IAASP: Information & Articles About Saving our Planet

The company employs eight workers and they all have their specific jobs; paper maker, book maker, tailor, admin and marketing. The basic wage is 300D pcm (per calendar month) plus a commission of 470D per item. On asking a worker in the paper department the reply was that they received 1,347D pcm. The working hours are: 8:30-4:30 Monday to Thursday and 8:30-12:30 Friday. Weekends are of a volunteer basis.

Four of the workers are from within the local area and even though it is not the target area it is liked within the community, increasing their income. There are ten charity board members and the construction of the building was funded by Plymouth Banjul Challenge (PBC) a fundraising event in which cars worth around 100-300 pounds or less are raced from Plymouth, UK to Banjul, Gambia. Donations that are received are then donated to causes within the Gambia.

The company is very popular amongst tourists and there are outlets in the UK, The Netherlands and Germany.

The project has links with charities and fundraisers within the UK and the Gambia also show its sustainability as a charity as it receives grants to fund certain projects such as the building of a new mill in 2001. These links will help the company in the long term and promote its awareness both within the Gambia and the UK through tourism and its promotion via both the owner and through word of mouth.

It was found that the project was sustainable with regards to resources, the local economy and its workforce. The results were significant as they provided accurate information regarding the project influence in the local area and how it maintains its stature as a company.

The data and information collected further assisted in proving the aim correct by showing the growth and expansion of the project. Its changing from the original site as it was too small and the additional workers hired all add to the development of the project.

The data collected and the methods in which they were collected proved appropriate as they met their objectives in finding out the aim. However, if the study was to be undertaken again then it may be useful if the observation of the paper making process was prior arranged. This would be beneficial as the process is not continuous and only on asking for a demonstration was one given.

As an investigation, the techniques in collecting data were successful as they were undertaken with care; especially when interviewing people giving extra attention to language and the fact that they were giving their time to the study.

A great technique was finding and interviewing the owner and founder May Rooney to help find out why this unique project within The Gambia was set up and as she is British what her opinion was regarding the Gambian way of life and its approach to day to day living.

With regards to the approach being Western the observations and interviews prove that many British ideas towards recycling, reducing and reusing are used.

What needs to be put into consideration however is whether these basic methods that are practiced daily amongst Gambians and have been practiced for many generations are not adopted by Western countries or whether they influence Western counties in a back to basics approach or whether it is The same but different! (Bowden & Copeland, 2005) The recycling is the same but they way in which it is done is different.

Waste refers to the refuse from places of human or animal habitation, and is solid, liquid, or gaseous by-product derived from various day-to-day activities. This litter poses significant risks to human health and environment. Waste Management deals with all aspects of collection, storage, disposal, and reduction of waste.

Waste Management Services employ low-cost and labor-intensive systems to render social, economic, and environmental benefits. Some of these procedures include but not restricted to:

• Landfill Systems – Disposal involves placement of wastes in a dump or landfill. Abandoned piles of household garbage, discarded appliances, demolition debris etc. can threaten human health, wildlife and environment. A landfill daily cover helps prevent disease, fire, odor, blowing litter and scavenging in landfills. It also controls dust, improve general site aesthetics and act as a moisture barrier to limit excess precipitation from entering waste.
• Sediment Control – Erosion results in off-site sediment movement that can deposit and clog drainage ways, increase potential for flooding, decrease reservoir capacity, and carry nutrients and pesticides that degrade water quality. Sediment Control helps retain eroded soil on site, preventing damage to watercourses and infrastructure.
• Sludge Treatment – This involves stabilization for a controlled degradation of organic ingredients, odour removal and deadening of pathogens, ameliorating sewage sludge characteristics for further utilization or disposal.
• Slope Stabilization – Steep slopes, low soil fertility, and other adverse conditions are typical of many forest landslides. Reclamation and bio-technical slope stabilization can be employed to provide a self-sustaining vegetation cover on many forest landslides and unstable slopes.
• Bioremediation – This involves cleaning unwanted substances from air, soil, water and raw materials using Bioremediation Bacteria and enzymes, which can curb certain problems of global warming, clean up environment, eat concrete and mop up oil spills.
• Odor Control Products & Systems – Eliminating offensive odors from active landfills, wastewater transportation system and many different odorous compounds produced by sewage, using environment-friendly odour control technologies like Bio-augmentation, chemical neutralizers etc.

Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations. Environmentally acceptable, waste-management practices are essential if damaging consequences are to be avoided such as those due to toxic or hazardous waste, greenhouse-gas emissions, water pollution, air pollution etc. Waste Management Services help conserve both natural and man-made resources and avert ecological risks with their economically viable solutions!

In order for our world to progress and move forward into the foreseeable future, we will need to have sources of either renewable energy or energy that is inexhaustible. Our energy use habits at this point are changing our earth to something we are not accustomed to. This is why wind power development will be so important into the future.

It is easy to see that the road we are going down is not going to end well for our species. Yet, the development of renewable energy still doesn’t get the support it needs from every society on earth. Mankind is too busy worrying about the here and now that we are not looking towards our future. At the current rate of global warming, the future looks bleak indeed.

Wind energy in the United States is beginning to garner much underlying support but with conventional energy still being cheap, we are riding out what is left of the cheap oil in the Mideast and ruining our environment at the same time. Wind Power will need to become more accessible before it becomes a mainstream energy source. Even though wind energy has been used for literally thousands of years, it still has not become accessible for the average person to utilize.

The bottom line is that in the near future, wind energy will become the most cost effective power source we have. Technological advancements in the field of wind power have already been made and will continue. The key is can we commercialize this technology and get it deployed where it can become a source of energy throughout the world. I certainly hope so as the future of our world depends on it.

To get more info on Wind Power At Home, visit http://www.homewindgenerators.org

Environmental damage is becoming more and more of a concern with each passing year. For centuries we have been doing great damage to the environment through the way we produce products and through the products that we use. Now everyone is starting to see that the damage done is serious and we must begin to change our ways.

Sustainable products are one way to help minimize the damage to the environment. Sustainable products are products that do not do damage to the environment at all. In many cases, sustainable products are actually beneficial to the environment.

Building Better

One of the easiest to use sustainable products is wood. Wood is produced naturally, it comes from trees that are good for the environment and it is used in construction, which is one industry which has done major environmental damage.

Another sustainable product that can be used is clay. Clay has a lot of uses. It can be used in construction as well. It is a great building product because it is easy to use and it provides long lasting benefits to the consumer. A home, for example, that is built using clay will have natural insulation from the properties of the clay. This helps keep the home warm in the cold and cool in the heat.

What’s For Dinner?

Another area where a lot of environmental damage is done is related to food. The containers used that are made of plastic are very harmful to the environment. Better options are paper packaging. Additionally, pesticides used on vegetables and other crops can be very damaging to the environment. Organic foods are much healthier for you and the environment. They are also readily available at supermarkets all over the place.

Energy

Perhaps, the largest cause of environmental damage is energy. Energy has long been derived from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are not renewable. They are often difficult to get and harvesting these fossil fuels causes great environmental damage. Burning fossil fuels produces a great amount of pollution, as well.

Natural energy options are much better. These sustainable products are clean to use and they are a source of energy that will never be depleted. Renewable products include solar energy, wind energy and thermal energy. There are vehicles on the market that use electricity to operate instead of gasoline. There are energy companies that are using natural energy sources rather than using fossil fuels. There are many changes being made on the front of energy that are moving us towards using more sustainable products.

Using sustainable products is one of the top things that we can do to help save the environment, reduce damage and prevent future damage. In many cases using sustainable products is simple. You simply need to make the choice of a sustainable product over one that is not. In other cases, it can take a major change to switch to sustainable products, but when you consider the benefits then you know that it is well worth your time to make the change.

Starting on June 1, 2009, Austin
homeowners will be required to have an energy audit conducted and completed on
their house before they sell it. Texas Green Energy Audit is offering Green
Energy Audit Certification that provides duct blaster training sessions that
will get you up to speed on blaster testing that will be required during an
Austin Energy Audit.

An emerging trend in human consumption
and daily living has surpassed the preliminary ‘going green’ phase of organic
foods and has reached into all aspects of our lives: more fuel-efficient cars,
reducing consumptions and cleaner energy. In a new move to help improve, not
only our lives, but our homes, mandatory energy audits have been passed into laws
in many states throughout the nation. An energy audit is an inspection, survey
and analysis of energy flows in a building or home with the objective of
understanding the dynamics of the system. Typically, an energy audit is
conducted to seek out opportunities to reduce the amount of energy needed to
help the building or home operate efficiently without negatively jeopardizing
the output of energy. For a home, this may include finding ways to maintaining
or improving human comfort, health and safety. An energy audit also seeks to
prioritize the energy usage according

Starting on June 1, 2009, Austin
homeowners will be required to have an energy audit conducted and completed on
their house before they sell it. This new code was added by the City of Austin,
requiring that all residential properties within the Austin city limits that
are 10 years or older, receive services from Austin Electric Utility and that
are on the market for sale, are required to have an energy audit completed by a
certified auditor prior to the property being sold.

The homeowner who is selling the house
has the choice of selecting an auditor that is a disinterested third party who
may not have financial incentive to over-report repairs, or a home energy
contractor who will accurately apply the cost of the audit to the cost of the
needed repairs. The audit will need to include a visual inspection, as well as
testing of the air conditioning system for leakage, using methods and standards
that are officially approved by the City of Austin Energy Code. The audit must
be conducted by a person certified by either the Building Performance Institute
or other accredited agency approved by Austin Energy as a Building Performance
Analyst or the industry equivalent.

There are exemptions for single-family
homes, but they don’t come without hoops. Owners of homes that have
participated in the Austin Energy Home Performance with Energy Star® offering
or an Austin Energy equivalent fewer than 10 years before the time of the sale
and either performed at least three energy efficiency measures or received a
rebate of $500 or more will get an exemption.

The City of Austin has finalized their
list of equipment and tests that are required for the Energy Audit. Texas Green
Energy Audit is offering Green Energy Audit Certification through the BPI
program. The BPI program focuses on the house-as-a-system concept, including
mechanical equipment and the building envelope. Students who successfully
complete the course, the online final exam, and the field test know how to
identify problems, their root causes, and the appropriate repair. The purpose
of Texas Green Energy Audits is to provide the latest in green education,
training, and testing to qualified individuals who want to obtain the Building
Performance Institute (BPI) certification and become a Building Analyst
Professional able to perform energy audits in Austin.

Ethan Luke. Energy
Audits – Looking to earn a BPI certification to perform Energy Audits
in Austin? Contact
TXgreenenergyaudits.com for more information!