Environmental news at Biz News Blog is a listing of all the posts relating to the environment, the actions of business and governments, environmental issues and nature.

Business Ethics Blog> Business News Categories> Environmental News

• Suing Big Corporate Polluters - First it was tobacco, then fast food, now lawyers are looking at big car makers, oil companies, and utilities. With more than fifteen cases pending, big corporations with a history of polluting the environment are nervously looking over their shoulder.
• Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth - After the positive reaction to the Inconvenient Truth in the United States, Australian cinemas are expecting a similar buzz when the film starts on the 14th of this month.
  
• Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" Moves on - Australia and the world lost a man full of life and love for nature. Steve Irwin, known internationally as the Crocodile Hunter was struck in the heart by a sting ray while filming a new documentary series in Port Douglas, northern Queensland. The larger than life character died doing what he loved most, which is sharing his love of nature.
• Pope Benedict XVI on the Environment - I'm surprised that religion hasn't embraced the environmental movement more in recent times, but Pope Benedict is now talking about it. From his summer villa just outside Rome, the Pope said "In dialogue with Christians of various churches, we need to commit ourselves to caring for the created world, without squandering its resources, and sharing them in a cooperative way."
  
• Lights Out Hong Kong - Concerned citizens of the polluted city of Hong Kong (what major city isn't polluted though?) are trying to do something about the issue with a new initiative called Lights Out Hong Kong. The group is working hard to get businesses, offices, and individuals to turn their lights out for 3 just 3 minutes on the 8th of August, at 8pm.
• Al Gore Praises Wal Mart - Speaking to an 800 strong audience of Wal Mart employees, the former Vice President of America Al Gore said "I believe that this kind of commitment is so important that the rest of the world is likely to be listening and learning", referring to the environmental changes that the giant retailing chain has been making in recent months.
• Ford Greener Miles - The Ford Motor Company is taking notice of the demand for all things clean and green by starting a new initiative to allow drivers to offset their carbon dioxide assault.
• Bush Cuts National Parks Funding - The 270 million annual visitors to America's national parks will start seeing the effects of President Bush's cutbacks this holiday season. The already under-funded National Park Services have been ordered to cut their spending by 20%.
• Wal-Mart's CEO H. Lee Scott Interview - Just like a long list of other giant companies, Wal-Mart has realized that good business now means having a conscience. Where one takes the environment, the community, and its workers into consideration when doing business.
• Californian Global Warming Slowdown - California will enact plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 level by 2020. In a public announcement the Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said "The debate is over. The science is in. The time to act is now. Global warming is a serious issue facing the world and California has taken an historic step with the release of this report. We are all convinced that we can protect our environment and leave California a better place without harming our economy."
• Australian Uranium off to China - John Howard and the Australian government have agreed to sign a deal to ship large quantities of uranium to China. Australia and China will sign an agreement today, and plan to ship nuclear fuel to China within four years.
  Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has put a positive spin on the deal, claiming that it does not make any difference whether they send nuclear fuel to China or not.
• Chevy Tahoe Competition - Sounds like a pretty good marketing gimmick for Chevrolet, and it probably would have been a few years ago. But people are starting to see big gas guzzlers for what they are: a blight on the environment.
  
• Bush Increases Wetland Definition - The Bush administration has increased the total area of wetlands in the United States from 1998 to 2004 by 191,800 acres. Sounds impressive until you realize that this number includes manmade ponds, golf courses, and water hazards. I'm surprised they didn't include backyard swimming pools when measuring the total area of wetlands.
• Tony Blair's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Failure - Tony Blair's policies often lean toward environmentalism, and he is happy to tell other governments to improve their environmental action, but his Labor Party in the UK will likely fail to reach their own environmental goals. Blair hoped to cut the 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 20% before 2010, but research has shown it will be more like 15%.
• Wal Mart's Environmental Impact - There's an interesting article over at SustainableBusiness.com that talks about how the giant retailer Wal-Mart is developing an environmental conscience. Wal Mart CEO Lee Scott has described the current environmental problems we have as a slow motion hurricane Katrina.
• Global Warming Melting Ice Fast - Scientists are now saying that the ice caps are melting at a much faster rate than had previously been predicted. I doubt that learning of a few melting ice bergs will make very much change at all in the world of big business and government.
• Global Warming is Good - Marketing guru Seth Godin recently published a post about why the term "Global Warming" is not the right term to use if we want people to take action against it. Godin talks about how people need the right images and words placed in front of them to get them off their butt and make them do something about the worst global problem to face humanity.
• Green Office Furniture - Companies are starting to think green while shopping to fit the office out. Office furniture manufacturers are quickly changing their habits to take advantage of the many businesses that now take the environment into consideration when choosing what to buy.
• Green Cafe Tips - The ReNew magazine in Australia published a story on cafes / restaurants and how they make simple changes to the way they operate to save money on electricity, water, and waste.. and help the environment!
• Submit Environmental Sites - The Biz United web directory getting together a collection of environmental and green living websites online. Submission is free for sites that are related to protecting the environment in some way.
• Prince Charles on Climate Change - It's great to see someone that comes from a background steeped in tradition and doing things how they've always been done has got such a down to earth outlook on things like climate change. Prince Charles is a keen organic farmer and stresses the importance of buying locally produced foods where possible.
• Move Towards the Environment - Recently the topic of business and the environment has been much more interesting (to me anyway). So from now on the Business News Blog will be more like the Business Ethics and Environmental Blog. Juicy topics like climate change, corporate responsibility, and ethical investments will be discussed.
  
• Gasoline for America's Security Act - The environment losing out to big money again, with the Gasoline for America's Security (GAS) Act designed to ignore laws protecting the environment, while increasing the oil refining capacity in the United States.
  

Posts that are related to the Environment, but do not focus on the subject..

• General Motors Energy Solution - One of the largest auto makers in the world GM, recently announced its plan to work towards energy independence. Rather than releasing something "cool" and hybrid like Toyota's Prius vehicle, they are taking the path of fuelling the current vehicles on the road and those to come with plant-based ethanol fuel.
• Hillary Clinton at the Cleantech Venture Network - Senator Hillary Clinton has outlined her views on the current energy mess that the Bush administration has America in, while suggesting that a strategic energy fund, created with some of the profits from oil, and a massive public information blanket that educates consumers to be more efficient with their energy use.
• America, Europe and Climate Change - "Old" Europe seems to be taking the necessary steps towards changing the way we do business on our home we call earth, while "new" America steps backward.