Living in China for the past 7 years while at the same time being concerned about (though not taking enough action about) the environment, climate change and the expansion of consumer societies has demonstrated clearly to me that government and business leadership is absolutely essential to create any real change in the way we live and the way we interact with the natural world.  In China there is no leadership of this kind.  A lack of political leadership, inside the government and the repression of it outside government, means there is no infrastructure for civil society to enact change.  Lack of political leadership means there is not the regulatory nor legal systems to force business and commerce to act responsibly or for individuals to take environmental issues through legal channels.  While in some cases this might exist on paper, the lack of leadership and the cancerous growth of corruption caused by lack of leadership, means in reality, it does not exist.  In business, a lack of leadership (and again the presence of corruption) means business is only interested in profit, at all costs, even human costs, leave alone environmental costs.  There are few "green" choices for the consumer to make.  In China I can't choose ethically manufactured clothing, or organic food, or clean energy sources.   My desire to live responsibly and reduce my impact on the natural environment is restricted by the absence of political and business will.

While it is certainly true that I could do more than I currently do to reduce my impact, it is also true that for genuine change to happen around the world, governments and business have to take the lead.  Individuals can make a difference, but it seems too many individuals (myself included) don't care, are too concerned with getting by or are simply too lazy to actually do anything. However, when gently nudged, not forced, into action, by the right government incentives, by intelligent legislation, by innovative marketing and creative products, people can change and their will to change can grow.  I see glimpses of this leadership emerging in developed nations.  However,  to start getting similar leadership in China and other developing nations, which for all its rapid economic expansion, is still a relatively poor country, governments and businesses in the developed world have to demonstrate far more leadership on these issues than has been demonstrated so far.  We need bold, brave and innovative leadership to drive real change.  With examples of bold leadership on the great environmental and societal challenges of our time we will start to see governments and businesses in the developing world taking up the challenge and providing real leadership. 

In a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that came out today, Hollywood celebrities encourage people to vote using a little reverse psychology...Please Don't Vote!

Celebrities appearing in the PSA include: Amy Adams, Tatyana Ali, will.i.am, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Maria Bello, Halle Berry, Selma Blair, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Connolly, Courteney Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jaime Foxx, Jonah Hill, Dustin Hoffman, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Esai Morales, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Seth Rogan, Sarah Silverman, Ethan Suplee, Kyra Sedgwick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Usher, and Forest Whitaker.

You can watch this GREAT video HERE, and get information on registering to vote and how to vote early by going to DeclareYourself.com. For voting locations, visit Maps.Google.com/Vote.

Great job!  You all deserve much applause. 

Source: Ecorazzi

The Presidential Election is only four weeks away! It's a perfect time to host an 11th Hour House Party and discuss the environmental issues that are becoming a part of the political discourse. Click here to dowload the presentation.

The Firewinder is a new(ish) gadget that puts a cool twist on outdoor lighting. While we’ve been hearing about it for quite some time, it is finally here for the taking!

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New York City’s taxi fleet has been slowly converting to hybrids for some time, and earlier this year Mayor Bloomberg indicated that livery cabs should green-up their act as well. Now another Northeast city is getting in on the act: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has announced that 2015 the city’s entire taxi fleet would have to be converted to hybrid vehicles.

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Find out more about the candidates' envirnomental stances on Grist's special article. Issues compared include cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emmissions, offshore drilling, fuel economy standards for automobiles, renewable energy, biofuels, coal, and nuclear energy.

Click here to view the chart!

The American Express Members Project - which provides $2.5 million in funding for ideas submitted by American Express card holders - just announced their Top 25 ideas for final voting. Our Rebuilding New Orleans Green project has made it into the Top 25 out of over 1,100 submissions. Now, more than ever, we need your votes to propel us into the Top 5 and be eligible for the $1.5 million grand prize!

Read the message from Matt Petersen, President of Global Green USA here.

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 We have have over 1000 Environmental based Experiments, labs and lesson plans 

for Teachers/Home Schoolers and their students. Search topics like Global Warming (of course), climate change, air pollution, science, ocean etc..

*The site is fun and easy to use

*You do not have to hassle with any login procedure

*Grade ranges are from K-12

*The site is 110% kid safe 

www.greenplanetsearch.com is also: 

*An environmental search engine with over 3000 sites indexed and adding more green sites daily (we are an actual search engine, this is not another Google custom search)

* Original Environment related News Aricles

*Green Website Awards for sites that deliver great content in a unique qnd captivating way

*Submit your Green Website feature

Below is a screenshot of our home page showing  the ECO LESSON PLAN ENGINE on the top of the page.

Directions for LESSON PLANS, go to www.greenplanetsearch.com on the top of the page it will say ECO SEARCH ENGINE.

On the right of that you will see the black which states "switch to eco lesson plans" Click It, then you will see it change to the ECO LESSON PLANS, type in your search and learn!!! 

LED Streetlights in Anchorage, Alaska
We told you that LED streetlights were coming. The latest town to get them is Anchorage, Alaska. The municipality, along with Cree, Inc, a maker of LED lights, are planning to change 16,000 municipal roadway lights with high-efficiency LED fixtures (about 1/4 of total streetlights).

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In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

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Site provided by www.mit.edu