustainability, we also need to bet on innovation when creating new business,” says Queiroz. Braskem increased its R&D budget by 50% this year, and it maintains multiple centers for disruptive innovation in Brazil and the U.S. It has partnered with Danish company Topsoe to develop a greener version of MEG, a component for producing PET plastic bottles that is widely used in plastics manufacturing. Derived directly from sugars, this green MEG has the potential to disrupt the polyethylene value chain as it significantly improves its carbon footprint. “We believe transformation is everywhere,” says Queiroz. “It’s time to use our potential to establish a new relationship with our ecosystem and tackle climate change as our planet’s greatest challenge. We understand that the more people and organizations are engaged, the more we can do to build a better world for current and future generations.”

We know fast fashion is bad for the environment. Ultra-fast fashion makes matters worse. This disturbing trend towards disposable clothing is the opposite of sustainable. Here’s what must be done.

"Large-scale production of this chocolate could reduce land use and global warming potential"