Group items tagged

Due to skyrocketing consumer demand, particularly from Asia, today's wildlife traffickers have the resources to outfit their henchmen with weaponry and equipment that often outmatches that of the local park rangers. The poachers doing the most damage in Africa today are employed by professional trafficking syndicates, and they enjoy a level of support and financial backing unimaginable during earlier poaching crises. The poachers' arsenal includes the expanding use of military-grade equipment like helicopters, machine guns, infrared scopes, and heavy armored vehicles.

BCC Research reports the global market for anaerobic digestors and landfill gas equipment was estimated at nearly $4.5 billion for 2013. Its study, Waste-Derived Biogas: Global Markets for Anaerobic Digestion Equipment, projects the market to grow to $7 billion by 2018, and register a five-year compound annual growth rate of 9.4 percent 2013 to 2018.

PepsiCo has set a goal that by 2020 all of its future point-of-sale equipment (coolers, vending machines and fountain dispensers) purchased in the US will be hydroflourocarbon-free.

ChargePoint, developer of the world's largest electric vehicle charging network, launched a new lease-to-purchase program that will enable companies and municipalities to purchase charging stations at no upfront cost

Rising incomes and high demand for electric and electronic equipment (EEE) in East and South-East Asian countries have resulted in e-waste generation increasing by two thirds during 2010-2015, says a new study published by the United Nations University (UNU). The average increase in e-waste across 12 countries analysed - Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - was over 60 per cent during the five-year period totalling 12.3 million tonnes.

The growing acidity of the oceans as they absorb ever more carbon dioxide, a factor exacerbated in the winter, raises concerns for the most basic marine life. An Antarctic study of the bottom of the ocean's food chain involves a mooring as tall as the Empire State Building submerged at 1,600 feet and equipped with sensors recording temperature, dissolved carbon dioxide, salinity and pH.

A new report by WRI and Waste & Resources Action Programme found that, on average, for every $1 a company invested in food loss and waste reduction-through training programs, providing equipment like scales to quantify food, and improving storage and packaging-they received a $14 return on investment.

Volvo Construction Equipment's Braås site in southern Sweden has become its first carbon-neutral facility and is claimed to be the first construction equipment production plant in the world run entirely on renewables.

Coca-Cola is using SafeWater electrolyzed water systems in its plants as part of the company's "Doing Good, Doing Well" mission to increase sustainability. The system creates a sodium hydroxide cleaning solution and hypochlorous acid sanitizer by adding a small amount of salt to potable water and applying an electrical current. The fluids can be used to clean and sanitize processing equipment at room temperature, which reduces energy use

NPR 2010 waste ending up in different countries where it is toxic to the env. and workers.

Delta Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines have all banned big-game trophies from their cargo holds after the public outcry regarding the illegal killing of Cecil, a beloved lion, at the hands of a Minnesota man. Hunting advocates say their pastime is needed to fund conservation in Africa and warn that the backlash could lead to a sharp reduction in lion populations. "Through the sales of hunting licenses, equipment, tags, and so on, sportsmen contribute $2.9 billion every year for conservation," according to Olivia Nalos Opre, co-host of a hunting-themed TV show. BBC (8/4), FoxNews.com (8/4) 

On Thursday, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC) released its fifth annual Sustainability Report, detailing its sustainability goals and progress - including an $85 million investment in new production equipment to improve efficiency, reducing the calorie count for its beverages 50 percent, and sustaining zero waste to landfill for the fifth consecutive year

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. new project providing nearly 600 electric charging stations throughout the airport for ground support equipment (GSE) such as baggage tugs, bag ramps and pushback vehicles. Converting the GSE from fossil fuel to electric, each year the project is projected to save $2.8 million in airline fuel costs and 10,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions - the equivalent of taking 1,900 cars off the road.

Plastic waste causes $13 billion in annual financial damage to marine ecosystems, though the actual cost of plastic waste to the overall environment may be much higher, according to two reports released at a meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly. One report, the UN Environment Programme Year Book, notes that when plastic material fouls fishing equipment and pollutes beaches it threatens tourism, fisheries and businesses in addition to marine life.

Armed with new high-tech equipment, mining companies are targeting vast areas of the deep ocean for mineral extraction. But with few regulations in place, critics fear such development could threaten seabed ecosystems that scientists say are only now being fully understood.

The Coca-Cola Company has launched a new vending machine concept in China where consumers can purchase beverages, as well as return and recycle used bottles and cans, marking the first concept equipment to combine beverage sales and packaging recycling by Coca-Cola China. The vending machine also uses AI technology such as facial recognition and sound interaction to provide an interactive experience to the consumers.

By the fall of 2020, REI will sever its business relationships with any of its 1,000-plus suppliers that don't meet stringent new requirements in areas including environmental impact, chemical usage, animal welfare, and labor safety and fairness. The move is among the most comprehensive efforts to advance sustainability in the retail sector. The outdoors-equipment retailer has already supplied to its vendors a 12-page document detailing the new sustainability standards. Some go into effect immediately, while others are more ambitious and aspirational and won't be mandatory for a couple of years.

Developing coutnries are trying to defeat a policy that would require knowledge and consent to hazardous waste material being shipped into that country

US commercial buildings can collectively save up to 28 billion gallons of water annually by using a suit of tools produced by AT&T and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the organizations say.

Disney Cruise Line is the most environmentally responsible line, earning an A for sewage treatment and an overall A grade, according to Friends of the Earth's 2013 Cruise Ship Report Card.