Water supports life on our planet. We depend on it. We also make increasing demands on water resources to produce food, crops, energy and other commodities. It is also a scarce resource is many parts of the world where people suffer from droughts or lack of accessible fresh water.
In the dark
Earth Hour launched in Sydney in 2007 with backing from the city’s mayor. Inspired by this, San Francisco held "Lights Out" a few moths later. By 2008 there was participation from all continents with many landmark buildings around the world turning off non-essential lighting including the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building and participation has continued to increase year on year. In 2009, The United Nations observed Earth Hour at its Headquarters in New York and at other UN facilities around the world including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offices in Nairobi, Kenya.
Using visuals to achieve change
Using visuals for decisions
In the USA at the end of January, the Senate approved construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to transport oil from the Canadian tar sands to the Gulf coast. While the House of Representatives has already approved a version of the bill, President Obama has said he will veto it. Now the Environmental Protection Agency has informed to the State Department that the pipeline would cause a significant increase in carbon emissions.
INVITATION - Clerkenwell Design Week, London, 20-22 May 2014
Bigger and better
In many organisations, the first concerted effort towards managing carbon is the calculation of an annual carbon footprint. An annual baseline is established but in subsequent years, the accuracy of these calculations is often improved.
One consequence of these changes is that the carbon footprint being reported can increase. This is a challenging moment for a company - especially for people charged with reducing emissions.
World first
Back in Spring 2011 we had a call from Colorado. This was followed by an email with a brochure attached. The brochure 'Carbon in our daily lives' included estimated but detailed emission figures associated with the everyday activities of Aspen residents.
Typical figures were given for emissions associated with a heated driveway, a large pond circulation pump, skiing, a health club visit and a bluefin tuna suchi