What is Deforestation



Deforestation is something that “we” humans are responsible for, it is the logging of trees in forested areas. Each day, trees are sold as a product are used, cleared used for grazing land by humans. Deforestation is largely unknown and there are no consequences amongst the people damaging the planet in this matter.

It has been known that forests disappear naturally by extensive climate change, fires, hurricanes or any other disturbances that are not caused by people. However, even when these horrible events occur, we never prevent them, nor do we help change what has been done. This topic has been the key focus for scientist to debate; it is a rising issue, which needs to be looked at more.

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French Caribbean poisoned by pesticides



The French Caribbean Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have been poisoned after years of pesticide use.  Experts say that more than half of its 800,000 residents are contaminated by a chlordecone or kepone which is used as pesticide in banana platations to kill weevils around the country.

Scientists say that the “health disaster” will contribute to residents developing cancer, infertility and birth defects.  Health specialists have warned that chlordecone has poisoned both the land and water.  Chordecone when sprayed can stay in the environment to up to a century, contaminating the entire food chain.

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What is Composting? How to Composte.



Composting is the natural decomposition of weeds, manure and other yard waste, fruit and vegetables.  The breakdown of these organic materials produces compost which can be made into fertilizer to enrich soil.    By composting we do not only help conserve our environment by reducing the amount of garbage sent to landfills, we also help promote healthier soil where we can grow healthy flowers or fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and herbs.

There are many ways to compost.  Some make bins from recycled materials or buy one at the store.  Others go binless, by digging a hole directly on the ground.  But there are some basic composting dos and don’ts.

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Coffee: The Next Green Fuel



Cost-effective and eco-friendly biofuel continues to occupy the interest of green fuel makers. The latest venture in this direction takes coffee as the new source of biofuel that would cut the energy expenditure involved in biofuel production by a significant proportion while easing the stress on the use of conventional fuels and also reducing harmful emissions.

The first breakthrough in deriving biofuel from coffee happened in 2006 in Brazil – world’s leading producer of coffee – where coffee beans were used by a team of engineers for making biodiesel. The technology thus developed emerged as a cost-effective means of relatively inexpensive biodiesel since the fuel was extracted from low-quality coffee beans, those not approved for dietary human use. With a modest production capacity of 45 million kilos of biofuel, coffee beans serve as an easily available raw material for biofuel production. Biodiesel derived from coffee beans is currently being used in Brazil in some trucks and tractors on coffee cooperatives.

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Green Boots Arrive on the Scene



Technological advances help actualize the quest for eco-friendly lifestyle; and so does creativity. Take, for example, the fresh innovation of designer Camila Labra – a pair of green boots. Certainly, we are not talking about the color ‘green’ but the environment-friendly footwear designed by the 23 year old eco-conscious designer from Santiago (Chile). The product has nearly stunned the environmentalists and is also sending waves across the world of fashion.

Camila Labra’s green boots are made almost entirely of recycled plastic bags and have come to be named as Dacca Boots, after the city of Dhaka (capital of Bangladesh) where an abundance of plastic bags led to a ban on their use in 2002. Making a pair of Dacca Boots, as designed by Camila Labra, requires about 8 plastic shopping bags along with some cotton lining. The advantages of Dacca Boots are quite promising: useful recycling of otherwise troublesome plastic bags; saving the environment from the harmful effects of plastic waste (which is non-biodegradable); and saving other resource materials used in shoe-making; not to say of the hip look and style of these ankle boots.

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