Non Toxic Vision

Whole Foods - Wild Oats Merger???

I just read this great article in the Los Angeles Times:
Almost a year after Whole Foods purchased the 110-store Wild Oats chain for $565 million, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington overturned a lower-court ruling that allowed the merger to go through. The ruling was a surprise to antitrust experts.

When the two companies announced plans to merge in early 2007, the Federal Trade Commission moved to block the deal, arguing that it would give Whole Foods too much of the organic and natural foods market. A federal district court ruled against the FTC, saying it had not made a case for delaying the merger. Specifically the panel says the lower court erred when it ruled that the FTC's definition of what constitutes the market for natural and organic foods was too narrow.

Whole Foods says it is evaluating its legal options, and it notes that "the decision acknowledges that neither the court nor the FTC has found the merger to be unlawful." It has already rebranded most of the Wild Oats stores, sold 35 more and closed 12. There are still 15 that use the Wild Oats name but they will be converted soon. Read the entire story

Monsanto - the really bad guys

I have just received a very disturbing email from MUG-Manhattan Users Guide:

"...the Monsanto company produces a synthetic growth hormone called Posilac, used by some dairy farmers, which juices cows to produce more milk. Lots of people don't want this in their milk, for compelling reasons. Dairy farmers that do not use the recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) almost invariably state that on their milk carton labels. You, the consumer, get useful info. But since the FDA would not allow Monsanto to ban rBGH labelling nationally, the dirtbags have been going state-by-state to pass legislation that would ban the labelling. They're now trying to do it in New York; they need to be stopped."... Please take some action and sign now before Monsanto takes over.

Great "Thank you" to Charlie Suisman and his team from MUG.

Spike in Green Themed Trademarks

The Patent and Trademark Office saw a 10% spike in trademark filings with green themes over 2006, according to the law firm Dechert. The top five words used within the green space in 2007 were: green (2,400 approximate occurrences); energy (1,200); clean (900); earth (900) and eco (900).

According to "Trends in Trademarks," filings for new trademarks last year topped 300,000, setting a record buoyed by interest in environmentalism. The previous record was 289,000 filings, set in 2000 during the Internet boom. Many of the me-too filings will not merit protection, writes Glenn Gundersen, chair of Dechert's trademark practice, since trademarks are, by definition, distinctive.

Trademarks with the prefix "eco" doubled, with products ranging from an Eco-Brella to an EcoCoffin. "If all the new eco-branded products ...

Article seen in AdAge....

BioBags - the great alternative

In case you did not know - the average life span of a plastic bag is 25 MINUTES. So on a recent shopping trip to a sample sale in NYC I was quite surprised that I was asked if I would prefer a "green" shopping bag (you know the reusable kind you bring yourself to the store) or a Biobag. Since I already have a green shopping bag, so I chose the BioBag. Here is the skinny: 100 % compostable and biodegradable. BioBags are designed to be composted and returned naturally back to the earth. If BioBags are placed in an “open” or “turned” landfill they will decompose at a rate similar to other biodegradable materials in the same setting. If BioBags are placed in an anaerobic (air-locked) landfill and deprived of oxygen and the existence of the micro-organisms that “eat” naturally biodegradable materials, their ability to decompose will be severely restricted. This is true of all biodegradable materials placed in this setting, including paper, yard waste and food waste. The company also offers: Kitchen bags, Lawn & Leaf bags, Dog Waste bags, Cat Pan Liner and much more. To order or for more information: www.biobagusa.com

Eco-Lies: "What does Green mean?"

As I write this, says Travel + Leisure’s Andrea Bennett, I'm in a hotel room on the Vegas Strip, looking out my window at the construction site of what will be the largest green hotel in the world, set within MGM Mirage's $7.4 billion City Center.
The hotel is pursuing certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, which sets standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Among the measures it's taking: recycling 80% of construction waste and building a monorail to the Bellagio. But if you check in when the hotel opens in 2009, you might not notice it's green; a loophole allows it to be LEED-certified even though guests can smoke in the casino (it is ventilated, however).
Unless you stay in an eco-lodge, you're not always likely to see a property's efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. Sure, you might be asked to recycle towels and use a key card that controls your room's lights and climate. But subtler measures, such as building with recycled materials and landscaping to use less water, aren't so apparent.
You can look for some proof of certification, but dozens of countries, several U.S. states, and a number of industries have their own labeling programs with varying standards, so it's difficult to know just how green your hotel really is. (See five of the most reputable programs.) To complicate this scenario, many properties are bypassing accreditation in favor of developing their own sustainability plans. The Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C., for instance, uses renewable wind electricity and purchases organic food whenever possible.
Eco-construction is a growing phenomenon. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are now 118 hotels that have registered for LEED certification. So far, only one hotel ─ the Gaia Napa Valley ─ has earned the Gold certificate (the highest level). Striving to be the second Gold winner, the Proximity Hotel, in North Carolina, will use rooftop solar panels, install elevators that generate a portion of their own power, and use an air-exchange system to reduce its energy consumption. And LEED is expanding to international hotels. Easter Island's Explora Rapa Nui, set to open in December, seeks to obtain Gold status.

Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See

Bill Clinton pitches Green to Majors

MSNBC / Former President Bill Clinton says that his foundation is teaming up with Wal-Mart to save cities money on environmentally friendly supplies by buying in bulk. Speaking to more than 100 mayors at a climate summit organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors yesterday, Clinton announced that the 1,100 cities represented by that organization will become part of the purchasing group. Clinton and many of the mayors present criticized the White House, saying it has done little about global warming and has missed a chance to boost the nascent "green collar" economy -- the jobs created by making the U.S. more sustainable, from the people who install solar panels to scientists who develop new technologies. Cities cover just 2% of the planet's land but are responsible for three-quarters of its greenhouse gas emissions. Wal-Mart, which has embarked on an environmental drive to cut costs and burnish its reputation, is offering to help the mayors as it has met resistance in some big cities to expand from its rural and suburban base. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21593794

Power Shift 2007 Lobby Day

Right now and through Monday, the coalition is running a display ad at the Capitol South Metro station in Washington, DC, (see photo) as well as a huge student lobbying effort about global warming and the Energy Bill. If you are near the Capitol try and support the group. More information and schedule of events: http://powershift07.org/lobby. Great job guys!!

H-racer

A toy car (6 inches long) that might hold the solution for future travel: it converts water into hydrogen with solar power. Created by accident by the Shanghai-based company Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies this toy car even comes with it's own fuel station. Fill the tank with water and plug in the solar panel. Bubbles rising in the water signal oxygen formation. In 10 minutes it's ready to roll. Since this discovery the company is now working on  a full-size fuel cell car. Until then you can play with the smaller version, which is made out of non-toxic, recyclable material. Also: a great gift introducing great technology at U$ 99 at www.amazon.com

Plastic Water Bottles

Did you know that 1,5 million barrels of petroleum go into the production of the 38 billion plastic water bottles Americans toss every year? So water filter and container producers are jumping on the green bandwagon. Nestle (owner of Arrowhead, Poland Spring and Ice Mountain), Coca-Cola (Dasani Water) and Pepsi Co (Aquafina) are now trying to find ways to cut 30 % of plastic usage, using smaller labels or introducing a cap that can be recycled....well all good efforts. I still do not understand why we must buy bottled water, that is according to consumer group findings in Aquafina's case just purified tap water?? Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just purify it at home and refill existing plastic containers. I do it all the time - it saves money and petroleum. So please do not buy into every fad out there - most of it is just smart marketing.