A South China Tiger, believed to be the "stem" species from which all other tigers have evolved.
In a move reminiscent of a James Bond film plot point, government officials in Indonesia have arrested an unusually prolific tiger poacher. While this kind of arrest is not an entirely uncommon occurrence, this time the forest rangers have netted themselves a prize catch: the unnamed man, 57, is a legendary figure among law enforcement because he has personally killed over 100 Sumatran Tigers, an extremely rare and endangered species. It was a carefully-orchestrated sting operation in Kerinci Seblat National Park that finally nabbed the poacher, a man “very well-known in the underworld” who has racked up his triple-digit count over the last thirty years. The arrest is seen as a major positive development for the Sumatran Tiger, of which there are an estimated 500 left in the wild, as the poacher was single-handedly inhibiting the broad effort to bring the Sumatran Tiger back from the brink of extinction.
More than that, however, the poacher’s arrest signals a sort of turning point in conservation mentality when it comes to protecting wildlife, endangered or not. The softer tactics of the past have often proved inconsistent in their efficacy, so conservation advocates and officials around the world are stepping up their efforts and using more strategic and aggressive approaches to help stem the tide of species extinction and aid the cause of other environmental issues. Utilizing law enforcement to make sure protective laws are actually observed is part of this, and the aggression can even be found in the language of those working to help endangered species. “After ten hard years, I’m not saying we are winning the battle, but we are holding our own,” remarked tiger advocate Debbie Martyr (yes, that’s her real name), suggesting with her terminology that a combative mentality may be necessary to achieve serious progress.
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Electric cars like this one might look pedestrian, but they represent a big step forward for clean technology
When people talk about making the world greener and more sustainable, an integral part of that vision is always the development of technology to help ween us off of fossil fuels and other unsustainable practices and systems. For this kind of work to get done and for serious progress to be made, there needs to be a certain entrepreneurial, innovative spirit about. Coming up with new ideas and entirely new ways of doing things is going to be massively helpful in moving things forward, and so we’d like to highlight a number of companies who are rethinking how business can be done, to make for a greener, more prosperous future.
One of the most interesting companies out there today is CODA Automotive, an American company based in California that is taking a fairly novel approach to manufacturing cars. Many automobile manufacturers are fiercely protective of their designs, techniques, and other industry secrets, but CODA has made a point of sharing their technology and designs, and in doing so has developed a global collaborative business, with sharing of duties between the US, Europe, and China in making an all-electric vehicle for sale around the world. The drive-train is designed in the US, where most of the R&D is done as well, but the battery (the most critical part of an all-electric car, of course) is designed and manufactured by a Chinese company called Lishen Power Battery, based in Tianjin. CODA chose this unusual arrangement in order to take advantage of Chinese proficiency in battery technology and high-tech manufacturing and American engineering and design talent; the car itself is based on an existing design by Chinese manufacturer Hafei, which reduces costs. This organizational structure is emblematic of the co-operative spirit that is needed to tackle our many energy and environmental issues; the willingness to innovate and forgo traditional corporate egotism is quite inspiring, and suggests that despite recent headlines, there are businesspeople out there that are willing to take a truly global approach to a truly global problem.
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Ecotourism in Moganshan offers some inspiring (and inspired) vistas
Ecotourism is a business that is exploding around the globe, to the tune of over 100% growth each year, which means that the ecotourism industry literally doubles in size every year. Here in China though, ecotourism has, unfortunately, taken a bit longer to catch on. Not to worry though, because there are dedicated operators here, committed to ensuring that sustainable tourism will gain ground in the Middle Kingdom. But first, what is ecotourism? The International Ecotourism Society (who, we imagine, are pretty knowledgeable about the subject) defines it as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of the local people.” In other words, it’s tourism that seriously takes ecological footprints into account, and also makes an effort to make life better for the residents of the visited area.
China’s population is exploding, and most of that growth is occurring in the country’s large, dense urban areas, which means that many Chinese have few opportunities to visit the many beautiful, scenic locations and landscapes that China has to offer. Some researchers have posited the idea that this plays a role in the lack of environmental knowledge among many Chinese. Whether or not this is the case, ecotourism is, slowly but surely, beginning to take hold as a viable business model in much of China, and while many of the visitors are foreigners (either expat residents of China or tourists who come specifically for the trip), more and more Chinese are beginning to take advantage of the amazing ecotourism opportunities available in their own country.
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by admin on July 16, 2009
Yes, yes… we know that it took us a looooong time to set this up so thank you for your patience. We hope that our new greennovate.net offers everything you wanted to know about us and more. We spent some time on a new resources section to save some of your time and we welcome any more suggestions. Regards from our Shanghai office where Rui, Judy, Tea and Louis are working hard to get the Chinese version up and running soon! Stay cool.
by admin on June 15, 2009
TEDxShanghai was an independently-organized chapter of the world-renowned TED Talks and we were very excited to be a part of it. Mihela spoke about rediscovering common sense and how it could be applied in the form of a Common Sense Index to inform consumers about the environmental and social impacts of their purchases. The event was streamed live on Tudou. More information at www.tedxshanghai.com.
by admin on March 28, 2009
Spark09 event was organized by ClarkMorgan covering igniting ideas and propelling Shanghai back into a positive state-of-mind based on topics in Humanity, Environment, Business and Science.
Mihela delivered a speech ‘How doubling contributes to a greener China’ to inspire businesses and individuals to take actions towards better quality of life.
Find out more at www.spark09.org
by admin on January 13, 2009
Greennovate and Naked Retreats are joining forces to create more reason to come and enjoy the fresh mountain air of Moganshan! The partnership between two companies will be contributing to sustainable development by educating the next generation of decision-makers and series of innovative green projects throughout 2009.
GECKO program will be launched in February in Moganshan town’s middle school with Greennovate teaching 200 kids for the next 6 months. At the same time, Naked Retreats are integrating Greennovate’s BEAT , Business environmental awareness training in their offer for corporate customers. Companies could request one or two days BEAT program where their employees learn about environment in fun and creative ways and get directly involved with the local communities.
And there is more coming up! In early March a week-long Big Litter Pick will be organized at Moganshan. The event will take place with schools, companies, families and individuals all invited to help clean up the mountain and raise funds to continue growing the local education programs.
Contact us for more information and stay tuned!
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