Is Walmart destroying the environment? No, not really - but Greenpeace thinks they can (and should) do more to protect the rainforest. According to a new report, Greenpeace has accused Walmart, Kentucky Fried Chicken and other major brands of “driving rainforest destruction and pushing [Sumatran] tigers and orang-utans to extinction” by using everyday paper products from Indonesia.

Several leading companies have already responded to Greenpeace evidence of the Sinar Mas conglomerate’s “illegal and destructive environmental practices” in Indonesia and are cancelling their contracts with the Indonesian palm oil and paper giant.

“Sinar Mas is not only guilty of environmental abuses but is a repeat offender – its ‘sustainability commitments’ are not worth the paper they are written on. Greenpeace is calling on all companies like Walmart and KFC to stop doing business with Sinar Mas immediately.”

The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the key reason why Indonesia accounts for about one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation. Recent estimates show Indonesia ranks as the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Read more http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0707/1224274191371.html

Environmental Awareness is getting an early start in a new trend of preschools that actually take place in the forest.  One of the first in America is the unique “forest kindergarten” at Cedarsong Nature School in Washington State. It is among several that have opened in recent years in the U.S., part of movement that originated in Europe to get kids out from in front of televisions and into the natural world.

There is a growing waiting list for this fun and educational school that helps instill a love of the environment at a young age. This school was inspired in part by Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods.” In the book, Louv coined the phrase “nature-deficit disorder” to explain a lack of connection between the country’s children and nature. He argues that the decrease in nature dwelling leads to a rise in childhood obesity, attention disorders and depression.

The kids spend much of their time outdoors, dressed appropriately for the weather of course. They learn about environmental science in the biggest classroom of all. The kids learn by engaging all their senses, and they have a great time while they’re learning.

To read more about this innovative idea, see http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gf_t19iruBYpKBx1L-0WfItWig3gD9FTB0500

Are you worried about your carbon footprint, but aren’t really sure what that means or what you can do about it? A new online carbon calculator helps people easily calculate how much they are adding to global greenhouse gases. The CI carbon calculator offers a way to offset those emissions by helping protect tropical forests from being burned and cleared.

Tropical deforestation emits at least 20 percent of total greenhouse gases that cause climate change — more than all the world’s cars, SUVs, trucks, trains and airplanes combined. The calculator determines personal or family carbon emissions from home energy, vehicle, travel and diet behaviors, or from an individual event or travel.

Michael Totten, CI’s Chief Adviser for Climate, Water and Ecosystem Services. “This calculator shows them how big of an impact they are making, and how to offset the damage by protecting tropical forests that contain some of the world’s richest biological diversity and life-sustaining benefits critical to the wellbeing of local populations.”

To read more see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211095832.htm and the carbon calculator is available at http://www.conservation.org/carboncalculator.

A real-life Avatar conflict is playing out in the Brazilian Amazon as indigenous groups fight against the construction of a giant hydroelectric dam in the heart of the rainforest, the Oscar-winning director James Cameron has warned.

The planned Belo Monte dam, approved in February, has drawn fury from environmental and Indian groups who say it will destroy a vast area of rainforest and the way of life of dozens of indigenous communities.

“I’m drawn into a situation where a real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress,” Mr Cameron said as he arrived in Brazil along with the film’s stars Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore. “What’s happening in Avatar is happening in Brazil and places like India and China, where traditional villages are displaced by big infrastructure projects,” he said, referring to the film’s depiction of a conflict on the fictional planet of Pandora between the Na’vi race and a human army bent on exploiting its minerals.

Mr Cameron, who has written a letter of protest to President Lula, hopes he can bring US pressure to bear. Alluding to the Amazon’s role in absorbing carbon emissions, he said he would take the case to US congressman. “It’s all connected, we are all on the same planet. The winds, the maritime currents and the atmosphere do not respect the borders between countries.”

To read more on this story, see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7096678.ece

For the first time, “the deforestation rate is going down across the world,” thanks to not only years of raising awareness, but also to commitments being made by countries such as Brazil, which has cracked down “on illegal lumber operations and the expansion of plantations into protected area”.

Some leaders, such as President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are making effoertss to tackle the harmful practice of illegal logging, which remains a rampant and severe threat to the rainforest. While at the same time, we see a stark difference when we look at Madagascar, where illegal logging continues to be common practice “despite a recently announced moratorium on precious wood exports and logging”. We should view this progress as a sentiment to the fact that we can change the world for the better, but we can’t overlook the fact that the situation in many countries is still very alarming.

We need the help of everyone who cares about the environment to join together to continue the fight to protect our world. For more info check out the article here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-boyce/whats-up-with-the-rainfor_b_532515.html

For the first time in 10 years Americans are more likely to say the United States should give more priority to developing oil, natural gas and coal than to protecting the environment, according to a poll on Tuesday.The poll was conducted a few weeks before President Barack Obama announced he would open offshore oil drilling in some parts the U.S. East Coast, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

Half of 1,014 U.S. adults, who were surveyed March 4-7 by Gallup, said the country should give more priority to developing and producing the fossil fuels. Only 43 percent said protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of limiting the amount of energy supplies.

It was the first time in the 10 years that Gallup has been asking the question that energy production was favored over environment.

What is causing Americans to pick energy over environment? Is it fears over the economy? It is that we have forgotten the serious danger our environment is facing? Whatever the cause, those of us who care for the environment should use this time to educate others about the dangers of picking Energy over the Environment, and take action ourselves to protect our Environment.

For more on the story, the Reuters article can be found here http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63536B20100406

Earth Day was founded in America in 1970 by US Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) as an environmental “teach-in”. The day is a celebration designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. The holiday has continued to grow, and is now celebrated  in as  many as 190 countries. Many important laws were passed by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, as well as the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the Earth Day Network, Earth Day is now the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year!

This year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, it also presents a great opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

We’ll post interesting news and articles soon…stay tuned!