Andrew Fastow of Enron gets Six Years

The man that engineered the accounting fiasco of the energy trading company Enron has been sentenced to serve six years in prison. Andrew Fastow received a lighter sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud and for testifying against two major Enron executives, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.

64 year old founding former chairman of Enron, Ken Lay avoided any sentence by dying from heart failure on July 5 this year.

Here's part of a report from MarketWatch..
It also took into account the one year his wife, Lea Fastow, served in a federal prison in Houston. The former Enron assistant treasurer admitted in May 2004 to signing a false tax return to hide the flow of money from her husband's many Enron partnerships.
Hoyt ordered no further fines against Fastow, who has already agreed to forfeit nearly $24 million in ill-gotten gains.
Fastow, 44, was the mastermind behind a labyrinth of off-balance-sheet partnerships at Enron, several bearing the initials of his wife and two sons, that inflated the company's earnings, hid its ballooning debt and funneled millions of dollars into his own pocket.
>> Business Scandals

BMW Hydrogen Car

There's still no clear winner when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles on the road, but the car manufacturers that are trying to blaze a sustainable path down unknown pathways are sure to profit, if not financially, than at least morally.

Car makers like Toyota and their Prius Hybrid or even their Camry Hybrid are doing well financially. They hardly need a marketing budget for the Toyota Prius as it generally sells itself.

High fuel prices and a need to be friendlier towards the environment is forcing car makers to offer alternatives. Those that don't change will be left behind (thinking of two big American car manufacturers!).

BMW is soon to release their attempt to be greener, with the recent announcement of the BMW Hydrogen 7 vehicle. In 2007 there will be a limited number of hydrogen cars offered to customers, with reports that the vehicles will be leased, rather than sold, because of the high costs.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 will be powered with a more than capable 260 hp twelve cylinder engine that will get you from zero to 62 mph in about 9.5 seconds.

Obviously this is not the final answer to solving our energy and environmental problems, but any attempt to step forward should be commended. The BMW Hydrogen 7 features and benefits are below..

• By using hydrogen produced from water and renewable energy, such as wind, sun or hydropower, in an internal combustion engine, the car's emissions in hydrogen mode are essentially nothing but vapor.
• The BMW Hydrogen 7 features dual-mode drive technology and a combustion engine capable of running on both hydrogen and gasoline. The cruising range in the hydrogen mode is more than 125 miles, with another 300 miles in the gasoline mode.
• This car will play a pioneering role in driving forward hydrogen technologies. BMW has gained an excellent reputation for significantly reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by using ultra efficient, yet very dynamic gasoline engines.
• The BMW Hydrogen 7 clearly proves that liquid hydrogen may by all means be used as a source of energy for the production car. By introducing the BMW Hydrogen 7, the BMW Group establishes powerful momentum for the ongoing development of a supply infrastructure serving above all to set up additional hydrogen filling stations providing sustained mobility on a broad basis also in the future.

See more information on the actions that BMW is taking to become a more sustainable company at BMW Group. The Hydrogen Highway in Norway may see a few hydrogen BMWs zooming up and down it!
>> Sustainable Cars, Alternative Energy

Green Business of the Year 2006

Co-op America is inviting people to submit their favorite green business for the People Choice Award in 2006. For every green business you submit, you will also go in the draw to win $300 worth of gift certificates to green stores.

For the next three weeks, Co-op America will collect nominations and then in mid-October they will hold an online vote to choose this year's winner from the top ten nominees submitted by visitors.

What are Green Businesses?
Companies that work to help.. not hurt.. people, communities, and the planet.
See more about the prize and submit your green business entry over at the Co-op America website.

>> Green Business News

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.
Australian readers can find out where the film will be screening by checking Yahoo movies.

From the website of the movie, they say..
"Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced." About the Film

The Australian Conservation Foundation has an article up about the upcoming release of the film in Australia. They also have a few suggestions to get the attention of politicians..

Do you know an Inconvenient Truth?
"Gore wastes no time in telling us that we can no longer afford to view climate change as a political issue, but must realize this is the biggest moral challenge facing our civilization. He questions why our leaders are not listening to the warnings and taking more meaningful action, and encourages ordinary individuals to do their bit to contribute to a global solution." Read the full ACF Article

Al Gore was also praising the actions of one of the biggest companies in the world recently, when he said Wal Mart was doing a good job in changing.
>> Politics, Environmental News

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.

While the world bestowed great fame and fortune upon him, he piled his cash back into nature reserves, the Australia Zoo, and into spreading his message of conservation.

The Crocodile Hunter handled dangerous animals all his life and was never bitten by a venomous snake or seriously bitten by a crocodile. His most deadly encounters were with being bitten by parrots! So it is a sad irony that Steve Irwin would have his life taken from him by such a beautiful, graceful animal that is rarely ever a threat to man.

He has left behind a loving family that shared his love for nature and the environment.

Nature lost a true friend and passionate advocate.
Stephen Robert Irwin
22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006

>> Environment