Environmental Issues

Sunday 14 August 2011

(22) Fish Farms Sea Lice and the Broughton Archipelago

Alexandra Morton discuses the ramifications of fish farms placed on wild salmon migration routes in the Broughton Archipelago

http://www.gvrd.com/environment/index.html

(21) The Vancouver Aquarium

Take a tour through one of North America's best aquariums!

(20) Fraser Valley Salmon Feast

November 17, 20007: This is the site of the 12th Annual Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival, held on November 17 and 18 this year. Ducks floating on the river take off en masse... bald eagles look for salmon in the river... an eagle flies by with his prize (a large piece of salmon) and is pursued by another eagle... an adult bald eagle displaces a juvie sitting on a large log in the river ... swans stretch their long necks and wings.

(19) The Emerald Sea - British Columbia Underwater

This video tells the story of our dives around Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada. Thanks to www.divedynamike.com for their service!

http://www.divedynamike.com/

Sunday 7 August 2011

(18) Green Jobs And Where To Find Them

Even though the U.S. unemployment rate remains high and job concerns are on the minds of many Americans, some sectors, including many green jobs, may have an optimistic future.

A recent study by the Brookings Institute found that the growth of green jobs may have even accelerated during the recent global recession, and industries "ranging from wind and solar energy to smart grid applications and professional energy services -- grew twice as fast as the rest of the economy.” However, according to HuffPost blogger Mark Muro, green jobs are still more of an “appropriate ambition than a large source of near-term employment.”

For environmental supporters and proponents of green-collar jobs, some of the expected budget cuts from the recently passed debt limit bill are alarming. The extent of cuts won't be decided until later this year, but the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department may lose funding to a number of their programs, reports The Week. Many worry what will happen to green industries if lawmakers “gut the EPA.” According to Ben Schreiber, a tax analyst with Friends of the Earth, “the clean-energy revolution" will become "a casualty of these cuts.”

Despite this, there are green jobs available and efforts are being taken to connect underprivileged jobseekers with them. California currently leads the nation in green jobs with over 300,000 currently employed in green industries.

There is little question that green jobs do exist, but it is still unclear what actually constitutes a green job. According to TIME, this ambiguity means that “advocates on both sides of the issue can run wild.”

For workers who hold one of America's 2.7 million “clean” jobs, their paychecks may be larger than those in other sectors, a Brookings study recent found. For those looking to become a part of the emerging green economy, check out this list of some green jobs and online resources that could help you find them:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/07/green-jobs-and-the-future_n_918557.html#s322664&title=Solar_Power

With recent scientific breakthroughs in solar panels and rising public awareness, the solar industry is growing rapidly, according to SustainableBusiness.com. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar energy accounted for only one percent of renewable energy consumption in the U.S. in 2010, "despite growing rapidly at an average annual rate of 12 percent."

With a surprising number of jobs focused locally, the growing wind industry offers many opportunities, according to Green Career Guide. The many steps involved in harnessing wind power, from analysis to manufacturing, installation to maintenance, mean that individuals with different backgrounds and skill levels may be able to find jobs. At 11 percent of U.S. renewable energy, wind also comprises a much larger percentage than solar.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

(17) EMAS - Mobile School for Water and Sanitation (PART ONE)

EMAS is a Mobile School for Water and Sanitation based in Bolivia, and run by Wolfgang Eloy Buchner. EMAS is also a whole technical and social concept of water and sanitation which includes manual drilling, rain water harvesting, solar water heaters, wind power, hydraulic rams, water treatment, small tanks and sinks, a variety of hand and foot pumps, and ferrocement water storage tanks.

General - introducing the EMAS technologies from EMAS on Vimeo.