“Clean, safe, and adequate freshwater is vital to the survival of all living organisms and the smooth functioning of ecosystems, communities, and economies. But the quality of theworld’s water is increasingly threatened as human populations grow, industrial andagricultural activities expand, and as climate change threatens to cause major alterations of the hydrologic cycle (…)”.

More than ever, we need to employ technological advances to sustainable cycles of water usage. In other words, to adapt our use to the environment, instead of changing its natural cycle.

“Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes are poured into the world’s waters (…) Every year, more people die from the consequences of unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war (…)Water contamination weakens or destroys natural ecosystems that support human health, food production, and biodiversity (…) Most polluted freshwater ends up in the oceans, damaging coastal areas and fisheries. (…).”

The need to get public and private sectors together in the mission to protect and improve the quality of our Waters – reverting bad usage and preserving our future.

In India, it was released in 2005. There, around 92.4 million people suffer from presbyopia (difficulty to see objects and everything at close range). This problem reduces people’s productivity levels and causes them to lose professional opportunities. Among other things, VisionSpring, with its business model, offers training to the so-called “Vision Entrepreneurs”.  These professionals offer free eye tests, besides selling glasses to different communities and send clients who need prescription glasses to an optometrist. Another of the Vision Entrepreneurs’ goals is to get to the most remote areas of the country, going in rural zones and offering very low price services when compared to those found in urban centers.

The project’s work in India is a big example: with better vision and the consequent quality of life improvement, the population reached by the project increased their productivity by 35%, and their income as well.

For more information on this initiative, visit: http://wp.visionspring.org/

The publication presents facts that demystify the premises claimed against the sector. The numbers show that the biofuel production in Africa is so small it is unjust to blame the all the sector for food insecurity and land grabbing. Other information provided by the report, for instance, show that only 0.05% of global biofuels are produced in the continent, while just 2% of ethanol imported from Europe from 2009-2011 came from sub-Sahara.

Read the full report here.

Many Bolivian political movements and social groups widely support the redefinition of rights. It qualifies the rich ore deposits in the country as “blessings”. It application will mean an important shift towards reduction of pollution and industry control.

The name “Mother Land” comes from the Andean goddess of land, called “Pachamama”. She is considered the center of life by the natives. This view considers human and other beings’ rights equal. The resurgence of this way of leading life represents a deep change in a country historically devastated by environmental problems with extraction of aluminum, silver, gold and other materials.

The foreign minister David Choquehuanca said that the traditional native respect for Pachamama has the power to end great world crises. “Our ancestors taught us that we belong to a big family of plants and animals. We, native peoples, can contribute to solve food, climate and energy crises with our values.” According to native philosophy, Pachamama is “sacred, fertile and the source which feeds and cares for all living beings in her womb.”

The Mother Land Law will establish 11 rights for nature, including the right to life, the right to keep vital processes and cycles without human intervention, the right to clean water and air, the right to balance, the right not to have its cell structures genetically modified or altered. It will also assure the country’s right not to be affected by mega structures and development projects which affect the balance of ecosystems and local communities”.

According to the vice-president Álvaro GarcíaLínera “it establishes a new relation between man and nature,the harmony which must be kept as a guarantee of its regeneration. The land is mother to us all”. President Evo Morales is the first latin American native to hold such position, and has been a harsh critic of industrialized countries which are not willing to keep the temperature increase to one degree. It is understandable, since the level of warming, which could reach 3.5 to 4 Celsius, given current trends, would mean the desertification of a great part of Bolivia.

Many of the 28 winners reproduce or scale up previously successful initiatives funded by REEEP. The PFAN (Private Financing Advisory Network), for instance, is an investor and a matchmaking service for the small and medium enterprises REEEP funded in South Africa, and a new project will expand and deepen its cooperation with large brands to increase energy efficiency in Chinese textile factories. Also, RETScreen, an open-source software by Natural Resources Canada, will be improved to offer a more specific service of intelligence in decision-making.

This is REEEP’s 9^th funding cycle and is achieved through donations from the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland. In the past, REEEP offered €3.2 million in 2011, €4.7 million in 2009, €3.2 million in 2007, 2.2 million in 2006, and 1.1 million in 2005.

Furthermore, the contest’s goal is twofold: First, identifying winning solutions which can then be improved and implemented. Second, these innovations will be featured in a central database at www.empowering-people-award.siemens-stiftung.org

Green Social Bioethanol engages in this ideato share its ideal of Social Bioethanol. Follow our path though our blog and their site.

One out of each eight people starves each day, statistics show. On the other hand, 1/3 of all food produced is wasted and becomes garbage.

Based on this reality the Satisfeito Movement (Satisfeitoliterally means “satisfied”, and in Portuguese is used to denote one has had enough food) was created, its purpose to equate both problems.

The project encourages restaurants to avoid food waste on dishes and convert this savings into helping starving people.

How does it work?

When you go to a participating restaurant, you will see a Satisfeito badge next to some dish names. These dishes can be order regularly or as a Satisfeito serving.

Satisfeitoservings are 2/3 smaller than regular, but retain the same price.

What the restaurant saves with reduced servings is transferred in cash to a fund used by national and international organizations to fight hunger and whose main focus is children nutrition programs.

The index to measure each restaurant’s monthly results will be the number of meals generated for children, with meals at 25 cents of a dollar. This is based on the World Food Programme (WFP) which states 25 cents as the minimum value to provide a school-age kid with a daily meal containing all necessary nutrients for his or her healthy development.

This average is calculated from 60 WFP’s school meal programs, with some variance from country to country.

Associated to the United Nations Organization, WFP is the largest humanitarian agency to fight hunger in the world.

This means yet another importante step of this project has been concluded. Learn more about the Project here.

Eduardo Mallmann on stage during the Continuity Forum

Eduardo presented the problem of energy access in third world countries and elaborated on Social Bioethanol, produced by the technology of the Empower Station (Green’s EMD), as a viable alternative not only to produce this energy, but also to improve the quality of life in rural communities lacking basic resources like education, health and lighting.

Kofi Annan – former UN secretary-general

Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general, also spoke at the event. During his speech, the Nobel Peace prize winner highlighted, in response to a question posed by Green’s team, that “Any innovator who invents something to tackle basic-infrastructure with clean energy should not receive one but two Nobel Prizes”.

Jesus Rodrigues holds a degree in Economic Sciences and runs his office by the state of Piauí, acting in the areas of family agriculture, environment and education.