Bloody brilliant!

Did you know that when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out, eco-groups in America wanted it boy-cotted because it wasn't made on recycled paper?

Other countries like Canada, Britain, Italy and Germany have committed themselves to publishing the books with recycled paper.

Is it just me, or is America adding to our environmental problems yet again?

Rock to this!

I was wondering if music was eco-friendly, so I typed 'eco-music' into google and this came up; eco-music.net.

Take their survey and look at their gallery.

Do you wanna be an eco-bunny?

I was looking at these videos on Youtube the other day, and I think they're great. Not only do they promote eco-awareness, but the bunnies are just funny... and cute.

They're slightly simple though; telling us things we already know. I think they should be showed to children; my eight year old sister would love them.

Greenbook

Facebook are again promoting eco-friendly products with it's new application 'Greenbook'.

But what is this Greenbook? Basically, the company that run Greenbook invest in green computer programs and buying renewable energy credits to help their members play on Facebook without releasing a lot of CO2 gases.

The application explains about how Greenbook is run and also informs members of green ways to live. The members can rate each green idea, by giving it a thumbs up. Ideas, such as shopping locally, walking instead of driving and shouting at friends when they throw plastic bottles away, are just some that have thumbs up.

Greenbook is run on money sponsorships, which increases if more people join the application. So if you wanna do your bit for the environment, then get adding Greenbook on Facebook now!

(Because these links run to Facebook, you may have to join to view it.)

Be an eco-school!

Eco-schools look at environmental impact of schools and promotes awareness about the environment in national curriculum subjects. There is also an award scheme, which can promote schools. The achievements come in three stages; bronze, silver and The Top Green Flag.

The eco schooling system includes everyone involved in the school, such as teachers, children, non-teaching staff, school governors, parents, the local authority, the media and local businesses. The scheme encourages team work and an understanding of what it takes to make such a scheme work in a school. It also teaches everyone how to respect and enhance the environment.

So what type of issues do eco-schools cover?

• Litter
• Waste and recycling
• Energy
• Water
• Transport
• Healthy living
• School grounds
• Biodiversity
• Global impacts

I think schools introducing these ideas into early education will benefit the future, because unlike the older generations who are not educated with environmental issues or environmental sciences, the younger generations will be educated and hopefully it will not be too late to prolong the existence of the Earth we know today.

So how do schools promote these issues?

• Forming an action team: meeting new people
• Undertaking an environmental review: educating the environmental issues
• Formulating an action plan: Teamwork
• Creating an eco code for the school: children learning to work under rules from an early stage and parents and teachers helping their children to understand why these rules are put in place and why it's important to follow them.

I hope these schools really take off, because it's a great way to promote eco-awareness. But what about people who aren't involved with an eco-school?

Here are some ways to get involved with the environment on the internet:

• WWF-UK - providing fun and information for children on environment and sustainability issues. Here's their page for teachers.
  
• Young People's Trust - trying to encourage young people's understanding of the environment.
  

Feeling tired?

As I was travelling back to university this morning on the train, I noticed that the guy opposite me was drinking Kenco coffee with a mark on the cup. Curious and guessing it was something to do with the environment, I decided to research it. This is what I found…

Since autumn 2005, Kraft foods have been promoting fair trade to their customers. Kenco Sustainable Development is made entirely from beans from certified sustainable farming services and is available in most UK retailers. The beans are grown by the Rainforest Alliance.

But who are the Rainforest Alliance?

The Rainforest Alliance is an international, non-profit organisation, which is dedicated to helping people, wildlife and the environment. This is their mission: 'The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Companies, cooperatives and landowners that participate in our programs meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods.'

Alongside Kraft Foods, the Rainforest Alliance helps coffee farmers improve their farming practices, which in the long run, helps with income and a better quality of life. The RA also help provide clean water, a decent health service and education for the farmers and their families. Workers are also treated with respect.

RA works with businesses and non-profit organisations from all over the world. Some of these places include: North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa.

If you see this certificate (left) on the side of a product, such as Kenco coffee, then you are looking at products that have been grown in a sustained environment. Here are some of the products you can get from Kenco.

However, if you like to pick up your coffee on the go, then you’ll be glad to know that Costa has just joined up with the RA. There has never been a better reason than this to start drinking coffee!