Searching for Tao, 7573 Kilometres from Home

April 08, 2007 03:22 +0000 | Activism Environment 0

I found this today and thought that I would share:

Coca-Cola Booted from the University of Guelph

For Immediate Release
April 5, 2007

Students at the University of Guelph in Canada have voted to remove Coca-Cola products from campus because of the company's unethical practices in India and Colombia.

A referendum calling for replacing Coca-Cola products with "an alternate beverage supplier" received 65% of the votes last week. Coca-Cola's 10-year contract with the University of Guelph is set to expire in August 2007, and it seems very unlikely that it will be renewed given the student mandate.

"Students have voiced their opinions loudly and clearly. We want ethical choices on this campus," said Becky Wallace of the Central Student Association at the University of Guelph. "We are breaking our brand loyalty to Coca-Cola and standing up for human rights and the environment in India and Colombia," she said.

The Coca-Cola company's operations in India have led to severe water shortages for thousands of people living in the vicinity of its bottling plants, and government studies have confirmed illegal dumping of toxic waste around its plants. One of Coca-Cola's largest bottling plants in India has been shut down since March 2004 because of community opposition.

Students in the US, UK and Canada have played a key role in applying pressure on the Coca-Cola company to end its abuses in India, and over 20 colleges and universities have taken actions against the Coca-Cola company as a result of the campaign.

"This is yet another victory for communities in India who are challenging the Coca-Cola company for creating water shortages and pollution across India," said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigning organization that worked with students at the University of Guelph to support the campaign.

The University of Guelph joins the increasing ranks of colleges and universities around the world that have ceased doing business with the Coca-Cola company as a result of the International Campaign to Hold Coca-Cola Accountable.

Most recently, students at the University of Manchester in England voted to remove Coca-Cola products from campus as a result of the campaign.

In response to the growing international campaign against the Coca-Cola company, the company has initiated a so called "independent" investigation into its operations in India by an Indian group, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). TERI is funded by the Coca-Cola company itself, and the group has named Coca-Cola as one of the most responsible companies in India in 2001.

"We are tired of whitewash attempts by the Coca-Cola company, such as hiring a group it funds in India to investigate its operations. What we need are genuine initiatives to seriously address the very grave issues in India that are destroying lives and livelihoods of thousands of people," said Amit Srivastava.

For more information, visit www.IndiaResource.org

Contacts:

Becky Wallace, Central Student Association
T: +1 519 824 4120 ext 56742
E: csaacad at uoguelph dot ca

Amit Srivastava, India Resource Center
T: +1 415 336 7584
E: info at IndiaResource dot org

April 02, 2007 15:14 +0000 | Climate Change Environment 0

Think climate change isn't all that scary? Take a look at what's in store for Vancouver as the sea levels begin to rise. Even the conservative estimate of 5 metres has all of Richmond under water. Scary, scary stuff.

Link via New Scientist Blog.

March 27, 2007 19:11 +0000 | Consumerism Environment Technology 0

Via technologies, the company who made my little firewall machine is in steep compettition with chip giants Intel and AMD for market share and it hasn't done very well.

However, one area they've always been very good at has been the low-wattage boards like the hardware in my firewall. While a standard desktop computer drinks down about 60-80W just sitting there doing nothing, my Via box uses ¼ of that.

Via has since come out with a new benchmark for those of us interested in the amounts of carbon we spew into the air as a result of our computer purchases. They call it Tree Mark™:

To underscore the importance of the environmental impact of computing, VIA is introducing a new benchmark, TreeMark™, intended as a useful tool for organisations looking to balance environmental impact in their computing purchase decisions. The methodology behind the calculations, validated by independent consulting firm Best Foot Forward Ltd, take into account average use of a PC and derive the amount of carbon dioxide created as a by-product of the electricity generated to power the processor over its operational lifetime – and, thus, the number of trees required to offset that amount in the environment.

The math works out like this. If you're using an Intel or AMD based machine, the chip in the computer you're reading this site with will put about 26 trees worth of carbon into the air over the course of its lifetime. A Via chip on the other hand needs only 4 trees to make up for the CO2.

I guess I know from where I'm getting my next computer.

March 05, 2007 17:39 +0000 | Activism Climate Change Environment 1

I received this from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance this morning and intend on being there with my camera. If you can make it, please come out.

There will be a Toronto Rally for Kyoto on Sunday, March 11th at 12 noon at Nathan Phillips Square in support of Canada fulfilling its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gases. The rally is organized by Canadians for Kyoto, and is sponsored by a wide variety of groups including the World Wildlife Fund, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and Educators for Peace and Justice. Similar rallies are also planned for London, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge on the same day.

Canadians for Kyoto urge everyone to come out with friends and family to show their concern about climate change and to call for Canada to fulfill its international obligations and take positive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadians for Kyoto website is canadiansforkyoto.com.

People are encouraged to make their own signs for the Rally. If anyone would like to volunteer to assist with organizing and publicizing the rally they should go to canadiansforkyoto.com/volunteers.html. This page is also where you can find posters for the Rally.

Please pass this message on to your friends.

Thank you.

February 21, 2007 22:42 +0000 | Environment Published Rydium Technology 3

In my time at Rydium, I came to be known as the office environmental fascist, a mantle I wore with pride, and something that came in handy when Max needed someone to write an article for PCStats about what to do with your old computer hardware after you're done with it. The focus of the article was to be about new environmental standards in Europe, what they mean and what your options are when you're dealing with this stuff.

Anyway, if you're interested, the article was finally published a few days ago.