Month: April 2014

More than 1 billion people in 190 countries around the globe celebrated Earth Day on April 22, the 44th anniversary of the annual holiday. As Ilchi Lee, an advocate of a sustainable world, points outs, it was a day that inspired awareness and appreciation. Here are how people worldwide celebrated Earth Day 2014. 

Egypt
Earth Keeper celebrated with the people of Aswan, spending the day learning in compost workshops, plastics collection for recycling and awareness of environmental concerns.

Ghana
A small NGO called Trashy Bags launched a campaign on Earth Day that educated community members about the dangers of plastic bags. These bags can harm wildlife, become a health hazard around small children and are a menace in terms of pollution.

China
Beijing Hikers cleaned up the Great Wall at Huanghuacheng, which has been somewhat tainted by a buildup of trash. Miles away, environmentalists held a large-scale tree planting event in four Chinese provinces, including Xinjiang, Hebei, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. 

Philippines
In Taguig, the Earth Day Network Philippines, a campaign to courage to protect and respect sustainable care for Mother Care, staged its first-ever run called Pro-Earth Run 2014. Hundreds of people turned out for it!

Germany and Italy
People in Hamburg teamed up with organizer GreenSkate​s to show how longboard rides on Earth Day encourage the low impact on our environment. Longboarding along with biking and rollerskating are all eco-efficient forms of travel and transportation. 

Greece
In Greece, Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association briefed thousands of school children, teachers and volunteers about Earth Day with an emphasis on sustainability and recycled materials. 

Luxembourg
Organizers in Luxembourg planned a cleanup event as part of the global campaign Let's Do it World, one of the fastest-growing civic movement in history. They scheduled massive cleanup action actions in more than 100 countries to lift garbage from forests, beaches, rivers and roads.

United States
All 50 states celebrated a little bit differently. In California, Yosemite National Park hosted bike ride activities and trash pickup; Colorado held a PeaceJam celebration while more than 40,000 people in St. Louis attended a recycling pickup program with local artists and musicians.

Lee wants us to realize that especially when it comes to the Earth, there is no "us" and "them." We are all citizens of the world, and we have to work together to solve the mounting issue of environmental pollution and our growing carbon footprint to hand down to our children. 

As the world's population migrates to the cities, the need to create sustainable communities and reduce the carbon footprint becomes increasingly urgent. And though Earth Day may be behind us. we can practice its messages throughout the year. 

Earth Day is April 18. Every year, the environment comes to the forefront of our attention (if it's not already), and we take an opportunity to do our part. It's time to honor ours gorgeous rivers, air and forests. If you want to help celebrate Earth Day, there are a bunch of things you can do. Here are four good ones: 

1. Leave the Car at Home
Since cars and trucks are some of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases (created by burning fossil fuels), skip the ride and find an eco-friendly alternative. According to Slate, a single gallon of gas sends 19 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. To get to work, you can carpool, take the bus or train, arrange to work from home or ride your bike. Besides, spring is in the air. 

2. Plant a Tree
This is quintessential activity on Earth Day. Not only does planting a tree clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide, they also provide oxygen, help conserve energy and prevent water pollution. In one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced from driving your car 26,000 miles, according to Tree People. They also cool the streets and the city. In fact, trees can cool the city by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, shading streets, lawns and homes, breaking up urban "heat islands" and releasing water vapor into the air through leaves.  

3. Write a Letter to Your Senator or Representative
Though writing a letter may not seem like much, it follows the spirit of Earth Day. Contact your senator, representative or someone else with the power to make large-scale change through legislation. To find the contact information, visit the Website of your state government, where you'll find the e-mail and mailing address. Then pick a cause – clean air, forest preservation, recycling, water safety – and tell your congressman or congresswoman how you feel. 

4. Switch to Energy-Saving Light bulbs
​Nearly 70 percent of light bulb sockets in the U.S. still contain inefficient light bulbs. But there's no better day to upgrade than Earth Day! Twisting in energy efficient bulbs will save you money in the long haul and cut pollution dramatically. Talk about energy efficiency!

Ilchi Lee, advocate of a sustainable world, says Earth Day marks a great time to understand the vitality and relationship we share with planet Earth. We are each citizens of the Earth who need to cut our carbon footprints and cherish our natural resources.

Ilchi Lee, a New York Times best-selling author and the president of the International Brain Education Association, developed his own Brain Education System for the human mind. The brain, Lee points out, is something not only for scientists to discuss; rather, each individual should establish the authority to understand and manage his or her own brain. After all, to accomplish anything we set our minds to, we must first set our minds.

So, Lee introduced Brain Education to provide individuals with tangible tools to navigate their way down the path of their personal development. Creating the life you want as your greatest masterpiece is the ultimate use of the human brain. It is the birthplace of our behavior, gatekeeper of our memories and training facility to our happiness. To work on the mind-body connection, Brain Education helps us make choices that improve our circumstances. Here's are the five steps of Brain EducationLee's practices:

Step One: Brain Sensitizing
In the first step, practitioners use stretching, breath-training exercises and energetic movement to awaken their primary senses and hone self-awareness of between the brain-to-body connection. The act of doing something and consciously recognizing you're doing it is the key to the basics. Focusing on breathing also improves cardiovascular circulation.

Step Two: Brain Versatilizing
You may work on touching your toes to improve your body's flexibility. Now it's time to enhance the flexibility of both body and mind. Through careful observation and self-discipline, you can slowly alter behavior to produce healthier, more productive habits. What's crucial in this step is the plasticity, or rewiring the brain's activity.

Step Three: Brain Refreshing
At this stage, practitioners become acutely aware of the influence of stored emotions and preconception of the quality of their lives. Start to release the memories and ideas that are no longer useful. On a neuroscientic level, this is akin to pruning neurons that your brain does not use. Once you do this, you can face any situation with a clear, fresh mind. Emotional awareness and control not only dispels unproductive thoughts, it enables you to see that creating emotions can be a matter of choice.

Step Four: Brain Integrating
Incorporate various functional areas of the brain to unleash latent capabilities. This enhances communication between the left and right hemispheres, as well as between the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures.

Step Five: Brain Mastering
Like everything in life, practice makes perfect. Apply and re-apply the first four steps of Brain Education toward specific, concrete goals. This results in well-grounded foundation for personal development. At the end of the day, the goal is to improve quality of life for you and those around you. In this way, practitioners become the conscious authors of their lives.

Of the world's estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to phones. As you know, electronics hardly have a long lifetime. So, when it's time toss our old devices, how many people would you guess recycle them? Less than 10 percent, according to Nokia's latest study.

But on the bright side, e-waste recycling is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate. According to a new reported titled Electronic Recycling (Copper, Steel, Plastic Resins) Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 – 2019, experts forecast an annual growth rate of 23 percent in the next seven years.

E-waste describes discarded electronic devices – phones, computers, electronic keyboards, scanners, fax machines and many other devices. These and other recycled materials are a must in our modern age!

Despite representing less than 4 percent of global landfill mass, e-waste contains more than 75 percent of the environmentally hazardous waste. Electronic equipment is made of numerous precious metals, including steel, as well as contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium. Proper disposal of these products is crucial for a sustainable world. 

Europe led the charge in the e-waste recycling market followed by North America in 2012. Most of the e-waste from developed countries was imported to developing nations, such as India, Pakistan and China, due to cheap labor and lack of recycling regulations. At the same time, the amount of e-waste in South Africa is expected to jump 80 percent in the near future, as the country serves as a dumping ground for e-waste.

In some states in the U.S., it's illegal for individuals to dispose of unwanted electronics in their regular trash. In 2012, steel was the most recycled material from electronic scrap, and computers represented the largest segment of recycled equipment. Based on the Global Industry report, these patterns are predicted to remain consistent. 

What Do I Do With My Old Phone?
Research shows that nearly half of unused mobile devices are tucked away in the bottom of drawers. If you fit into this category, rest assured you're not alone. Fortunately, it's easy to recycle your old devices.

Step 1: Check first if a friend or family members wants to use it.

Step 2: Back up your phone memory. Save anything you may want on the phone. You can store it on your computer.

Step 3: Find your nearest recycling point. Go to ecyclingcentral.com to find a spot.

Ilchi Lee, an advocate of a sustainable world, notes how important it is to recycle your old electronics. This will help lower the hazardous materials in landfills and optimize our natural resources.

We've started the talk about what type of world our kids inherit. A dirty, polluted one full of CO2 emissions or a greener, more energy-efficient world? Well, if those worries stem from the ground up, why don't some of our solutions? The U.S. Green Building Council is seeking to launch a massive project called the National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability that would be a giant leap for reducing the carbon footprint.

The goal of the program is that all students would be educated for a sustainable future by 2040 through the integration of environment, economy and equity. It would incorporate the hands-on approach to apply systems thinking to problem-solving and decision making. 

"Education for Sustainability (EfS) empowers students to make decisions that balance the need to preserve healthy ecosystems with the need to promote vibrant economies and equitable social systems for all generations to come," program officials told Sustainable Business.

USGBC is a non-profit organization that has transformed one of the dirtiest industries of construction into a far greener one. Partnering with global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the organization designed an action plan outlining a strategy for all 50 states to adopt a comprehensive green schools policy that features a graduation requirement around sustainability literacy by 2040.

"When the U.S. Department of Education published its Green Ribbon Schools award, which called for all K-12 graduates to be environmentally literate, we received that as a directive for the community to band together and figure out how we will ensure that happens," Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC, told the source.

By establishing working groups, launching a funding campaign and distributing best-case models and materials, the project has been laying the groundwork for what could be a revolutionary new curriculum policy in education.

Here's a brief timeline of the project:

• Come June, USGBC will form the U.S. Teacher Education for Sustainable Development Network.
• By 2015, EfS-related content is to be included in the next version of the ISLLC 2008 Standards for educational leadership, incorporated by state policymakers.
• The goal for 2020 is that EfS coaches should be available for all school districts, and that sustainability professionals would be members of leadership teams in school districts by 2023.
• Thirty-five states would have a comprehensive green schools policy by 2025, which includes an EfS graduation requirement.

Though certainly an ambitious program, EfS is backed by hundreds of the brightest minds in environmental and education reform. Ilchi Lee, a New York Times best-selling author and dedicated advocate of a peaceful, sustainable world, agrees that this project is exactly what we need. The next generation inherits our triumphs and shortfalls, and creating an educational foundation based on a sustainable world gives them a head start in solving one of the stickiest global problems.