A United Nations conference rejected a proposed ban on export of Atlantic blue fin tuna which was supported by the U.S. and the Obama administration. Conservationists say Japan and other countries are overfishing the Atlantic Ocean and that blue fin tuna stocks are decreasing at an alarming rate. Jane Lynch, of the U. S. delegation said there had been a great deal of lobbying going on (which is a diplomatic way of accusing the Japanese of bribing third world countries to vote with them). Take a look:
Peoplereports that Gisele Bundchen is launching a new eco-friendly skincare line called Sejaa Pure Skincare. The skincare line will debut Monday, March 15th, according to the website. The new line is promising to use all-natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging.
Karl Lagerfeld put on an absolutely amazing show in Paris of the Chanel 2010 fall ready to wear collection. The environmental theme was epitomized by the giant, 265-ton iceberg in the middle of the catwalk. Karl had trucked in a huge amount of snow-ice (called "snice") which had been chiseled out of a glacier. It took 15 tractor-trailers to get it to Paris, where it was stored in a specially created waterproof box. Then 35 ice sculptors went to work and created the 28 foot tall "iceberg," which was set into a shallow pool of water which the models walked through, dragging their pants legs and coats behind them. The temperature in the room was literally arctic, to keep the berg intact and to make the models grateful for their fabulous faux fur pants, jackets and hats.
Yes, that's right. Karl used all fake fur for this show and it was just fabulous. He said faux fur has really changed over the years and it's now really great to work with. Karl had these words of wisdom to impart: "You cannot fake chic, but you can be chic in fake fur." The show was filled with fabulous knits, must-have boots that looked like spats, gorgeous coats and luxurious tweeds. It was a showstopper. Here Hilary Alexander of The Telegraph talks to
Karl about his "Global Cooling" show.
Penguin/Puffin and Participant Media (An Inconvenient Truth) are releasing a book called Girls Gone Green, by author Lynn Hirshfield, ahead of Earth Day, April 22nd. The book contains green advice and tips as well as profiles of people taking action to save the environment. Hayden Panettiere, Ellen Page and Alicia Silverstone are among the many female celebrities, activists, and experts providing advice, inspiration and tips in the book.
Girls Gone Green features the following celebrity green girls:
Ellen Page of Juno gives pointers on hosting a planting party.
Shailene Woodley of The Secret Life of the American Teenager gives
tips to green your prom.
Mischa Barton of The OC urges teens to bring reusable bags to the
grocery store.
Jessica Lowndes of 90210 talks about the impact of plastic water
bottles in landfills.
Alicia Silverstone, actress, author and food activist, suggests going
vegetarian to save the planet.
Michelle Branch, singer & songwriter, discusses the importance of
eating locally.
H&M will soon be launching its first skincare products. The products will debut in stores in early March. The line includes shower gel, body scrub, body lotion, hand cream and lip balm, all made with certified organic ingredients. The product are certified by Ecocert, Europe's biggest certification body for organic and natural cosmetics.
"It felt like a natural step, since we've worked with organic cotton garments for a few seasons now. There’s also a strong demand from our customers for organics, and I hope they will be as excited as I am about the new products," says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s head of design.
Toyota got some good news for a change: the Prius has retained its nod of approval from Consumer Reports as the most environmentally friendly car. Toyota recently recalled 437,000 hybrids to fix a brake software flaw. Bloomberg reports:
The carmaker's $76,572 Lexus LS460L was named best overall vehicle among more than 280 autos tested, the publication said at a news conference in Washington today. The Prius was ranked best "green" car for the seventh straight year.
The Consumer Reports rankings, used by U.S. car buyers, may help Toyota weather recalls now totaling more than 8 million vehicles worldwide and widening probes into its handling of the faults. A federal grand jury has asked for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking in the Prius, and three congressional panels are planning hearings, starting with a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee today.
The publisher of Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, has recommended that the Prius be redesigned so that it is easier to turn the car off in an emergency when the brakes fail. Apparently the push button starters are difficult to turn off in an emergency. Right now, the button has to be held down for three full seconds in order to turn off the ignition. That's much too long in an emergency situation.
Designer Jean Paul Gaultier has partnered with Melissa, a Brazilian footwear brand, to launch the Jean Paul Gaultier X Melissa shoes. The 10cm high heeled shoe made from opaque and transparent plastics will debut in June. The shoes will be available in four colors: black, caramel, beige, lime and tangerine. The shoes will cost 160 pounds - about $250 U.S.
Jean Paul Gaultier told Vogue UK, "I've worked very closely with Melissa on the development of this style - it's very sexy. I'd love to see it worn with fishnet tights, so you can really max out on the transparent aspect of the plastic!"
Greenzys is an eco-friendly children's brand that will launch on April 5, 2010, a couple weeks ahead of Earth Day. The line will include books, plush toys, animated content and an interactive website. The line initially be sold exclusively at FAO Schwarz New York and FAO.com before expanding to other retailers post launch.
Greenzys are the creation of product designer Lisa Keyser. The Greenzys' characters include Peat the Penguin, an ardent supporter of recycling, reusing and reducing waste; Yew Yew the Panda, who grows bamboo to prevent erosion and create oxygen; Willow the Elephant, who collects rainwater for her plants and uses her trunk as a water hose; and Violet the Giraffe, the ecological genius who teaches the Greenzys how to reduce their carbon paw print.
The 12-inch high Greenzys plush toys are made from Soy fibers and non-toxic dyes and are packaged with recycled paperboard. The toys are manufactured by Kids Preferred.
"I am very excited to see The Greenzys come to life and bring Green Awareness to kids around the world. The Greenzys is a team of earth conscious animal characters who through fun and enlightening adventures will inform our kids on the positive effect that good green daily practices have on our planet," says Greenzys Creator, Lisa Keyser. "Populations are getting larger while the earth isn't getting more capacious, and we need to do a better job of reducing, preserving and conserving. Every climate and region of the planet will represent new challenges and adventures for The Greenzys to thrive within."
The Greenzys will also have an original theme song that will be released next month. The Greenzys book is written by Danielle Mentzer, author of Plucked Duck. Cris de Lara, an award-winning digital artist, illustrates the book series, which is published by DK Publishing.
The Greenzys toys will launch with a special promotion marking the 40th anniversary of the Earth Day celebration on April 22, 2010. Each Greenzys toy purchased between April 5 and December 31st will support the Arbor Day Foundation by the planting of a tree in our nation's forests. You can find more about Greenzys on the website at greenzys.com.
Everything is ready in Vancouver for the winter Olympics, which kick off this Friday. The only problem is the weather. As reported earlier, an unusual heat wave has gripped Vancouver since Christmas. Cypress Mountain, where all the snowboarding and mogul events are held, has only three feet of snow -- it normally has ten feet at this time of year.
Organizers are working on the snowboarding course, trucking and flying in huge amounts of snow for the events. On the bright side, Whistler -- where the ski jumping is held -- has a record 32' of snow. Natalie Morales was the first journalist allowed in to take a look at the conditions. Take a look:
Best-Lock introduced a set of green and yellow interlocking building blocks made from renewable materials at the 2010 Nuremberg Toy Fair. Best-Lock says its blocks work with the plastic building blocks from Best-Lock, Mega-Bloks and Lego. Best-Lock also introduced a plastic container where the lid forms a base and the bottom can be used as a play table.
"We are doing our part to help the climate but still creating a fantasy play world," says Torsten Geller, CEO of the traditional company. "There is a global trend towards ecological toys and we intend to stay abreast of these changes and focus to an ever greater degree on plant-based materials. Even the packaging made of recycling paper reflects environmental friendliness thanks to its better carbon footprint."
The Climate Dress can signal how much CO2 is in the air. The dress has over a hundred tiny LED lights inserted into the embroidey, a CO2 sensor and an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor. The LEDs visualize the level of CO2 in the nearby surroundings and are powered trough the embroidery. The dress senses the CO2 concentration in the air, then accordingly creates light patterns varying from slow, regular light pulsations to short and hectic. The technology is a collaboration between Copenhagen based design studio diffus, Swiss embroidery company Forster-Rohner, the Danish research-based limited company Alexandra Institute and the Danish School of Design.
Solio makes several models of its sleek looking solar powered chargers. The $69.95 Solio Mono model is pictured above. It can charge thousands of different devices including the iPhone. The solar chargers can be charged from the sun. It can also be charged via USB port or from an optional wall charger. Shira Lazar from CBS News talked to the founder of Solio at the Consumer Electronics Show. Take a look:
The FDA is now investigating health risks from BPA, or bisphenol-A, a commonly used component used to make plastic bottles and food packaging. The FDA declared the substance safe in 2008, but it may now reverse that decision.
BPA is the chemical that has been banned from baby bottles. But it may be dangerous for adults, too.
The New York Times reports:
The agency said Friday that it had "some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children," and would join other federal health agencies in studying the chemical in both animals and humans.
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Concerns about BPA are based on studies that have found harmful effects in animals, and on the recognition that the chemical seeps into food and baby formula, and that nearly everyone is exposed to it, starting in the womb.
But health officials said there was no proof that BPA was dangerous to humans.
"If we thought it was unsafe, we would be taking strong regulatory action," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the principal deputy commissioner of the drug agency, at a news briefing.
Nonetheless, health officials suggested a number of things people could do to limit their exposure to BPA, like throwing away scratched or worn bottles or cups made with BPA (it can leak from the scratches), not putting very hot liquids into cups or bottles with BPA and checking the labels on containers to make sure they are microwave safe. The drug agency also recommended that mothers breastfeed their infants for at least 12 months; liquid formula contains traces of BPA.
BPA has been used since the 1960s to make hard plastic bottles, sippy cups for toddlers and the linings of food and beverage cans, including the cans used to hold infant formula and soda. Until recently, it was used in baby bottles, but major manufacturers are now making bottles without it. Plastic items containing BPA are generally marked with a 7 on the bottom for recycling purposes.
The chemical can leach into food, and a study of more than 2,000 people found that more than 90 percent of them had BPA in their urine. Traces have also been found in breast milk, the blood of pregnant women and umbilical cord blood.
The FDA is going to spend $30 million in the next two years to do extensive testing on BPA, according to health officials. BPA is banned in Canada, Chicago and parts of New York, but only for products meant for children. Depending on the outcome of the FDA's testing, the substance could end up being banned entirely.
Toyota announced that it will begin selling a plug-in version of the Prius within two years. The cars will run on electricity alone. Toyota showed off the new Prius at the Detroit Auto Show. Take a look:
Green Toys Inc. announced it will introduce a new line of toys for children as young as six months old. The new line, called My First Green Toys, will include seven new products made in California, from 100% recycled milk containers. The toys include the Green Toys Stacker, Green Toys Tugboat, Green Toys Blocks, and Green Toys Feeding Spoons, Spoon and Fork Set, Plate Set and Bowl Set. The company says its toys are made from 100% post-consumer recycled milk jugs, and contain no BPA, phthalates, or PVC. The toys will arrive in stores in Spring, 2010.
"We've been deluged with requests for Green Toys brand products designed for infants and toddlers," said Robert von Goeben, president and co-founder of Green Toys Inc. "Our customers tell us they love Green Toys products because they know where the toys are made and exactly what they are made from. The My First Green Toys line allows us to offer the benefits of safe, environmentally-friendly products to a younger age group, while providing parents with peace of mind."
The 12-inch high Greenzys plush toys are made from Soy fibers and non-toxic dyes and are packaged with recycled paperboard. The toys are manufactured by Kids Preferred.
