A California woman riffed off that old saw of “turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse” when she chose to rebound from a difficult divorce by uprooting to a quiet new home near a tranquil river. She settled on a 6 acre parcel in 1983, where she often mused, “What am I thinking, single woman with no children living in a big house on 6 acres?” The universe soon provided her with the answer. More accurately, with hundreds of furry answers.
Aren’t you sick of negative news? Does information that pushes us back into our respective corners on any topic serve any positive purpose? Bear with me on this. It explains why I like stories as promised in this headline. I’d like to learn if you feel the same.
As most drivers know, running a vehicle is not cheap and there are many expenses that you have to consider when it comes to motoring. When purchasing a car, a lot of people only take into consideration the actual cost of the vehicle and they forget that they will have to continue paying out money to run the vehicle after it has been purchased.
There are many different costs that you need to think about when it comes to running your vehicle such as the cost of fuel, the cost of repairs and maintenance, and insurance premiums so you can legally take your vehicle out on the road. When it comes to the latter, the costs can really add up which is why you need to do all you can to try and keep your insurance costs to a minimum without compromising on the level of coverage you need.
What can you do to keep costs down?
So, what steps can you take to keep your insurance costs to a minimum? Well, one thing to think about is the rising role of technology in insurance. You can now benefits from a range of products that not only provide you with a higher degree of safety and greater peace of mind but also help to reduce the cost of your insurance coverage. For instance, if you have a tracker fitted to your vehicle, there is less of a chance of it being stolen and not recovered. If you have a dash cam, it can help to determine who was at fault in the event of an accident. Having a car alarm fitted is a vital aspect of security for vehicles. All of these things can help to bring the cost of your insurance down while also enhancing security for your vehicle.
Another thing you need to do in order to keep the cost of your insurance down is to make sure you choose the most suitable level of coverage. There are various options available when it comes to coverage options and some are cheap and basic while others are more comprehensive and expensive. You should take into consideration the value of your vehicle before you choose which plan to opt for. If your vehicle is only worth a few hundred dollars, there is no point paying a fortune for comprehensive coverage that costs more than the value of your car. On the other hand, if you have a high value vehicle you should not take the risk of having just the most basic cover because it could cost you far more in the long run.
It is also very important that you compare the cost of coverage from one provider to another. You will be amazed at what the price difference can be between providers for exactly the same level of coverage. By taking the time to compare, you can save yourself a fortune when it comes to your car insurance. This is therefore an essential part of the process.
Need a respite from awful news? You can opt to plunk down money for a superhero movie – or better yet – tune in to a few homespun videos viraling online that show the real, and stoppable, quest of Good trumping Evil. Pardon the use of that once-powerful verb. Thankfully, this is not a story about America’s Embarrassment-in-Chief.
Over recent weeks, Middle Eastern women have posted a series of clips on social media, some garnering millions of views, showing Muslima bravely fighting to free themselves from cultural oppression – in this case, compulsory wearing of the hijab. Specifically, these are Iranian women, people in a nation that the US war machine is currently antagonizing via Twitter.
The videos show women dancing, in public, in their homes, some with their backs to the camera. The bolder dancers look straight at the camera. The trend is notionally linked to the legal case of Maeade Mahi, who was recently arrested simply because she uploaded her dancing videos on her Instagram account. Green Prophet frequently reports on the power of dance.
Women in Iran who publicly dance or sing or show their hair are considered criminals. As example, Mahi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. See her post-arrest video, below, and note that current news reports that her sentence has been postponed:
My heart is bleeding for #ShaparakShajarizadeh who’s reacting after she just found out she was sentenced to 20 years of prison. Let’s show her and the other brave #IranianWomen that they are not alone!#GirlsOfRevolutionStreet#Feminism#Freedom#NoToGenderDiscrimination pic.twitter.com/kBH27EvcpE
— Darya Safai MP (@SafaiDarya) July 8, 2018
Modern propaganda, using social media, can incite rebellion in a fresh and fun way. Documenting a cause digitally allows instant sharing, more likely when the message is presented in an appealing way. See the offending Mahi video, below.
Her name is Maeade Mahi. Recently she got arrested just because of uploading her dancing videos on her Instagram. If you are a woman in Iran and you dance or sing or show your hair then you are a criminal. If you want to enjoy your true self, you have to brake the laws every day. pic.twitter.com/0eIq5ld5x6
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 7, 2018
One Twitter user wrote: “I’m dancing so that they [the authorities] see and know that they cannot take away our happiness and hope by arresting teenagers and (girls like) Maedeh.”
This is not the first time dancers in Iran have been arrested for dancing. Earlier this year, an official in the city of Mashhad was arrested after footage emerged showing a crowd of men and women dancing at a mall in the city, while six people were arrested for Zumba dancing in August.
In 2014, six young Iranians who posted a video of themselves dancing to Pharrell Williams’ hit song Happy on the streets and rooftops of Tehran were given suspended sentences of up to one year in prison and 91 lashes. A year earlier, a group of Israeli soldiers danced their way to prison for their posted video of their “Harlem Shake”.
I’ll close with a quote from Persian poet Rumi, “Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”
Or, as Lady Gaga simply says, “Just dance.”
Calling all women in the Start-up Nation! M12, Microsoft’s corporate venture fund, announces a new competition for female-led technology startups where two teams have the chance to each win USD$2 million in funding. The Female Founders Competition was announced via a company blog post on Thursday.
New research by Hebrew University of Jerusalem details the complex mathematical calculations that animals perform to locate their next meal. Turns out that even the simple earthworm constantly computes new scent data to see if they are on right track to food. Can humans learn from these tubular hermaphrodites?
Google “love gone wrong” and you’ll be faced with 46,100,000 results offering music videos, poems, books, potions, and advice on how to deal with an ex-lover who played you wrong. A young Egyptian woman went old-school (albeit using new social media) and devised her own way to deal with her post-breakup blues. She offered her boyfriend up for sale on an online marketplace.
Here at Green Prophet we support the use of cannabis as an alternative medicine. Cannabidiol, one of the molecules of cannabis, tends to be a natural remedy that is used and effective for some common ailments. It is regarded as a chemical compound that is present in the cannabis/marijuana plant. When it comes to tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, this is a psychoactive cannabinoid that can be found in cannabis. It gives the feeling of being “high.” CBD is not psychoactive.
Therefore, it is a good option when it comes to pain relief along with other symptoms and that without the mind-changing impacts present in marijuana and other pharmaceutical drugs. Continue reading to learn about some health benefits connected to CBD oil.
It is marijuana that has been used to handle chronic pain for many years. Recently some scientists have found that some components present of marijuana, including specifically CBD, help with its pain-relieving impacts. When it comes to the human body, this has a specialized system known as the endocannabinoid system or ECS.
This regulates some functions such as sleep, immune system response, appetite, as well as pain. Our body produces endocannabinoids. These are neurotransmitters which bind to cannabinoid receptors particularly in the nervous system.
Research has stated that CBD may actually aid in limiting chronic pain. This is by affecting endocannabinoid receptor activity, limiting inflammation. It interacts with neurotransmitters.
Therefore CBD, mainly in conjunction with THC, may actually be effective when it comes to limiting pain connected with diseases such as multiple sclerosis along with rheumatoid arthritis.
Those people who suffer from anxiety and depression are keen to find ways to handle this. Anxiety along with depression tend to be common mental health disorders which can produce harmful effects on one’s health and also well-being.
Anxiety and depression often get treated with some pharmaceutical drugs. These can develop some side effects such as drowsiness, headache, agitation, sexual dysfunction as well as insomnia.
On top of this medication such as benzodiazepines can actually be addictive and may develop substance abuse. When it comes to CBD oils, this has been shown to treat depression and anxiety, resulting in some who have these disorders becoming interested in CBD.
CBD oil has been employed to safely treat insomnia along with anxiety present in children who have post-traumatic stress disorder. In some animal studies, CBD has shown similar antidepressant effects.
These qualities are connected to CBD’s potential to behave on one’s brain receptors for serotonin. This is a neurotransmitter which regulates mood as well as social behavior.
There are also other health benefits of CBD such as its ability to alleviate cancer-related symptoms, helping in reducing acne, it may have neuroprotective properties; may benefit heart health and more.
Therefore, people are becoming interested in CBD as a way of fighting some common illnesses. You need to know that CBD tends to be generally well tolerated moreover considered safe, it may lead to adverse reactions in certain people. You, therefore, need to be careful if you decide to pursue this treatment.
Pucker up, Cairenes (and, soon, visitors across Egypt’s capital). The nation has begun an epic tree-planting initiative that will introduce fruit-bearing trees across Cairo. Soon citrus fruit will be freely available to anyone willing to pluck it.
Hot weather seems to call for cold dinners like our chilled, herbed tomato soup. But don’t wait for cooler weather to fix this savory cannellini (white kidney) bean soup. It’s packed with energizing vegetables and protein; filling, but light enough to need rounding out with salad and good bread for a satisfying dinner.
If you use canned beans, it will take about 45 minutes from start to serving. If you prefer to cook with dried beans, you’ll need to soak them for at least five hours ahead of time.
I prefer to use dried beans, because after all, it’s no big deal to put beans in a bowl, cover them with water, and set them aside until next day. And yes, dried beans take longer to cook – between 1 to 1-1/2 hours. I figure on using the time to get other things done around the house, then set the table, slice bread, and get the salad ready so I can put dinner on the table as soon as the soup is done.
But I do keep several kinds of canned beans in the pantry for those times when I need to produce a hot meal quickly,and they make good soup too. You can also substitute a can of chopped tomatoes for fresh ones, but then you’ll need to taste the soup while it’s cooking and possibly add a little brown sugar or other sweetener if they’re very tart.
Cannellinni Bean Soup
Serves 4 – may be doubled
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium-large fresh tomatoes, chopped; or 1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup dried cannellini beans, rinsed and soaked 5-8 hours; or 1 15-oz can drained and rinsed beans
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 cup fresh spinach or sliced Swiss chard leaves, packed in tightly. Substitute a large, sliced zucchini if you want.
Heat the olive oil in the soup pot over medium heat.
Add the sliced carrot, onion and celery to the warm olive oil. Cook the vegetables, stirring a few times, until they wilt – about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and garlic to the pot. Continue cooking until the tomatoes are soft.
Add the beans, salt and pepper, water and bay leaf.
If you’re using dried, soaked beans, cook the soup until the beans are very soft – from 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Start checking after an hour. The way to tell if beans are cooked through: spoon a few beans up, with their liquid, and blow on them. If their skins split apart, the beans are cooked; or at least, worth tasting to judge if they need to cook a little longer.
If you’re using canned beans, cook for 30 minutes.
Either way, cover the pot, bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low.
When the soup is ready stir in the spinach, Swiss chard or zucchini. Cover the pot again and cook another five minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve with our easy, oven-baked Parmesan buttercup squash, and bread, and a chilled white wine. Figs are in season now, so top off the meal with our wonderful figs with arak and cream.
With the recent shift in modern times, we can see that air pollution levels are rising alarmingly. Even though air cleaning processes are on since last few decades, there is no change in the air quality. In fact, it is deteriorating and getting worst day by day. While you switch in your smart TV, the only news you get to hear these days is the alarming rise in the “smog” and the air level.
This is creating several health issues in Canada. People are falling ill and are getting prey to chronic respiratory problems and other health issues. Poor air quality is affecting not only everybody’s health but also the environment. The government needs to take stern action and steps to improve the quality of air to save the environment as well as people.
Air pollution challenges being faced are:
Even though the cleaning process is still on, there is no significant change in the climatic conditions. Besides, outdoor pollution, indoor pollution is also creating problems. All these aspects are covered under the governing body, “The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.” (CEPA, 1999) Indoor pollution is one of them, and it arises from chimney smoke, lantern smoke, smoking and other causes.
Though the Canadian government has made much progress in cleaning and purifying the air quality, yet a lot is left to be done. This is not a onetime process, but the cleaning has to be carried on regularly as the air pollution tends to rise at an alarming rate rather than decreasing. Under the CEPA was established in 1999 to clean and check the quality of air in the country. And since then, there has been no looking back.
Air pollution can be harmful and so are its side effects. Studies and researches have shown that even if the air pollution level is low, it can still harm human’s health. And to stop this, regular refreshment of air needs to done by the CEPA authority. This association is devoted towards reducing and controlling the toxic substances in the environment.
Common Problems!
Pollutants can cause multiple health issues. Thus, the government should be prompt enough to take decisions for improving the air quality.
Making bio-gas at home from food scraps is now becoming an easily affordable reality. After
seeing a model of the Homebiogas device on display at the June 26-27 Cleantech Israel 2018 conference and exposition in Tel Aviv, I paid a July 10 visit to the company’s headquarters in Beit Yanai Israel, to inspect a working model of the appliance that makes usable methane based bio-gas in one’s own backyard using a combination of manure, food scraps and other organic material.
Roy Barzam, Homebiogas’ US sales manager (photo), took me on a tour of their facilities, at which several bio-gas appliances were in various stages of bio waste processing and operation. “The process of converting organic wastes into bio-gas is known as anaerobic digestion
in which bacteria and other micro-organisms breakdown the organic material without being exposed to air. This is different from composting, in which the organic material
is exposed to air” he said. This anaerobic breakdown process is what produces the mostly methane bio-gas that is then stored in the appliance for later home use.
The Homebiogas appliance, made almost entirely of PVC and polyprophane plastic materials, weighs only 23 KG “in the box” when delivered with a set of assembly and operation instructions. When completely ‘charged up’ with horse or cow manure (the best fertilizer for producing suitable bacteria for the breakdown process), water and food scraps, the appliance weighs as much as 1.5 tons. The entire bio-gas production process takes several weeks, Roy added, pointing to an appliance still in the bio-gas production process (photo).
Once the Homebiogas appliance is delivered to a customer, the set-up and preperation process is as follows:
After unpacking assembling on a dry, flat surface, around 100 KG of horse or cow manure is fed into the appliance’s intake inlet to create the needed bacteria. After a 3-4 week time period, organic waste such as vegetable and fruit, meat and dairy scraps (including bones) are fed into it. Up to 12 liters of “kitchen wastes” per day can be added via the intake “feeding tube”. Water is also added along with food wastes (up to 1200 liters).This is done until the water volume and food waste volumes are more or less equal.
“The manure does it all to create the bacteria for breaking down the food wastes”, Roy says. He also pointed out a capped outlet pipe from which filtered liquid fertilizer, a byproduct of
the biogas production process, is removed. What remains from this process is a sludge that accumulates at the bottom of the appliance and is eventually removed.
Roy also showed a “bio-toilet” in operation ( above photo)in which human wastes are fed directly into a Homebiogas unit. The resulting fertilizer would not be suitable for fertilizing food crops, but can be used for fertilizing trees flowers, grass, etc. “Bio-toilets, which are like those used in boats and campers save water, due to their unique pumping systems” Roy adds.
Since Homebiogas was founded in 2012, some 3000 biogas appliances have been sold to customers in more than 90 countries. “We advise using our appliance in warmer climates where temperatures are at least 20 degrees Celsius during the daytime. Otherwise, a heating device must be used to keep the processing bacteria alive and functioning properly” , Roy said.
Due to the much lower gas pressure for the created bio-gas in its 700 liter storage compartment, the Homebiogas appliance is much safer to use than conventional LP gas; and has been certified safe to use by Israeli governmental authorities. The amount of daily bio-gas produced is enough to power a one burner gas unit for up to two hours. One of these gas burners is included with each appliance.
As to the future: “We are developing larger models for use in schools and other facilities. They will be much larger than the standard home model – as much as 5 times larger”, Roy said.
More about biogas from biomass and food scraps:
Make bio-gas in your back yard from food and poop
Becoming a legal guardian to a new child can be an exciting and rewarding task. Of course, the process won’t be that easy or simple, but when all is said and done, you will be glad you took the approach. A legal guardian is an individual or individuals that are appointed by the court to be completely responsible for the affairs and well being of another person. Sometimes this can mean children and something it can refer to incapacitated or elderly people. Whatever the situation is, if you are looking to become a guardian you need to know the laws and regulations, as they can sometimes seem overwhelming.
The first thing you are going to have to do in order to become a legal guardian is establish your guardianship with the court of the law. You can do this by going down to the courthouse and filing a petition. You will have to pay courts fee and filing fees, but this petition will legally identify and recognize your interest in becoming a legal guardian. If you are looking to become a legal guardian of a child, you will also have to file a letter of the consent form. This form is sent to the child’s parents and in some cases they will have to sign off on your becoming the guardian. It really just depends on the circumstances and the situation that the child is in.
Filling the correct paperwork with the right supporting documents helps prevent delays and ensures the court can properly review the request. NYC couples often look for Serve Index Legal Support in Manhattan to manage document handling and service requirements tied to guardianship filings without procedural mistakes. Proper coordination of notices, filings, and responses can keep the process moving while reducing the risk of having to refile or amend paperwork later.
Guardianship law can be a tricky subject and sometimes a lawyer might be necessary for the process. Becoming a guardian really isn’t for everyone and you need to heavily weigh the pros and cons before making the decision. Once you become a guardian it can be extremely difficult to terminate that guardianship. In most cases you are going to be legally responsible for this child until he or she turns eighteen years of age. However, there are certain circumstances and situations when the court can end the guardianship. If you run into legal problems or are accused of abuse, you might lose the guardianship.
You might even be required to pay child support when the child is assigned another legal guardian.
There are certain situations when the child’s original parents might object to you becoming the new guardian. These cases will probably have to go to court and they can be long and drawn out. Most of the time guardianship is only granted if:
Keep in mind that if the parents do deny consent it is possible that you can still become the legal guardian. However, once again this will probably be a long drawn out process, as you will have to prove in the court of law that the original parents are not fit to handle the well being of the child.
Traditionally, poorer or developing Asian countries imported plastic waste from developed and wealthy countries. Until this year, China was the world’s biggest plastic importer, accounting for more than 45% of the total yearly plastic import, worldwide.
2018 was the year of change for China, apparently, as it refused to buy any more plastic, due to local environmental concerns. The news came as a surprise for all rich countries, who used China to discard of their own plastic waste. This threw the recycling industry in turmoil and nations struggle today to find other countries to dispose of their waste. It looks like the plastic buying era has come to an end. But all ends have new beginnings and viable solutions for this burning issue have to be urgently found. Otherwise, all the plastic waste will end up in local landfills, local waters and ultimately, oceans, as this wasn’t a problem too big already.
The recycling maps have to be redrawn, calling for nations to develop and implement local plastic recycling strategies to diminish the plastic waste that will end up in nature. But, difficult times are waiting for nations before everything will come to a clear path of action, as the matter is challenging numerous industries and politics, is challenging stakeholders and policymakers, equally.
Some debate that plastic recycling is unviable from costs’ perspective. Plastic recycling is considered to be unsustainable, because of the large volumes of plastic generated by each nation, separately. And before, implementing a domestic system that works and is mature enough to deal with plastic waste is necessary. More than this, there has to be present a domestic market for the plastic mass generated by the recycling industry. To the plastic waste that reaches recycling bins, there is a staggering amount of 6.3 billion tons of waste that ends up in landfills or in nature, as of the year of 2017.
Plastic recycling was always seen as an unattractive matter for most civilized and rich countries. The process is a difficult one and markets for materials generated by recycling are difficult to find. Since the plastic manufacturing industry took over and began to be widely used globally, in the ‘50s, plastic imports to China spiked by 800%. And this accounted only for the 9% of plastic waste that is yearly recycled globally. The rest ends up in rivers, landfills, and ultimately, in earth’s biggest sink, the Ocean. The leading plastic exporter to China, the USA, is also the one with the less developed domestic recycling industry. It’s expensive, difficult, and unattractive to implement such policies. And still, until this year, the USA was the biggest importer of single-use food packaging, manufactured of PVC.
As China won’t be importing plastic anymore due to local environmental concerns, countries such as the USA will have to push for local manufacturers to use in their processes more recycled plastic. In the future, nations will have to find more inventive and efficient methods to dispose of their plastic. More thought has to be given to solid plastic waste management systems, such as balers for recycling, in this context. But also, many environmental advocates push for a more effective use of alternate manufacturing materials, to replace plastic. But this is challenging on several levels, from economic aspects to policies and logistics. To replace the use of plastic in a manufacturing process, you have to first find a suitable material, then rethink the entire manufacturing process, invest in new equipment and methods, train your employees in using those and creating new policies to protect and promote the new given coordinates.
If we want the world’s nations to find a solution in this regard, we have to take a closer look at China’s case and the reasons that turned it into the world’s biggest plastic importer. Back in the ‘90s, China managed to become the world’s biggest manufacturer. This generated an increased demand for materials, which, led to immense imports of plastic from richer countries, which were already using plastic at a very large scale. New processes and methods to turn all waste plastic bought from rich countries were invented and China’s capacity to process those, just as well.
As China announced that it will stop importing a variety of goods and materials, due to environmental concerns – including recycled plastic – this opens new opportunities for the leading economies of the world to develop better, more effective plastic recycling methods and technologies.
But let’s take the USA current plastic recycling methods, as an example. Currently, across the USA, are present numerous “single-stream” recycling facilities. In terms of quality, single-stream recycling lacks it almost completely. In this case, various materials are compacted together and new, less pure and less qualitative materials emerge in the process. It’s also one of the lest economically viable recycling options out there.
A decrease when it comes to the use of plastic is expected to appear. As viable and profitable recycling options are currently unavailable or costly to implement if they exist, manufacturers are expected to turn their attention to other materials. Biodegradables, bioplastics, these are all new opportunities in industries using plastic at a large scale. They have a shorter decomposition period and break down in easy to assimilate compounds. So, even when they end up in landfills, these are unlikely to damage it in the long run, like traditional plastic does.
New opportunities appear when it comes to regulations and policies. Some voices claim that the Basel Convention could be extended to regulate plastic waste as well. Importers could also implement new regulations and apply high taxes to plastic import.
What really happens after China put a ban on plastic import? We really don’t know for sure, but as the need to recycle larger volumes of plastic arises, maybe the world’s nations will become increasingly aware and willing to invest in cutting-edge recycling technologies and maybe even completely replace the use of plastic in manufacturing processes.
Ink manufacturing has come a long way over the past decade. However, the big question is whether we can see any signs of “green” printing? As ink is used in almost every industry, we must conclude that ink is also a significant contributor to several environmental issues. Let’s explore the efforts that have been made to reduce the impact of ink manufacturing on the environment:
Improvements in technology
There’s been a tremendous advance in technology over the past few years. In 2018, vegetable, water or eco solvent ink can print just as well as petroleum-based inks. Using these alternative eco-friendly ink options is indeed kinder to the environment.
Water-less ink technology has also helped to reduce the burden on the environment. The textile industry, for example, uses a staggering amount of water to aid in the ink drying process, which results in significant levels of water pollution. So, using water-less ink technology can help combat the issue of water pollution.
But, it’s important to highlight that improvements in technology go much further than advancements in ink formulations:
First, an increasing number of eco-friendly printers are available to buy on the market in 2018. These printers include a variety of energy-saving power modes, with some, said to use up to 96% less energy than a traditional printer. Additionally, advancements in economical printing technology are helping to reduce the level of ink used per job.
Second, a more substantial number of toners are being recycled. As part of their environmental commitments, most popular printer manufacturing brands now offer a toner collection recycling scheme.
Economics
A key factor to environmental progress in ink manufacturing is the economic market. Guerino Sacripante explains that the price of oil can have a significant effect on ink production. If the price of oil is high, companies are incentivised to look for alternative bio-solutions to produce ink. Whereas, if the price of oil is low, companies find that it makes financial sense to manufacture ink from toxic petrochemical solvents.
We must also consider the effect that industry price wars have on the manufacturing landscape. In specific ink markets, the competition is so fierce that companies will do their best to reduce manufacturing costs. So, bottom line: if it’s cheaper to manufacture ink using non-sustainable chemicals, then so be it!
That’s when the government needs to step in and ensure that sustainable practices are carried out, despite the economic pressures. Luckily for us and the planet, you can see below some of the initiatives that governments have implemented to reduce the harm of ink manufacturing on the environment.
Government regulations
The government can have a considerable influence on the uptake of sustainable ink production practices in the industry.
For example, the Chinese government introduced a new environmental tax policy in January of 2018, which incentivises local authorities to do a better job at enforcing the policy. By allowing local authorities to set their own environmental tax rates and keep the full tax income, the government is hoping that local authorities will be more inclined to impose the policy.
As it turns out, regional councils have used the new policy as a way of encouraging or discouraging manufacturing growth and levels of pollution. For example, Beijing has some of the highest levels of air pollution in the country, yet also has the highest environmental tax rate in China. On the other hand, specific regions have opted for a low tax rate to entice manufacturing investments in the area.
What’s more, the Chinese government is rewarding manufacturing firms with a 25% tax reduction if they reduce their pollution by 30%-49%.
So, as we can see from the Chinese efforts: governments can be an excellent catalyst for environmental change if they can nudge the industry in the right direction.
Brand awareness
Brands are increasingly listening to the demands of their customers. As environmental issues become more mainstream, so are customers that request eco-friendly product options.
Society’s shift in perspective is pressuring brands to review their environmental practices, including those of their partners and suppliers.
Some companies, especially in the food industry, have implemented an all-natural packing initiative for their products, which strictly uses recycled paper and bio-renewable or water-based inks.
We can see that customer demand can influence corporate behaviour. Companies are aware that a customer’s buying decision is not controlled by price alone. So, the more pressure that we put on the ink manufacturing industry to change, the sooner the change will happen.
Summary
Is the ink industry more environmentally friendly in 2018? The answer would be: yes and no. There is undoubtedly a lot of evidence that things are moving in the right direction and a lot of progress has been made. But, we can also see that despite the advancements in ink technologies, numerous other factors influence ink manufacturing behaviour. Whether it’s government policies, economic markets or brand awareness, we can agree that there is still much to be done for the sake of our planet.
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