gareth bouch :: stuff & things

Nestlé don’t want you to see the video above, because they complained to Youtube that Greenpeace were infringing their copyright. Youtube removed the video but now Greenpeace would like to offer it to you, as a gift. Download the video and put it on your favourite video sharing site. The more people who join in, the more interesting it’ll make things for Nestlé.

We all like a break, so it’s time to give orang-utans one. Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations.
As a result, threatened species like orangutans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gases are being released, accelerating climate change.
Nestlé have so far refused to stop buying palm oil from the worst suppliers, so it’s time to make them change their minds.

Write to board member André Kudelski to demand they act responsibly and cease trading with companies that are destroying Indonesia’s rainforests. More info here and an in-depth piece here…

Frog malformed by pollution – lifted from The Guardian.

Not only has Apple been putting more and more effort into improving its green credentials, showcasing its credentials with a dedicated section of its website – but it has now also given up its membership in the the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the Chamber’s stance on climate change legislation.
In a letter to Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Catherine A. Novelli, stated Apple’s position and submitted Apple’s resignation…

Apple is committeed to protecting the environment and the communities in which we operate around the world. We strongly object to the Chamber’s recent comments opposing the EPA’s effort to limit greenhouse gases.
Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort. We would prefer that the Chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a construtive role in addressing the climate crisis. However, because the Chamber’s position differs so sharply with Apple’s, we have decided to resign our membership effective immediately.

I never need new reasons to love Apple. But what the hell… Awesome.
I’m not naive enough to believe there’s no whiff of marketing about something like this – but kudos to Apple for doing it anyway. There’s a definite momentum with the company’s various efforts that suggests that positive spin and profile is simply part of a virtuous circle of doing the right thing. Will be interesting to see if others follow suit or what waves are made.

(*Nabbed from The Guardian…)

Australia has been engulfed by dust storms as wild winds sweep millions of tonnes of red dust from continent’s drought-ravaged interior and dump it on the coast…

Storms of red dust produced a supernaturally orange and glowing sky over much of Australia’s east coast as the country experienced a day of freak weather conditions.
At Sydney airport, where visibility was cut to 400 metres, flights were cancelled while several international flights were diverted to Melbourne, where flights were also delayed. Flights were also delayed at Brisbane airport in Queensland.

As dust ravaged the east coast last night, heavy rains lashed Adelaide in the nation’s south where streets were flooded.
Then as morning dawned, two tremors shook Melbourne. Later in the day, hail stones as big as cricket balls pelted parts of New South Wales where heavy rainfalls are now expected and flash-flood warnings have been issued.

The Bureau of Meteorology said it was the worst dust storm since the 1940s, with particle pollution up to 10 times worse than the previous record and was predicting another storm would hit in the next day or two.

In one of those truly remarkable photos that turn up so infrequently, marine photographer and environmental lecturer Michael Nolan has captued an iconic image that is bound to be used for envoronmental campaigns for years to come (providing we’re actually still around and haven’t destroyed the place *completely* by then , of course…) – showing, as it appears to, the face of earth mother Gaia herself weeping from the edge of a melting ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.
It’s not, of course. But it’s a hugely impressive photo and one that deserves to be exploited for the cause of good nonetheless.

Makes those “Jesus in a burnt waffle” photos look pretty bloody silly really, doesn’t it.