Blog Update 2013 - Possible comeback

Its been almost a year since my last post and as I write this, I am wondering if this blog has the potential to become any bigger. Over the past few months I have been considering in expanding this blog further, not only to increase content but to use it in a way to have an impact. 

When I started this blog back in 2005, I had always dreamed off using it as a tool to make a difference. I started it while studying my A'levels and blogged throughout university. Thankfully I was able to use my experience and knowledge as a blogger to initiate the 10:10 campaign in Bangladesh. Currently its been 3 (three) years that the campaign is running, though it is not under my supervision anymore, it is under someone who has done a marvelous job so far.

Any how, when I read an article a few weeks back, stating that the global CO2 emissions had crossed 400ppm (parts per million), it struck me that it finally happened. I have been blogging for 7 years now, and considering the time-frame, I thought we could make a difference enough not to let that happen or at least slow it down. Even with all the current green technology that is being implemented, we still could not keep the CO2 levels at check. 

Now that I am unemployed and looking for work, I have decided to come back and continue with my efforts to making this blog a tool for difference, to help those that need it and mostly importantly trying to protect what is left. 

The blog will now also focus on Bangladeshi news, different organizations working in the field regarding the environment, their activities, local policies being implemented and so forth.I will also have writers too, so if you are interested to write, do a guest post, just give me a knock. 

There is also another cause which I will try supporting from this blog and will share those details over the next couple of months.

Till my next post..

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Rio+20- Fingers crossed?

With less than 13 days left for the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable development, the question arises will this summit be the turning point or just a get together of world leaders thinking about how to cook their food or just fall asleep into discussions.

After all the conferences that lead up to this, it is expected Rio to be the last hope or as the slogan for this conference is "The Future we want." The conference will focus on two broad issues

- Green economy in the relevance to sustainable development poverty eradication
- Institutional framework for sustainable development.

 These two broad issues then have been broken down into 7 critical issues that will need a proper framework  to pave for a sustainable future. The issues are

1- Jobs
2- Energy
3- Cities
4- Food
5- Water
6- Oceans
7- Disasters

Each one of them are interlinked with each other making it harder to maintain some sort of equilibrium. It is said that it would cost $100bn to sustain climate change each year. So that would mean if such a proper framework is to be finalized at Rio(fingers crossed), then this money of $100bn would be spent tackling these 7 critical issues. Looks like we have to wait and see...

To know more visit the site at UN Conference on Sustainable Development..

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10:10 International Photofest 2012: REMADE

Having a personal connection to a wonderful campaign, although no more in touch with it that often due to daily life, I do still want to promote it when I can. So here I am talking about it. This year 10:10 Global came with a fantastic idea about recycling old things into reusable things and gave it a name that would go with it "REMADE". This project will be observed in the month of April. All round the world wherever 10:10 reach goes, people will be working hard "REMADING". As it goes, every country that is involved with it would have to come up with activities of their own to promote REMADE, and so in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the great team here will be organizing an international photography exhibition. Although the exhibition will be held at a later time, they will be receiving photos in the month. To know more I am posting the details below:

If you are interested in photography and want to do do something positive about climate change, then this competition is for you:

10:10 Photofest 2012

Categories

• Category I: Natural wonders of our country
• Category II: Climatic disaster or climate refugee in Bangladesh
• Category III: The Urban Jungle

INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY:

• Category IV: Pictures of things REMADE (e.g. a photo of a repaired piece of clothing)

Submit entries to:

• All submissions must be made online as attachments to the following address:
bd1010_photosubmission@yahoo.com

Submission deadline:

15 April 2012

Eligibility criteria and guidelines:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• Participant must be at least 18 years or older

• Participants cannot be a member of organizing committee of 10:10 Bangladesh in 2011 and 2012.

• All photographs submitted must be from Bangladesh for categories I,II and III, AND all photographs for CATEGORY IV can be from citizens all over the world.

RULES:

Each contestant (Bangladeshi) may submit a single photograph or a single photo story in each category. A single photograph can be either colour or black and white. Photo stories must have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 photos in each category.

Only non Bangladeshi participants can residing outside Bangladesh can submit one photograph/ one photo story in Category 4 and cannot send photos in catergories 1,2,3.

General guidelines:

• All pictures submitted must be taken by the participant following the eligibility criteria

• Images must be free of manipulation other than ordinary changes that might be made using conventional darkroom/digital techniques, such as spotting dust and scratches, changing color balance, conversion to black and white, adjusting contrast and other levels

• Composite images and photos with special effects, borders, added backgrounds, and/or embedded names (such as photographer names or agency names) are not permitted

• 1010 Bangladesh reserves the right to verify the authenticity of the submissions or the eligibility of the participant at any stage of the competition by any means and/or to disqualify images where post-processing is deemed to have exceeded acceptable photo-journalistic practices.

• Participants retain copyright to any images they submit to the contest

• By submitting images, participants agree that 10:10 Bangladesh will have the right to reproduce and print any images for the purpose of exhibition or promotion of 1010 Bangladesh

• Entries from Bangladesh will be returned.

• International entries will not be returned.

• Submissions for which have been selected for exhibition must pay a participation fee, the amount of which will be specified after primary selection or as earlier as deemed possible by 1010 Bangladesh.

International entries sent from outside Bangladesh are exempted from paying any participation fee.However, any entries from non- Bangladeshi from within Bangladesh will have to pay a participation fee.

Non Resident Bangladeshis are also eligible to pay a participation fee.

• Images must be at least 2500 pixels along the longest side
• Images must not be more than 5 mb in size
• The single images must be named as following: category_name of participant_title of image (e.g. Category I_Tashique Alam_our future.jpg)
• For photostory the participant must submit a short essay in a separate document file. The essay must not exceed 350 words. The essay file must be named as: category_name of participant_photostory title. The pictures must be named as category_name of participant_serial number. Both the pictures and essay document must be kept in a separate zip/rar file, which is named as: category_name of participant_photostory title.


• In a separate document the participant must submit the following details
o Name of participant
o Age
o Gender
o Address
o Contact number
o Email
o Educational Institution (if student)
o Nationality/Place of birth


Selection:

After the end of submission deadline, the submitted photographs and photostories will pass through a primary selection. Only the results of the primary selection will be selected for exhibition. Selected participants will receive certificates as being part of 10:10 Global campaign AND an exhibition of their submissions. Further details following primary selection will be available shortly. We appreciate your patience and participation.


Prize:

To be announced shortly (SURPRISE) - (in addition to a 10:10 campaign Photofest participation certificates for selected entrants and an exhibition of the selected photography at the 10:10 Photofest 2012)

Venue: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Organizer: 10:10 Bangladesh, the Bangladesh wing of 10:10 Global >>>> 10:10 is a Global campaign building the world's largest community taking positive action on climate change by reaching out to people, businesses and organisations around the world and encouraging them to cut their carbon emissions by 10% every year.

Web: http://www.1010global.org/
BD web: http://www.1010global.org/bd (sign up for the campaign if you haven't already!)

10:10 Bangladesh facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/1010Bangladesh

For further inquiries write to: bd1010_photosubmission@yahoo.com

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Environmental Asbestos Exposure

There are six different forms of asbestos that can be found naturally in soil and rocks around the world.Although asbestos is not dangerous when left undisturbed in the ground, mining or removal of the mineral can release asbestos fibers into the air, where environmental exposure can lead to serious illnesses such as malignant mesothelioma cancer and lung cancer.

Some types of asbestos, such as amosite and crocidolite, are usually found in their natural form in foreign countries like Africa.

However, environmental asbestos exposure in the United States is more common than many people understand, with rocky areas and mountain ranges being the typical spots of natural asbestos deposits. Large deposits of various forms of asbestos have been found in California, in the Rocky Mountains, in the Kootenai Mountains in and around Montana and also in other U.S. national parks and forests.

Unfortunately, many people unknowingly stir up naturally occurring asbestos while hiking and picnicking. Vacation activities such as four-wheeling through asbestos-contaminated hills can stir up the asbestos dust and cause inadvertent exposure. Once asbestos fibers are airborne, even walking through the area can lead to inhalation or ingestion of the fibers.

Although these fibers are natural, they are hardly harmless.

The six types of asbestos are labeled as carcinogens, and hundreds of other asbestiform minerals are thought to cause similar health problems. Illnesses that have been directly linked to environmental asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Some cases of other cancers, such as ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer, also have been linked to asbestos exposure.

To help reduce the chance that you are environmentally exposed to asbestos, you should take extra precaution while engaging in any outdoors activities in areas where asbestos is a known threat.

These are areas include Coalinga, California, Sall Mountain, Georgia and Libby, Montana. Be sure to heed any asbestos warnings posted in state parks and recreational areas, and avoid disturbing any rock or mineral deposits where asbestos may occur.

Another environmental exposure to be aware of is that of a damaged or imploded building. We've all seen on TV: hotels, office towers, parking garages, old sports arenas and civic center’s get imploded. One minute they are there, 30 seconds later they have disappeared in a carefully engineered pile of rubble.

All good, except: Old buildings have asbestos in them, and dust from these implosions is not good to breathe in.

The safety lesson, then, is not to be a spectator for or cheerleader of these implosions and also to stay away from the rubble afterward. Unless the building was abated before it was ruined, asbestos fibers are in the air and can be breathed in.

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iPic Theaters: Earth Preservation Contest

iPic Theaters is organizing a Film Festival Contest themed under "Earth Preservation". The winning video will have their chance to get their video premiered at iPic Theater for a month. The winning contestant will also receive $4000.

How to get involved?

Create a short film on the theme of Earth Preservation with a timeline of two to six minutes. Submissions will be accepted from Jan 7th,2012 - Feb 10th,2012. Results will be published on Earth Day, April 22nd 2012. Time is running out as the deadline approaches. To know more about the event go over to the facebook event here.


*All applicants must be 21 years or older.

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Climate Vulnerable Forum: November 2011

Nineteen climate vulnerable countries have signed the Climate Vulnerable Forum 2011 Dhaka Declaration last year November.
To know more about Climate Vulnerable Forum visit DARA.

Dhaka Ministerial Declaration of the Climate Vulnerable Forum

We, Ministers and representatives of Governments from Africa, Asia, the Caribbeans, Latin America and the Pacific, members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, representing a significant number of countries most vulnerable to climate change and meeting in Dhaka on 14 November 2011.

Recalling the 2009 Male' declaration as the founding document of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, created at the initiative of the Republic of Maldives, and the 2010 Ambo Declaration, agreed under the leadership of the second Forum chair, the Republic of Kiribati,

Mindful of the firmly robust and unequivocal scientific basis of accelerating global climate change, wherein human activities are indisputably the principal and growing cause as well as of the imperative to act with urgency,

Standing indivisible as we are in our determination to act to bring about a resolution to the global menace of climate change which ultimately entail ever greater human suffering, inequity and irreversible damage to the Earth,

Resolute thereby in our commitment to pursuing, autonomously as an independent strategic choice and to the extent possible, national green development pathways, in spite of our limited capacities and negligible present and historical contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions that are the principal cause of climate change.

Reaffirming herein the objectives and principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the commitments of its parties, to enable its full, effective and sustained implementation through immediate and long-term cooperative action,

Acknowledging that the challenges of climate change are global in nature and call for the most extensive and inclusive cooperation by all countries, on the basis of equity and in accordance with common but differentiated responsibilities, historical responsibility, and respective capabilities and socio-economic conditions as laid down in the UNFCCC,

Concerned at the findings of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2010, an independent study examining the current and near-term socio-economic impacts of climate change that point to a large-scale and growing worldwide crisis,

Noting that many heavily affected developing countries are low-lying, small-islands, isthmus, land-locked, remotely located, arid and semi arid least developed; and are faced with rapid on-set and/or slow on-set climate phenomena affecting productive capacities, and often reversing developmental gains,

Noting further that climate change is rendering development projects costlier and compelling diversion of already inadequate funds from development to costly adaptation programmes,

Mindful nonetheless of the possibility that highly effective adaptation responses to climate change could be capable of limiting, in a cost-effective manner, a significant range of adverse socio-economic and environmental consequences, particularly with respect to human health,

Aware that climate change induced displacement of people is a major concern and their relocation puts enormous pressure on infrastructures and service facilities; and furthermore, large-scale displacement has the potential to transform into security concerns,

Recognising that migration is a viable adaptation strategy to ensure that populations are not compelled to reside in high risk and affected areas, and to manage risks during displacement; and furthermore a planned strategy in the long-term to offer displaced populations with enhanced options for dignified and diversified livelihood,

Emphasizing that climate change related impacts have a range of implications, both direct and indirect, undermining our government's ability to ensure the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and that resultant humanitarian crises, if not adequately addressed, may create multifaceted security challenges,

Seized in this light of the window of opportunity for preventing irreversible changes nationally, regionally, and globally as fast narrowing and that a failure to arrest further anthropogenic factors to climate change indeed implies existential threats for a significant number of the most vulnerable countries,

Reaffirming also the continued relevance of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

Recalling the Copenhagen Accord and the Cancun Agreements including commitments made by industrialized countries to take mitigation actions and developed countries to provide specified quantities of climate finance for the adaptation and mitigation actions of developing countries,

Recognizing the inadequacy of essential commitments, in particular of mitigation actions proposed by industrialized countries for containing global temperature rise within the current internationally agreed goal of less than 2 degrees Celsius,

Expressing deep concern at the very slow realization of essential commitments, as well as the real possibility of a vacuum in the international, legally-binding framework governing GHG emission reductions at the expiry of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, which could seriously endanger political and economic momentum,

Determined to seize this challenge of climate change as an opportunity for manifestation of our resolve to attain sustainable development to help lead the world into a new era of prosperity in fullest harmony with the Earth and in the interest of the younger and future generations,

Adopt the following Declaration:

1. We underscore that it is incumbent upon the developed countries, given their historical responsibility to climate change and taking into account their commitments to reduce our vulnerability, to extend all necessary support to our vulnerable countries so as to be able to respond to the challenges posed by climate change.

2. We renew calls for a comprehensive legally-binding global agreement capable of fully attaining the objective of the UNFCCC, in all urgency and into the long-term, and voice the imperative for a well-calibrated balance in the global focus on adaptation and mitigation with emphasis on development and easy transfer of environmentally sound technology in nationally determined priority areas;

3. We, as vulnerable countries, resolve to demonstrate moral leadership by committing to a low-carbon development path on a voluntary basis within the limitations of our respective capabilities, which are to a large extent externally determined by the availability of appropriate financial and technological support, and call on all other nations to follow the moral leadership.

4. Adaptation

- We underscore the need of focusing on adaptation in particular in the short term in order to minimize growing and widespread harm, and seek support for initiatives and projects on adaptation with a view to developing and realizing urgent country-driven adaptation activities;

- We call upon developed countries to support implementation in the developing countries, particularly in the most vulnerable countries, of our national adaptation plans and climate resilient development strategies and low carbon development plans;

5. Mitigation

- We reiterate our firm resolve to work collectively with the other Parties to the UNFCCC towards limiting foreseeable global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, peaking global GHG emissions by 2015, and thereafter achieving progressively ambitious emission reduction targets every subsequent decade targeting a sharp decline to a global reduction of 85% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels, and long-term atmospheric GHG concentrations to 350 ppm;

- We underline the imperative for securing a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol with no gap between first and second commitment periods and the immediate conclusion of a broad-based and inclusive legally binding agreement on GHG emission cuts, enacted by all Parties on the basis of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities;

- We seek necessary and immediate support for undertaking programmes to uphold mitigation by creating carbon sink, dissemination of environmentally sound technologies, and establishing a balance in the energy mix by focusing on renewable and/or alternative energy;

6. Finance

- We demand that climate finance under the authority of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC must be truly new and additional to Official Development Assistance commitments, as well as adequate, predictable, transparent and with comparable reporting, easily and directly accessible, and that may be supplemented through innovative sources of financing;

- We demand further that decisions taken at Cancun on finance are realized through immediate implementation by ensuring accelerated disbursement of commitments made, prioritization of the most vulnerable countries, easy and direct access for nationally determined priority projects, preferably through public channels. We also demand early establishment of the Green Climate Fund, which itself should achieve operational implementation by 2013 at the latest;

- We call upon the developed countries to make firm commitments on a progressive increase of funds with a specific and reasonable annual enhancement in the period 2013-2020 leading to USD 100 billion per year (in 2009 dollars) under the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and to realize those commitments;

- We underscore the need for establishing a balanced adaptation window of at least a 50 percent allocation on adaptation for all climate finance within the GCF to address requirements of the most vulnerable countries in relation to the number of people affected, the extent of challenge of reducing vulnerability and consequential adverse effects;

- We request that adaptation funds also be made available on an ongoing and predictable basis for the anticipated emergency response to severe weather events, with particular priority for vulnerable countries;

7. Transfer of technology and capacity building

- We declare that the most vulnerable countries need critical support from the international community in the areas of transfer of technology for adaptation in particular but also for mitigation actions, and for both public and private sector capacity building;

- We call for ensuring fuller and more pragmatic technology development, including appropriate models for generating hydrological scenarios at different scales in the affected regions to enhance water security through the adoption of climate resilient techniques, transfer and research and development to support crucial adaptation and green growth in vulnerable countries;

- We also call for an immediate agreement to begin the progressive release and transfer of all technologies of beneficial effect for the adaptation and green development actions of vulnerable countries commensurate to the challenge of tackling climate change as implied by science, and including patented knowledge, where these have resulted from the investment of public monies;

- We request for enhanced international collaboration and greater support on capacity building in order to enable us to respond effectively and comprehensively to minimize our risks to and impact of climate change, including the early, adequate and appropriately prioritized resourcing of the Climate Technology Centre and Network included in the Cancun Agreements;

- We further request for technical assistance for public and private sector capacity building in our countries targeted at the development, registration and scaling-up of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects with high payoffs for adaptation as well as wider socio-economic/environmental co-benefits;

8. General points

- We urge the UN System, International Financial Institutions and other global organizations and forums to focus on building greater convergence on recognizing the nexus among environment, climate change, migration and development, and to work towards an enhanced reflection of the vulnerability of affected countries in the prioritization of projects and programmes under their respective mandated responsibilities.

-We acknowledge the expression of solidarity of the UN Secretary-General and request him to use all means available to his Office to promote our cause and remain engaged with the Climate Vulnerable Forum;

- We call for a common framework/criteria for assessing climate vulnerability with respect to the allocation of funds, (giving due consideration, inter alia, to the scale and extent of the present impacts of intensifying natural disasters, likely losses and risks in future, respective capabilities and socio-economic conditions, and people exposed to the impact of climate change country by country);

- In particular, we call for the immediate implementation of paragraph 14 (f) of the Cancun Agreements, which recognizes that migration is a viable adaptation strategy to address human displacement induced by climate change, and includes undertaking measures to enhance understanding, coordination and cooperation with regard to climate-induced displacements; migration and planned relocation; and in this respect call for the commencement of an international dialogue for an appropriate framework;

9. We urge the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), 2012 to recognize the very limited progress in achieving the objective of the UNFCCC and endorse the fundamental need to redouble efforts to limit further harm due to climate change;

10. We agree to work together in order to ensure widest possible dissemination of this declaration among all relevant national and international actors;

11. We recognize the important requirement of having enhanced clarity on the operational modalities of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and take note of a non-paper on provisional operational modalities as circulated by the People's Republic of Bangladesh as a reference document;

12. We agree to that Costa Rica would host the next Forum.

13. We also agree on the following as part of the agreed Forum activities for November 2011-June 2012:

a. Durban UNFCCC COP-17, South Africa: Side Event and delegation briefings to disseminate and support awareness, dialogue and implementation of the Dhaka declaration (November/December 2011).

b. Roll-out CVF web site development (from January 2012).

c. Rio+20 Technical Meeting to fine-tune substantive CVF inputs (April 2012).

d. UNFCCC First Sessional: Feed-in delegate briefing documents updated against outcomes at/since COP-17 and delegate feedback, plus CVF focal point action (May 2012).

e. Launch of second Climate Vulnerability Monitor report (June 2012).

f. Rio+20 Caucusing: High-level coordination and communication (June 2012).

g. Commence work on a new Low-Carbon Development Monitor.

14. We express our deep appreciation to Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for hosting the Climate Vulnerable Forum 2011 in Dhaka.

Adopted at Dhaka, Bangladesh on 14 November 2011.

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Reason for businesses going green

When going green started out couple of years back, businesses were very reluctant not to go towards that. There was a myth that going green was a waste of money and just a business-killer. However over time becoming more environmental-friendly became an investment to companies in the long run.

I worked on some technical aspects on renovating businesses/industries into green industries in Dhaka and found certain things why it’s worth it:

When it came to energy auditing, generally the entire energy flow would be mapped. Then after mapping that, you know where you are losing extra energy. So if you plug that portion of energy down, you save energy. So what’s the benefit of saving energy? Firstly you spend less fuel (with fuel prices increasing, you would be definitely glad if fuel was saved), you save electricity are just some places where you save. However the strongest motivation is money, and trust me you save a lot of money. For businesses

Saving Money = Profits

Anyways I got an article from The Economist on as to why firms go green.

Link courtesy @Julika Niehaus- Global Campaign Manager at 10:10

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Pushing Toxic Water Uphill: Chevron's Losing Battle in Ecuador Pollution Case

Chevron is back up against the ropes after a United States federal court judge denied a bid made by the corporation to stop Ecuadorian plaintiffs from collecting a damages award of $18 billion. Federal court judge Lewis Kaplan was asked to freeze assets owned by the plaintiffs until the result of a fraud lawsuit against the Ecuadorians was known. Unfortunately for Chevron, the bid was denied.

Adding to that, just a few days before the bid to freeze assets was made, Chevron was hit with one more nail in the coffin. An Ecuadorean appeal court upheld the $18 billion judgement over the oil damage in the county’s Amazon region. If the fraud lawsuit against the Ecuadorian plaintiffs fails, the oil giant has just one more option left, and that’s to make an appeal to Ecuador’s Supreme Court.

What caused the polution?

The exact circumstances of the pollution in question happened under Texaco, which has been part of Chevron Corporation since 2000. Texaco developed and operated the Lago Agrio oil field in the country from 1972 up until 1993, and during that time it is alleged that they did not dispose of industrial waste safely. It has been claimed that Texaco released up to 18 billion gallons of produced water into the Amazon rainforest, leaving a toxic trail that damaged vegetation, killed wildlife, and caused a variety of sicknesses in the local indigenous population. An environmental audit of the area pressured Texaco and Petroecuador, the two companies that extracted oil from the Lago Agrio oil field, to fund a $40 million remediation program from 1990 onwards. In 1998 a scientific team took water and soil samples only to find that around half of the samples analysed still had unsafe levels of petroleum hydrocarbon in them.

Action taken against Chevron

After years and years of campaigning, the Ecuadorian people finally managed to bring a case against Chevron in 2003. 30,000 Ecuadorean people were responsible for creating enough pressure and finding enough money to take on the multi-national corporation, and it paid off 8 years later. On the 15th of February 2011, an Ecuadorian court fined the oil company $8.6 billion for polluting the Amazon rainforest and the consequences of the damage. It was claimed during the lawsuit that local cancer rates increased, and crops and livestock were lost to the pollution.

The penalty rose to $9.5 billion dollars once an additional 10 per cent for reparations was included, but the total sum requested by Ecuadorian plaintiffs ended up being $27 billion. The court granted $18 billion, and the result of the case set a precedent, because it was the first instance of indigenous people suing a multinational corporation in a court located within the country the pollution actually happened in. Environmental activists celebrated and saw it as a start to charges being brought against other companies that pollute developing countries without punishment.

Chevron fights back

Chevron has opposed the fine since it was imposed, and filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian plaintiffs for fraud. The corporation believes that they have cleaned up their part of the damage to the rainforest, and they are being charged too much for the damages that have been claimed against them. Chevron has claimed that fraud and corruption have been used by the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, and the racketeering lawsuit they filed in New York in 2011 has yet to be decided.

This is not the first time that Chevron has been accused of illegal pollution, and they have even broken laws in America concerning pollution, namely the Clean Air Act. Other notable incidents were the 2002 oils spills in Angola that resulted in a claim for $2 million by the government of Angola for the damage. Only last year Chevron were prohibited from activities in Brazil after over 400,000 litres of oil were leaked into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The legal act that is being brought against Chevron in the Brazil case is demanding that $10.6 billion is paid in damages.

The controversy over Chevrons actions in Ecuador and whether they have been treated unfairly has been debated many times, but perhaps this new ruling is the beginning of the end to the case. What is certain is that no amount of money can turn the clock back and make good the damage done to the Amazonian rainforest.

--
This is a guest post.

Olivia Lennox is a green freelancer from London. Normally she'll be extolling the virtues of tempurpedic products or the latest organic soaps, but she has her finger on the pulse of international environmental law too.

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GreenMyParents- Parents taught to save the planet

A program launched on Earth Day 2010, GreenMyParents is a concept developed by young people to teach their parents and their peers to help the economy, earn money at home and to save the planet through simple everyday actions. When it started it targeted 100 kids to save $100 and spread through more kids so that through Earth Day 2011, it was intended to save $100 million.

Its actually simple! By following household efficiency and conserving energy it will take you a long way ahead in savings. They have also launched a book to give you tips on how to manage and be efficient. You can grab a copy at Amazon. Anyways to get a starter kit head down to their website.

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Blog Update 2012

Happy New Year to all you! Although I doubt it this will be last New Year I will be wishing considering the fact that 2012 is supposed to be the end. Anyways no more about the impending doom,let me go on with my updates. I have been out for over a year and ever since I had the recent realization, it was time I came back. Although I have become much busier than I was, the fight must go on. So with that in mind, I have actually decided to expand my horizon.

Firstly I have moved back to my domain again, BDPollution , and will shift to that completely soon. I am going through a transition period where I will be posting duplicate posts one on Blogger and on BDPollution. Eventually once work on BDPollution is complete and is stable, I will probably close down Blogger.

Secondly when I began this blog I considered the international viewer ship, although over time, I have been meaning to consider local news and now that I now broadening my horizon, So I will be having a dedicated section on Bangladesh, which will be covering on Bangladesh's environmental issues.

So hopefully have a lot of things to do and now back to regular posting..

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