ITC’s new luxury hotel in Bengaluru, the ITC Hotel Royal Gardenia, was conferred the highest rating for green buildings in the world—the LEED India Platinum Rating. This recognition makes it the world’s largest platinum rated hotel and is another manifestation of ITC’s leadership in sustainability practices. ITC is the only company in the world to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive. The LEED Platinum rating for the ITC Hotel is one more green milestone for ITC. It is close on the heels of the ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon—one of the world’s largest green buildings. This Centre was chosen by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the venue to announce her vision on Indo-U.S. collaboration on climate change during her last visit to India.

10-things-not-to-buy-in-2010 as they will soon be redundant – u will be amazed at what they are http://bit.ly/8mxTH5

©Peter Yang

Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity, which uses low-level magnetic fields to transmit electricity around a room.

Electricity Without Wires

WiTricity
Cambridge, Mass.

Marin Soljacic couldn’t sleep. The problem was his wife’s Nokia cell phone. The tyrannical device beeped on the bedside table when it needed to be plugged in. It could not be disabled.

Instead of taking a hammer to the phone, Soljacic marveled at the fact that this device, and billions of others like it, was sitting a few feet away from all the electricity it could ever need. Why couldn’t it receive power wirelessly, just as laptops get Wi-Fi?

A physics professor, Soljacic dug into the problem and learned that if you could get two magnetic fields to resonate — to sing the same note, in effect — they could transfer an electric current. With two large magnetic coils, he found a way to throw 60 watts across a room, powering a lightbulb. MIT, his employer, quickly patented the technology and encouraged Soljacic to start a company.

WiTricity’s 15 employees are hard at work proving that Soljacic’s magnetic coils can power almost any electrical device. Most of the company’s potential customers have one major question: safety.

"There’s a real perceptual problem," says CEO Eric Giler. "People think we’re putting electricity in the air, and that’s called lightning, and they know to stay away from that."

In fact, the coils turn electricity into magnetic fields, then back into electricity. Magnetic fields interact weakly with humans; as far as the fields are concerned, we are no different from air. Giler makes a point of standing between the coils whenever he demonstrates the technology.

At the Nikkei electronics conference in Tokyo in October, he was able to power a 1,000-watt klieg light from across the room — a far cry from that 60-watt lightbulb in Soljacic’s first experiment. "We’re going up the power curve," he says

For more information head to http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108344/next-little-thing-2010?mod=career-leadership

When companies like Exxon-Mobil and McDonalds think “green”, they’re thinking of cash, not the earth. And after all, what matters to unscrupulous marketers isn’t so much the reality of their brand or product, but how the public perceives it – which often results in greenwashing so absurd, it’s almost funny. These 15 examples of extreme greenwashing range from woefully ignorant to downright malicious.

McDonalds Literally Greenwashes its Logo

(image via: GreenBiz.com)

McDonalds wants everyone to know they’re going green…ish. The fast food monster is swapping the red in their logo for green in an effort to convince Europeans that they care about the environment. To be fair, the company has made some important strides – like using environmentally-friendly refrigeration and converting used oil to biodiesel – but this is still fast food relying on distinctly un-green factory farms for their supplies, to say the least.

As GreenBiz.com put it, “This strategy is essentially the textbook definition of greenwashing: Promoting green in the abstract, literally re-painting your signage with the color green, while simultaneously making sparse, vague claims about environmental action.”

“Eco Smart” Hummer

(image via: Fail Blog)

Recipe for a whale of a fail: Take one Hummer, the most environmentally unfriendly personal vehicle known to man. Plaster it with images of glistening green leaves and phrases like ‘EcoSmart’, which just happens to be the name of your company. Watch your company lose credibility instantaneously, and become an internet laughingstock among the very people you were hoping would become your customers.

Even if this particular behemoth were somehow greener than your typical Hummer, that wouldn’t mean much – but would still be more forgivable than using one of these vehicles to advertise an “eco-smart” company.

“Even Our Store Bags are Disposable!”

(image via: The Good Human)

When this New Mexico pet shop decided to “go green”, they apparently didn’t bother finding out what that actually means – hence, their proud declaration that “even our store bags are disposable!” Though the people responsible for the ad probably didn’t mean to deceive anyone, ignorance can be just as bad – it’s seriously confusing for consumers who are already not too clear on what makes a product green.

Cover the Earth with Toxic Paint

(image via: Inhabitat)

Want some tips on how to greenwash? Ask Sherwin-Williams. They’ve built an entire marketing campaign around a supposedly green line of paint which, according to Inhabitat, isn’t actually all that green – all while plastering billboards with their head-scratching logo that seems to advocate covering the entire world in toxic Sherwin-Williams paint.

Fox News + Going Green = ?

(image via: Ecorazzi.com)

Wait a minute, is that a Fox News logo being hugged by a commie recycling symbol? Indeed, the undeniably conservative news network seemed to completely forget who their audience is with their “How Green” website, an apparent attempt to maintain that “fair and balanced” illusion.

The site was about as authentic as a backdrop on a middle school theater set, with uninspired articles and a sloppy design. It became pretty clear that Fox News’ heart wasn’t exactly into it when the site went without updates for months on end, prompting Ecorazzi to liken it to “a zombie that won’t die”. The website was finally taken down in Fall 2009.

CO2 is Actually Good for the Earth

(image via: )

“There is no scientific evidence that CO2 is a pollutant.” So proclaims an ad called “CO2 is Green”, which backed up this dubious claim with statements like “higher CO2 levels than we have today would actually help the Earth’s ecosystems.” It may just be the most ridiculous example of greenwashed propaganda yet, and who else could possibly be responsible but oil & coal interests.

The ad was generated by a veteran oil industry executive and a Houston-based owner of coal resources as part of a campaign to undermine the EPA’s ruling that CO2 should be classified as a pollutant. It didn’t work, of course.

Buy Local at Your Neighborhood Citgo

(image via: Grist.org)

When you dedicate yourself to spending more of your hard-earned dollars at local businesses, the first place you think of is naturally your neighborhood Citgo. That is, if you live in Venezuela. But being an international oil giant didn’t stop Citgo from putting up billboards in towns all over America – including this one spotted in Durham, North Carolina – that say “Local. Loyal. Like it should be.”

Eco-Conscious Barbie

(image via: Mattel)

They’re plastic wrapped in more plastic, and send the message to little girls that they should be plastic, too. But that didn’t stop Mattel from trying to market Barbies as “green”, with a line of accessories made from repurposed excess fabrics and trimmings left over from other Barbie products (and assembled in China using what amounts to slave labor).

“Barbie BCause is for eco-conscious girls who believe that being environmentally-friendly is the right thing to do,” said Mattel in the press release accompanying the “Barbie™ Bcause” line of products. Right. Because glamorizing constant consumption of non-recyclable products is so eco.

‘Sustainable’ Iceberg Lodge… In the Desert

(image via: Inhabitat)

What could be more sustainable than placing a gigantic luxury hotel hewn from ice into the ocean in the arid desert climate of Dubai? German design duo Frank and Sven Sauer envision the Blue Crystal as a year-round ice lodge that will require massive amounts of energy to keep it frozen – energy that, according to the architects, will come from renewable sources.

Even if the Blue Crystal managed to power itself with solar energy, using so much energy for such a ridiculous purpose stretches the meaning of the world ‘sustainability’ to its breaking point.

Pure & Natural Disposable Diapers

(image via: The Good Human)

Disposable diapers are a huge tax on the environment, adding some 3.5 million tons of waste to America’s landfills every year. And, concerned parents are all too aware of the chemicals they contain, including carcinogens like dioxin. So, when Huggies debuted their “Pure & Natural” line of diapers, perhaps some parents thought they were actually – well – pure and natural.

Not so much. The difference between regular Huggies and the greenwashed version is a small piece of organic cotton that doesn’t even come into contact with baby’s skin – it’s on the outside of the diaper. Talk about capitalizing on a technicality.

Big 3 Auto Executives Drive Hybrids to D.C.

(image via: Dot Earth)

In the midst of begging the government for financial assistance, Detroit’s ‘Big 3’ auto executives – Alan Mulally of Ford, Rick Wagoner of GM and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler were ridiculed for flying to Washington D.C. on mega-expensive, climate-killing private jets. So how did they respond to the criticism? By driving their companies’ respective hybrids to Washington after they were called out for the hypocrisy. Apparently, driving a hybrid once totally erases all of your environmental (and financial) sins.

Exxon-Mobil, Green Company of the Year

(image via: Dallas Observer)

Exxon-Mobil doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for caring about the environment. In fact, the oil giant has been called the ultimate anti-green company, as much for its own outrageous environmental offenses as for its efforts to undermine climate change action. But that didn’t stop Forbes Magazine from naming Exxon-Mobil “Green Company of the Year” in 2009.

Forbes claims that recent efforts by the company – including investment in renewable energy and natural gas – is enough to merit the title. But the magazine is left holding a giant green paintbrush in the face of decades’ worth of evidence to the contrary. Steve Forbes, billionaire head honcho of the magazine, probably doesn’t mind, though – he’s a well-known climate change skeptic.

Source: For more information head to www.webecoist.com

When companies like Exxon-Mobil and McDonalds think “green”, they’re thinking of cash, not the earth. And after all, what matters to unscrupulous marketers isn’t so much the reality of their brand or product, but how the public perceives it – which often results in greenwashing so absurd, it’s almost funny. These 15 examples of extreme greenwashing range from woefully ignorant to downright malicious.

McDonalds Literally Greenwashes its Logo

(image via: GreenBiz.com)

McDonalds wants everyone to know they’re going green…ish. The fast food monster is swapping the red in their logo for green in an effort to convince Europeans that they care about the environment. To be fair, the company has made some important strides – like using environmentally-friendly refrigeration and converting used oil to biodiesel – but this is still fast food relying on distinctly un-green factory farms for their supplies, to say the least.

As GreenBiz.com put it, “This strategy is essentially the textbook definition of greenwashing: Promoting green in the abstract, literally re-painting your signage with the color green, while simultaneously making sparse, vague claims about environmental action.”

“Eco Smart” Hummer

(image via: Fail Blog)

Recipe for a whale of a fail: Take one Hummer, the most environmentally unfriendly personal vehicle known to man. Plaster it with images of glistening green leaves and phrases like ‘EcoSmart’, which just happens to be the name of your company. Watch your company lose credibility instantaneously, and become an internet laughingstock among the very people you were hoping would become your customers.

Even if this particular behemoth were somehow greener than your typical Hummer, that wouldn’t mean much – but would still be more forgivable than using one of these vehicles to advertise an “eco-smart” company.

“Even Our Store Bags are Disposable!”

(image via: The Good Human)

When this New Mexico pet shop decided to “go green”, they apparently didn’t bother finding out what that actually means – hence, their proud declaration that “even our store bags are disposable!” Though the people responsible for the ad probably didn’t mean to deceive anyone, ignorance can be just as bad – it’s seriously confusing for consumers who are already not too clear on what makes a product green.

Cover the Earth with Toxic Paint

(image via: Inhabitat)

Want some tips on how to greenwash? Ask Sherwin-Williams. They’ve built an entire marketing campaign around a supposedly green line of paint which, according to Inhabitat, isn’t actually all that green – all while plastering billboards with their head-scratching logo that seems to advocate covering the entire world in toxic Sherwin-Williams paint.

Fox News + Going Green = ?

(image via: Ecorazzi.com)

Wait a minute, is that a Fox News logo being hugged by a commie recycling symbol? Indeed, the undeniably conservative news network seemed to completely forget who their audience is with their “How Green” website, an apparent attempt to maintain that “fair and balanced” illusion.

The site was about as authentic as a backdrop on a middle school theater set, with uninspired articles and a sloppy design. It became pretty clear that Fox News’ heart wasn’t exactly into it when the site went without updates for months on end, prompting Ecorazzi to liken it to “a zombie that won’t die”. The website was finally taken down in Fall 2009.

CO2 is Actually Good for the Earth

(image via: )

“There is no scientific evidence that CO2 is a pollutant.” So proclaims an ad called “CO2 is Green”, which backed up this dubious claim with statements like “higher CO2 levels than we have today would actually help the Earth’s ecosystems.” It may just be the most ridiculous example of greenwashed propaganda yet, and who else could possibly be responsible but oil & coal interests.

The ad was generated by a veteran oil industry executive and a Houston-based owner of coal resources as part of a campaign to undermine the EPA’s ruling that CO2 should be classified as a pollutant. It didn’t work, of course.

Buy Local at Your Neighborhood Citgo

(image via: Grist.org)

When you dedicate yourself to spending more of your hard-earned dollars at local businesses, the first place you think of is naturally your neighborhood Citgo. That is, if you live in Venezuela. But being an international oil giant didn’t stop Citgo from putting up billboards in towns all over America – including this one spotted in Durham, North Carolina – that say “Local. Loyal. Like it should be.”

Eco-Conscious Barbie

(image via: Mattel)

They’re plastic wrapped in more plastic, and send the message to little girls that they should be plastic, too. But that didn’t stop Mattel from trying to market Barbies as “green”, with a line of accessories made from repurposed excess fabrics and trimmings left over from other Barbie products (and assembled in China using what amounts to slave labor).

“Barbie BCause is for eco-conscious girls who believe that being environmentally-friendly is the right thing to do,” said Mattel in the press release accompanying the “Barbie™ Bcause” line of products. Right. Because glamorizing constant consumption of non-recyclable products is so eco.

‘Sustainable’ Iceberg Lodge… In the Desert

(image via: Inhabitat)

What could be more sustainable than placing a gigantic luxury hotel hewn from ice into the ocean in the arid desert climate of Dubai? German design duo Frank and Sven Sauer envision the Blue Crystal as a year-round ice lodge that will require massive amounts of energy to keep it frozen – energy that, according to the architects, will come from renewable sources.

Even if the Blue Crystal managed to power itself with solar energy, using so much energy for such a ridiculous purpose stretches the meaning of the world ‘sustainability’ to its breaking point.

Pure & Natural Disposable Diapers

(image via: The Good Human)

Disposable diapers are a huge tax on the environment, adding some 3.5 million tons of waste to America’s landfills every year. And, concerned parents are all too aware of the chemicals they contain, including carcinogens like dioxin. So, when Huggies debuted their “Pure & Natural” line of diapers, perhaps some parents thought they were actually – well – pure and natural.

Not so much. The difference between regular Huggies and the greenwashed version is a small piece of organic cotton that doesn’t even come into contact with baby’s skin – it’s on the outside of the diaper. Talk about capitalizing on a technicality.

Big 3 Auto Executives Drive Hybrids to D.C.

(image via: Dot Earth)

In the midst of begging the government for financial assistance, Detroit’s ‘Big 3’ auto executives – Alan Mulally of Ford, Rick Wagoner of GM and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler were ridiculed for flying to Washington D.C. on mega-expensive, climate-killing private jets. So how did they respond to the criticism? By driving their companies’ respective hybrids to Washington after they were called out for the hypocrisy. Apparently, driving a hybrid once totally erases all of your environmental (and financial) sins.

Exxon-Mobil, Green Company of the Year

(image via: Dallas Observer)

Exxon-Mobil doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for caring about the environment. In fact, the oil giant has been called the ultimate anti-green company, as much for its own outrageous environmental offenses as for its efforts to undermine climate change action. But that didn’t stop Forbes Magazine from naming Exxon-Mobil “Green Company of the Year” in 2009.

Forbes claims that recent efforts by the company – including investment in renewable energy and natural gas – is enough to merit the title. But the magazine is left holding a giant green paintbrush in the face of decades’ worth of evidence to the contrary. Steve Forbes, billionaire head honcho of the magazine, probably doesn’t mind, though – he’s a well-known climate change skeptic.

Source: For more information head to www.webecoist.com

South Korea has pledged to set one of three targets

for carbon emissions by 2020, moving toward a fi rm

commitment to combat climate change. Reuters

reported that the government said it would choose a

2020 gas emission target this year from three options:

an 8% increase from 2005 levels by 2020; unchanged

from 2005; or 4% below 2005 levels.

“Compared with developed countries, the targets

may look mild,” said Sang-hyup Kim, Secretary to

the President for National Future and Vision at the

Presidential Offi ce. “But these are utmost, sincere

efforts, refl ecting Korea’s capabilities.”

Erosion has eaten away an average 50 metres of coastline this

year in the city of Danang, Vietnam. According to a Thanh

Nien Daily report, the erosion is so serious that houses are being

lost to the encroaching seas. Danang has built 44km of dykes

along the coast and riverbanks, the report said, however more

are thought to be needed to prevent further damage.

#did #you #know in the usa alone they trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New Y… http://bit.ly/6PiXoj

What Are Coral Reef Services Worth? http://bit.ly/6yNZmh

New Zealand fears tourism disaster in Antarctica http://bit.ly/8guiF1