New Bottle against Climate Change

Environmentalist groups usually put a lot of pressure on companies and the goverment for not doing things right regarding the environment. They are usually made out to be the enemy when in my opinion are the only ones that can really do something to fight climate change.

So why doesnt it happen?

Well, business are in it for the money not to help anyone in particular unless it gives them a tax break. Don´t the game, learn how to play it. According to Harvard´s Strategy Guru, Michael Porter, there is a correlation between the most competitive countries and there environmental policies. He also found this to be true for private companies.

Companies trying to be fashionable and green are pursuing green strategies primarily for positive PR and finding that there are real benefits in the bottom line. The Economy moves the world. Like it or not, thats how it is. So if you want to win the fight against Climate Change you need to enlist private enterprise.

Take Pepsi for example. They just announced a new bottle completely done from plant material. Although this sounds "Super Hippie" think that costs of petroleum based products are directly affected by the price of ever increasing oil. If managed well, Pepsi might just have a winner in more ways than one: Positive PR and more Money.

More details on new Pepsi Bottle after the jump.

"Pepsi unveiled a new bottle yesterday made entirely of plant material. The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Ultimately, Pepsi plans to also use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other leftovers from its food business. 'This is the beginning of the end of petroleum-based plastics,' said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defence Council and director of its waste management project. 'When you have a company of this size making a commitment to a plant-based plastic, the market is going to respond.'"

Of Zombie Ants and Body Snatchers

I bumped into this article recently and it blew my mind. Apparently there are fungi in Brazil that have the capability of turning ants into zombies.

What happens is that once the spores enter the ant and grow as shown in the picture they lose complete control of there body.

OK.....but this is the where it gets wierd.

Instead giving the ants some form of "Mad Ant Disease" where they stray incoherently, apparently the fungi takes control of its body and gives it orders. Once they make the ant walk to the best place for the fungi to flourish (right kind of shade, breeze, plants, etc...) it is killed "soprano style". WHAT???

So by snatching over the body of the ant the fungi now was able to "PICK" the best place for it and "ORDER" an insect (which I thought was superior in the evolutionary scale), and "GO" without ressistance to a nice place where it will "KILL IT". Does this sound strange to anyone or do I need to enclose more words in quotation marks?

But seriously, there is something very wrong HAPPENING (don't watch the movie trailer below). When I was Minister of Environment in Panama we made an alliance with the Smithsonian STRI in order to build a laboratory for the whole region in order to study the fungi killing complete sets of species of frogs (http://tinyurl.com/r3j3tv) at an outstanding speed.

During this work scientists confided in me that they had evidence that the fungi would not only affect frogs but could affect animals and even humans.

Still think that the premise of the movie "The Happening" was bogus?? Think again!!

http://tinyurl.com/6bkudv5

The Happening Trailer (HD)

Huge decline in Bees......Good right?......WRONG!!!

Ok....so Bee population is dropping around the world......so what is it to you?

Well unfortunately like many of the situations regarding climate change, this WILL affect the national economy as well as your household economics. This current situation can put a damper in the $15 Billion dollars in crops bees pollinate in the US, according to Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium.

According to an article in Associated Foreign Press (AFP) this is due in part to a virulent fungi (spread by other similar but more hostile species like the African bee), chemical spraying and garden insecticides. Another reason cited........hold for it..........is changing seasons due to climate change. You can read the rest of the article after the jump.

UNEP worried on Bee Decline Article

Why Doesn't Climate Change Leader’s Minds?

From my perspective. The environment in political terms is just set up to lose. Billions of dollars have been spent in climate change with little or no change in the actions supported by governments. In fact we often encounter that we are going backwards instead of forwards...why is that?

It literally depends on appeal. Sex appeal if you would.

You see, governments have only a few years in order to make true on their campaign promises and try to make right of the wrongs. This is a tall order, never mind impossible feat. So leaders need to compromise and make a list of priorities. Translated in political terms, priorities are anything the polls tell you the people they represent want and not necessarily what they need.

It is at the end, a popularity contest.

A government needs time to put there plan into action so they are always thinking of re-election and / or if you are from a third world country afraid of getting a coupe, just finishing your term. Not to mention that how they got into a position of power was through the biggest popularity contest known to man: “Political Elections”.

The most effective way political strategists have found to achieve this task is by taking a cue from hollywood and the advertising industry. Its simple really. First you do a poll to see whats on peoples mind and then try to address that.

Guess how does “Climate Change” fair off in these polls and hence the governments priorities? At the bottom of the list.

We are to blame for this, not government, since because we don't realize that climate change does affect our Economy, Agriculture, Health and Security we haven't translated this to the polls and hence the decision makers.

Think of this the next time you complain about it and what you can do to change it.