Planetary Ruin

Product stewardship is the process of evaluating the entire lifecycle of the products we buy and use. It involves how they are made, how they arrive at stores, how you use them and what happens to them when you no longer need them. Here are eight easy ways to ensure that you are being a good product steward.

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The 1980’s witnessed the inception of wood-pellet stoves but the benefits and efficiency of this innovative product, has not showed its face until recently. A pellet stove is a small electric unit that burns small pieces of recycled and compacted sawdust pellets. The advantages to wood pellet stoves are many, for one, they are extremely efficient, use inexpensive fuel and produce very little waste.

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Some of China’s cleaner but small energy producers said on Monday Beijing does not recognize their efficiency, and with profits squeezed between rising coal costs and falling tariffs they had been forced to halt operations.

Jiang Zhangshui, chairman of Zhejiang Tianma Heat and Power Co Ltd, said the on-grid tariff for their electricity was cut by some 10 percent since mid-December, as they are improperly classified as small coal-fired generators.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest greenhouse gas-polluting countries are sending delegates to Hawaii this week for a U.S.-hosted meeting aimed at curbing climate change without stalling economic growth.

The two-day gathering, which starts on Wednesday in Honolulu, is meant to spur U.N. negotiations for an international climate agreement by 2009, so a pact will be ready when the current carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

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WWF and the government of Abu Dhabi today launched a Sustainability Strategy to deliver the world’s greenest city.

Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, meeting or exceeding a set of stringent sustainability goals established under the “One Planet Livingâ„¢” programme established by WWF and environmental consultancy BioRegional.

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An Italian couple from Naples have applied for asylum in Switzerland, saying toxic waste dumped around the city poses a health risk to their unborn child.

Piles of trash have lined the streets of Naples since waste collection stopped before Christmas after dumps in the region were declared full. The crisis has led to protests.

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Here are eight easy ways to be eco-friendly around the house.

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The State Council, China’s cabinet, recently issued a directive banning the production of ultra-thin plastic bags for environmental reasons. The ruling also prohibits shops, supermarkets, and sales outlets nationwide from handing out free plastic bags starting on June 1, according to China News Agency. The imposition of fees on plastic bag usage is likely to influence consumer behavior in China and bring environmental benefits in the coming years.

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Automakers should be given more time to cut carbon dioxide emissions from their cars under legislation proposed by the European Union’s executive arm, EU lawmakers said on Tuesday.

In a non-binding report, the European Parliament said manufacturers should reduce the average level of car C02 emitted to 125 grams per km by 2015, rather than to 120 grams by 2012 as proposed by the European Commission last month.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany and Spain have warned the
European Commission that an ambitious plan to boost the use of
renewable energy sources, due to be unveiled next week, could
be counter-productive and wreck existing successful schemes.

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