[careinke]

eastbay,

Nice read, I enjoyed it. I have one question though. Was David Bi, or was he just dicking with the Bartender?

[eastbay]

HA! The bar scene. I was hoping someone would ask about that. He's straight. When people daydream or get lost in thought, they generally focus their gaze on something, anything in particular and often for no particular reason. Doctor David Reseigh was merely lost in thought, exhausted from the trip to Jakarta, and focusing his eyes on some black fabric stretched tight across an attractive fit body. It's easy on the eyes, we've all done it, regardless of gender or primary gender attraction.

[eastbay]

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/go/42-news/ ... urning-up-

The above link is to a news article about the book, "Direct Action." It's nice when the media grants coverage to the ongoing catastrophe in the tropical rainforests.

It's also nice that the kind reporter chose to mention the pointlessness of relying on the activity of the Big Green environmental organizations. It should be obvious to everyone by now that their work is only serving to hasten the destruction.

[americandream]

Like your approach to issues EB. Will definitely have to read your material.

[Graeme]

Greenpeace report on P&G's palm oil sources could spur industry change

Could Procter & Gamble taking steps to clean up its palm oil sourcing practices set an example for others to follow? Greenpeace thinks so. The NGO is using the lever of P&G's big name in an attempt to spur industry-wide change in the sourcing of palm oil. The campaign group recently concluded a year-long investigation into P&G's supply chain, looking at the source of the palm oil the multinational uses as an ingredient in its household brands such as Head & Shoulders shampoo and Gillette shaving gel. Greenpeace also launched a petition, since signed by more than 300,000 consumers globally, calling on P&G to improve its practices.

"If a well known company like Procter & Gamble can show leadership to clean up supply chains, we expect other companies will follow," said Bustar Maitar, global head of Greenpeace's Indonesia Forest Campaign.

Like 1,300 other companies from 50 countries, P&G is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a certification standard launched in 2004 to ensure that companies could continue to manufacture foods and personal products without cutting down tropical forests, thus destroying habitat for endangered animals and causing carbon dioxide emissions from the land-use change.

But thanks to opaque supply chains, the Roundtable is not actually preventing the destruction of forests and peatlands, according to a Greenpeace report published last fall.

"On the ground, we've seen lots of RSPO members still doing forest clearing in the area, which is an indication of weak enforcement and a weak standard," said Maitar. "RSPO, from my perspective, has been used for green washing by companies who want to expand their plantations into the forest."

While calling out P&G specifically via the petition, Greenpeace also published a related report that reviewed a range of multinational companies and their track records on this issue. The NGO cited another company as a leader: Nestlé.

In 2010, the multinational food corporation committed to a no deforestation policy, including 100% traceability. The company is currently implementing its policies and reporting its progress transparently, according to Greenpeace.

Duncan Pollard, Nestlé's head of stakeholder engagement in sustainability, said that deforestation is a complex issue, but "now we're seeing a wave of ambition to tackle this that is sweeping the industry."

theguardian

[Graeme]

Ecover to replace palm oil with algae

Ecover has developed the first laundry liquid in the world to use oil sourced from algae as an alternative to palm oil, demand for which has widely blamed for rainforest clearances and the loss of crucial habitats.

The liquid, set to be available from August, is to be the first of a range of products that Ecover says will help reduce dependence on palm and palm kernel oil by replacing it with innovative new natural oils produced from algae.

businessgreen

[Graeme]

Public Pressure Tells as Procter & Gamble Finally Agrees to Clean Up Its Palm Oil Act

Procter and Gamble (P&G) has committed to a new No Deforestation policy that will remove forest destruction from its products and provide full traceability for all the palm oil and derivatives it uses. After weeks of public pressure and outcry over the company’s palm oil sourcing practices, Greenpeace International has welcomed the move as a huge step forward in protecting the country’s forests and the communities who depend on them, but warned that much work still remains.

Nearly 400,000 people have called for the company - which manufactures a wide range of products, including the Head and Shoulders shampoo brand - to change its ways and take measures to stop the destruction of habitat that is home to the Sumatran tiger and the orangutan, amongst other species.

A series of protests across the world drew attention to P&G’s bad practices, including at the company’s headquarters in Cincinnati in the United States, a peaceful action for which Greenpeace US activists still face serious charges.

In response P&G have promised to take measures removing all deforestation from its palm oil supply chains by 2020. The policy goes beyond existing criteria from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and requires the company’s suppliers to guarantee there will be no conversion of peatland, that the rights of local communities will be respected and that high carbon and high conservation value areas will be protected.

“Hundreds of thousands of people across the planet have called on P&G to get rid of palm oil that is leaving tigers and orangutans homeless,” says Areeba Hamid, a forest campaigner with Greenpeace International. “Their commitment today is another step towards responsible supply chains and ending deforestation in the world’s rainforests.”

commondreams

[Graeme]

Indonesia president lauds success of logging ban, urges continued action

A few months before his administration ends, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed hope that his successor would be able to prolong the ban on new logging and plantation concessions he introduced in 2011. He cited the progress it has made towards more sustainable land-use practices, and subsequent benefits in environmental conditions and public health.

Yudhoyono expressed this hope in his speech at the 2014 Forest Asia Summit, held in Jakarta, on May 5 and 6, the theme of which was “Sustainable Landscapes for Green Growth in Southeast Asia.”

“In 2011, I signed a moratorium of new utilization and conversion licenses to protect more than 63 million hectares of primary forests and peat lands. This is an area larger than the landmass of Malaysia and the Philippines combined,” Yudhoyono said. “Last year, I extended the policy until 2015. I hope my successor can prolong this moratorium.”

mongabay