In an old Chicago meat plant, greens and fish grow

In this Feb. 29, 2012 image made from video, Andrew Fernitz, a partner in 312 Aquaponics, holds a net containing tilapia in an old meat-packing plant where the business has taken up residence, in Chicago. Water containing waste from the fish is used to fertilize greens, which filter out the nutrients before the water is returned to the fish. Photo: Martha Irvine / AP

CHICAGO (AP) — They call this place the Back of the Yards, a neighborhood in the middle of the city once filled with acres and acres of stockyards.

In their heyday, those stockyards gave Chicago a reputation as the world’s meat-packing capital — but also as an environmental and health horror brought to life in the stark images of Upton Sinclair‘s novel «The Jungle.»

Casi el 86% de los productores considera que el mercado ecológico evolucionará positivamente en Cantabria

Las previsiones de crecimiento del mercado ecológico en Cantabria son muy optimistas, ya que el 85,7% de los productores considera que evolucionará positivamente.

Así se desprende del estudio ‘Tendencias del mercado ecológico’ en Cantabria, que se ha llevado a cabo a través de dos talleres, uno de oferta y otro de demanda, divididos en dos etapas: una de diagnóstico y otra de proyección futura.

Este Taller de Investigación-Acción Participativa realizado en la región se ha llevado a cabo realizando encuestas a personas demandantes y operadores del mercado ecológico (elaboradores, productores y distribuidores) independientemente de su sector de actividad y tamaño de empleo.

Business must take climate change seriously say investors

A series of workshops explore new ways of doing business that can help the world transition into a more sustainable global community

Is climate change a funding and investment game stopper? Photograph: Peter Cade/Getty Images

Businesses must take the issue of climate change seriously if they are to enjoy the backing of institutional investors, a Business Council for Sustainable Development UK (BCSD-UK) workshop was told. World leading experts also gave an indication of the magnitude of the climate change impact on investment activity.

Craig McKenzie, head of sustainability at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, and one of the authors of a guide issued by leading investors, said: «In January 2012, 200 large institutional investors from the largest pension funds and asset managers across the world, between them representing $20tn of assets under management and one third of the invested assets, published a report on the expectations of corporate climate risk management. They are pushing the energy efficiency agenda and monitoring whether companies are adhering to these expectations».