This chart from Phil Howard at Michigan State University shows how three chemical giants, Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta, have come to dominate the agricultural seed industry in the last 10 years. Obviously, there are concerns about whether this market is fair:

Monsanto supplies proprietary traits to 85 percent of corn planted in the United States, and 92 percent of soy. Corn and soy are the lifeblood of the U.S. food system. If you eat a standard diet, you’re ingesting a Monsanto-originated product with just about every bite you take. Nor is the company a benign monopolist, the report shows. GMO corn seeds have jumped from $110 per unit in 1999 to upwards of $190 by 2008; for soy, prices soared from less than $25 to more than $40.

But this monopoly isn't just bad for farmers' livelihoods; it's bad for the resilience of our ecosystem. We have 71 percent of U.S. cropland being used for just three crops, and a small handful of companies supplying the seeds. That's a precarious situation, and it's why projects like the Seed Vault are important. There's a bigger version of the chart here.

http://www.good.is/post/the-seed-industry-s-scary-consolidation/

Half full toilet

1A: A (Clean) Toilet Hack

Potential water savings: Up to 18 gallons per day, per person.

How to easily reduce the water wasted by every flush.

Toilets waste tons of water every year. When you flush, that’s about five or six gallons right there if you have a conventional toilet, and on average we each flush six times a day. Thankfully, there are now all sorts of products to lessen gallons per flush. There are low-cost add-ons like the Toilet Tummy or the British-made Hippo the Water Saver. You can also purchase a dual-flush toilet, which can save up to five gallons per flush by offering one kind of flush for each bodily function. But the lower-tech and less-well-heeled among us might want to try this easy and free hack.

Get Started

1. Remove the lid from your toilet.

2. Observe the black floating ball. This thing determines the water level in your toilet.

3. Reach into the toilet tank and grab the thin metal rod attached to the black floating ball.

4. Bend the rod downward just a little. It won’t break easily, but be ginger, yeah?

5. Be an optimist. Your tank is now half full.

http://www.good.is/post/good-guide-to-reducing-your-water-use-part-1-bathroom

How much water do we use?

http://awesome.good.is/ecosystem/index.html#/home

Ecological Age -- Arup

Arup has developed a film / presentation for transitioning to an 'Ecological Age.' The film presents an overview of issues that form the basis for new strategies for cities, sustainability and resources. The blog with links to films can be found here.

Vertical Farm

Center for Urban Agriculture - Vertical Farming from Mithun on Vimeo.

Edible prints

A series of screenprints on rice paper using only food, i.e. cream, flour, fruit juice and food colouring.

Urban Farming Grows Up

KIVA

Kiva Promo from RMac Productions on Vimeo.

Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

SUSTAINABLE INTERNET

Lately there has been a lot of talking around proposing INTERNET NOBEL PEACE PRICE.
We have been arguing a lot about the meaning of SUSTAINIBILITY and what are our responsibilities in order to achieve a more fare and sustainable society.
This blog offers the possibility to reflect on what is linked to those action that most of the time we give for granted and we never stop questioning. You will also find some GUIDELINES for a better use of this TOOL and to defining some GOOD PRACTICES.
We are responsible for our choices and sometimes to think about the implications of our actions make us remember the role of people and the role of tools.

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-the-Right-Bottled-Water

Local Love: 321 Steps To Less Landfill

by Raquel on October 30, 2009

Looking like something out of the future, this sexy high-tech water bottle is set to revolutionise the way you take your water. In fact, if you’re harbouring a bottled water addiction it may be the one that brings you back to the water tap.

The genius element aimed at capturing your heart and changing your drinking habits is 321 Water’s cleverly incorporated filter system that takes tap water and renders it deliciously fresh and chlorine free through a carbon filter and one push mechanism.

Given Aussies produce 80,000 tonnes of water bottle landfill each year, can you really afford not to give it a try? Wholly designed and made in Australia its already captured the imaginations of many taking out the New Inventors People’s Choice Award.

The product’s innovative designer Gretha Oost’s intent is to produce objects that make it easier for people to ‘do the right’ thing environmentally; this little beauty is the end product of that principal .. now all you need do is heed the call!

The Bottled Water Scam

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/983084/

Graphic: Bottled water imports and exports

June 5, 2008

A new UN map highlights bottled water’s patterns of international trade. With France being the major exporter of bottled water, trade routes in Europe (between France, Germany, and Belgium) often involve intracontinental trade. The United States also imports a large quantity of water from France and Fiji.

The FuseProject : Recycle Cool Water bottles into Toys!

The FuseProject : Recycle Cool Water bottles into Toys!

Article or RSS item submitted by Ty Wenzel • Apr 16th, 2008 • Category: Green Me Baby!, Product & Merch, Style Trend Forcasting |

Source Core77

fuseproject -- Y Water bottle

Bottled-water-drinkers have surely noticed Poland Springs making the switch to lightweight bottles; once empty, the easily-crushed containers remind you that what was a vessel five minutes ago has now become garbage.

Yves Behar's fuseproject and L.A.-based Y Water--targeting vitamin-enriched water at children--are moving in the opposite direction, with a distinctive Y-shaped bottle they're hoping will stick around a while longer.

Behar's innovation was to give the bottle two lives: its first is as a vessel for the product, and when empty, it gains a second life as a toy. The sturdy 9-ouncers "can be linked with other bottles through biodegradable rubber 'Y Knots,' connectors that help to create spaceships, animals, robots, or whatever else a creative child can imagine."

"We look to this repurposing of the Y Water bottle to not only encourage children to be creative, but to encourage children to think about reuse rather than simply discarding these into the trash," says Behar. "We want to create a new paradigm for children's products that encourages unique new behaviors and a productive afterlife for the product."

Of course, kids will grow up someday and toys will eventually go in the trash; but not to worry, Y Water bottles are 100% recyclable. Once finished with the product, parents can log onto www.ywater.us and receive a free mailer to send the bottle back for recycling.

Bottled water exposed - in pictures

Bottled water exposed - in pictures

By Lisa Frack

April 17, 2009

Bottled Water Sales Slipping

http://www.psfk.com/2008/09/bottled-water-sales-slipping.html

Good news on the reduce-reuse-recycle front. Bottled water sales in the United States, the world’s largest bottled water market, are starting to slow down. Although sales are not declining, the Worldwatch Institute reports that this year’s projected growth is only at 6.7% – the smallest increase in the past 10 years. It may not be a landmark occasion, but it’s a positive sign.

Bottled Water Blues?

Bottled Water Blues?

Maureen Linke & Ameesha Felton

http://www.vcuinsight.vcu.edu/stories/Fall07/Bottled_Water/BottledWater.htm

According to a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the United States is the leading consumer of bottled water. The sale of bottled water has increased by 500% in the last decade. This significant increase is largely due to the successful marketing tactics of companies like Dasani, Deer Park, Aquafina, etc. Many of these companies promote the idea that bottled water is healthier than tap water. VCU Recycling Coordinator Steve Heintz says he’s noticed the increase in bottled water use.

“I’ve definitely noticed, when I look in the dumpsters outside it is more than half full of bottled water,” said Heintz.

But with this dramatic increase in water consumption there is also a greater need for more recycling. The United States has not been able to meet this need and almost 40 percent of the bottles that were deposited for recycling in 2004 were actually exported to China.

Associate Research Professor for the VCU School of Environmental Studies, Dr. Peter deFur says that the demand for bottled water also increases the demand for energy.

“We’ve seen this dramatic increase in commercial bottle water and what happens is there is the container in which the water is sold and that takes energy,” said deFur. “And even if people do recycle it, it takes energy to recycle.”

VCU students, like Kara Terrell, say that while they do reuse and refill water bottles they purchase on campus, they do not take the initiative to dispose of them properly when they are finished.

“Oftentimes, I don’t really use the recycle bins provided on campus, but I do recycle bottles on my own, I just fill them with water whenever need be,” said Terrell.

In order to conserve energy and plastic resources, it’s important not only to realize the value of recycling itself but the importance of reusing as well. Heintz says one way to boost recycling among Americans is to change their attitudes.

“Recycling is a resource, the materials you recycle whether it be paper, plastic, metal or wood… these are all commodities and to throw them out, put them in a landfill, and just bury them is basically a waste of space.”

Do you care?

The controversy over drinking bottled water rather than tap is something that consumers have been questioning for years. Some people think it’s healthier to buy purified water, but others
worry about the cost to the environment. Take the poll below to let us know what you think.

The facts about bottled water:

1. According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, Americans bought a total of 31.2 billion liters of water in 2006. The Pacific Institute estimates that producing the bottles for American consumption required more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation.

2. The Container Recycling Institute reports that 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter.

3. Beverage Digest estimates Americans spent over $15 billion dollars on bottled water last year.