Boy gets water from water truck

Yemen is fast running out of water. Some Yemenis have to buy water from water trucks that drive through the city. The people that can’t afford that must go to the public taps at the mosque’s. According to the 2004 Family and Health Survey, only 67% of the Yemeni population have access to improved water supply.

A Qat tree

Adding to the water crisis is the Qat tree, a slightly narcotic plant that around 70% of Yemeni men chew. A lot of water is used to grow Qat instead of being used for other crops. Qat farming, while having quite a few negative qualities, does produce jobs for a large amount of people. This is an important factor, considering Yemen’s extremely high unemployment rate.

The old city of San'a, capital of Yemen. Picture by the Virtual Tourist

The capital city of Yemen is San’a. The problems there are just as serious as anywhere else in Yemen. Some of the wells are being drilled to a depth of 800 to 1,000 meters, and require oil drilling equipment. Almost all the water comes from underground aquifers that are rapidly being depleted. The water levels are dropping around 65 feet a year. According to many Yemenis and outside specialists, Sana’s wells will dry out in 10 to 15 years.

The Yemen government is considering a desalination plant for seawater, but this is an expensive solution and may come too late. The only other option is to cut down on the agriculture industry and having to import even more food.

The country of Yemen

Is your home as green as it looks? Photo from greenroof.co.uk

The last time you bought a car, especially in the current economy, you probably paid close attention to the fuel efficiency by looking at the mile-per-gallon ratings and comparing similar vehicles. Now home buyers in certain states (U.S.) may soon be able to do the same with homes, and it looks like the trend will go national.

Earth Advantage Institute, a leading nonprofit green building resource that has certified more than 11,000 homes, has played a key role in the conceptualization, promotion, and adoption of the Energy Performance Score (EPS), currently the only residential energy labeling system that enables buyers to directly compare home energy consumption. The tool provides homeowners with both an energy consumption score and an associated carbon emission score. The number is based on in-home measurements and diagnostics data, as well as your utility’s energy source, which are entered into online software for calculation.

A technician from Earth Advantage Institute completes a duct test as part of the Energy Performance Score audit for a new home

“We use EPS information as a marketing tool to help sell our homes,” said Aaron Fairchild, president of G2B Ventures, a Seattle-based real estate investment firm. “The EPS is an amazingly innovative tool that will help us transform the Seattle real estate market.”

Now the federal government has turned its eyes toward energy labeling. The Department of Energy has targeted the month of October as the deadline for developing a voluntary national rating standard that may serve as a tool for banks and other institutions to provide preferred finance products for energy efficient, healthy homes.

“We pointed to energy labeling as one of the top 10 green building trends for 2010,” said Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “The federal government has taken up the flag, and has asked for additional data on the EPS program to inform its efforts in creating a voluntary standard this year.”

Last month the Energy Performance Score won first place in the energy category at Change.org’s “Ideas for Change in America” and has now moved on to the final round of internet voting. If the idea is voted into the top ten, the Oregon-conceived EPS will be presented to key White House administration officials. You can vote for the EPS at www.change.org/ideas by scrolling down to the energy category and clicking on “A Miles-Per-Gallon Rating for Your Home.”

About Earth Advantage Institute and EPS
Earth Advantage Institute works with the building and design industry to help implement sustainable building practices. Its nonprofit mission is to create an immediate, practical and cost-effective path to sustainability and carbon reduction in the built environment. The organization achieves its objectives through a range of innovative certification, education and technical services programs. More information is available at www.earthadvantage.org, and more EPS information can be found at www.earthadvantage.org/eps.php.

Oil derricks, Petrolia, Ontario, 1886; photo taken by Robert Bell

The Fairbank family has been part of Canada’s oil industry since John Henry Fairbank first struck oil in 1858. Charles Fairbank Oil Properties Ltd. is listed as the oldest oil company in the world, according to Library and Archives Canada. By 1880 it become the largest oil producer in Canada.

Stills, used to process petroleum, at the Producers Oil Refinery, Petrolia, Ontario, 1886

As part of one of the first oil companies in North America, Van Tuyl and Fairbank Inc. launched Solarware on May 1st. The hardware store in southwestern Ontario will sell solar collector panels, solar-powered hot-water heaters and in-floor heating systems.

Some of the oldest oil companies have dabbled with renewable energy. But several activist have claimed it has been for the purpose of greenwashing and trying to give a dirty oil company a clean image. Greenwashing or not, it is still important to look at how some are making an effort.

Shell (founded in 1907) had a solar business from 2000 to 2006 when they finally sold to Germany’s SolarWorld. A move that made SolarWorld into one of the largest producers of PV in the U.S.

Solar project between a FedEx distribution hub and BP Solar making this the largest rooftop installation in the United States. 2.4 megawatt covers 3.3 acres with 12,400 solar panels.

BP (founded in 1909) coined “Beyond Petroleum” during the time Lord Browne was CEO. An effort was made to green the oil giant at least from the marketing perspective. BP has been involved in solar power since 1973. BP Solar, a subsidiary of BP, is a worldwide manufacturer and installer of photovoltaic solar cells.

Oil Rigs or Renewable

Exxon Mobil (1870) being the largest of the oil companies, has avoided getting into renewables completely. As I searched the Internet for anything that would relate to Exxon and solar, I always ran into dead ends. A search at GoDaddy to see if the domain ExxonSolar.com had been registered, the answer was “Bad Request”. Maybe I was having a bad Internet connection or it was bad to put those two words together, but that is where I ended my search.

NASA image of oil spill near New Orleans

British Petroleum is trying to stop the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by dropping a giant dome on top of the broken pipe embedded on the ocean floor. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is reported to be spewing up to 20,000 gallons a day into the waters which will impact wildlife and the livelihoods of many in the area who rely on fishing.

The explosion that started it all

The giant dome is set to be dropped in an area where the oil rig was destroyed two weeks ago by an explosion. Submarines have been sent down to try to pinpoint the location and diagnose remedies to stop the broken riser pipe from releasing oil.

In the mean time, BP is digging a relief well to try to stop the original pipe from spewing oil but the depth will need to reach is over three miles deep which will take time.

Captured oil being burnt

Thousands of workers and boats are expected to try to contain the oil before it invades the local environment. Efforts were made to try and burn off the oil by setting it on fire but the amount of oil released by the spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been reported to be up to five times more than originally thoughts.

Local residents are in a furor after the latest events which only open old wounds as the area affected by the spill is the same crushed by Hurricane Katrina.

Rust colered crude oil in Chandeleur Sound, La

San Francisco Climate Change Center

The agreement in principal was signed at Cisco’s Globalisation Centre East, an environmentally sustainable campus in Bangalore that serves as a showcase for urban development solutions. The Cisco Smart+Connected Communities initiative is designed to provide cities and communities with smart and connected solutions for utilities, safety and security, connected real estate, transportation, health care, learning, sports venues, and government services.

The City and County of San Francisco is undertaking the development of a number of major sustainable urban development projects, at locations including the Hunters Point Shipyard and Treasure Island (HPS Connected Communities) and in connection with the new Transbay Transit Center. The city envisions revitalizing these underutilized properties into some of the most innovative sustainable urban development projects in North America.

Together, the projects at Hunters Point, Candlestick Point and Treasure Island are expected to create new residential units for 60,000 occupants, generate as many as 30,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent employment opportunities. The new UNGC Center on the Hunters Point Shipyard will include offices for the UNGC, a major conference center and incubator space for emerging technology companies with a particular focus on “green tech” businesses.

Facts/Highlights

• Gavin Newsom, mayor, City and County of San Francisco, met with Cisco executives in Bangalore to tour Cisco’s Smart+Connected campus and view innovative solutions designed to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions, reduce operating costs and provide a more productive working environment.
• Mayor Newsom and Cisco’s Chief Globalisation Officer and EVP, Cisco Services, Wim Elfrink concluded the tour by signing an agreement in principle designed to further discussions on potential green and cost-efficient solutions for a Sustainable 21st Century San Francisco, as part of the UNGC Center.
• The agreement in principle between Cisco and the city of San Francisco outlines the possibility for collaboration on the United Nations Global Compact Center in the areas of exploring 21st century technology’s impact on quality of life; studying green and technology innovation toward urban development; and understanding the evolutionary steps needed to embark on these transitions.
• The Cisco Smart+Connected Communities initiative helps transform physical communities into connected communities that can help realize sustainable economic growth and GDP, enable environmental sustainability through resource management and operational efficiencies, and enhance constituent quality of life.
• Cisco’s key focus areas for the San Francisco initiatives will be the environment, health care, education, utilities, public safety and security, and urban services, all designed to enhance the “work and play” quality of life for residents, workforce and visitors.
• The Urban EcoMap initiative is an extension of the Connected Urban Development engagement between Cisco and the City and County of San Francisco, resulting in projects such as the Urban EcoMap and the Connected Bus.
• The Urban EcoMap collaboration, a central feature of Cisco’s Connected Urban Development program, provides local communities with information on their progress toward meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and with access to the most useful, locally available tools and resources for reducing their carbon footprint.
• San Francisco was the first city to launch the global Urban EcoMap on Earth Day 2009. The Urban EcoMap represents a first step toward the vision for a Sustainable 21st Century San Francisco. Urban EcoMap amasses information on a neighborhood level, organized by ZIP codes, in order to help citizens discover their neighborhoods and take climate actions.
• The Connected Urban Development program was born from Cisco’s commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to reduce carbon emissions and has been jointly promoted by Cisco and the city since 2006. Further cities are expanding the footprint of the global Urban EcoMap, including the City of Amsterdam which today announced the rollout of the program.

Additional Information about the Hunters Point Shipyard Development Plans:

• Exceptional urban planning and design, and substantially improved transportation infrastructures.
• High-quality park and recreation facilities that provide local and regional open space attractions, integrated with new development and the surrounding community.
• Model sustainability concepts and best practices of sustainable community development incorporated throughout the design and development process.
• Applied sustainability principles and best practices for the infrastructure plan, including wastewater, storm water, utility and transportation systems, and public open spaces and recreation facilities.
• Green building construction practices, particularly energy-efficient design for new development.
• Opportunities to take advantage of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, to encourage residents and workers to be conscious of resource use within the community.

Supporting Quotes

• Gavin Newsom, mayor, City and County of San Francisco
  “The Hunters Point Shipyard is a prime area for revitalization within San Francisco. We have been waiting for the ideal project to embark on our vision of a ‘Sustainable 21st Century San Francisco’ that showed promise in generating strong economic and employment opportunities for citizens and the surrounding areas while also respecting the use of the land and its resources. In developing this vision with Cisco for the Hunters Point Shipyard, I see this as being easily the most innovative sustainable urban development project in North America. The city of San Francisco is thrilled to be the home to such a progressive initiative and having Cisco as a partner in the UNGC Center will help advance that important project.”
• Wim Elfrink, chief globalisation officer and executive vice president, Cisco Services
  “Cisco envisages a future where successful communities and cities will run on networked information to help drive broad economic, environmental and social sustainability. We are honored to collaborate with Mayor Newsom and the city of San Francisco to achieve a ‘Sustainable 21st Century San Francisco’. This is a city at the heart of the Silicon Valley IT revolution, one that has been long committed to sustainability, and with leaders committed to transformation; all the right ingredients for building a sustainable city of the future.”

Supporting Resources:

• Cisco Smart+Connected Communities
  http://www.cisco.com/go/smartconnectedcommunities
• For more information on Urban EcoMap
  http://www.urbanecomap.org
• Cisco Globalisation News
  http://newsroom.cisco.com/globalisation
• Cisco and City of Amsterdam Expand Urban EcoMap Program Globally
  http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2009/prod_120109c.html
• Connected Urban Development
  http://connectedurbandevelopment.org

About Cisco Systems
Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Recycle and reuse old office furniture - Flickr ChicagoGeek

Starting a business from home can be extremely advantageous. In addition to controlling expenses, the allowed IRS deductions can go a long way to reducing your tax liabilities. The eligibility rules are pretty clear and easy to follow, but it is important to understand the limitations on writing off the business use of your home. And, in order to receive the maximum benefit of the tax laws, it is critical to establish a system for managing the paperwork to keep track of deductible expenses.

The IRS considers the term home to mean your house, apartment, condo, trailer home, or boat, as well as any structure also on the property, such as a garage (attached or unattached), shed, greenhouse, studio, and the like. Any space you use in any structure on your property counts, as long as the way you use it meets the IRS qualifications.

The rules state that “business use” of an area of your home must be exclusive, regular, and for your business. Your business space must be your principle place of business, a place where you meet with clients in the normal course of business, or a separate, unattached structure used in connection with your business to qualify.

The exclusive use test requires that you use the space only for your business. That is, if you do most of your work in the living room, but also use that room as personal space, it does not pass the exclusivity test. While the space does not have to be divided by a wall or other permanent partition, it must be used only for business purposes. Set up a dedicated space for your office, even if you don’t have a completely separate room available.

There are some scammer “tax programs” that encourage you to write off the business use of your kitchen (you have to eat at work, right?) and bathroom (you can’t hold it all day). Don’t do it. These areas do not meet the exclusive use test, and claiming a high percentage of your home’s space as business use will raise red flags with the IRS. The exceptions to the exclusive use test are if you use space for inventory storage or your business is a day-care center.

The regular use test requires that you use the qualifying area of your home for business on a continuing basis. If you only use your home office occasionally, it can’t be deducted, even if the space passes the exclusive use test. Pretty basic. Just having an office space at home doesn’t mean you can deduct it – it must be used on a regular basis for your business.

To qualify as your principle place of business, your home office does not have to be your only place of business. As long as the space is used exclusively and regularly for management (or administrative) activities and you do not conduct these activities at the other location, your space is deductible. If you have a bookkeeper that works somewhere else, that is OK. As long as your home office is your primary location for completing specific work tasks, you should qualify. Any separate structure (garage, shed) that you use for business purposes does not have to be your principle place of business to qualify, but does have to pass the exclusive and regular use tests.

Once you have clarified which work spaces qualify, you need to determine the percentage of your home that is can be deducted. That is, divide the area used for your business by the total area of your home. If your office is in a 10×12 room, the total office space is 120 sq ft. In a 1200 sq ft house, the business use percentage would be 10%. Thus, 10% of all relevant expenses can be deducted from your personal taxes. IRS Form 8829 provides the formula for calculating the business percentage of your home. This percentage is then used to determine the eligible deduction amount allowed for certain business use of the home expenses.

The expenses you may deduct fall into three categories: direct, indirect, and unrelated expenses. Direct expenses, for the most part, are not subject to deduction limits. These are expenses such as repairs or renovations related only to the business areas of your home. Also, any dedicated phone line or internet access that is only for the business can be deducted in full.

Indirect expenses are those that cover running the entire home and are generally deductible up to the business use percentage you calculated previously. Utilities, insurance, general repairs, and the like are all subject to the percentage limit. Thus, if you calculated that 10% of your home qualifies for business use, then 10% of all indirect expenses can be deducted on your taxes. Most of these expenses are not deductible at all unless you use your home for business, so being able to deduct even a percentage can provide real tax advantages. Unnecessary expenses are those related only to parts of your home not used for business. They cannot be deducted. Unnecessary expenses are things like lawn care, repairs to another part of the home, and the like.

The deductions you can take for the business use of your home are also limited by the gross income of your business. You first reduce your gross income by regular business expenses and certain other expenses, then can claim business use deductions up to the amount of the remainder. Basically, you cannot use business use of the home deductions to create an overall loss to the business, only to the point of breaking even.

Be careful not to double-dip on allowable deductions such as mortgage interest and real estate taxes. These expenses must be divided on your personal taxes according to the percentage for business and the percentage for personal. The IRS publications for deducting the business use of your home are very straightforward. As long as you have good records for all the allowable expenses, filling out your 1040 is not particularly complicated.

Before you launch your business from home, be sure you have established an efficient system for tracking expenses for tax purposes. An effective filing system is a good start – you should be able to find and retrieve any filed document within a few minutes. Be sure you keep all relevant utility statements, repair bills, and real estate tax statements for the year. Staying organized throughout the year will save you untold hours come tax time.

K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur, is founder of LaunchX and blogs about starting a business. The LaunchX System for Business Startup is designed to give you everything you need to start a business, whether you start from a home office or not. Visit LaunchX.com for a free Business Readiness Assessment.

Source: www.isnare.com

A Toyota facility keeps a landscape beautiful as a zero landfill contributor - Flickr shchukin

EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin joined Secretary Randy Huffman of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in recognizing Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia, Inc. at its Buffalo, W. Va., facility, and Dow West Virginia at its South Charleston facilities.

The Sustainability Partnership is an innovative program developed by EPA’s mid-Atlantic region to create a one-stop shopping approach for organizations that use large quantities of energy, water, and natural resources and want to “go green.” Instead of dealing with each of EPA’s voluntary programs individually, EPA staff will work out a comprehensive ‘green’ plan for organizations that often saves money and makes good business sense. The overall goal of the SPP is to minimize the use of energy, resources and waste generation in the mid-Atlantic states.

“Today, both companies take a tremendous step forward in providing a more sustainable future for the people of West Virginia,” said Garvin. “EPA is making a concerted effort to partner with states and businesses to improve environmental performance and make larger strides in sustaining our communities. And voluntary efforts that are initiated and tracked through programs like our Sustainability Partnership are a proven way to go.”

”It’s a great day for Toyota and Dow as they have come a long way in the area of corporate sustainability,” said Secretary Huffman. “Toyota and Dow have learned to recognize the complementary relationships among the environment, economy and communities in West Virginia, and further realize that this Sustainability Partnership goes far beyond stakeholder involvement – it requires working within their facilities and with communities to tackle specific environmental issues.”

In 2000 Toyota’s Buffalo, W.Va. facility began implementing an environmental management system (EMS). Three years later, it had become, and remains, a zero landfill contributor — reusing or recycling materials that otherwise would have been sent to landfills. By implementing the EMS and setting long-term goals, Toyota is already addressing ways to reduce waste, water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous materials usage and wastewater discharge.

At Dow West Virginia Operation’s South Charleston facility, the company has been working to reduce energy, water use, waste generation, and has increased the facility’s land and habitat conservation.

During a three-year demolition project, Dow saved 49,939 tons of concrete/masonry from going to the landfill by reusing the material. During 2007-2008, Dow recovered 3,726 tons of ferrous and non-ferrous metals for reuse; developed a 10-acre wildlife habitat certified by Wildlife Habitat Council; worked with South Charleston Middle School students to install birdhouses, plant native wildflowers and prairie grasses. Dow continues to work on the implementation of a wildlife management plan and is exploring collaborative opportunities with EPA and WVDEP to help schools remove hazardous materials and waste.

Additionally, Dow West Virginia’s South Charleston facility is implementing the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care Program, which requires CEO-level commitments to measure and publicly report environmental performance and to obtain independent certification that the company’s environmental management plan functions according to professional standards.

Discover a new sense of speed with the BOMBARDIER ZEFIRO

Today Bombardier Inc. released its second company-wide corporate social responsibility report entitled Moving Forward Responsibly. The report captures the company’s commitment to act responsibly as a public company, employer, neighbor and partner. It also details how corporate social responsibility is one of the top priorities of Our Way Forward, Bombardier’s corporate strategy.

“A sharper focus on corporate social responsibility augurs well for all of our stakeholders. It underscores our commitment to leverage our industry-leading innovation, talents, products and resources to increase our positive contribution to the communities where we are present around the world,” said Pierre Beaudoin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc.

The report highlights recent achievements and details how Bombardier is laying the foundation to continuously improve its corporate social responsibility performance in the years to come. The report is organized into six sections, reflecting both stakeholder feedback and the areas where Bombardier has the greatest responsibilities: governance, employees, products, operations, suppliers and responsible citizenship.

To improve access and minimize its environmental footprint, Bombardier’s complete 2009 Corporate Social Responsibility Report is available exclusively online at www.bombardier.com/en/corporate/corporate-responsibility.

Highlights include:

• Listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Dow Jones Sustainability North America Indexes for the third consecutive year
• Ongoing and active promotion of the UN Global Compact’s principles of social responsibility and embedding of these principles in Bombardier’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct
• Enhanced approach to health and safety to reach the objective of zero accidents and occupational illnesses
• Expansion of the ECO4 portfolio of breakthrough energy-saving rail solutions, which can reduce overall energy consumption by up to 50%
• Continued development of the environmentally focused CSeries aircraft program, which will contribute to the commercial aviation industry’s commitment to achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2020
• Recognition as one of the 10 Canadian Climate Disclosure Leaders in the Carbon Disclosure Project 2009 – Canada 200 Report
• Obtained commitment to respect Bombardier’s Supplier Code of Conduct from 83 suppliers in Aerospace and over 120 in Transportation to date

About Bombardier

A world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, systems and services, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2009, were $19.7 billion US, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). Bombardier is listed as an index component to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com.

Sustainable Life Media announces the first Sustainable Brands Boot Camp, a 13 part online course in sustainable innovation. The course is designed to teach companies to build business value and brand equity by innovating for sustainability, and give students additional resume qualifications and the tools to enact change from within their company.

Developed by the producers of the Sustainable Brands Conference, Boot Camp participants learn from some of the world’s top sustainable business thought leaders, each a leading sustainable business expert in his/her specialty. These long-time sustainability practitioners have consulted with top global brands, including Coke, Pepsi, Walmart, UPS, HP and Kraft, among many others.

Designed for executives and managers seeking to understand how to identify and respond to today’s market demands around improving the environmental and social impact of business, the course follows Sustainable Life Media’s 4-step prescription for building the better brands of the future: “Observe, Re-Design, Measure and Communicate.”

Sessions are designed to fit a lunch hour and are also available on demand. New sessions are added weekly which students may join live or as it fits their schedule. With a commitment of 13-20 hours, students will gain a solid grounding in the core disciplines needed for moving successfully in to the new age of sustainable business. Topics include: market drivers, new business opportunities, business model and product innovation strategies, supply chain and metrics best practices, and designing communications that work.

The first three sessions are available on-demand. The 4th Boot Camp session will be recorded live during the course’s regular weekly time slot on Friday, December 11th( )at 1 PM EST. This week, Carol Holding and Dr. Lucille Pilling will detail their 6 Organizational Models for Integrating CSR with Brands.

An excerpt of Will Sarni’s expansive Introduction to Opportunities in Sustainable Innovation (Week 2) and his more detailed look at some specific responses to the growing problems of water, energy and climate change is available for complimentary review at: http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/events/online/sbbootcamp/schedule/willsarni