Environmental/Social Issues Archives

Will the Green Growth Strategy Lead to Promising Business Opportunities? Exploring the Future Five Years from Now

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about great changes in our society and business environment. To grasp the nature of the social transformation arising from this ongoing event, since May 2020 Nikkei BP has been conducting a series of surveys of Japanese businesspeople (more than 11,000 in total). The results unveil major alterations in their mindsets. Following the Japanese government's declaration on realizing "Carbon Neutrality by 2050" in October 2020, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) took the lead in formulating the "Green Growth Strategy through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050," which was unveiled in December of the same year. The Ministry positions this strategy as "an industrial policy to lead the challenging goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, a vision that is upheld by the Suga administration and aims toward a positive cycle of economic growth and the environmental protection." The strategy emphasizes 14 sectors as priority fields (Fig…

The Future Is Female: Mom’s Clean Air Force

Moms Clean Air Force is a community of over 1,000,000 moms and dads united against air pollution – including the urgent crisis of our changing climate – to protect our children’s health. We arm members with reliable information and solutions through online resources, articles, action tools, and on-the-ground events. We work across the US on national and local policy issues, through a vibrant network of state-based field teams. Our moms meet with lawmakers at every level of government to build support for commonsense solutions to pollution. Moms have passion and power – an unbeatable combination. We are harnessing the strength of mother love to fight back against polluters. Connecting the dots between climate change and children’s health; Building support for standards that limit climate pollution from carbon, methane, and ozone; Protecting children from potentially harmful chemical exposures through education and advocacy focused on toxic chemicals in consumer pr…

A Climate Awakening

This year has been the hottest year on record and this has been a trend for the past 3 consecutive years. Fire season has moved from summer to February in many wildfire hotspot locations. For 3 days last week, I was trained by Al Gore on the current state of the climate and how to become a leader in the topic – a Climate Reality Leader. 972 people being in Denver, CO wanting to learn, network, connect, motivate and take action had me certain that the most successful people would see the possibility of tackling this pertinent issue head on. With 97% of scientists aware that the climate is changing due to human causes, climate change is no longer a liberal or conservative issue. Al Gore calls it the Sustainability Revolution. Like the Industrial Revolution and the Digital Revolution, sustainability is finding its way into every industry and its making business more efficient and cost-effective, and with it comes a better quality of life. Yet deniers still wave their hands …

Jeff Goldblum Pricks Our Eco-Conscience as The Fixer

What would you do if you were locked in a room with the biggest corporate polluters on the planet? Would you give a speech on climate change or a powerpoint on your Clean Power Plan? Maybe team up with Leo diCaprio, Ed Begley and Mark Ruffalo and try a little corporate waterboarding on a few evil fossil fuel execs? Well, the League of Conservation Voters teamed up with Jeff Goldblum and Funny or Die to spoof the Fixer theme and share a few laughs while pricking our collective eco-conscience. In the video, executives gather to try and find a tobacco industry-like fix to their problems. Nevermind Big Tobacco or Volkswagen, these “nincompoops” and “garbage people” are about to be Goldblumed by "The Fixer." Check out the video (and then sign the serious petition to help stop big polluters).

How Big is Your Water Footprint?

Awesome new graphic from CustomMade that takes an in-depth look at the growing global water footprint and provides ideas on how we can cut back on our individual water consumption to help sustain this valuable resource for future generations. The average American lifestyle requires about 2,000 gallons of water every day. Fresh water consumption has doubled since World War II and is expected to rise 25% by 2030. All of this water use takes a toll on the planet and can create water scarcity which effects up to 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of the year. Explore ways you can reduce your water footprint in your home. Reducing our Water Footprint Dual flush toilets, turning off the tap while scrubbing dishes, and using a rain barrel to collect outdoor water are all great ways to reduce your water footprint. There are many simple changes you can make in your day to day life that can positively impact your water use and lessen the effects of water scarci…

9 Alternatives to Candy for Trick-or-Treaters

So, Halloween is the holiday most known for it’s spooky amounts of candy. It starts out as a sweet little, “we’ll buy a bag to hand out to the disguised kids knocking on our door”; but then develops growing more horrific by the minute. “Okay, I’ll take one for myself.” “Let’s get an extra bag for us”. “Wow! I haven’t seen this candy since last year! Let’s get some!” From innocence to guiltiness, one by one we consume more and more candy; the result? – feeling terrible the following day, your face breaks out like a leprous zombie, and the creepy monster that roared the night before is feeling shameful and disappointed in itself. To appease the candy vampire within, try serving one of these alternatives for yourself and/or the costumed minions rapping on your door. 1) Fruit Apples, Bananas, & Oranges all make great snacks and are sturdy enough to survive the night in a trick-or-treaters bag. 2) Veggies Chopped celery with peanut butter and raisin…