Lucia Malla, a biologist and a dear friend of mine, wrote an alert in her post Sharkwater na China about the “lie” that consumers of shark fins in China–the world’s largest shark fin consumer market–are being told. Approximately 80 percent of the shark fins collected in the world end up at Hong Kong port.
According to what Lucia heard from a dive master, Chinese divers claim that “there is no problem in taking out a shark’s fin because it grows back”. Lucia says that “this is not true because once a shark loses its fin it can no longer swim and dies from starvation–a consequence of its inability to hunt–and from drowning, since most sharks need to swim in order to “vent” their gill and breath”.
It is high time people rethink their habit of eating shark fin soup which, according to Lucia, is eradicating an entire group of animals from the planet. This is a truly barbaric practice, carried out on behalf of people who think that they are not causing any harm to the environment.
Read Lucia Malla’s full post on her Uma malla pelo mundo blog.
Photo by André Seale - Barbatanas de tubarão secando em embarcação brasileira.

I was asked to write about this subject by @dasilvaorg two weeks ago. Before it disappears in the pile of “to do things”, here is a post that focuses on what to do with energy-efficient lights—they sure are an environmental issue, since they contain mercury, a metal that is highly harmful to our health and to the environment.

The major concern regarding mercury pollution is the health effects of our exposure to mercury (methylate, methylmercury) found in water and aquatic food. Methylmercury targets mainly the central nervous system. This metal is also a well-known teratogenic agent. Yet, their genotoxic effects (action on DNA) are hard to interpret and contradictory.

Source: The biologic effects of mercury and their byproducts on human beings—a bibliographic review
Where are the burnt and/or broken fluorescent lights discarded in Brazil? In the regular waste, most of them—only 6% of the lights are recycled nowadays. And that’s the worst place for them.
The benefits

This “novelty” arrived in Brazil in 2001 due to a power shortage—and our need to save LOTS of electricity. For obvious reasons (they lower the energy bill), these energy-efficient lights made their way into our hearts and market. Their sales have grown 20% per year, for the last four years!!! Lighting accounts for 20% of a household’s energy consumption. Each 15W compact light—which provides as much lighting as a 60w incandescent light—saves R$2 per month on the electricity bill. On a medium class household, with an average of ten lights, the monthly savings can reach up to R$20.
Note: they are imported. In 2007 we imported approximately 80 million units, mostly from China—the leading producer of this product. According to a research conducted by Procel (National Energy Conservation Program), 96% of the interviewed are familiar with fluorescent lights; 14% of them use the compact version and 30% use the tubular version.
In 2008, INMETRO (National Institute of Metrology, Standardization, and Industrial Quality) put into effect a legislation that provides for fluorescent lights (compact or otherwise) and mandates the display of an Energy Conservation Label on the product, proving their compliance with the performance and the one-year warranty requirements. Most of the manufacturers, however, are able to guarantee the product for two years.
The light broke? Be careful! Hazardous material.

Be very careful when handling and using fluorescent lights because they release mercury when they break. Check out ABilumi’s recommendations:

* Do use a vacuum cleaner to clean the shards;
* Soon after breaking a light, ventilate the room—open doors and windows;
* Stay away from the room for at least 15 minutes;
* To clean the shards, wear gloves and an apron. Avoid contact between the material and your skin. Place everything into a plastic bag;
* Use some wet paper to collect any remaining shards (do not take off your gloves…);
* Place the wet paper inside that same plastic bag and tie it well;
* Place this material inside a second plastic bag. Seal the plastic bag to prevent the mercury fumes from escaping;
* After finishing cleaning, wash your hands with running water and soap.

I like some (some) of the Boticario’s products. I’ve known the Boticario Foundation since its creation—they have some nice conservation projects in Paraná and have grown a lot. But the nicest initiative I saw today, during my visit to their store on Augusta Street. A small basket, used to collect cosmetic packages for recycling.

You know those product boxes? Mine never made it home with me. I brought only the make-up remover bottle, with the expiration date, batch number, and usage instructions clearly printed on it. The product box didn’t leave the store. As for the shopping bag, you know that I never accept it, right? In addition to this initiative, I’m going to act as an eco-zealot: since those boxes can and should be recycled, why don’t they take two steps back and come up with a way of marketing their products without them? Nature is even more grateful when we simply reduce, isn’t it?

SOS Mata Atlântica created this campaign to make people more aware of the need to avoid wasting water. In the Brazilian southeast region alone, this waste can be as high as 360 liters per day. And the largest amount of water is wasted in the bathroom: 80% of the water is wasted in the sink, during showers and, most particularly, in the toilet bowl.

If you pee under the shower every time you wash yourself, you’ll save 12 liters of water just by not flushing the toilet. In a household of three, this economy adds up to 36 liters per day, in case each one of them takes only one shower a day.

To join and publicize this campaign, answer this question honestly: “Do you pee during your shower?” on the campaign website, right here: http://www.xixinobanho.org.br/.

Reducing your meat consumption is good for your health and for the planet. I’ve always been a carnivore, but I’ve been trying to readjust my diet for a while. I’m still far from being a vegetarian, but I’m now able to keep a good average of two large steaks per week. And this doesn’t make me feel undernourished. By the way, it’s a big lie to say that we need to eat meat to have the strength, health and energy required by modern life. Check out what five top athletes have to say.

People from Do The Green have been campaigning to make people understand that reducing their meat consumption is good for everybody—even for the industry, since they could improve their current animal raising practices.They produced a fun video on this theme, presented by Jeremy Bovine. Check it out clicking here.

Moosnight from Green Thing on Vimeo.