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.
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:



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.


General - EMAS training center in Puerto Perez from EMAS on Vimeo.


General - making pipe fittings, air chambers, etc from EMAS on Vimeo.


Well drilling - standard EMAS method from EMAS on Vimeo.


Well drilling - required materials from EMAS on Vimeo.


Well drilling - suction variant to standard EMAS method from EMAS on Vimeo.


Well drilling - sludging with temporary casing from EMAS on Vimeo.


Wells - improving an existing shallow hand-dug well from EMAS on Vimeo.


Pumps - standard EMAS handpump using pipes from EMAS on Vimeo.


Pumps - standard EMAS handpump using fittings from EMAS on Vimeo.


Pumps - EMAS high pressure handpump from EMAS on Vimeo.


Pumps - EMAS high quantity handpump from EMAS on Vimeo.

(16) Solar Water Heater "Japanese eco-friendly bath"

(15) Beer Bottle House "Empty bottles. Full life"

Tito Ingenieri built his house out of six million empty bottles. He will gladly teach anyone how to build this kind of ecological house that recycles materials and keeps the streets clean. In his town of Quilmes, Argentina, people gladly give him their empty bottles and admire his artistic creation.

(14) Solar Cooking "Grilling becomes thrilling"

(13) Solar Water Heater from Brazil "Soda bottle solar water heater"



For more eco ideas.... http://www.facebook.com/ecoideasnet

(12) Bringing light to the poor, one liter at a time

http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

July 11 - A bottled liter of water with a few teaspoons of bleach is proving to be a successful recipe for dwellers in the light-deprived slums of the Philippines. The simple technology is spreading sunlight in places where it has never been, and saving residents money at the same time. Gemma Haines reports.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9fpolCvM-8

Use a 2-Liter Bottle as a Light Bulb - RATED AT 50 WATTS



For more eco ideas ... http://www.facebook.com/ecoideasnet

Alfredo Mozer, living in Sao Paulo, invented the plastic bottle lamp. Though it works only during the day, the light is equivalent to a 40 to 60 watt lightbulb.
http://www.wattwatt.com/pulses/258/ingenius-solar-power-lamps/



Solar lighting cheap, We filled Cocacola (joya) bottles with water and chlorox and now we have automatic lights in our church. We found the idea on YouTube from a man in Brazil. He uses plastic bottles


(11) Oil sands technology

1 (of 7) Introduction to the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP)
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As the era of easy oil ends, production of fossil fuels from sources, such as oil sands - a blend of clay, sand, water and bitumen will grow. Learn about the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Alberta, western Canada (Shell share 60%) that extracts bitumen and converts it to synthetic crude oil.




2 (of 7) History of oil sands
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Canadas oil sands are located in the Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River regions of northern Alberta. Explorers first reported the outcrops of these sands more than 200 years ago. Learn about the history of oil sands development in Canada.




3 (of 7) Oil sands technology
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Technology is key to unlocking the potential of oil sands - a blend of clay, sand, water and bitumen. Discover how Shell extracts and upgrades bitumen from Canda's oil sands and converts it to synthetic crude oil.




4 (of 7) Oil sands and sustainable development
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Due to land use, water consumption and air emissions such as carbon dioxide, oil sands development has a potential for environmental impact. Learn what Shell does to reduce the environmental and socio-economic impact of its oil sands operations in Canada.




5 (of 7) Managing the environmental impact of oil sands developments
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Learn what Shell does to limit the environmental impact of our Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Canada.




6 (of 7) Working safely at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project
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Safety is always our first priority. Learn about the importance of safety at Shells Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands Project




7 (of 7) Producing more energy from Canada's oil sands
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Shell is expanding the production capacity of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project. The project extracts bitumen from Canadas oil sands and converts it to synthetic crude oil.


(10) What are the alternatives to oil?

(9) Ezra Levant Climate Change Denier & Unethical Author

Ezra Levant, radical right wing publisher and political strategist speaking at the auspicious Vancouver Club at an event hosted by Leah Costello a fellow of The Fraser Institute.

Ben West from the Wilderness Committee attended and brought his iPhone to obtain footage of Ezra admitting that he is a climate change denier. In his book he claims to take environmental concerns including climate change into consideration.

Ezra (a former debate club geek) is deploying the classic technique of using your opponents arguments against them. He started his talk off by saying this book was fun because he "got to pretend he was a liberal".

Ben West (also a debate club geek) goes for the classic reversal by using conservative framing for his question.

Ezra didn't openly deny climate change during his talk, in fact he talked about C02 emissions as if they are a serious threat. But while signing Bens copy of the book Ezra denied that human activity is causing climate change. Ben captured the audio of this discussion as well as a photo with Ezra holding a pin that says "Global warming is caused by the sun".


(8) Gitz vs. Ezra at the Ethical Oil Debate

Ben West from the Wilderness Committee invites indigenous youth worker and activist from Fort Chipewan Alberta, Gits Crazyboy, to take his place on stage to answer a question about the impact of the Tar Sands on first nations people in Alberta. Gits approached Ben during the intermission asking for a chance to talk expressing concern that Ben had not said enough about the impact of development in the region.

Ezra Levant loses his cool in his response.



(7) Ezra Levant and Andrew Nikiforuk debate ethics of Alberta's oilsands

Ezra Levant and Andrew Nikiforuk debate ethics of Alberta's oilsands from Trevor Howell on Vimeo.

(6) Ezra Levant Opening Statement - Ethics of Oil Debate vs Ben West

Ben West from the Wilderness Committee takes on Ezra Levant (author of Ethical Oil and Fight Kyoto) in the "Ethics of Oil Debate". The debate took place in a wrestling ring on stage at the Rio Theatre in East Vancouver, the "heart of Vegetarianism in Canada".
http://wildernesscommittee.org/debate





(5) Ezra Levant - Ethical Oil




Tuesday 19 July 2011

(4) Tar Sands Oil Extraction - The Dirty Truth

Environmental devastation of the land, water, and air - the largest industrial energy project in the world is extracting crude oil from bitumen found beneath the pristine boreal forest of Alberta, Canada. Effecting a land mass equivalent in size to Florida or England, Both industry and government are putting money before the health and security of its people and the environment.

Tar sands take 3 barrels of water to process every barrel of oil extracted. Ninety percent of this water becomes so toxic that it must be stored in tailing ponds. Unfortunately these ponds regularly leach pollution into the third largest watershed in the world.

Water depletion, exploitation, privatization and contamination has become one of the most important issues facing humanity this century. Check out video on water issues:






and see the other videos to learn about the dark side of fossil fuels.

To learn more about tar sands, be sure to check out the featured film sources listed below.


Crude Sacrifice
http://www.crudesacrifice.com/

Dirty Oil (available to watch online)

A film written and directed by Leslie Iwerks. This documentary from 2009 exposes the dishonesty and greed of the Canadian and Alberta governments as well as the oil companies, who make huge profits at the expense of the environment, the wildlife, and the native communities who live near the tar sands of northern Alberta.

Stop Toxic Fuels Expansion
Support the Beaver Lake Cree Nation vs the Tar Sands

http://www.co-operative.coop/beaverlakecree



http://www.babelgum.com/3015242/downstream.html

http://h2oildoc.com/home/

http://www.petropolis-film.com/

http://www.gizmag.com/ionic-liquids-used-to-process-tar-sands/18214/

(3) National Geographic: Megastructures - Alberta Oil Sands

(2) Oil Sands: A Documentary



(1) Alberta Oil Sands featured on "60 Minutes"