It's a been multi-media packed week of sights, sounds and sensations.We've brought you some highlights.At the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas this week, the latest gadgets and devices were premiered. While there was no shortage of the energy guzzling “who needs them” kind of goods, such as the OhMiBod vibrators , or the hysterical Jada “Air Guitar Rocker” (watch video here), there were also some green electronics to be found.
Image from the movie Air Guitar Nation Fujitsu have developed a laptop with casing made of corn. As Inhabitat reports from the CES, the main ingredient is polylactic acid, (PLA), a resin that comes from the fermentation of the raw biomass from plants. PLA by itself is biodegradable, does not generate dioxin when burnt, or other harmful gases. Unfortunately the material still needs a small amount of fossil fuel for it to be able to be used as a laptop housing. However, the PLA-based plastic can be processed after the end of use of the product and by doing so, the corn-based component can safely degrade".
PC Pro reports of a new technology where Mobile Phones could include their own mini projectors. The handheld device is still in the prototype stage, but the statistics are already impressive. The projector has a brightness of around 8-10 lumens and is capable of displaying an image of up to 50 inches. This means that anything from power point presentations to your holiday snaps can be publicly displayed. While it's certainly a good solution to the faulty projector, I'm not so sure I really want to watch others while I'm having my lunch.
The Greenpeace boat, Esperanza, is currently in the Southern Sea, showing that the only way to shoot a whale is with a camera. The crew is following in the wake of a Japanese whaling fleet, allegedly on a scientific expedition, who plan to kill up to 935 minke whales and 50 endangered fin whales. This week the Ezperanza crew recovered valuable whale songs, which can be heard here. Look at the website for more photos and diaries of their journey. You can also send letter here to the Japanese Prime minister to stop the building of a new factory ship.Humpback whale in the Southern Sea Yet another new way to combat global warming, the Guardian reports, is to grow more reflective plants!
Experts at the University of California, Irvine, say reflective plants could send more of the sun's heat back into space, and reverse temperature rises in parts of the world. Encouraging farmers to grow shinier crops could reduce maximum daytime temperatures in agricultural regions by as much as 1.9C, they say.” We imagine rows of mirrored sunflowers or metallic cacti.
So popular was Knut as the face of Climate Change action for Germany, that now Nuremberg Zoo has produced a second baby polar bear! Pronounced a girl after some initial confusion, there is of course much anticipation that the two young stars will hit it off romantically. Knut will have to wait, along like the rest of us, to find out her name. But you can catch your first glimpse on the Spiegel site.

On Saturday, December 8th, the International Day of Action against Climate Change will take place. Besides numerous manifestations and demonstrations on topics concerning climate change, there will also be more creative actions showing the necessity to act now on global warming. In Germany one of them will be the initiative “Lights Out! For our climate”. The BUND, the World Wide Fund for Nature and Greenpeace have appealed to people all over the country to turn off their lights between 8:00 and 8:05! We talked about the campaign with Cornelia Deppe-Burghardt, Spokesperson of Greenpeace.
Hello Cornelia Deppe-Burghardt, what are you going to do on Saturday between 8 and 8:05 pm?I guess I`m on my way back home because I`m going to join the demonstration in Berlin that day. When I´m home I certainly switch off all my lights.

Who is supposed to join the initiative?Everybody can join this initiative. That is the best of it.Should only the lights be switched off or does it involve every electric device?Our appeal is it to switch off the lights. But if anybody wants to switch off more electric device, please do so. How did the idea of the campaign „Lights Out! For our climate!” come about?Together with WWF and friends of the earth we have a cooperation with the BILD newspaper in Germany for the benefit of climate protection. The four of us developed the idea to initiate some really huge event to support the global climate action day.It's going to be dark on Saturday...
What’s the aim of the initiative?The aim is to send a sign to the politicians at Bali and to the people to act forceful now for climate protection. Besides everybody should realise how may energy he uses and how he can reduce it.Various institutions already declared that they will join the campaign. Can you give us some examples?We have more than 220 commitments right now from the Brandenburger Tor to the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and from the cathedral in Cologne to Neuschwanstein palace.

Let’s assume, the whole country will switch off their lights for five minutes – what would be the effect on our environment?This is no measure to save energy. We cannot save a lot of energy with it. We want to send a signal for more climate protection.What can you tell us about other campaigns on climate action day?There are activities in several other countries worldwide. In Germany there will be two demonstrations in Neurath near Düsseldorf and in Berlin for climate protection.The climate action day is supposed to enlarge our conscience for what we can do against global warming. To what extend do you think living a sustainable lifestyle has been established in our society?I think people begin to think about it but there is still a long way to go.

So if you achieve your goal, it’s going to be very dark in Germany for a while. Could you recommend a good idea about how to spend these five minutes?First exchange your light bulbs for energy saving bulbs. Then exchange your energy provider for a green one.

On August 3rd the Beijing government announced a new “green performance system,” where the careers of Government and party officials will be determined by their performance in meeting environment protection and energy efficiency targets. In the past, officials were judged mainly on their ability to promote economic growth and there was little incentive to protect the environment or act against polluters.
In addition to the “new green performance system”, a new green credit policy has been developed by the State Environment Protection Authority together with the People's Bank of China. The nation's environmental watchdog has listed 30 polluters, and the list forwarded to leading financial institutions. Blacklisted companies will, in theory, find it harder to get loans.

In the past, environmental policies introduced by the government have been under-funded and under-resourced. Greenpeace spokesperson Kevin May notes that “the worry is about implementation.” Huang Shengchu, head of the China Coal Information Institute, said it was difficult for local officials to cut energy use without greater investment and many would fail environmental targets.
It is speculative as to exactly why Beijing is implementing these new environmental protection policies, but they do represent a positive step as far as awareness and policy are concerned. It remains to be seen whether these will be accompanied with practical outcomes, and whether they will be integrated with other development goals.*******Club of Pioneers contacted Sze Ping Lo, the Campaign Director of Greenpeace China, to find out more about what Greenpeace thinks about China's new green performance laws and the new green credit policy.What does Greenpeace think about these two new initiatives?
Greenpeace thinks that the government is going in the right direction by these two new initiatives. The green performance policy holds local officials accountable for energy conservation and environmental protection. And the green credit policy that stops the money flow to blacklisted companies. But implementation is the key to their success.What would Greenpeace like to see happen in China in terms of environmental protection?
Greenpeace thinks what the central government is doing is impressive, but is far from enough. We expect to see a mentality change for a broader population in China, not limited to SEPA or high level officials from the central government. We would like to hear about concrete environmental protection initiatives echoed from the local levels, we would like to see
public concern of environmental degradation being heard and taken into account; we would also like to contribute to the awakening of the environmental awareness.
Links to the story:The Age
Peoples Daily
Fotos: Anna Benjamin