amiiko blog

Can your sweater make the world’s deserts grow?

2011-01-19T13:52:00Z

Actually, it can. Some sweaters are directly linked to our growing deserts. In fact, in just five years they made the world’s deserts grow by an area larger than the Netherlands.

But how?
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Cashmere!
The production of cashmere wool has increased massively to provide western consumers with warm sweaters. Much of it comes from China and Mongolia.

Millions of goats are farmed on land suitable for only a fraction of them, and they literally eat until the land is transformed into desert. As a consequence, local ecosystems are on the edge of collapse.

And that’s not all
The growing deserts cause huge dust storms that reach as far as the US and Korea. Ultra-tiny particles in the dust cause respiratory damage, heart disease and cancer.

Cashmere is an example of how our consumption has global, and sometimes unexpected, consequences. It is also a textbook study in the Tragedy of the Commons, where the resource costs are not fully calculated in the production costs. In other words: when we buy a sweater, other people are also paying for it!

The good news
Ethical cashmere firms do exist and we are working on making it easier to find them! In the link below is a list of 5 ethical cashmere firms you can start with.

Links

The Economics of Happiness

2011-01-14T11:42:48Z

When do you think the level of happiness in the US peaked?

A new documentary called ’The Economics of Happiness’ explores the link between a greener lifestyle and happiness. (Watch the trailer).
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According to the movie, the number of Americans to say “yes, I am very happy with my life” peaks in 1956 and has gone slowly but steadily downhill ever since.

We have created a consumer society that is producing enormous amounts of waste and use up our natural resources. It should at least make us happy…

Links

1 million signatures against GM crops delivered

2010-12-09T13:20:00Z

About 2 months ago, we wrote about how a petition to freeze the European Union’s approvals of genetically modified (GM) crops had reached 1 million signatures.

Today, Avaaz.org and Greenpeace are presenting this petition to the European Commission in Brussels.

And, all these signatures are not just being delivered on a piece of paper.
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A petition in 3D

The petition to halt GM crop approvals is the first ever European “Citizens’ Initiative”. It is being delivered as a 380 square meter 3D artwork – on the pavement right in front of the European Commission building.

The petition itself is a record. The artwork is made by Kurt Wenner and has been printed on an eco-friendly canvas using only non-toxic inks.

But will the Commission listen?

Some time ago, the European Commission accused several European countries of ‘breaking’ with WTO rules by banning GM crops – but no solution on the issue has been found.

The 1 million signatures for stopping GM approvals cannot be ignored! But some have said that it has still not been decided how to treat petitions handed in under the “Citizens’ Initaitive”.

Will the petition be taken seriously by the European Commission? Let’s hope so!

Links

Over a million EU citizens finally have their say on GM crops

Can you trust green claims from companies?

2010-11-16T08:30:48Z

Many consumers want to buy “green”. But buying green is not always easy. The amount of false green claims by companies (greenwashing) is truly alarming.
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Nearly everyone lies

A new study by North American TerraChoice concludes that more than 95% of “green” products are guilty of greenwashing.

What is really scary is that the false promises are particularly bad when it comes to toys and baby products – ALL of the toys and more than 99% of the baby products analyzed were guilty of misleading consumers.

‘Green’, ‘organic’, and ‘natural’ sometimes mean toxic

In another study of 25 scented products, all emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous. More than a third of the product samples gave off chemicals suspected of causing cancer.

Products claimed to be “green,” “organic” or “natural” emitted just as many toxic chemicals as other fragranced products.

Overall, the products tested emitted more than 420 chemicals. Virtually none were disclosed to consumers.

It is important to say that the studies mentioned examine a selection of American and Canadian products and the conclusions cannot, of course, be applied to all products claiming to be green.

Links

Atlantis has been found - and it's made of plastic

2010-10-26T10:42:34Z

Well, actually it’s not really Atlantis – but it’s just as incredible.

Imagine an area the size of Russia.

Then imagine that it’s made out of plastic.

Ocean currents have created several gigantic “plastic soups” around the world. Combined they cover an area the size of Russia. It’s not solid plastic, of course. It’s much worse (watch the video).
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What is a plastic soup?

Briefly put, the plastic soup is created by our everyday use of plastic products – for example plastic bottles and plastic bags. A lot of this ends up in the ocean.

When plastics float around in the water, they break down into tiny pieces. These are eaten by fish, birds, whales, shell fish,…well, you name it! And in the plastic soup there are 6 kilos of plastic to every one kilo of plankton.

This is not without consequences.

A toxic soup

Plastics also contain all sorts of dangerous chemicals. These cannot be digested and they build up in living organisms.

Fish and shellfish contain toxic chemicals at concentrations as high as nine MILLION times the water they swim in.

And in the ocean, chemicals can spread even to the most unlikely of places.

For example, scientists have found hormone disrupting phthalates in a species of deep sea jellyfish that lives 1,000 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic.

This is really spooky stuff!

And it continues

Every year we dump another 10 million tons of plastic into the oceans – making the plastic soup even bigger. This plastic is made to stay. It literally takes thousands of years to be broken down.

See how the plastic soup is growing here

And watch the video

Links

The best companies in the world - and the worst

2010-10-19T13:03:36Z

“Better world shopper” has announced the winners of their annual competition of the “greenest” companies in the world.

Here is their “top 10”.
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Seventh Generation (household and personal care)
Method (home cleaning and personal care)
Organic Valley (food)
Cliff Bar (food bars)
Aveda (personal care)
Tom’s of Maine (personal care)
Dr. Bronners (personal care)
King Arthur Flour (food ingredients)
Earth Bound Farm (food and beverages)
Dansko Footwear (shoes)

The top 20 list also includes products such as clothing, ice cream, beer, chocolate, and tea. This illustrates how pretty much all product types can be made in ways that are good!

What makes these companies good?

Here are a few examples of the principles behind these leading “green” companies:

Manufacturing with 100% certified wind power.
No bleach, bromate, preservatives, or other unnecessary chemicals.
No synthetic herbicides, fumigants, or fertilizers.
All organic without the use of any genetically engineered or modified crops.
Complete transparency about business and product practices.
Considering the lifecycle analysis of packaging.
Cradle to cradle design philosophy “We want to become restorative and enriching in everything we do so that the bigger we get, the more good we create”.

By supporting good companies we can all make a difference!

You can see what companies just missed the top 10 here.

You can also see a list with some of the worst companies in the world.

The companies are assessed on 5 key issues: The environment, human rights, animal protection, community involvement, and social justice. Read more below.

Links

1 million people against genetically modified food

2010-10-14T17:35:56Z

The truth on genetically modified food is needed!

On September 29, 2010 a petition to freeze the European Union’s approvals of genetically modified (GM) crops reached 1 million signatures.

That’s 1 MILLION signatures – and as you read this, the number keeps growing.

But does it matter? (Video after the break).
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Yes, it really does matter!

European Commission president Barosso wants to re-open approvals of GM foods in Europe.

But approval of GM crops in the EU can be frozen if a total of 1 million people sign the petition – and if enough signatures are received from each individual country. This will give time for more information on GM crops. And this is needed!

Right now Denmark is the only country with not enough signatures. If you live in Denmark, you can sign here.

But what’s the problem with GM crops?

There is a great deal of interest in GM crops, and they are often said to have many benefits. With GM crops we can potentially grow more food on less land, or the crops themselves can be more resistant to pests, and have higher nutrient value.

That sounds great, but – and this is a BIG but – there can be unforeseen and dangerous consequences.

Unforeseen consequences are appearing

We actually don’t know much about the long term effects of GM crops. This itself is enough to say “hold on a minute”. Besides, the scientific evidence of the effects of GM crops is growing – and some of it looks disturbing.

A recent Austrian study found that fertility rates fell in mice who ate GM maize – a type of maize that has been approved by the EU.
The offspring of rats fed GM soya had 4 times the death rate compared to those fed non-GM soya
Rats fed insecticide-producing GM maize grew more slowly, and suffered problems with liver and kidney functions compared to those fed non GM maize

Some GM crops – designed to be toxic to different pest insects – are also deadly for other insects, and even for some that are good for the crops. The toxins also damages the quality of the soil.

Other GM crops – designed to resist pesticides – can mess up our hormone system (endocrine disrupters). Many weeds are now also becoming resistant to the pesticides. This is a growing problem in the United States and other places where GM crops designed to resist the “RoundUp” pesticide are used on a large scale.

There are many more results like this. If you think these things are important, read some more in the links below, or head over and sign the petition.

Watch this movie on GM foods

links

Genetically modified (GM) foods – renewed threat to Europe

An uncontrolled chemical experiment - in your body!

2010-10-07T20:01:49Z

How would you feel if an uncontrolled chemical experiment was taking place inside your body?

No matter how you feel about it, this is actually the case.

As you read this, you have at least 700 synthetic chemicals in our body which are not supposed to be there. The scary part is that no one really knows how these chemicals affect us. But the scientific evidence on these effects is slowly emerging – and it’s not pleasant! (video after the break).
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First “test results” are coming in

Even chemicals that by themselves are harmless can be dangerous when mixing with other chemicals in your body.

The chemicals in many products that we use every day are not tested for these “mixes” – or so-called “cocktail effects” – but they can destroy our ability to have children.

And that’s not all. Here are some other “test results”:

Male sperm quality has decreased 50% in the last 50 years
Men who are exposed to more chemical pollution have 6 times more abnormal sperm than men living in a relatively clean rural town.
Some of the highest levels of contaminants are found in women’s breast milk.
Between 1960 and 2002, men from Europe, the United States and New Zealand became up to seven times more likely to suffer from testicular cancer.
In heavily polluted Lake Apopka (Florida, USA) only female turtles can be found – males are no longer born.

Protect yourself from ignorance

We are exposed to chemicals everyday through all the stuff we buy: cosmetics, plastic food containers, paints and polishes, glues, electronics, food and so on…

Up to 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the products we buy – and new ones are added every day. It is not realistic to test the billions of different combinations of chemicals. This is a strong argument to start applying the precautionary principle as an insurance policy against our own ignorance.

The precautionary principle is simple. Instead of asking for proof that something is risky, it says that we must use things which we KNOW to be safe.

We can’t stay completely free of chemicals in our everyday lives. But we can do a lot to avoid them – for instance by looking for safe alternatives when we go shopping. Lots of companies are committed to produce stuff without dangerous chemicals.

Watch this movie

Check out the documentary “The Disappearing Male” for more info on the scary consequences of our use of chemicals (5 min. preview).

Links

Water: the blue gold

2010-10-02T13:24:04Z

Lack of water is a growing problem in many places around the world.

The island of Cyprus will probably be the first place in Europe which will run dry of water. The people of Cyprus have long been using more water than nature can provide – a situation known as ‘peak water’.

But which country will dry up first? (video after the break).

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The first country to dry up

The United Nations says that Yemen will be the first country to run out of water. And some believe that this already could happen before 2015.

But the situation is critical in many other places. In Mexico City, for example, the emptying and drying of underground wells is causing the city to sink deeper into the ground.

Today more than 1.4 billion people around the world live in areas that are running out of water. And in 2050 the planet’s water sources will have to support an additional 2.7 billion people. Something drastic clearly has to be done!

One problem, a thousand solutions

There are thousands of solutions to the water problem; from better management to advancements in technology.

Because 70 percent of all water is used in agriculture, the largest effects from these solutions can probably also be found here. Direct ‘drip’ watering of crops, for example, promises much lower water use, as well as to halt the enormous waste of water in farming.

Every time you buy something you also use up water. Here are some examples of how much water is required:

140 liters for 1 cup of coffee
2,700 liters for 1 cotton shirt
15,500 liters of water per kg of beef

Even as a single consumer there are actions which can be beneficial. Eating less meat is one of them (Read more here).

See other examples of our water usage in this video.

Links

Live fast, die fat

2010-09-28T11:10:47Z

To live fast and die fat could easily be the new tagline for today’s Western lifestyle. Afterall, more and more people are becoming obese.

But this blog entry is not about the growing problem of obesity. At least not directly. No, this is about a place where “living fast and dying fat” is a carefully planned goal.

Can you guess what this place is? (video after the break).
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The chicken farm

When you go to the grocery store to buy chicken, chances are that the packaging will show a picture of an idyllic small farm among green fields under an open blue sky.

But the chicken probably never even saw any sunlight in its 40 days short life, and the farm on the packaging is probably not even real.

It’s just “clever” marketing designed to sell,… and decieve.

Factory farming

Most chickens are brought up at factory farms – in packs numbering tens of thousands at a time.

In the quest for efficiency, a chicken destined for eating is now raised and slaughtered in half the time as it was 50 years ago. But not only that. Today, the chicken is also twice as big.

If humans grew as fast as the chicken, we would weigh 160 kilos by age 2.

No wonder chickens can’t keep up with their own weight. Many die of starvation and thirst because they can’t reach the food and water dispensers. Millions die because their organs cannot support their bodies anymore.

This video is from the movie “Food Inc.”

Cheap chickens

Factory farming of chickens has been very successful in producing a lot of food, using a small amount of land, and at very affordable prices.

Every year more than 50 billion chickens are raised worldwide.

But the production process is not without consequences. In the European Union, for example, about 500,000 chickens die every single day because of starvation, heart failures, diseases, and other causes – a good view into our deranged consumer society.

Free range and organic chickens are raised under far less distress. They are more expensive, but for very good reasons.

See the links below for a longer video on how chickens are farmed.

Links

Can you make a sea disappear?

2010-09-23T17:44:34Z

Well, doesn’t that depend on how big the sea is? Nope, not really. The Aral Sea between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is virtually gone. It was once the 4th largest sea in the world.

Can you think of a reason why the Aral Sea would disappear? If you haven’t heard the story, the answer will probably surprise you. It certainly surprised us! (Video after the break)
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Take a look

The disappearance of the Aral Sea has ruined the local fishing economy in the the area and destroyed the lives of locals.

The United Nations has called it one of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters. Just take a look at this…

What happened?

The question can be answered in one word: cotton!

The sea disappeared mainly because of the enormous water demand from cotton production in the area. To produce 1 cotton T-shirt requires about 2,700 liters of water to grow and process the cotton.

To make things worse, the area is plaqued by another side effect of cotton production: the heavy use of pesticides. In fact, more chemical pesticides are used for cotton than for any other crop.

Pesticides in cotton production

In the cotton fields around the Aral Sea, 85% of the population suffer from poor health because of cotton pesticides.

When interviewed in 2006, a rural Uzbek put it like this: “When I was little, people used to tell me about a strange disease called ‘chicken eye’ which attacks people while they work in the cotton fields. They said when you catch it, everything in front of your eyes becomes white until eventually you temporarily lose all vision (…) Years later someone explained that these symptoms were the effects of the pesticides applied to cotton”

The clothes we wear

Do you know where the cotton in your T-shirt came from, or your shirt, or your socks, or … ? (We have no idea where ours came from). It might be from Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea cotton fields (Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton).

But we DO know that organic cotton, produced with respect for local water resources, and without pesticides, exists.

See more on the benefits of organic cotton in our clothing section

If you are more interested in the Aral Sea, watch this video:

Links

Who made the shoes you are wearing?

2010-09-19T14:45:43Z

Sweatshop workers in Bangladesh recently went on strike because of poor working conditions and salaries. Do you know how much they are paid?

Less than 50 cents per day

The minimum wage at the Bangladeshi sweatshop factories is 24 US dollars… per month! And that’s the official minimum. Most workers only get 13-15 dollars per month – the lowest wages for garment workers in the world.

It is virtually impossible for an individual, let alone his or her family, to live off this salary. The World Bank sets the poverty limit at 1.25 dollars per day.

No wonder they went on strike !

But surely, large and well respected Western companies wouldn’t accept such working conditions !?

Well…
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Major international companies are in on the deal

The Ashulia region in Bangladesh produces a lot of the things we buy – especially our clothing. About 4,500 garment factories are located here making clothes for major international companies such as H&M, Wal-Mart, Zara, Carrefour, Gap, Marks & Spencer, Kohl’s, Levi Strauss and Tommy Hilfiger.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world.

What came out of the strike?

After the strike the government of Bangladesh has promised to increase the minimum wage to 43 dollars a month this coming November – taking workers just above the official poverty limit. But many people are not even paid the official minimum wage.

What would really make a difference? If we start to take greater interests in the clothes (and other products) we buy and begin to demand that these are produced under fair conditions. Some companies are already leading the way. Do what you can to find out about them, and buy their stuff instead.

Low wages is not the only problem of sweatshops. Read more here.

links

This year’s “supply of planet Earth” now gone

2010-09-15T17:17:00Z

On 21 August we used up our “ecological budget” for the year. Since that day we are using natural resources that will not be renewed by nature.

It’s called Earth Overshoot Day.

When we were planning to go live with ‘amiiko’ we thought “Great, we can write a blog post on Earth Overshoot Day about 2 weeks after launch”. Last year the day fell on 25 September – so we thought it would probably happen around mid September this year.

We were wrong. It happened much sooner…
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Attention! More planets needed

We need about 1.4 planets to provide enough resources for all the stuff we consume, and for absorbing all our waste. Obviously, we only have one!

If we don’t break these patterns, we will need 2 planets by the mid 2030s. And if everyone already lived the lifestyle of Western consumers, we would need 5 planets.

It’s pretty clear that this can’t go on forever!

Ending overshoot

Ending overshoot is not (always) about buying less stuff. It’s more about consuming (and producing) in different ways.

Why is this important to you? Because you have tremendous power as a consumer. You literally “vote” for the companies whose products you buy.

What’s the current overuse of Earth? Watch it here.

And read about Earth Overshoot Day at the Global Footprint Network.

Is the future of green energy black?

2010-09-08T10:31:03Z

The world could be powered entirely by green, renewable energy. But it isn’t.

One tenth of one percent of the energy that Earth receives from the sun could do the job. But instead of taking advantage of this amazing potential, we keep burning a lot of oil and coal.

Why is that?

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Part of the explanation is that fossil fuels are heavily supported by governments. Each and every year, governments spend over 550 billion US dollars to support the oil and coal industries. That is 12 times the support for clean energy.

But wait a minute! Isn’t the world committed to reducing CO2-emissions by burning less fossil fuels?

Well, there are several ‘degrees’ of commitment. And the government funding of fossil fuels keeps prices low, and makes it much more difficult for cleaner alternatives to compete.

Our energy use will grow 40 percent by 2030. If nothing changes, most of this increase will be met by burning more coal.

But green is gaining ground

Ah, but goodness is stirring. The use of solar power and other renewable sources are increasing – even in the face of fossil fuel funding.

In Spain, the world’s largest solar power station opened in July 2010. This massive solar farm covers the size of around 77 football fields and can produce 50MW of power. By 2013 the capacity will be 50 times higher!

Europe is also on its way to receive its first solar energy from the Saharan Dessert within 5 years from now.

In Denmark, two small municipalities (Thy and Mors) make up the worlds largest area where electricity for people and industry is produced entirely from renewable sources. 85 percent of all heating is also ‘green’ energy, and less than 1 percent comes from fossil fuels.

Check out the video! Thisted Municipality, a climate friendly region, short edition

So what is the future of energy? It’s entirely up to us to decide!

Hello world

2010-09-01T07:49:00Z

Hello, and welcome to amiiko’s blog! We just launched and this is our very first post.

So what will you find here? Well, we like to think of amiiko as a kind of “world dashboard” where you can get real-time updates on how the world is doing right now. You can also see how the stuff you buy makes a difference in the big picture.

To give you an idea, here are some of the things we cover:

If overfishing does not stop, our oceans will be emptied for seafood in less than 40 years.
More and more baby boys are born with deformed genitals.
Forests are disappearing and desserts are growing.
12,500 tons of melted ice is running into our oceans every single second. That’s 5 olympic swimming pools.
There are more slaves now than at any time in history.

These are just a few of many disturbing developments. Even so, we are optimistic about the possibilities to change them.
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But how to change it?

Our vision is to create change through consumer empowerment. Is this naive? Perhaps, but we are giving it our best shot. Our starting point is this: it makes a difference what you buy!

Put briefly, this is how we see amiiko:

Why buy green? The current site shows that bad stuff is going on and that change is absolutely necessary.
How to buy green? In the future we will add a guide that you can use to find solutions for positive change.

Even though the current site has a strong focus on negative trends and developments it also covers the good news, and it aims to point at green alternatives.

Thank you for reading our blog! We hope you will stay tuned. Get our feed, follow us on twitter, and if you like what you see, please tell your friends about it.

Esben & Karsten

We highly appreciate any comments or questions you might have. You can write us at contact@amiiko.com.