I came across this great website through Reem, a friend of mine! You MUST check it out whether or not you care a hoot about the environment of the world you live in! See the video and watch it several times, because its impact is lasting and real. Also, check out the other items, and think about the message we are getting about our world. Kuwait is not different from the rest of the world, and we are certainly a totally consumer society here, both expats and locals! This cute video is a wake up call for everyone! Don't miss this!!!!! (Mia)
Help to keep your environment clean! Help recycle consumer products and materials. Join FREECYCLE KUWAIT, or use our own forum for greencycling your still good things that you no longer need or use. Don't throw them away! FREECYCLE them!!!
Contrary to popular belief there IS recycling going on right here in Kuwait. Based on what you see in the trash cans around town, you wouldn't think so, because there certainly does seem to be a lot of wastage going on, but let's be positive and look toward doing better for the future.
In Kuwait, paper and aluminum are recycled. There may be other things and if you know of any please let us know so we can let others know how they can help the environment by participating in the collection of items and materials for recycling purposes.
If you have aluminum soda cans to throw away, please try to keep them apart from the rest of the trash so those little guys who go around collecting them for the few fils that they get don't have to go rummaging through the trash to get them. You can put them in a nice, clean tied bag and leave them next to your trash or outside your home or building so they can pick them up.
Papers and cardboard boxes are also recycled and are picked up by some kind of a mafia (joke) to be taken and made into lovely new cardboard boxes and the like.
Clothing items that you do not want can be put in charity bags and either placed in the various boxes around Kuwait near the cooperative societies or picked up at your home by calling the number on the bag. Additionally, you can simply bag them up nicely and tie the plastic bag well, leaving them outside your home or next to the trash area (but not too close), and before you know it they will disappear just like magic!
Now, I'm afraid I'm going to talk about littering, since it is definitely my pet peeve. Why do people throw pieces of paper, wrappers, etc out of their car windows or along the walkways? There are trash cans (or dust bins, so Alison and all you other Brits will be happy) all over the place and if you don't see one, just hang on to those little bits until you find one. If we do this and teach our children to do the same thing soon our world will be a cleaner place, won't it? So, please, PLEASE don't litter! It doesn't matter that there are little guys walking around picking up the trash for you. If there were less of it, they could spend their time collecting aluminum cans and boxes so they could eat better!
So, if you want to do something for your environment, please participate in any way you can, these things are small and simple but will make a huge difference if we all do them.
Mia
400 perform eco-friendly activities
KUWAIT CITY, March 28: Kuwait was recently taken aback with an event like never before. From tree planting in a residential area to litter pick-up by the sea, all the way to washing random cars with buckets (not hoses!) and meeting people to teach them a tip or two about energy and water conservation. Kuwait’s Amazing Environmental Race was certainly a success. The event, which was entitled ‘Go Green,’ saw almost 400 people race around Kuwait doing different eco-friendly activities. Each of the approximately 25 teams were provided with a minibus and driver transported participants to different locations in the country so that they could complete the game criteria.
Young and old, students and professionals, all joined in this fun filled day doing activities such as planting flowers in Souq Sharq, replacing old light bulbs with new energy-saving ones, and preparing presentations and answering questions on the environment. Successful teams had to use the least mileage, work cohesively, and be as strategic as possible. Under the auspices of the Kuwait Economic Society, ‘Go Green’ was hosted by Green L’INC, a stream of Leadership Inc (L’INC). L’INC is a new development organization in Kuwait that seeks to instill the ideals of leadership and global citizenship in Kuwait youth.
Program
Along with a program to train students in event management and to encourage them to work with members of Kuwait’s Special Needs community. L’INC has a mandate to raise environmental awareness and encourage sustainable lifestyles through its Green L’INC program. Green L’INC students are also involved in a film making campaign to document Kuwait’s environmental situation. The Go Green race began at the Souq Sharq where almost 400 people gathered around the acclaimed ‘blue clock’ of the mall. The Opening Ceremony was opened on behalf of the Chief of Municipality, Abdulrahman Al-Hamaidhan, by the Assistant Chief of Municipality, Salah Al-Assousi. Al-Assousi was then presented with a special commemorative spade by L’INC Managing Director, Saima Faruqui, to start off the event. All wearing green bandanas, team members then rushed to their buses — each of which were decorated with banners that were hand-painted by students. Trained judges were placed in each bus, and their task was to reveal the game criteria, and to ensure that tasks were completed in the allotted five-hours slot.
‘Go Green’ would have not been possible without the support of its sponsors. Equipment, including yellow overalls, gloves and brushes for litter pick-up, as well as spades for tree planting, were all generously donated by Adel Al-Haji from KGL General Services. Gift vouchers, which were subsidized by Youssefi Panasonic and Mazaya Club, were awarded to the top three teams. Winners included students from Al-Bayan Bilingual School, and teams from Gulf Consult and AMEC, and presentations were made by Saima Faruqi and Aaida Mamuji, Green L’INC Coordinator. The organizers of ‘Go Green’ wanted a fun way that would bring people together, while at the same time proving to them that positive environmental changes can, and should, be made. Everyone who was involved in the execution and participation of the event left with an increased sense of sensitivity for the environment. (Arab Times)
The Case for CFLsCompact fluorescent light bulbs are safe, and they look great, too.
By Brendan I. Koerner Posted Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, at 7:39 AM ET
I'm constantly being told that the simplest way to improve my green cred is to start using compact fluorescent lights. Yet some naysayers?like one of your Slate colleagues?argue that the environmental benefits of CFLs are negated by their mercury content. Who's right?
The case against CFLs is built largely on half-truths and innuendo. Yes, the energy-saving bulbs contain mercury, a neurotoxin responsible for a tremendous amount of human suffering over the years. And safely recycling CFLs remains far more difficult than it should be. But these facts don't justify sticking with inefficient incandescent technology that has barely changed since the invention of the tungsten filament nearly a century ago.
CFLs are lauded by environmentalists because they require far less electrical power than their incandescent counterparts. A 26-watt CFL bulb produces the same lumens as a 100-watt incandescent bulb. Assuming that you keep one of those bulbs aglow for six hours a day, switching to a CFL will save you 126 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which translates to 170 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions on average. Now, how many bulbs do you have in your house? Twenty? Thirty? Replace them all and you could conceivably (assuming six-hour-a-day use throughout the building) reduce your annual CO2 output by upward of 2.3 metric tons?about 10 percent of the average American household's annual carbon footprint. (www.Slate.com)
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