Although the government is about to reduce the subvention amount for environmentally smart home energy, it began offering a different incentive for electric bikes. Receive 25% off (up to 400 euros) if you purchase an electric bike in Paris. For the moment this offer is restricted to Paris and Paris residents only, which means you’re supposed to have a Parisian address to qualify. We were lucky to receive this offer when we purchased our first vélo électrique, which is awesome. We bought this bike here.

I’m not sure if this offer will apply to other French cities.

For more information: see velo electrique (French)

From the telegraph:

“…The places under threat include some of the area’s most popular resorts. Bays popular with Britons from Mont-Saint-Michel along the Atlantic coast all the way to La Baule, a top summer beach destination, are now struggling to dispose of thousands of tons of Ulva lactuca – more commonly known as sea lettuce.

Doctors have warned that the algae pose a health risk as they produce hydrogen sulphide when they rot. That can become trapped under a seaweed crust and be as deadly as cyanide if released suddenly.

Two weeks ago, a horse rider lost consciousness after breathing in the toxic fumes on the beach in Saint-Michel-en-Grève, where 16,000 tonnes of the algae have already been collected this year. His horse was killed.

Pierre Philippe, of the Lannion hospital in Brittany, which also treated a council worker who fell into a coma while clearing beaches, said there were “almost certainly other unreported cases”. The seaweed has been multiplying abnormally fast due to the use of huge amount of nitrates used in intensive pig and poultry farming. The nitrates seep into the region’s rivers and end in the sea. Scientists said global warming could also be a factor.

The worst affected area is Saint-Brieuc on the Côtes-d’Armor coast of Brittany. Besides Saint-Michel-en-Grève, around ten beaches have…”

Continue reading

From cleantechnica:

“A Spanish company called Turtle Airships is working on plans to build a luxurious solar-powered blimp which can take passengers from New York to Paris.

Perhaps the only thing cooler than being powered by lightweight photovoltaic cells, this airship is also designed to rest on land or water.

The first blimp prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outside of the ship will be covered with Cadmium-Indium-Germanium (CIG) photovoltaic cells, picked for their their light weight. The cells should generate enough power to move the blimp at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. Meanwhile, a diesel drivetrain will generate the rest of the power, and ideally the designers will look to an adapted hybrid electric model for that. And because blimps fly at low altitudes, they don’t have to deal with problems that plague diesel engines at elevations over 30,000 ft.

The only thing currently keeping this visionary project from flying is…”

Continue reading

In Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s most recent TED Talk, he discusses his three most recent projects on humanity and our habitat. You’ll be glued to the aerial photographs in his series “Earth from Above,” personal interviews from around the globe featured in his web project “6 billion Others,” and his soon-to-be-released free movie, “Home (produced by Luc Besson),” which documents human impact on the environment through breathtaking video. Home’s global premiere is tomorrow, June 5, which is World Environment Day.

Protect Nature / Respect the Environment / No Swimming Allowed

tags: signs, photos of france

Although there are many ways to explore the Camargue, France’s sprawling area of protected marshland, my personal recommendation would be to see it on horseback. That is, if you’re up for that kind of thing.

Because the Camargue is designated as a botanical and zoological nature reserve, it seems fitting to try to see it all the while respecting nature and the wildlife all around. I love riding and I’d been wanting to go horseback riding for ages, so this was the perfect opportunity, and for me, the perfect way to see the Camargue. If riding on a big animal’s back is not your cup of tea, you have many options: jeep safaris, organized tours, and my second choice for seeing the area, bicycling. With many areas of the Camargue being off-limits to motorized traffic plus the advantage of such a flat terrain, you’re good on bike. Hills will NOT be a problem. Hiking’s also a good choice but you must be in enormously great shape to cover a lot of ground, and to run away from charging wild bulls. Just kidding.

^{photo from Les Arnelles}

Looking for places to rent a horse to ride will not be a problem; they are everywhere. Just check out the place and owners a bit and examine the health of the horses. We visited three places before choosing Les Arnelles. The people working there were great, the horses were well taken care of, and since we had specific areas we wanted to see, they let us customize our ride.

If you plan on taking photos on horseback, I’d recommend bringing a small camera that you can use easily with one hand. I made the mistake of bringing my large camera, which is a little too clunky and heavy to use with one hand (carrying reins in the other hand), which is why I took very few pictures. Also, along the way, I lost my lens cover while we’d been galloping for a stretch. Doh!

NOTE: Don’t forget the mosquito repellent! Also try to bring some binoculars.

Les Arnelles
Route d’Arles
13460 Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer France
Tel: +33 (0)603 892 379 | +33 (0)686 601 515 | +33 (0)490 978 286
Website: Les Arnelles

tags: france, camargue, horseback riding camargue

WWF France (World Wildlife Fund) is turning 35 years old. Remembering their 35 years of struggle to save natural habitats and wildlife, and their 35 years of helping to protect biodiversity, the WWF is taking their icon/mascot, the panda, as a theme to “celebrate” these 35 years of combating the disappearance of pandas and thousands of other species of animals in danger. There are only 1600 pandas left on earth because Man has accelerated their extinction. The exhibit of 1600 pandas at the Trocadero is a call to action for each person to do their part in helping to reverse the deterioration of our natural environment.

1600 Pandas – WWF
Trocadero, Paris
October 18, 2008
10am – 5pm

tags: france, french, pandas, wwf, trocadero

Over several years now, a strange thing has happened in France: the coffee started to suck. Yes, there were cafes that served terrible coffee forever, but for the most part in the early 2000s, it was still flavorful, very drinkable sludge espresso. It was French coffee, the coffee that I expected to have each time I came to France. I liked it, and the quality was very consistent from cafe to cafe. So when we moved to France six years ago, I was happy to be able to live the cafe experience, meeting people, hanging out, watching passers-by and sipping tasty coffee as often as I pleased. I used to always be surprised that I wouldn’t get the shakes if I had a double shot. However, soon afterward, I began not really enjoying my cuppa because of a declining quality, and in some cases, I developed a strange rash from drinking some brands of coffee, not to mention, getting the shakes (which I get when I drink American coffee). Slowly and surely, I reduced my consumption of coffee, and today, I don’t drink any coffee, whatsoever.

I miss it but I can’t seem to find anything I like. Apparently, I am not alone.

More and more people have stopped going to cafes, which has forced many cafes to close. In fact, since the beginning of this year, 610 cafes in France have closed their doors to the public forever. They just couldn’t make it. Many of these cafes had been in business for many generations.

Why did this happen? Expert have found many reasons that have played a contributing role, but for me, ultimately two were responsible, and it’s specifically these reasons that acted as the final coups de grace:

1.) The Case of the Free Coffee Machines – In the early 2000s, thousands of cafes were offered “free machines” for their establishments. “Free” is not entirely accurate and this “free” had heavy strings attached. In exchange for the free machines, the cafes were obliged to use coffee supplied by the company that offered the free machines. Guess what? That coffee is CRAP, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which company offered the free machines. (see appropriately numbered, number 2 below)

2.) Good coffee companies were bought by evil corporations – There is no doubt in my mind that corporate mergers brought quality down in coffee; it happened right before my very eyes and taste buds.

There are other factors why cafes have shut down.

3.) People stopped going to cafes. Why? The coffee sucked! Also #4 below.

4.) Weak Purchasing Power – Crazy inflation occurred when France turned to the euro. Prices went up but salaries did not. That said, even with less money to dedicate to little luxuries, I feel that people would still frequent cafes if the coffee was good.

5.) The popularity of home coffee makers using capsules – I hate these with a passion, and I hate that they have become so popular. I don’t care what they taste like because I find them to be very unfriendly to the environment. So wasteful. Why oh WHY did George Cluny agree to do those “What Else” spots? Doesn’t he CARE? Having said that, I think people in general were looking for alternatives to find more tasty coffees since they couldn’t find them at the cafes.

6.) The Smoking Ban – Since smoking is no longer allowed in cafes, that has hurt businesses in a big way.

Related: Dirty Secrets of a Paris Cafe Waiter, What happens when Europeans watch too much American TV, Bamboo Coffee Filters,

tags: france, french, coffee, cafes, end of a french tradition

I like Air Car better!

From engadget:

“MDI’s compressed air vehicle has been unofficially known as the AirCar for years now, but it looks like the company is now finally putting a stop to that, and officially bestowing the decidedly less catchy “FlowAIR” name on the car. What’s more, it’s also gotten official with no less than four different vehicles based on the technology, including the One FlowAIR open-top model, the Mini FlowAIR three-seater (pictured above), the City FlowAIR truck-type vehicle, and the Multi FlowAIR urban public transportation concept, all of which have been making the rounds under various guises for some time now. From the looks of it, the One FlowAIR will be the first out of the gate in 2009 (in France, at least), with the rest to follow over the next few years.”

Related: Air Cars hit the streets, French Air Cars Coming to the U.S.

Upon first glance, this seems to be a ridiculous attempt to grab attention, but that’s clearly not the case here.

While those seeking a life changing epiphany take pilgrimages to Lourdes, Santiago de Compostela, Mecca, and beyond, Hadrian Rabouin, an 18 year old Breton (guy from Bretagne), has something else in mind and decided that what he needed, was to walk a 1200 kilometer (745 miles) circuit in France with his cow named Camomile, a one and half year old Charolais heifer.

With organic farmers for parents, Hadrien grew up deeply engrained in toxic-free nature, and amidst the mindset of respecting his environment. The goal of his long walk is to discover and catalog plants that have been long forgotten. He plans to learn and live off the land whenever possible, and to meet whomever falls in his path for four months, walking approximately 20 kilometers per day, which is dependent on how Camomile feels, of course. He hopes this experience will give him a better perspective on where his life is going.

He didn’t want to bring any money but his mother insisted he at least bring a credit card and phone home now and again. His parents are comforted a little that he has a companion, albeit a cow for a companion. Reluctantly, he brought a credit card as well as 20 euros, which he apparently hasn’t needed because people along the way so far have given him money and food. He began his so-called pilgrimage on August 1 so he should be about half way through his circuit right about now and finishing in December.

Who knows, maybe this is the start of a new travel trend…

Kidding.

Watch a video of the story

tags: france, french, french guy traveling with a cow, pilgrimage, breton, charolais, cow

From macworld:

“Network operator Orange will rate the environmental impact of the fixed-line and mobile phones it sells, it said Friday.

In France mobile phones—and most other electrical and electronic goods—are already subject to a special tax called “eco-participation,” intended to fund recycling of the products at the end of their lives. Although the current eco-tax on mobile phones differs from that for, say, photocopiers, it’s the same for all models of phone, and at just €0.01 (US$.01), is nowhere near enough to influence customers to choose more environmentally friendly products.”

tags: france, french, orange, iphone, environmental impact of cell phones

From AP:

“Plastic forks, disposable diapers, drafty houses _ if it hurts the environment, make it cost more. That’s the message France’s government wants to send with a raft of proposed new taxes.

France’s ecology minister said Sunday the government is considering a “picnic tax” on disposable dishes to encourage people to use reusable plates and cups instead.

Speaking on Europe-1 radio, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said the plan wouldn’t stop at picnicware. For example, she said, “We could make it so that in all public maternity wards, you would be taught to use washable diapers.”

She said a new carrot-and-stick plan already applied to cars is being spread to other environmentally damaging products such as paints and detergents.

The plan offers a bonus of up to $7,000 to buyers of fuel-efficient cars, but as of next year it will slap extra fees of up to a few thousand euros (dollars) on the cost of heavy polluters like SUVs.

The idea is meant to change the habits of both consumers and manufacturers by getting people to calculate the environmental cost of their waste, though some critics _ even within the Finance Ministry _ fear it could crimp growth.

Kosciusko-Morizet said the plan could be spread to some 20 other types of products, from paints to household appliances and detergents. She said the tax would be determined based on the “recyclability” of the product, among other things.

And she said it could even be extended to homes, based on how energy-efficient they are.

The financial details of the taxes have yet to be worked out. Some will be introduced in the 2009 budget, which the government will present at the end of the month.”

tags: france, environment tax, picnic tax

Have you changed your driving habits in France to be more environmentally friendly? Do you drive a hybrid or electric car, or have you given up your car permanently? Do you use biofuel? Did you join a carpool? Do you have any other tips related to reducing gasoline consumption? France 5 Television wants to have a word with you. Please call 01 56 26 16 76 if you’re interested in participating in a television show featuring people in France trying to change their lives to live more green.

tags: france, hybrids, peak oil, carpooling, green living in france france 5, television

From autobloggreen and ecolotrader:

“We heard that MDI, the creators of the AirCar – excuse us, the “Compressed Air Vehicle” – broke off all commercial relations with Miguel Celades, who had been carrying its commercial operations for a while. We tried multiple times to contact Mr. Celades for further explanations, but couldn’t. So, we turned to MDI’s new webpage and other sources for the information.

The good news is that MDI is still working on their vehicle and has taken some steps to get it on the road. The French environmental website Ecolo-Trader has unveiled a picture of the first MiniCAT model with regular car plates, which should mean it’s road-worthy and has received all the legal requirements from the French Ministry of Industry. MDI’s MiniCAT has an range of 80 km while running exclusively with compressed air and, thanks to a system which heats compressed air (using fuel), the range can be extended even further. According to the website, which refers to the Southern France newspaper, MDI is planning a second factory to increase output of the MiniCAT. The model will be on display for the Paris Motor Show and on sale in France at the beginning of 2009.”

Note: The license plates look like they’re from the Var region in the south of France around the cities of Toulon and Draguignon.

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tags: france, air car, mdi, minicat, guy negre

This time the uranium leak is in Pierrelatte, which actually shares the same nuclear power facilities as Tricastin, where the last two leaks were found, but the media has been suspiciously removing “Tricastin” from this news and are making people think that Pierrelatte is not in the same place. Well, it IS in the same place.

Tricastin and Pierrelatte are villages next to each other and they share the same nuclear power site, referred to as “Tricastin-Pierrelatte.” Pierrelatte happens to be in the Drome department and Tricastin is in the Vaucluse department but they are literally “across the street” from each other. Areva, the company responsible for the nuclear power plants, is the very same company responsible for all of the other uranium leaks in the area, and again is saying that it is a “small” leak and therefore of little consequence.” YEA RIGHT. article (in French)

Links: more uranium leaks, Greepeace suing Areva

tags: france, real estate, uranium, contamination, radioactive leaks, tricastin, pierrelatte, corporate lies

I wish they had these organic raw milk vending machines in my area, but these are in L’Arbresle situated in the Rhone region, not far from Lyon. The vending machines operate 24/7 and are found in 3 communities nearest a Champion supermarket.

Bring your own container to be filled or use one that is available at the vending machines. One liter costs 1.10, which I think is a great value. The milk has not been treated in any way and is simply stored at 3°C. 300 liters are stored per day, and the container is thoroughly cleaned and filled every morning. You can also get raw organic milk at the farm directly: Le lait de la ferme.

Le Lait de la ferme
Contact: Gerard Gayet
La Gondoliere
69930 Saint Laurent de Chamousset
Tél : 06 80 42 92 44
Mail : ggayet@terre-net.fr

tags: france, rhone, l’organic raw milk,vending machines, l’Arbresle, Gérard Gayet

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From the Boisset Family Estates press release:

“…….”This year, Boisset Family Estates is the first winery ever to announce that all Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles,” states Jean-Charles Boisset, President, Boisset Family Estates. “In addition, we will simultaneously debut Fog Mountain, featuring the first organically-farmed California Nouveau in 750ml PET bottles, to highlight our commitment to reducing the wine world’s carbon footprint by producing locally.”

“It is critical in today’s time, with the scarcity of our planet’s resources and the known environmental impacts of human activity, that we consider whether we should still ship thousands of cases of wine in heavy bottles via air throughout the world in order for the wines to arrive on time for their annual release date in November, when we can reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by more than half through a responsible choice of packaging.”

….Boisset Family Estates owns and imports Mommessin and Bouchard Aîné & Fils – two venerable Burgundy wine houses each with deep historical traditions in Burgundy and Beaujolais….”

This California company, importing wines from France, claims to be innovative and eco-minded.

Read the whole press release

tags: france, california, beaujolais nouveau, wine in plastic bottles, landfill problems, PET bottles, toxic

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^{“Paris Mushrooms, it’s when they’re in your mouth that they’re the happiest.”}

Aside from this ad promoting Champignons de Paris (button mushrooms) in France being very, very cute, I’m wondering why the mushroom industry (if there’s a mushroom industry) needs to advertise in the first place. Is there an overproduction of mushrooms? I rarely see ads for other veggies like cucumbers or celery or artichokes or for any veggies, ever; really, this is strange to me. Is there a silent mushroom consumption grève (strike) or something? … So much so that mushroom farmers need a push from ads?

Just a couple of weeks ago, our neighbors asked us if we had any extra mushrooms they could borrow because they couldn’t find any anywhere near our neighborhood. My sweetie, being even more of a conspiracy theorist than I am (yea, I know! unbelievable but true!), suggested that the radioactive leaks lately have been compromising the mushrooms, which perhaps were then removed from the market. Apparently, mushrooms excessively absorb radiation, which is an enormous help to people around…unless they eat those mushrooms…

tags: france, mushrooms, champignons de paris, radioactive contamination, uranium leaks

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Excerpts from Motherjones:

“….events this month show that life as a nuclear-powered nation is far from la vie en rose. In mid July, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) announced a leak from a cracked pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in the southeastern Drôme region. It said the leak was small and had not contaminated groundwater. Such was not the case, however, on July 7, when about 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of untreated liquid uranium were spilled at the Tricastin nuclear plant in the Vaucluse, north of Avignon. As the French began to repair to the countryside for their storied six-week summer vacations, those in this corner of Provence were being told not to drink the water—or swim or fish in it. One swimmer at a local lake told the Guardian that people had been ordered out of the water “as if there had been sharks in it.”

The incident was given a low rating in terms of risk, but the French nuclear watchdog group CRIIRAD (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) reported that the amount of radioactivity released into the environment was 100 times higher than the site’s limit for an entire year. The Tricastin facility was temporarily shut down, the water ban remains in effect, and the French government has begun testing the water around all 59 of its nuclear plants.

Such dramatic events were bound to make headlines, and even had some media predicting a chill in France’s long love affair with l’énergie nucléaire, which it embraced during the energy crisis of the 1970s and never let go of. But in fact, the idea of France as a model of safe, affordable nuclear energy is largely a myth, and the current situation hardly an aberration. Incidences of radioactive contamination are common in France, which has had no more success than any other country in solving the intractable problem of radioactive waste. At the Tricastin site, for example, about 770 tons of nuclear waste have been buried for the past 30 years, and four smaller incidents took place in 2007 alone, according to CRIIRAD.

Nuclear contamination even threatens the twin sacraments of French life, wine and cheese. In May 2006, Greenpeace reported that low-level radioactive waste from a nuclear dumpsite had been found in the groundwater near the Champagne vineyards of eastern France. A report released earlier the same month on contamination from an older nuclear waste facility in La Hague, Normandy showed radioactivity more than seven times the European safety limit in local underground aquifers, which are used by farmers for their dairy cattle in a region renowned for its Brie and Camembert.

…Several studies have found elevated levels of childhood leukemia around the Normandy site.

…President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made it clear that he wants France to become an ever-bigger exporter of both nuclear-generated electricity and nuclear technology… In a speech given just days before the Provence nuclear spill, Sarkozy said: “More than ever, nuclear is an industry for the future and an indispensable energy source….We can be electricity exporters when we have neither oil nor gas. This is an historic chance for development.”

The head of French Greenpeace’s nuclear campaign recently accused Sarkozy of behaving “like a traveling salesman for Areva.”

Read the full article: 4.5 Billion Years in Provence

The new iPhone 3Gs were sold out within hours of its availability here in France the other day. Oh well. You waited too long, and didn’t get one? Maybe you can get one of these new, plastic disposable Bic cel phones instead. They’re really ugly, they radiate a lot of un-heathy microwaves and they’re very hazardous to the environment because they end up piling up in the landfills eventually leaching BPAs, dioxins and other carcinogens into the land, air and water. I bet you really want one now.

Bic (yes, the same people who brought you all those hideous plastic florescent lighters and pens that leaked into your backpack and pockets) has teamed up with Orange – to launch the sale of these wonderful mobile phones on August 7. The phone will cost €49 (about $80).

tags: france iphone disposable celphones global warming horrible inventions bic

A so-called NEW uranium leak near Avignon was reported just a week ago, and now there’s yet another nuclear power plant that is leaking. This time it’s at a plant that is actually not very far from the other leaking plant – in Romans-sur-Isere, both managed by the unscrupulous, Areva. The suits are saying AS USUAL, that this leak is not dangerous to humans and can not harm the environment. I’d like to ask, will they drink the water?

Does this remind anyone of various past events assessed by other evil corporations? Remember how the tobacco industry said that there is absolutely no link between smoking and cancer? I saw the excellent French documentary (Tabac, le grand conspiration) on the tobacco industry just the other night on TV showing old cigarette commercials: “Cigarettes are good for you!” “Cigarettes make you feel better!” “More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette.” “Cigarettes have absolutely no effect on your health!” Please. How could companies get away with this type of criminal activity? How can they continue to do so even today? Easily.

Also remember, they claimed that ASBESTOS was perfectly SAFE! Tell that to all the millions of people who died from asbesto poisoning or mesothelioma, who are now dying of cancer from it.

There aren’t just two power plants in France that are leaking, and those aren’t new leaks. (France 2 interview with Roland Desbordes explains) Additionally, there are a lot more leaking hazardous materials into the environment and drinking water, and have been doing so for a while now.

With the nuclear power plant companies claiming that “all is well and there’s no need to be concerned about the uranium that has leaked into the environment. This is a MINOR event and humans are totally safe from this! There’s no impact!” – and on the other side with scientists declaring that these leaks are hazardous and certainly NOT safe for humans and the environment. Who would YOU believe?

My point: If you’re traveling in these areas or anything near a nuclear power plant, simply be aware of the risks. Check the CRIIRAD site, which is the Independent Commission For Radioactivity Research and Information. (In French)

Link: nuclear power in france, radiation leak in Normandy, 2nd Nuclear Power Plant Leak in July (in German), ridiculous old smoking ads, 10 bizarre cigarette commericials

tags: france uranium leak nuclear power plants radiation corporate lies areva nuclear waste

Ever since writing about the zero pollution, zero emissions French Air Car, I’ve gotten some comments and gobs of emails from people asking if they might be available in the U.S.

I don’t live in the U.S., people! I live in France. YOU tell ME. Rant over.

Soooooooooo… that being said, I stumbled upon some information that reports that the Air Car might be available in the U.S. by late 2009 starting at $15,000. That’s just around the corner, and if it’s true, this little ugly (in a cute sense) car could possibly impact life as you know it – in a positive way, that is.

A New York based startup, ZPM (Zero Pollution Motors), just like India’s Tata Motors, has licensed the technology from the French company MDI. They plan to release a hybrid version that will be a clean, efficient way to power your ride. For example, one tank of air is approximately equivalent to eight gallons of gas, an 848 mile range. The car’s air tank can be refilled in about three minutes from a service station, but it can be plugged in at home and refilled in about 4 hours, an electricity cost of about two bucks.

Availability of the MDI Air Car in France is still pending approval.

tags: france air cars zero pollution motors mdi

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From AP:

“Tests show that uranium levels are diminishing but have not vanished from rivers in southern France after a leak from a nuclear site, regional authorities said Wednesday.

The Commission for Independent Radioactivity Research and Information said the leak led to the release of radioactive material 100 times that which the site is allowed to release in a year. Greenpeace said the leaked waste was more than 130 times the permitted level.”

Nature et Decouverte, a French equivalent of The Nature Company, sure knows how to get your attention. While we were waiting at the cash register, we laughed at this book, displayed right at the entrance of the store. The book is called, Comment chier dans les bois, which means, “How to Shit in the Woods.” Yeah, we were tempted to get it but realized we already know how to do so.

Actually, it’s a book pour une approche environnementale d’un art perdu. that takes an environmental approach to a lost art.

Makes me wonder about how many are sold based on shock value.

tags: france books comment chier dans les bois green

From aol:

Where is the love, Parisians?

“… Radiohead were left with a row of empty seats at a recent French concert after a ticket giveaway backfired. The eco-friendly group announced 50 passes were available for their show at Paris’ Bercy Arena but fans could only get by cycling to their record label’s offices in the French city.

However, Parisians were not prepared to get on their bikes so 35 tickets went unclaimed. A source said: “Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all concertgoers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible. Unfortunately the French didn’t appear to share their noble intentions and roundly ignored the free ticket tactic.”

tags: france radiohead velib lazy environment unfriendly parisians

While strolling through the largest garden of more varieties of bamboo than you ever knew existed (about 40), you would imagine that you’ve found yourself in a far eastern land, a place surrounded by exotic flowers and plants (impossible to pronounce), hearing only the waft of a gentle breeze combing through the long stalks in a bamboo forest.

The zen-like ambiance of this unexpected garden has actually placed you in the Mediterranean climate of the south of France, not far from the town of Alès and two kilometers (just over one mile) north of Anduze. There are 34 hectares devoted to the cultivation of bamboo and other exotic plants from the Asia.

We’ve been wanting to see La Bambouseraie for long time now, so while we were south we decided to take a drive (about an hour) from our temporary home base in Saint Laurent des Arbres.

To satisfy the thirsty bamboo, more than five kilometers (3 miles) of irrigation canals are discretely blended into the landscape. With the sunny climate, ideal soil and a dependable supply of water, the bamboo can grow more than a meter (3 feet) a day.

La Bambouseraie de Prafrance was founded in 1855, and is the very first giant bamboo forest in Europe. Eugène Mazel, a native of the Cévennes who made his fortune by importing spices, began his bamboo collection while traveling through the French colonies of the Far East. After purchasing the domaine of Prafrance from its owner, Anne de Galière, he began to build his dream bamboo garden on the property. It now features water gardens, sequoia trees from California, traditional projects (Japanese garden, Laotian village), a garden labyrinth, a greenhouse and a nursery.

Oh! and some dwarf Vietnamese pigs. They look pretty humungous to me, though.

The Japanese Zen garden is relatively new to the park (2001) designed very true to Japanese style. The sculpting of the landscape took inspiration from the year it was founded, which was the Year of the Dragon. The Japanese garden’s form is dependent on the body of water it surrounds, so you’ll see the water wind through the garden like a dragon, both existing in harmony with each other. Note that “dragon” is an anagram of Gardon, the nearest river…

Dragon in the Zen Garden

For the rest of the post and to see a lot more photos after the fold click:

Back to its history. Because the park required so much maintenance, Mazel exhausted his finances and went bankrupt in 1890. The bank, Crédit Foncier de France took over and managed the property until November 1902 when it was sold to Gaston Nègre. Nègre devoted his life to preserving and ameliorating the park (a large part of the collection had been lost through neglect).

The park was later passed down to his son, Maurice Nègre in 1948. He fought hard to restore the park, which had been damaged by the floods of 1958, but he unexpectedly died in an accident in 1960. Luckily his wife took over to continue her husband’s work. In 1977, her daughter Muriel and son-in-law Yves took over managing the estate and development of La Bambouseraie. Muriel continues to run the business today.

Remarkably, only about a dozen gardeners are required to maintain the public areas and the nursery.

Although La Bambouseraie is closed to the general public part of the year, the park is actually a year-around source of bamboo events for zoos all over Europe. It also holds winter expositions in major European capitals and sells nursery stock.

Though it’s not very French and there are no rides or lively attractions, it’s a beautiful place and worth a look-see if you’re in the area and if you appreciate gorgeous gardens. You will probably spend no more than about 2 hours here, less if you’re quick. With your admission fee, you receive a 30 minute guided tour, which is worth taking but not obligatory, and you can purchase bamboo plants and flowers for your garden or home at the nursery.

La Bambouseraie de Prafrance
30140, Générargues, Anduze, France
Telephone (+33) 04 66 61 70 47
Website

Open March to November, every day from 9.30am to 7pm.

More photos below:

Black bamboo

Easily stressed out bamboo

We really loved the striped bamboo.

See?

Sequoias from California live here too.

Waterfall inside the greenhouse

A quiet corner of the garden.

Poems inspired by a poetic place.

tags: france travel La Bambouseraie bamboo garden in france

Yea, what else is new. I know. Anyway, when Calimero left a comment on the GMO (genetically modified organisms) post, I wasn’t sure what he was referring to until I watched a short clip from the (week) daily 5 minutes segment of the day’s highlights called, “Zapping” on Canal Plus. Watch it here (Select “ZAPPING DU 15/05/08″).

I’m enormously disgusted by these French politicians on the subject of allowing genetically modified foods into the French food chain. With Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who happens to be a Minister of Ecology, She’s pro-GMO! She is working on PASSING laws to allow GMO crops. However, when asked what she feeds her son, she says he only eats organic food!!! “It’s a personal choice,” she says. WTF.

With Francois Vannison, a member of the UMP, he says he is not against GMO but does realize it can pose a risk of contaminating non-GMO agriculture and organic agriculture. OH-KAY.

More stupid politicians BOUGHT and OWNED by the evil Monsanto.

The best part of this particular “zapping” is the animal with big eyes.

From reuters:

“PARIS – Hundreds of activists marched in Paris on Tuesday ahead of the expected approval of a law they say blurs the line between natural and genetically modified (GM) foods.

The bill lays down conditions for the cultivation of GM crops in France, Europe’s largest grain producer and exporter, and creates a body to oversee GMO use. The vote is due to take place late on Tuesday or on Wednesday.
Protesters, some wearing yellow hats in the shape of maize cobs and others dressed in white suits imitating scientists, gathered near the National Assembly to voice their opposition.

“We must give consumers the choice of eating quality products, with or without GMO,” said Jean Terlon, cook at the restaurant Le Saint-Pierre in Longjumeau, close to Paris.

While GM crops are common in the United States and Latin America, France and many other European countries are dubious about using the new genetic technology in agriculture.

France banned the sole GM crop grown in the European Union, a maize (corn) developed by US biotech giant Monsanto, in February because it had serious doubts about whether it was safe for the environment. GMO cultivation is still legal, however.

The new French law, which would implement a European Union directive adopted in 2001, sets the rules a farmer has to respect to grow GM crops. These include limiting dissemination of pollen to conventional fields.

The text is criticised by pro-GMOs who say it does not go far enough and by the antis, including deputies of the ruling majority, who say changes made in exchanges between the parliament and the upper house make it too lax.

LEGAL CONTAMINATION

Approved amendments include a rate of GM dissemination to conventional crops of up to 0.9 percent, a level fiercely contested by ecologists seeking to protect France’s biodiversity and organic crops from GM contamination.

“The problem of this law is that it legalises contamination because anything with a GMO content of less than 0.9 percent can be called GMO-free,” Romain Chabrol, a spokesman of the environmental group Greenpeace France, said.

The rate in Germany was set at 0.1 percent.

French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the new law would be the “most protective in the world”.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said he does not want to close the door on the technology or ban research so as to limit the number of biotech companies put off by the destruction of their outdoor experiments by activists.

French cooperative Limagrain, which has a 70 percent stake in the world’s fourth-largest seed maker Vilmorin, said this year its research unit Biogemma had moved its tests on GM crops to the United States after repeated attacks on its fields.

Such attacks would be more severely punished under the law.”

Commemorating Earth Day today, which marks the anniversary of the birth of the environmental movement, I thought I’d post a photo in appreciation of nature. This is a photo of the Calanques in the south of France, not far from Cassis. I never did get around to writing about the Calanques – probably because I had so many photos to go through – but I’ll try to get to it…some time…this year

Related: Earth Day – Take a deep breath and hear the sad story of mankind

Sadly, it happened. The last several years of SATC, CSI (aka in France Les Experts), and face it, all American shows – has shaken the reason out of Europeans. What am I talking about?

Take out coffee cups. You know, you see everyone with them. Everywhere. Those ridiculous disposable paper or worse, plastic cups with plastic lids. HATE those. Don’t we need to REDUCE our waste? Don’t we know that PLASTIC is evil and toxic? What is wrong with us? Are we stooooppid? Oui, je dirais.

We saw this poster on a cafe and felt sort of disgusted. I mean, these take away cups are for espresso so they are little disposable cups. Hello…maybe I shouldn’t be complaining since it’s not like a ventimongosize cup from Starbucks (which I HATE) but I can’t help it. An espresso in France, that’s like 3 TABLESPOONS of strong coffee right there in a teeny tiny cup with a handle through which you can’t even fit your fingers. It takes like 3.5 seconds to consume in a cafe. WHY do we need to have it to go?

From AFP:

“Orly Airport, one of the two big airports serving Paris, is to extract geothermal energy from deep underground to slash its heating bills, the facility’s owners said.

Two shafts each 1,700 metres (one mile) deep will be drilled on the airport’s perimeter to access a water table warmed by heat emanating from the Earth’s hot core.

Drawn upwards by natural pressure, the water will emerge at the surface at 74 degrees Celsius (165 degrees Fahrenheit) and then be injected into the airport’s heating system. It will then be pumped back into the ground at a temperature of 45 C (113 F).

“We have the unprecedented luck of having hot water below our feet that can heat a large part of Orly without CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions. We are the first airport in Europe to do this,” Pierre Graff, who is chairman and managing director of Aeroports de Paris (ADP), said on Wednesday.

The project, launched after a technical and financial feasibility study, will cost 11 million euros (17.27 million dollars). The Orly-Ouest terminal, part of Orly-South, the airport’s Hilton Hotel, and two business districts will be hooked up to the system from 2011.

ADP hopes geothermal will meet a third of its heating needs and coincidentally save 7,000 tonnes of its 20,000 tonnes of its annual emissions of CO2, the principal greenhouse gas.

The neighbouring towns of Orly, located south of Paris, and l’Hay-les-Roses, already use geothermal.”

Though I haven’t heard about any cities in France participating, I think there are people who are making an effort to be part of this dark 60 minutes called Earth Hour…

From earth hour:

“On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation [and thus lower carbon emissions]. Given our company’s commitment to environmental awareness and energy efficiency, we strongly support the Earth Hour campaign, and have darkened our homepage today to help spread awareness of what we hope will be a highly successful global event.”

More about it

From AP:

“Nantes — About 3,000 barrels of fuel oil leaked in and along the Loire River after a pipe ruptured while a tanker was being loaded at a Total refinery, the company said Monday.

Rescue teams used floating dams and Total mobilized a 200-person cleanup team to cope with the 400-ton spill at the Donges refinery in western France that began late Sunday, the company said in a statement.

Local officials said chunks of solidified oil were spotted on Atlantic Ocean estuary beaches, and fuel was seen floating along 12 miles of river Monday evening.

Total spokesman Burkhard Reuss said the cause of the rupture was not immediately clear. The company was trying to determine how long it took for the leakage of oil to be stopped, he said.

The Donges refinery produces about 230,000 barrels per day, he said.”

The French documentary, “Le Monde Selon Monsanto / The world according to Monsanto,” directed by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, airs tonight on ARTE.

The film paints a grim picture of a no-holds-barred evil corporation with a decades-long track record of environmental crimes, health scandals and endangering the population of the entire world.

It will open your eyes to many things and you’ll never look at food the same way again.

Read about it at ARTE (in French) More about it here (in English)

See the movie trailer here

From chiefengineer:

“Thousands of canisters of highly radioactive waste from the world’s most nuclear-energized nation lie, silent and deadly, beneath this jutting tip of Normandy. Above ground, cows graze and Atlantic waves crash into heather-covered hills.

The spent fuel, vitrified into blocks of black glass that will remain dangerous for thousands of years, is in “interim storage.” Like nearly all the world’s nuclear waste, it is still waiting for the long-term disposal solution that has eluded scientists and governments in the six decades since the atomic era began.

…Greenpeace questions state-run Areva’s safety figures, and accuses the government of playing down accidents and soil and water contamination. A group called Meres en Colere, or Angry Mothers, was formed in the region (Normandy) after a 1997 study showed higher than usual local rates of child leukemia, a malady linked to radiation exposure.

Now the “pros” are on a new mission to dispel a generation of scares and suspicion, saying nuclear power is less dangerous to humans and the Earth than burning oil or coal. The “antis” say nuclear energy can never offer 100 percent protection from its radioactive ingredients.

The splitting of uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor creates the exceptional heat that drives turbines to provide electricity. The processes also create radioactive isotopes such as cesium-137 and strontium-90 that take about 30 years to lose half their radioactivity. Higher-level leftovers include plutonium-239, with a half-life of 24,000 years.

Direct exposure to such highly radioactive material, even for a short period, can be fatal. Indirect exposure, through seepage into groundwater, can lead to life-threatening illness for those living nearby and environmental damage.

For now, the best scientific solution for getting rid of the most lethal waste is to shove it deep underground.

Yet no country has built a deep geological repository. Governments meet protests each time one is proposed. The Yucca Mountain waste site in Nevada was commissioned in 1982 and is still awaiting a license.

Another option is recycling. Countries such as France, Russia and Japan reprocess much nuclear waste into new fuel. That dramatically reduces the volume: Forty years’ worth of France’s highly radioactive waste is stored under just three floor surfaces, each about the size of a basketball court, at Beaumont-Hague.

Recycling, though, produces plutonium that could be used in nuclear weapons – so the United States bans it, fearing proliferation.

And not all waste can be reprocessed. The deadliest bits – such as fuel rod casings and other reactor parts as well as concentrated fuel residue containing plutonium and highly enriched uranium – must be sealed and stored away.

That’s what lurks 10 feet underground at this Normandy plant: More than 7,000 cylindrical steel canisters, each about the height of a parking meter, stacked and sealed upright in holes beneath the slick floor. Some contain compacted radioactive metal, the others hold spent fuel that has been vitrified into glass.

Among other ideas once floated for disposing of nuclear waste have been shooting it into space (deemed too risky because of the volatile rocket fuel) or injecting it in the ocean floor (stalled because testing its feasibility is too costly), or shipping all the world’s waste to a collective nuclear dump….”

Read the article

Cheap cheap fish! Here’s an ad (from one of the hypermarches in France) for the fish called Pangas (also known as Pangasius, Vietnamese River Cobbler, Basa Fish and White Catfish). I took it as a reminder to alert you to the dangers of this weird fish. I learned about Pangas not long ago. It’s online here: Documentary all about Pangas.(in French)

Poisson ou poison?

Pangas, which are industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River, has only been recently introduced to the French market, but in a very short time, it’s gotten very popular in France. The French are slurping up Pangas like it’s their last meal of ramen. It’s dirt cheap, is sold de-boned and it has a mild flavor and texture; people compare it to cod and sole. But as tasty as some may find it, there lurks something immensely unsavory about it. I’m not saying there aren’t problems with other food like pork and other meats, I’m just making a point about this particular fish and hope it will serve as very important information for you and your future choices.

Here’s why I think it should be avoided like the plague:

1. Pangas are infested with high levels of poisons and bacteria. (arsenic, industrial effluents and toxic and hazardous by-products of the growing industrial sector, metal contaminants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)). The Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet and this is where pangas are farmed.A sidenote: our friend lab tests pangas and tells us to avoid eating them due to high amounts of contamination. They are still accepted by large markets and they still sell them to the general public knowing they are contaminated.

2. Pangas are packed frozen in contaminated river water. Ew.

3. Pangas are environmentally devastating, a most unsustainable food you could possibly eat – You know how you should “buy local” in order to create the least amount of environmental harm as possible? This is the very opposite end of that spectrum of sustainable consumerism. Pangas are raised in Vietnam. The food fed to Pangas comes from Peru (more on that below), their hormones (which are injected into the female Pangas) come from China. (More about that below) THEN, they are transported from Vietnam to France. That’s not just a giant carbon foot print, that’s a carbon continent of a foot print.

4. There’s nothing natural about Pangas – They’re fed dead fish remnants and bones, dried and ground into a flour, from South America, manioc (cassava) and residue from soy and grains. Obviously, this type of nourishment doesn’t even remotely resemble what they eat in a natural environment. But what it does resemble is the method of feeding mad cows (cows were fed cows, remember?) What they feed pangas is completely unregulated so there are most likely other harmful substances and hormones thrown into the mix. The pangas grow 4 times faster than in nature…so what is exactly in their food? You guess is as good as mine.

5. Pangas are Injected with PEE – Honestly, I don’t know how they figured this one out but they’ve discovered that if they inject female Pangas with hormones derived from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women, the female Pangas grow faster and produce their eggs faster (one Panga can lay approximately 500,000 eggs at one time). Essentially, they’re injecting fish with hormones (they come all of the way from a pharmaceutical company in China) to speed up the process of growth and reproduction. That just can’t be good. Ok, now some of you crazy ass people out there might not mind eating fish injected with dehydrated pee and if you don’t good for you, but just consider the rest of the reasons to NOT eat it.

6. You get what you pay for – and then some. Don’t be lured in by insanely cheap price of Pangas. Is it worth risking your health?

7. Buying Pangas supports unscrupulous, giant, greedy evil corporations that don’t care about the health and well-being of humans. They only are concerned about selling as many pangas as possible to unsuspecting consumers. These corporations only care about bottom line.

8. Pangas will make you sick – If (for reasons in #1 above) you don’t get immediately ill with vomiting, diarrhea and effects from severe food poisoning, congratulations, you have an iron stomach! But you’re still ingesting POISON not poisson.

Another note: due to the prodigious amount of availability of Pangas, be warned that it will surely end up in other foods: surimi (those pressed fish things), fish terrines, and probably in some pet foods. (Warn your dogs and cats!)

Watch this Report on Pangas

(Video excerpt from Capitale on M6, which aired about 3 months ago)

Links: Buying fish in France, Le Panga, nouvelle abération de la mondialisation ?, carnival of the green

From Reuters:

“French film maker Luc Besson is to make a full length movie inspired by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand‘s “Earth from the Air” images of the planet, French retailer PPR, the film’s sponsor, said on Monday.

The film, with the working title “Boomerang,” is intended to contribute to “raising awareness of the dire condition of our planet,” PPR said. It is due to be released on World Environment Day — June 5 — in 2009.

It follows in the wake of Al Gore’s Oscar winning “An Inconvenient Truth” and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The 11th hour.”

Any profits from “Boomerang” will go to a foundation set up by Arthus-Bertrand to promote sustainable development, PPR said.”

Why Travel to France is having weird technical problems, which should be fixed shortly. Regular posting should resume in the near future. In the meantime, here are some recent news items from France:

Jose Bove – started a hunger strike yesterday against genetically modified foods in France. A decision regarding OGM (GMO) in France should be reached by the end of the month. (article in French)

Free Cars in Paris? – the Mayor of Paris is proposing the introduction of Voiturelib’–2,000 electric-powered vehicles that subscribers can drive off without booking at dozens of sites, 24 hours a day, and then leave anywhere in the city.

No Smoking – France finally banned smoking in restaurants, bars and cafes effective January 1, 2008, which is a breath of fresh air!

Remember the EU Constitution France Voted Against? It’s here to stay (without the votes of EU countries) in the form of the Lisbon Treaty

Feminists in France have petitioned the French government to remove the title Mademoiselle or Miss from official administrative documents

France bans the word “E-mail” in government documents

U.S. expats facing tax ‘sticker shock’ - and Lousy Health Care to Boot

French Ministers get graded and evaluated, Sarkozy is exempt from being evaluated.

Calais Mayor Defies Sarkozy – A welcome center for asylum seekers heading to Britain from France was opened despite objections from the government.

A balloon that floats above Paris’ André-Citroën park monitors the air pollution levels every hour. If the balloon is green, your lungs have nothing to worry about since it means the air quality is good. A red signifies poor air quality and orange means mediocre air quality. All findings are recorded on the Air Quality Now website.

[via]

Here’s a video with our favorite aerial photographer giving a shout out to Google Earth. (He takes some funky farm animal photos too.)

Download it and you can view 500 photos from environmentalist and French photographer and Yann Arthus-Bertrand as a layer in Google Earth.

Video – The Earth from Above (Google Earth)

[via]

From ENN:

French farmer Jose Bove, who became a worldwide celebrity for his fight against junk food, said on Monday he would go on a hunger strike to win a one-year ban on genetically modified (GMO) crops.

Speaking at the Millau Court of Justice in southern France, where his four-month jail sentence for trashing a GMO field in 2004 was commuted to a fine, Bove said he would start his unlimited hunger strike on January 3, along with 10 to 15 other activists.

The walrus-mustachioed, pipe-smoking Bove, sometimes dubbed France’s Robin Hood, spent six weeks in jail in 2003 for smashing up a McDonald’s restaurant in protest at tariffs imposed by the United States in retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of North American hormone-treated beef.
While GMO crops are common in the United States, France — Europe’s biggest grain producer — along with other European nations remain highly suspicious of them.

Supporters say it could lead to hardy strains to help…

Continue reading

From Cleantech:

“A prominent researcher shared a nuclear secret today that he said not even everyone in the U.S. Department of Energy knows.

Is the U.S., in fact, storing a large amount of nuclear waste produced by France’s nuclear reactors?

That was the suggestion in a keynote today at the ThinkEquity ThinkGreen conference in San Francisco by Dr. Yogi Goswami, former President of the International Solar Energy Society, and prolific author and University of Florida professor.

“One small bit of information that most people don’t know, even in our Department of Energy: a large majority of the nuclear waste from France is actually shipped to the U.S.,” Goswami said.

“It’s stored in…”

Continue reading

From greencarcongress:

France’s Ministry of Ecology (Ministère de l’écologie, du développement et de l’aménagement durables) announced a new feebate system based on CO2 emissions for new vehicle purchases.

Under the scheme, a bonus will be paid to purchasers of new passenger cars emitting less than 130 g CO2/km, which now represents about 30% of sales. The bonus will be supplemented by an extra payment when the acquisition of the vehicle is accompanied by the scrapping of a vehicle that is more than 15 years old. Conversely, buyers of new vehicles that emit more than 160 g CO2/km will pay a penalty. This will affect approximately 25% of new vehicles sold. Buyers of vehicles emitting between 130-160g CO2 will not receive a bonus nor will they pay a tax. This “neutral zone” will apply to about 45% of vehicle purchases.

The payments and the penalties are based on a sliding scale—the less (or more) carbon dioxide emitted, the greater the payment or penalty, respectively. The threshold points for payments or penalties will advance 5 g CO2/km every two years to encourage ongoing development efforts.

To encourage the development of extremely low emission vehicles—especially electric vehicles, the government has a special bonus of €5,000 (US$7,300) for the purchase of vehicles emitting less than 60 g CO2/km….

continue reading

From ecorazzi:

French fries. French toast. French Eco-Friendly Christmas? You better believe it!! Paris (not Hilton) just unveiled plans to follow New York City’s lead and bring in the New Year with their own resolution: a greener, more energy efficient holiday season.Paris Mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, and French singer and actress, Vanessa Paradis, were on site at the annual lighting of the trees which kicks off the holidays and has been a Paris tradition for 26 years. However this year marks a new tradition…

Continue reading

EquitExpo, the international Fair Trade Expo starts today and continues through the 29th.

The expo serves to promote fair trade (fair price), as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods – and focusing in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries.

Expect conferences, round tables, merchants and exhibitors from 30 different countries. Also featured are: concerts, theater plays and a cyber café.

French farmers, fishermen, and craftmen will be present at the farmer market of EquitExpo, next to the organic restaurant.

EquitExpo 2007
Sport Center of l’Île de Vannes
15 bd Marcel Paul
93450 L’Île Saint-Denis – France
Entrance: free

Tags: france, french, equitexpo+2007, fair+trade, europe, commerce+in+developing+countries

“Earthships have been around for some time. While some comments on our first post suggested there is something a little cult-like about the movement, they still seem to be cropping up everywhere, having now crossed the Atlantic to Brighton, UK. But the spread doesn’t end there – reading the latest newsletter of the Permaculture Association UK we learned that there is now an Earth Ship Normandy project, taking the concept to the northern shores of mainland Europe too. The Earthship, which by the sounds of things is nearing completion, will be available soon for vacation rentals (the site says September, but no rates or availability info is posted just yet):

‘The French earthship will be a fully furnished, 3 bedroomed gite with a kitchen and bathroom. It will have the fixtures and fittings of any other more conventionally designed house, but with an eco-twist. For those interested in Permaculture, the planters inside the earthship will have this design system in mind to encompass the design of the physical structure. This rental offers the opportunity of experiencing earthship living first-hand and the viability of making this a blue print for large-scale sustainable developments in the future. Ger is a charming rural village in the heart of Normandy only 1 ½ hours drive from the Ports. There are extensive forests in the area and endless walking and cycling routes nearby through the beautiful Normandy countryside. This is an extremely unspoilt corner of Europe and one which guarantees a peaceful holiday break.’”

From Unusual Vacation Rental in Northern France at Treehugger

and other wines. Global Warming is going to seriously crimp your wine life…well, and your life in general.

“Say Goodbye to French Wines. Wacky temperatures and rain cycles brought on by global warming are threatening something very important: Wine. Scientists believe global warming will “shift viticultural regions toward the poles, cooler coastal zones and higher elevations.” What that means in regular language: Get ready to say bye-bye to French Bordeaux and hello to British champagne. [LA Times]

Say Goodbye to Light and Dry Wines. Warmer temperatures mean grapes in California and France develop their sugars too quickly, well before their other flavors. As a result, growers are forced to either a) leave the grapes on the vines longer, which dramatically raises the alcoholic content of the fruit or b) pick the grapes too soon and make overly sweet wine that tastes like jam. [Washington Post]

Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir. The reason you adore pinot noir is that it comes from a notoriously temperamental thin-skinned grape that thrives in cool climates. Warmer temperatures are already damaging the pinots from Oregon, “baking away” the grape’s berry flavors…”

[From Top 100 Ways Global Warming Will Change Your Life]

Perhaps not the most exciting conferences for some, but definitely an important one regarding environmental city living, “l’écologie à la ville” is the first Université d’été du WWF (French division of the World Wildlife Federation). It’s a 2-day conference held at the Paris HQ of WWF in France. On the program: keynote by Jean-Louis Borloo, Environment Minister; workshops topics include: problems with health in the city, sustainable energy, biodiversity in public and private places, the paradox of organic between growth in demand and imports, innovations in eco-friendly buildings and homes, how to reduce your carbon footprint, consumers and their impact on the environment and more; speakers: Dany Dietman, author of Déchet ménagers : le jardin des impostures, Jean L’heritier, President of Slow Food France, and many more. Also, there will be organic breakfasts and lunches!

Click here to download the full program and a registration application (in French).

Regular Fees: 100 euros for 1 day or 150 euros for 2 days
Reduced Fees for NGOs and students: 50 euros for one day, 75 euros for 2 days

L’Université d’Eté du WWF
l’écologie à la ville – September 13 & 14, 2007
Espace Planète Attitude au siège du WWF-France
1 Carrefour de Longchamp, 75116 Paris (16ème)
Contact et registration:
Email: universite@wwf.fr
Tel: +33 (0)1 55 25 84 25
Website: WWF

On sale soon in France: An innovative washing machine that needs no detergent. This means a coupla things: 1) no harsh phosphates and other chemicals into the environment and; 2) No need to buy detergent!

How does it work? Basically, the machine changes the water molecules and breaks them down into specific elements, which then work to sterilize the clothes. If you absolutely have to use detergent, there’s an option to do so (but if you were to do that, why would you want this washing machine in the first place?)

Available soon for €699 ($954).

More information from the site: Wash20 (in French)

[via freshome]

It all started chez Mr. Pott, the Potter. (Yes, that is his real name.) We were being led to the kiln where all his creations cook down to their glorious art forms. As we wandered along the winding path, a putrid cloud of fumes wafted toward me and overwhelmingly assaulted my nose. I was certain I was going to puke. It was nauseating. If you can imagine an effluvious melding rotten cat vomit with sewage after a 5-week long, city-wide bout of extreme irritable bowel syndrome, (aka The Runs) then that is what it smelled like.

Ahead of us, Mr. Pott turned around abruptly to warn us of the smell. “Thanks for the warning,” I said, as I repressed projectile vomiting a gag. He apologized and told us it was his purin d’orties. (nettles “manure” or fertilizer. It’s nettles soaked in rainwater.). I’d never heard about it. He mentioned that it not only was a natural insecticide that works but it was also a nutritious fertilizer “tea” for garden vegetables.

Upon further research, I found out that nettles is somewhat of universal super miracle ingredient being beneficial (even curative) to allergies and health problems, as well as serving as sort of a magical elixer in the garden. You can also cook it like spinach for a vitamin rich delish potage or other dish. There are undoubtedly endless uses for this undeservedly maligned weed.

I decided to try to make some purin d’orties too. Here’s my batch. It doesn’t stink yet as it needs to brew for a few more weeks. I’ll probably cover it when we start to smell something funky.

The shocking information that I stumbled on, however, was that selling purin d’orties is strictly prohibited in France. Um. You can’t sell water soaked in nettles? That is weird. In addition to that, it is now illegal to publish information on purin d’orties in France. But! It is ok to use purin d’orties that you make at home. (This proves that it is safe to use, but how the heck can you get info if it’s illegal to publish details about it??!) Strange Strange Strange. Not to mention RIDICULOUS. While we’re on the subject of ridiculousness, I also found out that it is illegal in France to publish that hot water kills weeds in alleys. I’m not kidding. It’s a good thing my blog lives on a U.S. server.

In any case, as we all know, evil takes on many forms. Evil can be ridiculous and quite often is, as we’re witness to today. Evil can look at you straight in the eye, lie with a smile and you wouldn’t even know it was lying. Evil can be a weed killer company, a pesticides/fertilizer company, a seed company. Maybe they’re all the same company?

As we might be able to surmise by now, there are only a few usual suspects responsible for this kind of heinous legislation: government (Le ministère de l’Agriculture) and the fertilizer industry (which includes the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, pesticides, seeds and GMO industries). And for good measure we might as well throw in the other evil industries: the oil industry, which is the same as the plastics industry and the food industry. They are all bad, bad, bad to the core. This is no exception. It looks as though the industry has lobbied the government (in other words: paid dubious amounts of cash to the agriculture minister and other officials) to pass this most subversive of laws for the benefit of the company whilst being detrimental to the earth and consumers. Anyway. As one of the most destructive industries, they are endangering the health of this planet, and its inhabitants. How much more unscrupulous and unethical can they get? I’m sure they’ll never fail to have something else up their sleeves.

Back to the case of nettles. Nettles fertilizer is so effective that it’s probably better than anything you can buy at the garden store. But it has so many more uses. How do people love nettles? Let them count the ways: 1) Dilute your nettles fertilizer “tea” and spray it on your plants for a safe insecticide that knows how to get rid of the bad bugs and keep the good ones (especially good for veggies like tomatoes); 2) If sprayed, it will also be a foliar fertilizer rich in iron, vitamin C, nitrogen, beta-carotene, B complex vitamins, phosphorous potassium, oligoelements, enzymes, chlorophyll, magnesium, calcium, silica, iodine, and amino acids. You can also enrich the soil by directly watering the ground around your plants; 3) The diluted fertilizer is known to stimulate your plants immune system, building their resilience to diseases and insects; 4) Undiluted nettles tea is a very impressive natural weed killer that will not harm your health, the soil or the environment; 4) Nettles leaves are also a great addition to the compost heap being rich in nitrogen they provide the fuel for the bacteria to accelerate the break down of the more “brown” compost; 5) Dry the nettles leaves to make an infusion tea that will give you an iron boost if you’re feeling run down. This tea is also a safe, gentle diuretic—considered restorative for the kidneys and bladder, and used for cystitis and nephritis. 6) As an expectorant, it’s recommended for asthma, mucus conditions of the lungs, and chronic coughs. Nettle tincture is also used for flu, colds, bronchitis and pneumonia; 7) Nettles are a traditional food for people with allergies as they are filled with formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), plus unknown compounds; 8.) Nettle tea compress or finely powdered dried nettles are also good for wounds, cuts, stings, and burns; 9) Other uses include treating gout, glandular diseases, poor circulation, enlarged spleen, diarrhea, and dysentery, worms, intestinal and colon disorders, and hemorrhoids. 10) Eating nettles or drinking the tea makes your hair brighter, thicker and shinier, and makes your skin clearer and healthier—good for eczema and other skin conditions.

Last Note: Strangely, there is no mention of the garden uses of Nettles in Wikipedia. Hmmm.

Sources and Related Links:

Round-up is a descendent of Agent Orange
Ex Monsanto Executives now in the Bush Administration
Interdiction d’informer sur les phytosanitaires naturels non-homologués
Nettles
How to Make Nettles Fertilizer Tea/Insecticide

Somebody give the president of France a box to stand on!!

The first round of the presidential elections annihilated took away much of my enthusiasm for France, unfortunately – and now after the 2nd round, well, everyone knows that Sarkozy has been elected the president of France. This is history. This is remarkable. This is scary.

Of course, I’d still be complaining if Segolene was elected. She quite possibly would’ve been scarier than Sarko. Oh well.

The weird thing is that Sarko has already declared his first fight: Global Warming. That’s his first priority. Where did THAT come from? Left field? Isn’t that bizarre? I’m not complaining as a person very concerned about the environment. Ok, yes I’m complaining here only because his statement makes little sense to me given his previous dialogue on NUCLEAR energy. He is very much for the 3rd generation nuclear power plants. He says they are “CLEAN” but that could not be farther from the truth. What the hell is he thinking? They are not clean at all. They produce nuclear WASTE, which needs to be “treated.” He says they “recycle” the waste, but that is a lie. They actually reprocess it, which is not a CLEAN process, whatsover – even if they can produce renewable energy with it.

The other thing (though there are many more things) is that he is very much pro-OGM (Genetically Modified Organisms). Maybe he thinks it might be good if France grows lots of OGM colza or corn or whatever – to produce cheaper local food and/or biofuel or ethanol. That will be seemingly a good thing. Admittedly, biofuels could help the quality of air, as well as reduce France’s dependence on imported oil (gasoline), but at the same time cause extreme, irreparable harm to the soil on which these crops are planted – not to mention as well, being completely dependent on the companies providing the OGM seeds. You see, unlike regular unmodified seeds, OGM seeds need to be bought every year or every time during planting season. Unmodified seeds, if any exist anymore, don’t make farmers dependent on OGM companies like Monsanto, because they can use their crops to produce their own seeds for their next season. You know, like nature intended. OGM is lightyears away from “natural” and doesn’t work that way, AND it completely alters the soil and biodiversity in detrimental ways. I wonder, does Sarko realize that OGM is directly related to harming the environment (as well as endangering the food supply and causing fatal diseases in animals and humans)? Do you also wonder: has Sarko already made a deal with the devil Monsanto?

Someone please get Sarko a copy of Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma – and fast before it’s too late!

Ok, I exaggerated. I suppose the title should instead be, “Produce Less Trash with a yaourtière.”

We eat a lot of yogurt and although we prefer this brand because it is the best yogurt we’ve had from the market and comes in recyclable containers, we still bought other yogurt that comes in plastic pots. After a while you come to the realization that you are producing a huge mass of plastic trash with your yogurt consumption. And we all know that plastic is bad. It ends up in landfills or gets incinerated, which creates horrible pollution. Anyway, we’ve been so silly and wondered why we didn’t use a yaourtière (yogurt maker). So we got one.

Making yogurt with a yaourtière is so simple, though you can make it without one (with a little more effort). We recommend them highly. And it is remarkably superior to market yogurts. Our first batch was not that great and a little gooey, but we used a generic plain yogurt and it has too many chemicals in it. We changed our method and now have creamy, delectible yogurt that tastes very much like our favorite. It is not tart at all.

All you need to do is boil a liter of organic whole milk, let it cool, pour into a pitcher or something with a spout, mix in a cup of yogurt (we use a pot of La fermière yogurt mentioned above) then pour the mixture into the little glass pots. Cover them, turn on the machine and let them sit there undisturbed (they don’t like to be jiggled at all) for 12 hours. Then put them in the fridge. And voila! You can add real vanilla bean while boiling the milk for yummy vanilla yogurt or flavor your plain yogurt later with jams, sugar, fruit etc.

Eating yogurt every day is very healthy for your body, and although it has whole milk, one cup is only 139 calories.

Today is Earth Day et ça tombe bien (and it’s good timing) because stuck in my head is a song about humans and the environment called, “Respire” (Breathe) by the excellent French band, Mickey 3D. I’ve been editing a clip and used the song as the sound track. I know it now backward, forward sideways and upsidedown. It’s worth a listen if you haven’t already heard it. It’s not a new song (about 5 years old) but it’s more timely now than ever. In the Mickey 3D music video, it is a completely animated piece that takes place in the future. I won’t give too much away just in case you’ll be seeing it for the first time. If it doesn’t make you (at least) think, you most likely have a serious problem.

Click here or on the picture above to see the video.

FYI: I’ve done a rough translation of it in English below.

Oops! After doing that translation I saw this video version with English subtitles.

From Treehugger:

“When the French do something, they do it in style and make an impact. Some things like the Concorde suck a bit too much gas and don’t quite work out as planned, but when they decide that they don’t want to suck gas, they go out and buy ten thousand electric vehicles to deliver the mail. “There has never been such a big order [for the vehicles] in the world,” said French Industry Minister Francois Loos…”

Read the full article

My life in general and as a volunteer for an environment group, just within the last few weeks, has been insanely weird, if not totally surreal. Here’s just a couple of things that remind me of things from a David Lynch film but in fact, are things happening in my neck of the woods:

1. I attended my first municipal council meeting in France. Now, for those of you who know me well, you might be wondering why on earth I’d ever find myself attending a municipal council meeting in France, let alone attending ANY municipal council meeting anywhere on earth. I was there to support the president of our environmental group, who ripped in to the mayor of a small village in Burgundy. (the corrupt mayor did deserve it, so I don’t feel bad about that.) Honestly, I wished I hadn’t gone. It was all mayhem, open corruption and near heart attacks. I also did my share of heckling the mayor, as well (a first for me – which felt good to do.) – but those couple of oxygen deprived hours probably will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Sidebar: All municipal counsel meetings in France are open to the public so you can hear about what’s happening in your town – and the public has a right to speak (addressing the counsel) at the end of the meeting. Just in case you need something to do…

2. A person I had just met suggested to me (as an active member of our environmental association) that we should “get rid” of someone who is causing a lot of anguish and pain for most of us. This “someone” is responsible for a terrible project that could be devastating to our region. So. I ask, “Um. ‘Get rid’ as in GET RID?!” “YES!” he says, “I know the right people.” I don’t think I blinked for a whole minute. I finally say, “That is not really our ‘style.’” Then he says, “But I thought you HATED him!” I say, “I DO! But but ‘getting rid’…well, um…no!” At the moment, I imagined myself having a conversation with Ray Liotta and was waiting or the director to yell, “CUT!” It didn’t happen. So. At least I know to stay away from this person in the near future. And forever.

3. I’ve been attending “enquête publique” (public inquiry) meetings. These have been so unpleasant, I’m glad the last one is on Monday. This is where the public meets with a commission (3 people) to discuss the proposed project, in our case, a landfill in a nearby village. They are supposed to be impartial “judges” who are there to hear opposition and concerns, or answer any questions. Let’s just say impartiality LEFT THE BUILDING long, long (oh so) long ago.

4. We’re in the process of buying another property in France, and our notaire, which is sort of like legal counsel and a real estate agent (all at the same time), spent hours warning us that France is imploding and we need to have a Plan B. He went on and on, “You do know that France is in deep trouble! You shouldn’t stay here in France too long; things are going to get worse and worse and you should find another country to live!!!! Especially after the elections!” We’re like, “Yeah, yeah. We know.” And he responds, “I’m serious! Really, you should leave France within the next 6 years or so! Get out while you still have a chance!” We do have a Plan B and will probably leave France at some point but it was just weird to hear the warning out loud. Btw, our notaire’s Plan B is to take his family and live in the U.S five years from now.

5. To top off all the stressful events going on simultaneously, this one last thing is really the straw that is breaking the camel’s back: my in-laws (French mummy and daddy dearest) are visiting!!!!!!! OHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A last note: This is all based on personal experiences in my little corner of France. Please don’t get the impression that all of France is filled with gangster hitmen, conspiracy theorists and corrupt politicians. Well, maybe except the corrupt politicians.

In 1991, Guy Négre, a French ex-Formula One engineer, founded a company (Moteur Developpment International or MDI) that would continue the development of his invention, the Air Car. He would ultimately aim to put it on the global market and manufacture it. To date, it is not available to purchase. Why isn’t it – 16 YEARS LATER? Will the same fate kill the Air Car as it did the Electric Car?

What is the Air car?
The Air Car is a car that uses compressed air technology and is powered by an air engine. It does not use any gasoline whatsover. Compressed air is stored in carbon or glass fiber tanks at a pressure of 4,351 pounds per square inch (psi). This air is fed through an air injector to the engine and flows into a small chamber, which expands the air. The air pushing down on the pistons moves the crankshaft, which gives the vehicle power. It is inexpensive to manufacture, and most importantly, does not pollute.¹

Advantages Over the Hybrid
I may be one of the few to say this in public but I honestly don’t know why hybrids are getting all the buzz. Admittedly, they pollute the air less than standard cars, but they still do pollute AND they create a different pollution problem that is horrible. That itty-bitty detail seems to be getting overlooked. People should know that they have mongo sized batteries and no one can tell me exactly how long they last and where they will end up like other dead batteries. But we know where they’ll end up, don’t we? Yup, in a landfill. Batteries are one of the most hazardous elements to leach into soil from landfills, so while the beloved hybrid won’t pollute the air as much, they will cause harmful pollution in other ways. I personally find that biodiesels and Air Cars (with their zero pollution) are the true wave of the future but I can’t fight multinational lobbyists – so I think hybrids may be here to stay for a while.

In any case, I’m rooting for the Air Car even if isn’t the most attractive car (either is the hybrid!), and even if it will suffer a slow, torturous, unfair death. Or will it? One very big company in India, actually THE biggest automobile company in India (Tata Motors) has agreed to help further develop the air engine technology. Plus, the Air Car has been in news more and more lately so at least I know it is still alive and kicking. Go Air Car go!

The Air Car
Watch a video of The Air Car on YouTube
Zero Pollution and Low Cost
Tata Motors

¹ From How Stuff Works

From signonsandiego:

The United States could face possible European carbon taxes on its exports if it does not sign global climate accords, French President Jacques Chirac was quoted as saying in an interview published Thursday. “A carbon tax is inevitable,” Chirac reportedly said in the interview with the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and French weekly Nouvel Observateur.

Chirac urged the United States to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which calls for steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions believed to worsen global warming, the publications said. France has pushed in the past for a carbon tax on industrial goods from countries that refuse to sign the Kyoto accord, meant mainly to target the United States and China.

Read the full article

A quick reminder: If you’re in France please turn off all of your lights tonight from 7:55pm to 8pm. (or remind people in France you know) This means all of your lights including unplugging surge protectors and night lights, as well as turning off or simply unplugging televisions completely. (Many televisions in France have a red light on even when the television is turned off.)

The Eiffel Tower will be dark for 5 minutes as well.

For more information

I heart Luc Besson even more so whenever I see him in new interviews. Here he’s talking about how critical it is for us to be humble and aware of the environment, to take care of the planet, and that the process of saving the planet, though critical, could be fun. Click here to see the interview.

Tags: france, french, french+filmmakers, luc+besson, cinema, global+warming, environment, save+the+planet

L’Alliance pour la Planète, is a large collective made up of NGOs, associations in France related to helping the environment and trade unions, consumer groups, farmers, etc. working to fight against the planet’s environmental problems.They are calling on all residents of France to mobilize and take part in a protest against global warming.

On February 1, they are asking citizens to please turn off all of your lights from 7:55pm to 8pm. This means all of your lights including unplugging surge protectors and night lights, as well as turning off or simply unplugging televisions completely. (Many televisions in France have a red light on even when the television is turned off.)

This small gesture is meant to attract the eyes of the media, and decision-makers – to get them to focus on wastefulness among other things,  and how it is harmful to the environment. It is to also to show the French presidental candidates that global warming / climate change is an immediate danger and must be included in the political debate.

Why February 1st? A new report will be submitted in Paris the next day by le groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du Climat (GIEC) / the intergovernmental group of experts on climate change for the United Nations. This will let them know that the people of France take the subject of global warming very seriously. The alliance wants decision-makers to work for the improved progress of the environment because it is an urgent subject that needs to be addressed right now.

For more information contact:
L’Alliance pour la Planète
Cyrielle, Les Amis de la Terre : 01 48 51 18 95

“The city of Paris has decided to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in large stores as of 2007, in an effort to cut down on pollution. The City of Lights is hardly the first to tackle its plastic woes. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports for VOA that from Ireland to South Africa, the throwaway bag is heading for the dustbin – of history.

It is six p.m. on a weekday evening in northern Paris, and Charles Chetrit is fielding his usual crowd of customers shopping after work.

Chetrit rings up their groceries and then offers them an item that will soon be disappearing from the city: A disposable, plastic bag. One customer, Frederic Nogray, refuses the offer. Nogray says he never…”  Read the full article here.

Tags: france, environment, non-biodegradable+plastic+bags, pollution, paris, law

SNCF Travel in France has added a CO2 emissions comparison tool to their booking site. It takes several modes of transports and calculates (and compares) the impact on the environment. [via]

L’EcoComparateur

Tags: france, travel, sncf, trains, co2, emissions, pollution, co2+index, l'ecocomparateur, transportation, comparison

Yesterday 141 sealed containers filled with toxic waste arrived in France to be “disposed of” in a town south east of Lyon. It will be incinerated, so try not to breath if you live around there.

Where did this waste come from? In August, you might remember in the news, people in the Ivory Coast died because hazardous waste material was illegally dumped in and around the town of Abidjan. Many were subjected to an incredible stench, some died and some were hospitalized.

The poisonous stench came from a mix of petrochemical waste transported by a Panamanian-registered tanker chartered by the Dutch firm Trafigura. The pitch-black sludge found its way from Amsterdam — via Estonia and Nigeria — to Ivory Coast aboard the Korean-built and Greek-managed Probo Koala.

And it was later illegally dumped, in the dead of night, by a local company called Tommy at open-air sites all over Abidjan — right in the yards of residents… (from NPR)

Cutting to the chase here, this is a scandal trying to be covered up, and although the toxic sludge sounds like it originated from Holland, it has ended up in France. Why didn’t it go back to Holland, and disposed of there? How safe from toxicity are the residents of France?

The Dutch company insists it did tests on the material in Holland and that it wasn’t toxic. The company lied, obviously.

Back to France. I have to interject here that whenever we’re on the highway in the south of France, particularly in Provence, we inevitably see trucks and trucks transporting toxic waste. You can tell because of the stickers indicating toxic material on the truck and also the cargo is usually farther distanced from the driver. I wonder how safe are other drivers near this toxic cargo on the highways.

Why is there seemingly tons of toxic and nuclear waste firstly going to Africa, and if found, then moving to the south of France? I really worry about this and wonder how much toxic waste from other countries are ending up in Africa and France.

[Ivory Coast Tragedy Exposes Toxic Flow to Poor, Ivory Coast Toxic Waste Arrives in France for Incineration]

Tags: france, french, enviroment, toxic+waste, ivory+coast, incineration, Trafigura, scandal

We saw this sarcastic sign not long ago, and a photo was in order. My rough translation: Last week, by enormous chance, we learned that even today, there are still people who throw trash on the ground!

From the people who brought you The Meatrix, here’s another important animated cartoon about PVC, how to spot it and why it is horribly harmful for us. Sadly, PVC is practically everywhere now, even children’s toys (that they put in their mouths!) are made out of PVC.Watch the video: PVC The Poison Plastic

Find out about alternatives to PVC: CHEJ

My neighbor and I were having a conversation not long ago and she’d mentioned that she and her family have been looking to replace their doors and windows, frames included. They were considering PVC. By the way, PVC in French is PVC (pey’ vey sey).

Me: “WHY??! Why on earth would you get PVC doors and windows and frames? Or anything PVC for that matter?!”

Her: “Euh, calm down. What is so wrong PVC? It’s convenient because we don’t need to paint it, you know.”

Me: “PVC is terribly toxic for you, your family and the environment. And it’s cheap plastic, and plastic is ugly. If you care about your family, you won’t allow anything made from PVC in your home. Do you know that all hospitals in France had to replace all the PVC because it was endangering lives? It is a health and safety requirement because it is extremely detrimental, but the home improvement industry and the plastics (oil) industry have hidden its danger from the general public. Just like with asbestos, a while a go. No one thought asbestos was hazardous, but look now. mesothelioma, the cancer specifically related to asbestos in homes skyrocketed. The number of people who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma has increased significantly in the past 30 years. Although many advances in treatment have been made, there is no cure for this type of cancer. Industries eventually had to fess up and stop producing it and selling it. And now, you can’t use asbestos anymore. Well, it’s the same with PVC, except that they haven’t gotten to the ‘fess up’ part.” It makes too much money for them so they will continue to sell the cheapest and most toxic kind of plastic known to man until the law says they can’t anymore.

Me: “I’m sure in the 70s, people were saying stuff like, “Oh! We’re getting our home insulated with asbestos! We’re getting asbesto ceilings and floors. Isn’t that great!!!?”

Me: “Today, you’re saying, ‘Oh! we’re getting new PVC windows, doors, gutters, pipes, hoses – isn’t that great!?’ NO. that is not great. PVC is the new asbestos. By the way, you know those vertical window blinds? They’re made of PVC.” (My sweetie calls it Pour Votre Cancer.)

Her: “So why is PVC so horrible?”

What is PVC?
There’s a good reason why manufacturers call it, “PVC.” Calling by its real name lends some hard and horrible reality to what PVC actually is. You may be saddened to hear that PVC stands for Polyvinyl Chloride. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? It’s actually much worse than that.

It has become apparent that this seemingly harmless plastic, PVC, is one of the most environmentally hazardous consumer materials ever produced. Although it appears to be the ideal building material, PVC has high environmental and human health costs that its manufacturers fail to tell consumers. If you’ve learned that PVC is totally safe, you’ve been lied to. PVC (polyvinyl chloride or vinyl) is the worst plastic from an environmental health perspective, threatening major, singular hazards from its inception to its disposal. In other words, PVC becomes harmful the second it’s created until it is disposed of – and even at that point, it still poses toxic exposure inside a landfill or incinerator. That means it emits toxic compounds when it’s being made, while you have it and when it gets disposed of.

The Making of PVC and Beyond
During the manufacture of the building block ingredients of PVC (such as vinyl chloride monomer) dioxin (the most potent carcinogen known) and other persistent pollutants are emitted into the air, water and land, which present both acute and chronic health hazards. During use, PVC products can leach toxic additives, for example flooring can release softeners called phthalates. When PVC reaches the end of its useful life, it can be either landfilled, where it leaches toxic additives or incinerated, again emitting dioxin and heavy metals. When PVC burns in accidental fires, hydrogen chloride gas and dioxin are formed.¹

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is unique in its high chlorine and additives content, which makes it an environmental poison throughout its life cycle. Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen, which can lead to a number of cancers, endocrine disruption, endometriosis, neurological damange, birth defects, impaired child development and reproductive and immune system damage. PVC releases dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants during its manufacture and disposal and cannot be readily recycled due to it chlorine and additive content. Furthermore, additives are not bound to the plastic and leach out. ^{1, 2}

Dioxins from PVC – The Impact
Dioxin’s impact doesn’t stop there. As a persistent bioaccumulative toxin (PBT), it does not break down rapidly and travels around the globe, accumulating in fatty tissue and concentrating as it goes up the food chain. Dioxins from Louisiana manufacturing plants migrate on the winds and concentrate in Great Lakes fish. Dioxins are even found in hazardous concentrations in the tissues of whales and polar bears and in Inuit mother’s breast milk. The dioxin exposure of the average American already poses a calculated risk of cancer of greater than 1 in 1,000 – thousands of times greater than the usual standard for acceptable risk. Most poignantly, dioxins concentrate in breast milk to the point that human infants now receive high doses, orders of magnitude greater than those of the average adult.²

Lethal Additives
PVC is useless without the addition of a plethora of toxic chemical stabilizers – such as lead, cadmium and organotins – and phthalate plasticizers. These leach, flake or outgas from the PVC over time raising risks fthat include asthma, lead poisoning and cancer.²

Construction and PVC
The construction industry has been unaware of its true cost and long considered it a cheap convenient material. Piping, vinyl siding, and vinyl flooring are the largest and most familiar uses of PVC. Roof membranes have been a growing area. It is also used in electrical wire insulation, conduit, junction boxes, wall coverings, carpet backing, window and door frames, shades and blinds, shower curtains, furniture, flues, gutters, down spouts, waterstops, weatherstrip, flashing, moldings and elsewhere. Fortunately, for each of these uses, there exist a wide range of cost effective alternative materials that pose less of a health hazard to workers and the public at large.

Alternatives
Replacing PVC in your projects is easier than you may think. A number of resource guides are available to help you find green construction materials. But beware: some construction materials labeled “green” actually contain recycled PVC/vinyl and frequently require virgin PVC mixed with the recycled.

* Piping
Cast iron, steel, concrete vitrified clay, and plastics such as HDPE (high density polyethylene).

* Windows & Doors
Recycled, reclaimed or FSC certified sustainably harvested wood, fiberglass, and aluminum.

* Siding
Fiber-cement board, stucco, recycled or reclaimed or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified sustainably harvested wood, OSB (oriented strand board), brick, and polypropylene.

* Roofing Membranes
TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin), EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), FPO (flexible polyolefin alloy), MBM (modified bitumen), NBP (nitrile butadiene polymer) and low-slope metal roofing.

* Flooring & Carpet
Linoleum, bamboo, ceramic tile, carpeting with natural fiber backing or polyolefins, reclaimed or FSC certified sustainably harvested wood, cork, recycled rubber, concrete, and nonchlorinated plastic polymers.

* Wall Coverings & Furniture
Natural fibers such as wood and wool, polyethylene, polyester, paint.

* Electrical Insulation and Sheathing
Halogen free, LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene), and XLPE (thermoset crosslinked polyethylene)

Guides
NorCal ADPSR Architectural Resource Guide
Greenpeace PVC Alternatives Database
Environmental Building News
Sources: ¹ Greenpeace, ² Heathly Building Network

A quick reminder to make a note of the opening of Une Vérité qui Dérange / An Inconvenient Truth by Former U.S. Vice President and lifelong advocate for the environment, Al Gore. This is an eye-opening documentary that cries out for people to reverse the catastrophic effects of global warming.

Opening in theaters in France October 11, 2006.

[A big thanks to Ecolopop for the reminder]

Tags: france, french, Une+Vérité+qui+Dérange, An+Inconvenient+Truth, opening, theaters

The “design” of these roadside public toilets can be forgiven, I think, because:

1) They are Toilettes Sèches (dry toilets) that don’t waste (or use for that matter) any water; 2) don’t use any chemicals at all; 3) derive energy from solar panels (if necessary); 4) produce a renewable material in the form of compost; 5) are accessible to the disabled; 6) are well maintained and clean; and most importantly; 7) They don’t smell!

It was the first time I’ve seen these environmentally kind and clean public toilets in France and well, tant mieux. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: clean, public toilets in France? Isn’t that some sort of oxymoron? I am telling you I am witness to this. It’s hard to imagine, I do realize – but it’s for real.

You might think, EIUW! It must have a horrible odor, but it doesn’t. There’s an aeration system that magically helps this issue.

How does it work?

It looks like any other restroom you’ve seen but it’s quiet because there’s no flush of water. Once you do your thing in that toilet, the “deposit” is distributed evenly via a type of conveyor belt. This is activated by the user pressing a pedal next to the toilet. The accumulated human waste and toilet paper are broken down with the help of earthworms. It’s basically compost (much like the compost in gardens) and the process is so efficient, these toilet houses only need to be drained every 5 to 10 years. The compost needs to be removed twice a year or every 3 to 4 years depending on the amount of use. The final compost can be dried and/or removed and used as any other type of compost.

Tags: france, travel, Toilettes+Sèches, public+toilets, environmental, composting+toilets

~ ~ ~
“The biggest truth to face now – what is probably making me unfunny
for the remainder of my life – is that I don‘t think people give a damn whether the planet goes on or not…I know of very few people
who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren.“
~Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country (2005)

Each time I’ve driven along a nearby national route, I’ve passed by this sign and have been wanting to look further into the subject. The sign has been there for several months now. Here’s a translation of what it says, “I grow rapeseed for Diester here, and I fight against the greenhouse effect. Diester with diesel is greener.” The logo with FDSEA represents the national union for rural agriculture. I did some further digging into Diester.

What is Diester? (In France, pronounced DEE-eh-stair)

Originally, diester, also known as colza methyl ester, comes from the contraction of the words “diesel” and “ester” and in a generic sense, pure diester is made up of 90% vegetable oil extracted usually from rapeseed (colza) which is the predominant source in France, but flaxseed, sunflower seed or peanuts can be used. The remaining 10% of diester is composed of methanol. Methanol is a type of alcohol and is said to be (sometimes) necessary to break up the viscosity of the colza oil, important particularly during colder weather where the fuel without methanol is vulnerable to freezing. These two compounds then go through a process called “esterification” that essentially creates the final liquid product of biodiesel.

However, today in France, “Diester” is a registered and trademarked product by the company Sofiproteol (Prolea is their parent company). It is made up of the compounds as is described above, but is only used as an additive to diesel in France.

For the purposes of this post, I am making a distinction between biodiesel and Diester, the branded product.

Diester vs. Biodiesel

Diester should not be confused with biodiesel but I’m afraid that the words “Biodiesel” and “Diester” are now used interchangeably in France. Diester, the branded product, is currently not sold as pure biofuel in France. It is mixed with diesel in a tiny amount. In addition, the methanol used within Diester is of petrochemical origin, whereby, other biodiesel sellers can opt to use methanol from a more clean source like wood, for example. Some biodiesel makers also do not use any methanol whatsoever, and simply provide filtered extracted oil, which apparently works on older model diesel engines without the necessity of modification, or very insignificant modification⁽¹⁾. The practice of independently selling pure biodiesel is illegal in France, however, it is nevertheless sold “unofficially” to consumers.

Biodiesel is a renewable energy source and a clean burning fuel that does not use any petroleum-based or fossil fuel products and emits less CO2 emissions, sulfur, aromatics and particulate matter into the environment than diesel and other petroleum-based fuels. Diester, on the other hand, is only used as an additive to diesel, so, in effect, still pollutes because of the diesel content.

How much Diester is Mixed with Diesel in France?

Although cars with diesel engines do not need major modifications in order to run on 100% Diester fuel, in France, Diester is sadly only available as an additive to regular diesel fuel in the following proportions: For captive fleets (buses, waste collection trucks and utility vehicles) 30%⁽²⁾ Diester is added to diesel, and a mere 1.5%⁽³⁾ of diester on average is mixed with the consumer diesel. By comparison, Germany is already using 100% biodiesel like Diester in their car engines and it is readily available at pumps. Additionally, no blends are admitted in Germany. Why is France still using just a miniscule amount of Diester in their blend?

Some History

Subsidies for oilseed farmers cultivating crops for human consumption were drastically cut in a reform by the EU in 1992. This began a downward decline in French oilseed production, however, because it mandated that farmers set aside some of their land as fallow and because the land could be used to grow crops not meant for consumption, the industry for oilseed fuel gradually increased.

It was the French farmers that pioneered biodiesel with their own fabrication of vegetable oil mixed with ethanol (derived from potato alcohol). They used this biodiesel to fuel their tractors and other farming vehicles. Though, an illegal practice, the farmers did this nonetheless, and since this year, 2006, it has been made legal but just for the agricultural industry.

It is clear that cars are, in fact, able to run on 100% Diester but it is still not available to consumers in this form. There are, however, people unofficially selling filtered rapeseed and sunflower seed oil to consumers as fuel for their cars. When the price per barrel of (petroleum) oil began to rise just a few years ago, consumers in France started to use regular (human grade) rapeseed oil (canola oil) in their cars, adding it to their diesel engines from the bottles. They would simply buy cases of it at the supermarkets. Or, they would find one of these “unofficial” sellers. (usually at a farm) It was cheaper than diesel and it had no ill effects on their engines, plus it polluted less.

Why isn’t 100% Diester available to consumers in France?

Biodiesel has been around for decades in France and even the registered “Diester” was established in 1992; Diester is 14 years old yet it is still not sold in a pure form. Biodiesel in a 100% biofuel form, whether it is filtered colza oil or as an oil mixed with methanol is illegal to sell in France. While other countries are already using 100% diester (the unbranded version) in their car engines, this concept is unknown in France. Why?

There are several barriers to entry for biodiesel and Diester in France:

1) The (petroleum) oil companies’ unwillingness to share the industry with alternative fuels certainly is a big barrier. As a result, they’ve “collaborated” with biodiesel groups falsely promoting clean fuel but at the same time, preventing the biodiesel to go 100% – by powerful lobbying and misleading marketing. For example, “Diester” (the brand) will proudly say that “1 out of 2 cars run on Diester in France and the drivers don’t even know it!” That implies that half the cars in France are running on Diester but the truth is: half the cars run on DIESEL mixed with 1.5% of diester. Is that really something to be proud of, seeing that it IS possible to run a clean burning vehicle at 100%? It really irks me when they emphasize that they are working against the greenhouse effect. They’ll even boldly say they are “fighting against global warming!” If that were true, there’d be a higher percentage of Diester mixed with diesel, or better yet, they’d find a way to sell it pure. They were also promoting “Diester inside” (sort of attempting to cutely mimic the “Intel inside” on computers) but that is also grossly misleading. Please. The “Diester” initiative does have support from petroleum companies, so they of course are going to push hard to preserve their own petroleum industry.

I wish they’d realize that biodiesel is here to stay and the world will have to make adjustments to combat the terrible consequences of global warming.

2) French Legislation is not permitting the sale of pure biodiesel because they want a piece of the tax action, so-to-speak, and for the moment, they can’t collect on the sales of biodiesel (see #4 below) like they can with gas – so, what they’ve done is simply forbid it.

In France, for fuel bought at the pumps, the government receives 70.83% in taxes for diesel (42.84 % which is the TIPP (interior tax)⁽⁴⁾ plus the VAT of 19.6% calculated toward the total sale). Think that’s insane? For regular unleaded gasoline, they collect 92% taxes at the pump. That’s partly why the gas in France is this expensive.

Will they ever allow the sale of pure biodiesel or even Diester at the pumps? Hopefully, in the near future, they will iron out this huge wrinkle. In the meantime, the government has found some of the independent sellers of biodiesel, and is threatening to impose legal action against them for breaking the law. They are claiming that these sellers aren’t paying their taxes on their bioidiesel sales, but those taxes, by law, only apply to petroleum products, which they aren’t selling. In effect, the government cannot do much against these sellers because they aren’t breaking the law.

They should just pass a law, already, that allows the sale of biodiesel!

3) French Legislation takes a long, long, long time to adopt new laws and change old laws. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than simply adopting and enforcing new laws here. There are the lobbyists that “get to” French politicians to grease them up persuade them so the legislation favors their perspective, and the whole process takes some time and is probably a wicked web of activity.

4) In 2004, the EU approved a new directive that establishes pan-EU rules for the “detaxation” of biodiesel. This called for tax exemptions or reduced tax rate on the sales of biodiesel and other biofuels. Coupled with #2 above, this obviously creates a huge kink.

5) French production and supply are reportedly insufficient to meet demand. This reasoning baffled me but looking deeper, I’ve found that if raw materials necessary to process biodiesel are imported from outside of the European Union (the U.S., for example), the preferential tax system benefiting biofuels may need to be revised.

6) Automobile manufacturers – will favor petroleum fueled cars in order to avoid having to make alterations to their existing engines, but mask this by asserting they support the fight against global warming and gladly accept biodiesel blends (but small amount of biodiesel) Sadly, they should realize the potential market size for greener cars.

7) Does Diester, the company, even want its product to be in pure form? They, themselves might be the biggest barrier.

Conclusion

The subject of biodiesel and Diester is obviously a highly debated issue in France, which is the probable reason why the general public doesn’t have access to it. The best thing to do as a consumer is to find out more about biodiesels and try to help it move to the mainstream public in a pure form. You can be an active environmentally compassionate citizen by trying to get positive legislation enacted. If you’re in France and want to support a cleaner fuel, here are some suggestions to improve the final decisions made for biodiesel in France, to get advocacy from politicians and to urge them to discuss the reasons behind why biodiesel is not readily available, yet France is one of the biggest producers of it.

1. Contact members of the National Assembly and voice your opinions about the subject of Biodiesel and/or of Diester. Suggested question: Why can’t pure biodiesel be sold in France to the general public?

2. Contact the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development in France. Suggested question: What can you do to help get 100% biodiesel to pumps for consumers? Her info: Madame Nelly Olin, Ministre de l’Ecologie et du Développement durable, 20, avenue de Ségur, 75302 Paris 07 SP, Tel: 01.42.19.20.21

3. Contact the EU Environmental Commissioner and discuss your support of 100% biodiesels in France (Ask why it can be done in Germany and not France). Here’s his contact information: Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas, European Commission, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 29.82.000, Email: stavros.dimas@cec.eu.int

4. Form or join a group working toward getting biodiesel to France.

5. Learn more about it.

6. Share your information with others.

⁽¹⁾ Biodiesel, if used in a pure form, has a tendency to corrode rubber joints, so the modification to change these is minimal.

⁽²⁾ A result of “Partenaires Diester,” (launched in 1994) a grouping of 30 French cities that run their public transport on Diester. Partenaires Diester is supported by car manufacturers, petroleum companies and agricultural associations.

⁽³⁾ From Sofiproteol’s, parent company site: Prolea: “Le Diester, le biocarburant issu des huiles végétales Aujourd’hui présent à hauteur de 1,5% dans le gazole, le Diester va bénéficier du plan national de développement des biocarburants. Objectif français : atteindre 7% de la valeur énergétique du gazole mis sur le marché en 2010.” (The biocarburant Diester, derived from vegetable oils, today has a total value of 1.5% in diesel fuel. Diester will profit from the national development plan for biocarburants. French Objective: to have 7% (of Diester) in diesel fuel on the market by 2010.)

⁽⁴⁾ TIPP – Taxe intérieure sur les produits pétroliers (interior tax for petroleum products) is a government imposed tax in France. See tax breakdown here.

[Sources: Biodiesel in the news, Biodiesel, Germany, Biodiesel Magazine, Biofuels, Biodiesel European Overview (pdf), Diester, European Biodiesel Board, European Commission Environment, European Techwire, Foreign Agricultural Service U.S. Mission to the European Union, Green Car Congress, L'intérêt des biocarburants pour l'environnement, Margot Wallström, Ministere de l'ecologie et du developpment durable, Prolea, Roule ma fleur, Promethee 2006 Archives, When will traffic be clean?]

Le Tour de France has been going on for several weeks now and it’s something that I have a hard time following because…it’s boring! Someone reminded me, though, that the Tour will have their Stage 19 today in Le Creusot, which is located in Burgundy. This is the nearest the Tour has come to where I live, but it is still not very close. A timed, abbreviated event of 57 kilometers, today’s route begins in one of my least favorite towns in France: Le Creusot. I absolutely hate it, and frankly wondered why they would take the Tour there in the first place.

I consider Le Creusot an environmental nightmare and have seen and heard too many sad things about it. We went there (remember the creepy fair?) and realized that it is, indeed, an “industrial town” as it’s been described to be, but that’s too nice to describe it as such. The Tour’s site says this about Le Creusot:

“Whether coming in from the forests of Morvan, the grazing pastures of Charolais or the Chalonnais hills, the town makes for a surprising discovery.”

The “surprising discovery” you’ll make is that upon entering the area, your eyes will burn and you’ll inhale noxious gases while feeling the onset of a raging headache. You’re not alone, the 90,000 inhabitants (population of the Le Creusot-Montceau urban spread) get to live with these full time because of: a nuclear power plant, waste incinerator burning 130,000 tons of non-recyclables each year, rubber (tires) recycling plant, plastics manufacturers, landfills, steelworks, and more.

The incinerator was dangerously close to hundreds of housing projects, by the way, and the rate of thyroid cancer (pollution-related cancer) is alarmingly high.

I tried to grab a screen capture of this area on Google Earth but the details aren’t available. And forget about France’s Geoportail. I can’t get it to work on my computer. In any case, I should spare you the ugly details.