Tag Archives: Naka

5 Animal-Free Food Breakthroughs (Including Foie Gras!)

by SFGJrg Posted on October 25, 2018

Earlier this month, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a landmark report underscoring a stark warning to the world: To avoid disastrous levels of global warming, we must take “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.”

One of the urgent changes recommended by the global authority on climate change? People need to consume 30 percent less animal products. ASAP. After all, raising animals for food has a serious and consequential environmental footprint. For instance, the livestock sector alone is estimated to account for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally, more than from the entire transport industry. And with a rapidly growing global human population, if we don’t shift our eating habits now, we’ll only be making the situation exponentially worse.

The good news is that a small, but rising, group of food trailblazers is on the case to shift the tide in big ways. Here are some future food inventions they’ve come up with, which eliminate the animal from the equation (i.e. pollution). And, they could soon be coming to a supermarket or restaurant near you:

1. Lab-Grown Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, flavorless food ingredient. It’s derived from collagen, which is extracted from the body parts of animals, including their bones and hides. Gelatin isn’t the main reason cows and pigs are farmed, but it monetizes animal parts that would otherwise have been discarded as useless.

Enter: lab-grown gelatin. This is gelatin that is grown in a laboratory, without animals, by the companies like California biotech startup Geltor. Geltor scientists take carbon, nitrogen and oxygen and convert them into collagen via a microbial fermentation process. The final product has exactly the same properties and characteristics as animal gelatin. Pretty incredible, huh?

Animal gelatin is currently used in a wide variety of foods including candy, desserts and condiments. If cultured gelatin can eliminate the need for animal versions of these products, the results will be game changing.

2.?“Clean“?Pet Food

A Berkeley-based biotech startup called Wild Earth recently unveiled its debut market-ready product: an animal-ingredient free, healthy, eco-friendly dog snack made from koji. (Koji is a type of fungus Japanese foodsmiths use, to ferment some of their country’s most popular cultural delicacies, like miso and sake.) But “clean protein” dog snacks are just the start of Wild Earth’s ambitious plans. Next up on the roster is a dry dog food, also made with koji?then a cultured meat for cats, using the cells of mice. Whoa. Now that’s forward thinking.

In the US alone, the pet food market will reportedly be worth a whopping $30 billion by 2022. But on the flip side, the environmental impact of this growth is also consequential. A recent study found, for instance, that companion cats and dogs in America are already responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the country.

We’ll never stop loving and nourishing our beloved pets, so for the sake of the planet, we’ll have to root for companies like Wild Earth. Moving forward, we really do need a more sustainable pet food industry.

3. Cruelty-Free Foie Gras

Without a doubt, foie gras is one of the most cruelly produced food products out there. The French “delicacy” is made by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers balloon up to 10 times their natural volume. This, of course, causes the animals great, prolonged pain and suffering. A number of countries have already banned the production, import or sale of foie gras due to animal welfare concerns. We applaud them.

For those of us opposed to this torturous and unethical practice, there’s still more hope around the corner. Some remarkable companies, like Integriculture and JUST, Inc. (formerly known as Hampton Creek), are working diligently on bringing a lab-grown foie gras to market. This type of gourmet product will allow fans of foie gras to continue consuming their favorite treat, with all of the same rich taste and texture?but none of the cruelty.

Another big player in the cultured meat space is Memphis Meats, which has received funding from the likes of Bill Gates and even the American meat industry giant Tyson Foods. Memphis Meats is focusing on culturing many different kinds of meat, including duck.

4. Hen-less Eggs

Humans consume a staggering trillion eggs for food worldwide?each year. The negative environmental and welfare effects of having to produce eggs from billions of live hens, at scale, are serious, far-reaching and well documented.

Clara Foods is a San Francisco-based cellular agriculture company working on a solution to this global issue. Starting with only two of the simplest ingredients out there?sugar and yeast?the company is making hen-less egg whites, from cell culture. Their low-fat, high-protein product is slated to hit the market by the end of 2019. For egg aficionados, cultured eggs will be the real thing, and not a substitute, that can be used for pasta, omelettes, meringues ? and a whole lot more. In the meantime, food tech company JUST has already debuted its mung bean-based egg replacer JUST Egg, which can be scrambled and eaten as is. Recently, the company reported that it outsold conventional chicken eggs in select grocery stores, which is certainly promising news.

5. Cultured Fish

Earlier this year, a “flesh-like,” plant-based alternative to raw tuna, made from tomato, went national. Fishless Ahimi tuna is available at 40 Whole Foods Market locations in 10 states across America. The company behind Ahimi, Ocean Hugger Foods, says its plant-based seafood is one step toward alleviating the increasing pressure on our precious oceans, caused by the global overconsumption of fish.

The next step towards this effort is as cutting edge as it gets. Seafood startups, including Finless Foods, Blue Nalu, Wild Type and Seafuture are striving to get their up-and-coming cultured seafood products to break into the $120 billion seafood market.

A more sustainable seafood industry can’t come soon enough. According to a recent government report, Americans are consuming 15.5 pounds of fish and shellfish per person, up nearly a pound from the previous year, making it the biggest leap in seafood consumption in 20 years.

Let’s face it. It’s highly unlikely billions of people around the world are going eat less meat ?or stop altogether?any time soon. Luckily for us, a whole new wave of animal-free products are about to hit the food marketplace. And they could actually be the miracle we need in time to save the planet.

If this cutting-edge field of food interests you, check out the upcoming Cultured Meat Symposium conference, taking place in San Francisco November 1. Some of the innovative brands we‘ve mentioned here will be there?including Memphis Meats and JUST?as well as many of the top pioneers and leaders in the space.

Contributed by Ulara Nakagawa and?Sharanya Krishna Prasad

Credit: Larry Hoffman via Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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5 Animal-Free Food Breakthroughs (Including Foie Gras!)

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GOP Gov. Pat McCrory just signed a bill that limits his successor’s powers.

by LaureneRagsdale Posted on December 16, 2016

In his final press conference of 2016, President Obama — in his usual, staid tones — fielded question after question about Russia’s alleged election interference.

But Obama also reminded us that at the heart of Russia’s economic interests and relative power is its backward status as a petrostate.

“They are a smaller country; they are a weaker country; their economy doesn’t produce anything that anyone wants to buy except oil and gas and arms,” he said. “They don’t innovate. But, they can impact us if we lose track of who we are. They can impact us if we abandon our values.”

The Washington Post calls Trump’s relationship with Russia “the most obscure and disturbing aspect of his coming presidency.” Trump’s choice of Exxon’s Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State only underlines this: At Exxon, Tillerson had deals worth billions of dollars with Russia, some of which can only move forward if the U.S. lifts sanctions on the country.

These deals are only worth billions, though, if fossil fuels maintain their value. The idea that there is a “carbon bubble,” and fossil fuel companies are dangerously overvalued, is a threatening proposition to a petrostate. And, most likely, a Trump administration.

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GOP Gov. Pat McCrory just signed a bill that limits his successor’s powers.

Posted in alo, Anchor, Casio, FF, GE, InsideClimate News, LG, Naka, ONA, OXO, PUR, Radius, Ringer, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on GOP Gov. Pat McCrory just signed a bill that limits his successor’s powers.

U.N.’s annual climate conference kicks off under shadow of U.S. election

by AlyciaLinder Posted on November 6, 2016

International negotiators are coming together on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, for the most highly anticipated climate gathering of the year. But they’ll spend the first couple of days doing exactly the same thing as the rest of the world: holding their breath as they nervously watch to see how the U.S. presidential election turns out.

Yes, America’s 2016 electoral dumpster fire will loom large at this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference, aka COP22. The main goal of the Marrakech meeting is to hash out more specific plans for putting last year’s landmark Paris climate agreement into action. Donald Trump has said he would “cancel” the agreement, so if he’s elected, negotiators are likely to panic. If an antagonistic American president moved to pull the U.S. out of the deal, implementing it around the globe would become a whole lot more difficult.

If, on the other hand, Hillary Clinton is elected, then conferees will feel more confident in getting down to work.

Riding a wave of momentum

U.S. election aside, there’s a lot of positive momentum heading into COP22. The Paris Agreement formally entered into force on Nov. 4, much earlier than anticipated. That’s because leaders of other countries wanted to make sure the deal was done before American voters had a chance to throw it off-course, so they kicked their normally lethargic ratification processes into high gear. That says a lot about the unprecedented level of international commitment to this deal.

The month leading up to Marrakech saw two other notable steps toward climate progress. On Oct. 6, more than 190 nations reached the world’s first agreement to cut emissions from international flights. And on Oct. 15, over 170 countries pledged to rid air conditioners and refrigerators of hydrofluorocarbons — which can have warming potential thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide — in a legally binding accord, potentially cutting warming by 0.5 degrees C.

So negotiators are landing in Morocco on a wave of optimism. At the same time, they know there’s a great deal that still needs to be done. Says Yamide Dagnet of the World Resources Institute, “The COP is about celebrating, but it’s not about complacency.”

At last year’s Paris climate conference, 195 countries made a nonbinding agreement to keep warming below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, with a stretch goal of limiting it to 1.5 degrees. Each nation made an action pledge to cut or curb its greenhouse gas emissions, and agreed to ratchet up its commitment in the future. The Paris signatories also agreed to raise more funds to help poorer countries adapt to a warming world.

Now, in Marrakech, negotiators will try to figure out how to turn those promises into action. They won’t be able to sort everything out, so some of the work will roll into 2018. But here are the three big issues on the agenda:

1) Money

One of the most contentious topics in Paris was money — big surprise — and you can expect the same in Marrakech.

In 2009, wealthier nations agreed to mobilize $100 billion in climate finance yearly by 2020 to aid poorer nations. In Paris, the rich countries reconfirmed that commitment, and in mid-October, released a plan for how they’d get there.

But many leaders from developing nations and policy advocates say $100 billion falls far short of what’s needed for countries to create programs that stave off climate change and build infrastructure that can withstand it, while working to improve quality of life for their citizens and grow jobs and GDP.

“My organization and many others remain concerned that this is nowhere near enough the amount of money that is needed to help the most vulnerable communities,” says Annaka Peterson, who works on injustice and poverty issues with Oxfam America. “About 20 percent of the $100 billion promised would support adaptation. However, a lot of estimates suggest that by 2030 developing countries could face costs from $140 billion to $300 billion a year.”

And actually, rich countries are not planning to come up with $100 billion a year themselves. They’re counting on sizable contributions from private companies to help meet that goal, which has some negotiators and activists wary about conflicts of interest.

2) Trust and Transparency

If nations are to fully invest in the Paris process, they need to be able to trust that other nations are working toward their goals and accurately reporting their progress. The Paris Agreement asks countries to publish national data on emissions as well as submit their data to a review body.

But how will that work in practice? Will the process be different for rich and poor countries? Negotiators in Marrakech will be working on creating those systems.

“What is the structure of how we look at transparency from now on?” asks Mariana Panuncio-Feldman, senior director of international climate cooperation at World Wildlife Fund. “Will there be flexibility for countries in how they’re reporting?”

Countries also need to start getting specific about how they’ll fulfill their pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, says countries should be bringing detailed plans to Marrakech to demonstrate their progress. “What we need to see is NDCs turning from aspirational to roadmap and investment plans,” he says, “the sort of soup to nuts.”

3) Ambition

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the Paris Agreement is that it sets the world on a path to 2.7 to 3 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels — significantly higher than the 1.5–2 degree ceiling called for in the actual text of the agreement, and needed to avert drastic climate change.

But that more aggressive goal will play an important role in Marrakech, where another critical task is setting a plan to ratchet up the ambition of countries’ pledges every few years. The Paris deal calls for countries to assess progress in 2018 and return to the table in 2020 to revisit and ideally toughen their action plans. Diplomats need to create a system that can spur cuts every five years, while increasing the expectation of how drastic those cuts will be.

Based on the agreement’s swift ratification, climate advocates are hoping countries will be able to toughen their plans even earlier than called for, in 2018, as part of a “global fact check,” says Mohamed Adow, co-chair of Climate Action Network International.

“The question is: How fast and how deep is the green transformation going to be? This is why Marrakech is going to be important,” says Dagnet. “Marrakech needs to pave the way for more ambitious action.”

While the Paris conference was a flashy affair fit for celebrities and political wheelers and dealers, Marrakech is one for the wonks to sort out the nitty-gritty. The proceedings won’t be as glamorous, but they’re still critically important.

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U.N.’s annual climate conference kicks off under shadow of U.S. election

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The Best Luxury Eco Travel Destinations

by MadelineSchlenke Posted on June 17, 2016

Welcome to the sparkling green gem called eco tourism. A booming industry, eco travel now boasts a whopping 8 billion ecotourist visits a year worldwide. Spoiler alert: You’ll need a (nontoxic) keyboard cleaner prior to reading further because if you’re like me, you’ll be drooling in utter awe at the beauty, thoughtfulness and earthly stewardship that went into creating these slices of nirvana on earth. My bucket list has officially grown larger (and yours will, too) after discovering these Om-inspiring spots.

Eco travel explored

Whether you’re looking for restorative or reenergizing vacation away from daily stress, you’ll be hitting the BOOK IT button and packing your bags for an eco travel adventure to reclaim your inner peace and restore your health.

UNITED STATES

1) The Stanford Inn by the Sea – Mendocino, CA

A historic farm and eco resort perched along the Mendocino Coast, The Stanford Inn by the Sea boasts lush, USDA certified organic farms and gardens. This four star, sustainable eco-resort is home to an award-winning vegan restaurant. Nestled across the bay from Mendocino Village, earth friendly, conscious cuisine can be enjoyed at Ravens restaurant (even the wines are organic). The lodge inspired rooms boast eco-friendly amenities by Gilchrist & Soames®. Included with your room are: free mountain bike rentals, a chef-prepared vegan breakfast, plush bathrobes, a wood burning fireplace, organic coffee, and a private deck with ocean and garden views. They compost all food and organic wastes which are then recycled into the gardens, virtually eliminating the use of outside fertilizers. The resort uses no herbicides or pesticides and uses Vaska non-toxic environmentally safe cleaning and laundry supplies, and provides sulfate-free Naturally Kind™ Forest Essentials.

Image Credit: The Stanford Inn by the Sea

Head over to the onsite Catch a Canoe and paddle along the eight-mile Big River estuary. Or, rent a bike or visit the wellness center – the Mendocino Center for Living Well – offering yoga, ayurvedic treatments, cooking classes and wellness retreats including the Falling Love with Life Special. They also offer a sauna, hot tub and indoor swimming pool located in the heated solarium as well as weddings and corporate events. With afternoon tastings and evening happy hours, the passionate owners, Jeff & Joan Stanford, have truly though of everything – even electric car charging stations – at this premier sustainable destination. Watch below to learn more:

2) Bardessono – Yountville, CA

Bardessono is one of only three LEED platinum-certified hotels in the United States (and the only one in California). Situated in California’s Napa Valley, rooms feature organic cotton bed linens and hand-crafted bath products. The onsite restaurant, Lucy, offers a garden-inspired menu with field-to-fork cuisine and artisan cocktails. A rooftop pool offers lounging and dining. Carbon fiber bicycles, on-site producing gardens, and the inspired taste of artisan-crafted coffee are all included in your wine country stay. Cheers to that!

Image Credit: Bardessono

3) Amangiri – Canyon Point, Utah

Raw. Aesthetic. Discover a remote hideaway tucked within the luminous canyons of the American Southwest. Utah’s Canyon Point is home to deep canyons, towering plateaus, world-class hiking, and of course – Amangiri.

How does candlelit restorative yoga with views of the mesa or full moon yoga beneath the rising moon sound? Then there’s the exquisite 25,000 square foot spa where treatments focus on restoring hózhó, which means beauty, harmony, balance and health in Navajo.

The onsite restaurant serves local seasonal produce. This dramatic resort is tucked into a valley near the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument; to say that it blends into the landscape is an understatement. While visiting, you can enjoy guided hikes, rock climbing, canyoneering, and biking.

Image Credit: Amangiri

4) Lumeria Maui – Maui, Hawaii

A retreat for the body, mind and spirit, Lumeria helps you transform your best self through yoga, meditation, sustainable food offerings, healing spa treatments and more. This all-inclusive Hawaii wellness retreat overlooks the North Shore of Maui and is set on large, lush gardens and just 10 minutes from the quaint town of Paia. Guests can feast on indigenous, organic produce and products at Lumeria’s Wooden Crate restaurant.  Thesaline pool and soaking tub overlook the island with breathtaking ocean views. An onsite meditation labyrinth is ideal for quieting the mind and seeking a new perspective.

Image Credit: Lumeria

COSTA RICA

5) The Retreat Alto Del Monte

A boutique wellness experience tucked in the heart of the lush, tropical beauty of Costa Rica, The Retreat, is a five star boutique hotel created by health and wellness visionary, Diana Stobo.  Recently voted one of the 5 Top Spas in the world the property is all about eating clean, raw and/or organic whole foods, enjoying nature, relaxing with yoga and meditation while still lapping in luxury. Diana’s mission is to provide everything you need and desire for the perfect wellness vacation: physical activity, stress reduction, spiritual connectedness, cultural involvement and an experience that will transform you life. Take a plunge in the salt water pool, enjoy the world class spa or Yoga House and and savor a menu designed to fit all lifestyle choices by offering farm to fork cuisine on a daily basis, with vegan options at every meal, as well as all raw choices. Seeing is believing:

6) Lapa Rios Ecolodge

Set amidst the last remaining tropical rainforest reserves of Central America, Minnesota natives John and Karen Lewis liquidated their assets to purchase the land for Lapa Rios Ecolodge; a pristine resort of bungalows lining three rainforest ridges. A three-story hardwood circular stairway in the main lodge constructed of locally harvested materials and a lookout onto the rainforest canopy are highlights. Slumber in organic bed linens and enjoy locally made, biodegradable, organic soaps, lotions and shampoos. Activities focus on the forest and the nearby ocean with hiking, birding, kayaking, horseback riding and surfing while honoring conservation. Their sustainability bragging rights are well earned and can be found here.

Image Credit: Lapa Rios Ecolodge

7) Anamaya

Experience one of the world’s Blue Zone© areas by staying at Anamaya for a yoga or surf retreat. Located in the southern Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific Ocean, yoga and surf retreat Anamaya compliments a Blue Zone© designated area — an area of the world where people are known to live the longest and healthiest. There are only five Blue Zones in the world.  Daily yoga, spa services, a salt water infinity pool, infrared sauna, organic food with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and free range organic chicken and fresh fish are available to guests.

While there, take a day trip to nearby Tabacon, a five star hotel ranked a World’s Top Ten eco-Spa by National Geographic Magazine.

Tabacon sits at the foot of the majestic Arenal Volcano in the heart of the tropical rainforest. Take a plunge in the thermal springs that emerge from the volcanic earth, cascading to form waterfalls, streams, tranquil pools and ponds.

Image Credit: Anamya

BELIZE

8) Blackadore Caye

A resort that heals. This luxury eco resort plans to pamper you while simultaneously healing the island of Belize. Save the date because this Leonardo di Caprio inspired (and partly owned) oasis is coming in 2018 with majestic views (of the ocean and maybe even Leo?), sprawling villas and infinity pools. It wouldn’t involve Leo without environment stewardship. Plans are in place to protect the coral reefs, biodiverse marine life and even involve manatee conservation. Now that’s what I call leaving something better than you found it. Here. Now. Wherever you are. I don’t know ‘bout you, but my heart will definitely go on after a trip to Blackadore Caye!

Image Credit: Blackadore Caye

PHILIPPINES

9) The Farm at San Benito – Lipa City

For a truly rejuvenating spa experience, head for the Philippines. More specifically, set your sights on The Farm at San Benito. The Farm at San Benito offers a wholly holistic approach to healing one’s body and spirit. Enjoy ease, simplicity, and of course, eco-friendly wellness. Dine on predominantly raw, vegan fare made from ingredients grown on the property’s garden. Or, practice yoga. A variety of wellness programs are available to achieve and sustain optimal physical health, emotional well-being and spiritual growth. Oh, and you’ll be surrounded by lush, tranquil land.

Image Credit: The Farm at San Benito Terrace

10) Boracay Resort & Spa

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa is set on a lush hillside set in an eco-reserve. Enjoy sleeping in a treehouse villa, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, parasailing or a day of relaxation at the CHI spa. Stunning beaches and ocean views. Its, as they call it, a sanctuary within a sanctuary.

Image Credit: Boracay Resort & Spa

BRAZIL

11) Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte

Paradise sculpted by nature. Sounds good to me. The Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte is an ecologically responsible a place that blends with its natural white sands and warm water. Conservation is key to assure the natural surroundings are not harmed and the resort honors the biodiversity of the surrounding beauty of Brazil.

Image Credit: Tivoli Ecoresort

MALDIVES

12) Dusit Thani Maldives – Mudhdhoo Island, Baa Atoll

A visit to the Maldives shouldn’t be limited to Brad and Angelina’s brood. Visit this all-villa Thai retreat that sits next to a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, a feeding ground for manta rays and whale sharks. The Thai inspired rooms at Dusit Thani Maldives are encircled by white sandy beaches, a stunning 360 degree living house reef and a turquoise lagoon. Yes, please.

Image Credit: Dusit Thani Maldives

CANADA

13) Clayoquot Wilderness Resort – Tofino, British Columbia

Remote. Refined. Rustic. Sounds like a great combo to me. Inspired by late 19th-century camps, the all-inclusive Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in B.C., Canada combines an eco-chic experience with luxurious comfort.

Imagine 20 white canvas massage, treatment, dining, lounge, and guest tents in the dense bush of one of the world’s few remaining temperate rainforests. Get ready to channel your inner Grizzly Adams and indulge horseback riding, kayaking, whale watching, hiking, and fishing.

Uniquely and appropriately described as a delicious blend of childhood wishes and grown up dreams.

Image Credit: Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

MALAYSIA

14) Gayana Eco Resort – Kota Kinabalu, Borneo

Ecology meets luxury at Gayana Eco Resort. On the edge of a tropical jungle paradise and peering above the agean waters of a rare coral reef , your inner flower child will delight at the overall eco-focus of the resort. A tropical jungle, vibrant coral reefs and effervescent waters of the South China Sea create a a true paradise. The thatched huts are filled with modern conveniences, including air conditioning, WiFi and luxury bathroom amenities. There’s even an on-site Marine Ecology Research Center restoring the nearby coral reef.

Image Credit: Gayana Eco Resort

THAILAND

15) The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket

Located on Phuket’s Naka Yai Island, this wellness resort preaches holistic wellness in its food, activities, and landscaping. Cleanse your body and soul at The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa. Indonesian, Thai, Chinese, and Indian, therapies range from body rubs and holistic fitness to stress-reducing practices and disease prevention. Eco features such as green housekeeping, composting, water conservation, recycling, integrated pest management practices, low-VOC materials (paints, flooring and furniture) make giving it a double green thumbs up easy.

Image Credit: The Naka Island

AFRICA

16) Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

Sleep in a romantic treehouse at the all-inclusive Lake Manyara Tree Lodge located in the Lake Manyara National Park. Enjoy the diversity of the Great Rift Valley and the plethora of habitats and wildlife surrounding rich, mahogany forests. Each of the 10 stilted suites boasts a private game viewing deck, dream-inducing beds, and an overhead fan for a true jungle vibe. Enjoy a safari or soak in the natural hot springs during your stay. You may even see a lion climbing a tree (really!).

Image Credit: Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

INDONESIA

17) Mandapa

How about unwinding with the Ayung River behind you, surrounded by Verdant rice paddies, meandering pathways, and gently rolling hills? Nearby, you’ll discover hidden temples and an active volcano. Find your Zen while you rejuvenate and unwind at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Reserve Mandapa resort in Bali with your own private butler on hand to meet your every whim.

Image Credit: Mandapa

AUSTRALIA

18) Daintree EcoLodge & Spa – Queensland

Since my husband stayed here, I can personally share the relaxation he experienced while slumbering in an ancient rainforest canopy with the echo of birds in the background at Daintree EcoLodge and Spa. For every guest that stays, they plant a tree with Rainforest Rescue. Key measures to reduce energy use, greenhouse and carbon emissions include a long list which you can view here. They offer natural spa treatments, fresh seasonal cuisine, and tranquil exploration. View brochure here.

Image Credit: Daintree EcoLodge and Spa

Would you consider staying at one of these destinations?  Have you already? What was your experience? Leave a comment below.

Feature image credit: Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

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Lisa Beres

Lisa Beres is a healthy home expert, Baubiologist, published author, professional speaker and Telly award winning media personality who teaches busy people how to eliminate toxins from their home with simple, step-by-step solutions to improve their health. With her husband, Ron, she is the co-founder of

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Learn to Create a Healthy Home! Green Nest Creating Healthy Homes

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The Best Luxury Eco Travel Destinations – June 17, 2016
8 Father’s Day Gift Ideas That Truly Pay It Forward – June 7, 2016
15 Green Living Home Delivery Services – May 24, 2016

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The Best Luxury Eco Travel Destinations

Posted in alo, Bragg, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LAI, LG, Naka, ONA, organic, Paradise, Pines, PUR, solar, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Best Luxury Eco Travel Destinations

He May Be Pope, But That Doesn’t Mean He Can Stop Climate Change

by Irvin6591s Posted on June 18, 2015

green4us

Liberals should think twice before wishing that American Catholics would take their political cues from the pope. giulio napolitano/Shutterstock Liberals love nothing better than a religious figure who takes their side, and the media loves nothing more than the man-bites-dog story of a conservative force or figure staking out a progressive position. Consider all the hype given to pro-social justice evangelical Christians like Jim Wallis, or the statistically nonexistent“Creation Care” movement of green evangelicals. So the Monday leak of Pope Francis’s forthcoming encyclical on climate change naturally triggered triumphant statements from green groups. In the draft, Francis says that climate change is mostly human-made, and that a failure to mitigate it would be an abrogation of our responsibility to protect God’s creation and have “grave consequences for all of us.” He’s right, of course. But will it matter to the conservative political movements that stand in the way of taking climate action? Some greens certainly think so. 350.org declared that it will “add momentum and moral weight” to the fossil-fuel divestment campaign. Rev. Fletcher Harper, executive director of GreenFaith, an interfaith environmental group, said in the same statement, “The pope’s encyclical will be a powerful game-changer.” Leading Senate climate hawk Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Grist, “I think it’ll have a really profound impact … Not only does it have the clout of an encyclical, but I think this very, very charismatic pope intends to drive the message.” Unfortunately, there is little reason to believe that the pope’s position paper will alter the politics of the biggest, most problematic climate-polluting nations. None of the top four climate polluters — China, the U.S., India, and Russia — are majority Roman Catholic. Russia, India, and Japan have all sent worrying signalsabout their approach to the climate negotiations in Paris this fall. There is no reason to think the pope’s views matter to them at all. The European Union nations are heavily Catholic, but they are already committed to reducing emissions. The second-biggest emitter, the U.S., would therefore seem to be the most fertile ground for the pope to make inroads on the issue. The U.S. is 24 percent Catholic, and Catholic voters are an important swing constituency for both major political parties. But Democratic Catholics, like most Democrats, are already on-board to address climate change — just look at House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) or Secretary of State John Kerry. The problem is the Republicans, regardless of their religion. Will the Pope’s words make any difference to them? No. Read the rest at Grist.

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He May Be Pope, But That Doesn’t Mean He Can Stop Climate Change

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He May Be Pope, But That Doesn’t Mean He Can Stop Climate Change

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Bitcoin’s Problem With Women

by RaymundMeekin Posted on April 23, 2015

Mother Jones

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While Kevin Drum is focused on getting better, we’ve invited some of the remarkable writers and thinkers who have traded links and ideas with him from Blogosphere 1.0 through today to pitch in posts and keep the conversation going. Here’s a contribution from Felix Salmon, who, after years of blogging on finance and the economy for Reuters and other outlets, is now a senior editor at Fusion.

Nathaniel Popper’s new book, Digital Gold, is as close as you can get to being the definitive account of the history of Bitcoin. As its subtitle proclaims, the book tells the story of the “misfits” (the first generation of hacker-libertarians) and “millionaires” (the second generation of Silicon Valley venture capitalists) who were responsible for building Bitcoin, mining it, hyping it, and, in at least some cases, getting rich off it.

The tale is selective, of course: not everybody involved with Bitcoin talked to Popper, and the identity of Bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, remains a mystery. But Popper did talk to most of the important people in the cryptocurrency crowd, and he tells me that he put real effort into trying “to find a woman who was involved in some substantive way.”

The result of that search? Zero. Nothing. Zilch. Popper’s book features no female principals at all: the sole role of women in the book is as wives and girlfriends.

There are nasty consequences of this. If you are a woman involved with Bitcoin, you are invariably going to get treated like an outsider. As Victoria Turk says, “it seems that the only Bitcoin community that particularly welcomes female participation is the NSFW subreddit r/GirlsGoneBitcoin,” which is basically a site where women get paid in cryptocurrency to pose nude. Or look at Arianna Simpson’s enraging account of what it’s like to be a woman at a Bitcoin meetup:

The person who actually suggested the event to Ryan was another young woman (the only other woman at the event), a VC who was in town from San Francisco and was interested in checking it out for the first time. The aforementioned groper knew Ryan vaguely from other Bitcoin events, and greeted their arrival with a warm “Oh, nice to see you! I see you brought your girlfriend this time.” When the two of them try to point out that a) they are not together and b) she was actually the one who had brought him, they are cut off with a swift “Sure, sure, I just wanted to see what the dynamic was between you two.” Apparently that’s code for “checking if you’re ok with my hitting on her,” as that’s exactly what he proceeds to do.

Men make up an estimated 96% of the Bitcoin community, which means that if Bitcoin does end up succeeding, as its adherents think it will, and if the people who own Bitcoin see their holdings soar in value, then all of the profits will end up going to what Brett Scott calls the “crypto-patriarchy.” Not many men, to be sure: as Charlie Stross says, the degree of inequality in the Bitcoin economy “is ghastly, and getting worse, to an extent that makes a sub-Saharan African kleptocracy look like a socialist utopia.” But it’s not many men, and effectively zero women.

Popper doesn’t dwell on the almost complete absence of women in the Bitcoin story—in fact, he doesn’t mention it at all in his book. And the Bitcoin elite themselves aren’t doing much introspection on the topic. (We still have Bitcoin developers like the one in Simpson’s article saying things like “women don’t care about cryptocurrencies.”) But the gender gap is a bigger problem than Bitcoiners realize. Unless and until women can be brought into the Bitcoin fold, broader adoption is simply not going to happen.

If you talk about Bitcoin with the people who use it, the language they use is always about technology and finance. Bitcoiners tend to think in terms of how things work, rather than how they’re used in the real world. Buying and selling Bitcoin is still much more difficult than it should be, despite many years of development, which implies that people aren’t concentrating enough on real-world ease-of-use.

In general, people buy Bitcoin for one of three reasons: because they’re speculating on its future value, because they are doing something illegal, or because they have ideological reasons for doing so. But if there’s ever going to be broad adoption of Bitcoin technology, it will need to be appealing to law-abiding people who neither know nor care what the blockchain is, and who have no particular beef whatsoever with fiat currencies.

That’s a product design job, and frankly, it’s a product design job well-suited for women who aren’t approaching the problem while grinding the ideological axes so widely held inside the Bitcoin community. As one woman involved with Bitcoin put it to me, “Money is a political issue for Bitcoiners. It’s a human issue for everybody else.”

Right now, Bitcoin is almost purpose-built for the $582 billion international remittances market, where women are half of the senders, and two-thirds of the recipients. And while there is no shortage of Bitcoin-based remittance products out there, none of them seem to be designing for real-world use cases. The developers are solving technical problems, and ignoring the much bigger and more important human problems.

Let’s say you wanted to build a mobile savings app in sub-Saharan African. If you asked male Bitcoin developers to build such a thing for a target audience of young African girls, they might have talked about how to maximize the amount of money saved. But, working on the ground in South Africa, the Praekelt Foundation came from a different perspective. Apps like these aren’t really about maximizing savings, so much as they’re about empowerment. If you can build a product for girls that ratifies their identity and individuality and gives them self-esteem, then you’re creating something much more valuable than a few dollars’ worth of savings: you’re keeping them in school, and you’re keeping them healthy, and you’re helping them to not get pregnant. That’s the kind of way that cryptocurrencies could change the world. The problem is that the men in Popper’s book just don’t think that way.

Bitcoin boosters like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen have an interesting reaction when people criticize Bitcoin on the grounds that the community is just male nerds. Yes, they say, it is—just like the Internet was, 20 years ago. In other words, far from treating the homogeneity of Bitcoin as a problem, they treat it as being auspicious. And, so far at least, there’s no evidence that they’re really attempting to fix the problem.

The lack of women in Bitcoin isn’t just an issue of equality. It’s a fundamental weakness of the currency itself. As long as the Bitcoin community is dominated by men geeking out about the blockchain, it’s never going to be able to make the human connections that are required for widespread adoption. Right now, the best that anybody can hope for (and no one’s holding their breath even for this) is that a handful of female geeks might be welcomed into the clique of male geeks who are working on Bitcoin-related projects.

But even if that happens, it’s not even close to being sufficient. Bitcoin, at its core, is an attempt to solve big socioeconomic problems through technology. So long as it remains an overwhelmingly male domain, it’s going to continue to concentrate on the economic problems, while missing the big social problems. Which means that it’s going to continue going nowhere.

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Bitcoin’s Problem With Women

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Dot Earth Blog: Is There Room for Agreement on the Merits and Limts of Efficient Lighting

by Myrna Posted on October 21, 2014

Seeking constructive dialogue on the merits and limits of clean, efficient lighting. See original article here:  Dot Earth Blog: Is There Room for Agreement on the Merits and Limts of Efficient Lighting ; ; ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Is There Room for Agreement on the Merits and Limts of Efficient Lighting

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The Ortolan: A Tiny Bird as a French Cause Célèbre

by Myrna Posted on October 13, 2014

Celebrity chefs are waging a campaign to bring the bird, banished from menus since 1999, back to the table, prompting protests to keep it protected. Read this article:  The Ortolan: A Tiny Bird as a French Cause Célèbre ; ; ;

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The Ortolan: A Tiny Bird as a French Cause Célèbre

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The NFL Finally Fixed Its Weak Domestic-Violence Penalties

by RusselProby Posted on August 29, 2014

Mother Jones

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The National Football League has drastically toughened its punishments for domestic violence after weeks of uproar over its weak response to the case of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. Rice received a two-game suspension after allegedly assaulting his fiancée, while players who tested positive for marijuana—some in states where weed is legal—were handed four-game and even season-long suspensions.

In a letter to NFL owners Thursday, commissioner Robert Goodell wrote that the league had fallen short in “a recent incident of domestic violence” and announced that a first-time domestic-violence offender would now receive a six-game suspension. Repeat offenders, he wrote, would face indefinite bans, with the possibility to apply for reinstatement after a year.

To be clear, there’s no epidemic of domestic violence among NFL players; this graph from FiveThirtyEight shows that NFL players are generally less likely to be arrested than the rest of 25-to-29-year-old American men*:



Rather, this smells a lot like a PR-related move from the league, which has seen its reputation suffer in the wake of Rice’s light penalty. After all, it’s not like the NFL jumped to punish any of the following four players, all of whom were involved in domestic incidents during Goodell’s tenure as commissioner:

AJ Jefferson: In February, Jefferson allegedly strangled his girlfriend and was arrested and charged with assault. The Minnesota Vikings released him hours later, but he was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks this spring.
Chad Johnson: In 2012, Johnson was arrested for head-butting his wife and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. He pleaded no contest, was sentenced to probation and was cut by the Miami Dolphins.
Brandon Marshall: The Chicago Bears’ star wide receiver has one of the lengthier rap sheets in the league. Since 2004, he has been arrested five times, twice on domestic-violence charges, and has been involved in 10 disputes—many involving violence against women—in which no charges were filed. Marshall was suspended one game in 2009 over charges he’d abused his girlfriend in 2008 (he was acquitted); in 2007, he was arrested after preventing his girlfriend’s taxi from leaving his home, completed anger management, and did not receive punishment from the NFL.
Quinn Ojinnaka: The former Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman was suspended for one game in 2010 after a dispute in which he threw his wife down a flight of stairs and out of their home. (The dispute is said to have begun over Ojinnaka contacting a woman via Facebook.)

Ultimately, the NFL is deeply invested in maintaining a clean, family-friendly image, and Goodell is clearly responding to claims that the league takes smoking pot more seriously than it does violence against women. While it’s good that future domestic-violence offenders will receive more appropriate punishment, the timing of his letter—just a day after a vocal outcry about Rice’s punishment—makes it seem like the move of an embarrassed league looking to crack down on players who embarrass it.

Goodell is burnishing his reputation as an authoritarian who’s concerned with appearances, rather than a commissioner who leverages the league’s reach and resources to actually address issues like domestic violence.

*Note: As commenter Bumpasaurus pointed out, the data from the FiveThirtyEight chart is “adjusted for poverty status.” NFL players are wealthy, and compared to other, wealthy individuals in the same age group, “the domestic violence arrest rate is downright extraordinary.”

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The NFL Finally Fixed Its Weak Domestic-Violence Penalties

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White House Stresses Widespread Energy Progress Ahead of New Climate Rule

by Myrna Posted on May 29, 2014

The White House hawks its energy policies ahead of a move to restrict carbon dioxide from power plants. See the original article here: White House Stresses Widespread Energy Progress Ahead of New Climate Rule Related ArticlesAmericans’ Varied Views of ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change’Governments Await Obama’s Move on Carbon to Gauge U.S. Climate EffortsGavin Schmidt on Why Climate Models are Wrong, and Valuable

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White House Stresses Widespread Energy Progress Ahead of New Climate Rule

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