According to a recent U.K. survey from investment firm Skandia, all it takes is £5,ooo to make people happy. The Telegraph of London reports that according to the survey, 82% of respondents would be happy if they have £5,000 in savings, up from 66% six years ago. In U.S. dollars, £5,000 is about $8,000, which many Americans don’t have in cash.

The folks at Skandia attribute the survey results to the fact that most individuals are saving more amid the recession and recovery, so there are new expectations of the kind of savings that give people peace of mind. Still, the irony is that less people today could pay off their debts with that amount of savings. Just one-third of people would be able to settle their non-mortgage debts with £5,000 or less, a drop from 44% in 2004.

The irony of the global environment debate, one that was recently the focus of the massive United Nations convention in Copenhagen, is that while the developed nations seem the most proactive, they are in reality looking for a way to fix all the damage they’ve done, damage that will hurt the developing nations the most. The poor nations will suffer the most and for that, for the damage we’ve done, they want to be compensated. Add the “anti-eco tax,” as we’ll call it, to the deficit. It’s no wonder America is a land of afterthoughts, for how can a nation save, preserve and appreciate if its own government runs a deficit year after year, rewarding those that strive for profits and nothing else.

Amid these issues, the new president recently announced more troops will go to Afghanistan and lesser known, that an $851 million contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin to develop submarine missiles. Less than $1 billion is hardly a lot of money in the scheme of things, but I think that money would be better spent on job creation, skills training programs, scholarships or grants.

A 20-minute or so long podcast by the BBC took listeners through the convention, from tedious sessions on the main floor to talks about green fashion. The most depressing comment one attendee made was that despite the many countries represented, the truth of the matter is that the future might be decided by the big three: the United States, the European Union and China. The financial industry works the same way and was recently exhibited in the hedge fund debate; after the UK issued news about a new tax for finance folks, France announced a similar tax. Paris officials said they wanted to earlier, but were concerned about the livelihood of the city should it prematurely impose a tax. The global backlash against impending hedge fund regulation in the U.S. and Europe is that hedgies will flock to places like Switzerland and other safe havens, perhaps Jersey and Malta. This raises the question—will there be loopholes in the green movement? The answer is— we have to make an effort and set standards and regulations before someone can evade them!

Nevertheless, we move on to comments we’ve culled out for you from the BBC podcast. The real issues at stake given our treatment, or maltreatment, of the earth, are: 1) sea level drop, the ozone layer erodes, some countries eventually face elimination, and a serious impending water crisis in a number of decades, by which time we might only have finished solving the water and sanitation crisis in most of Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

On a regular basis, we all feel too busy to make drastic changes. Two designers present at the fashion events in Denmark presented the two angles regarding green fashion: do you want to cut waste before the garment is worn or after? Before means Zero Waste, according to Karina Micheal Michel, whose clothes are made of recycled products, making them zero waste. For Emma Rigby, the approach to cutting waste after wearing clothes involves tackling social norms, such as the concept of frequent cleaning of garments, which uses enormous amounts of electricity and water. Until now, the green fashion debate has centered largely on organic and alternative materials, from organic cotton to hemp and bamboo. This is likely because it is easier to choose lower-impact ingredients and green manufacturing by cutting transportation costs and usage and adding green energy elements to factories than to tell the public to wash their clothes less often.

Jacket by Padmaja Krishnan in Imagination silks & scrapes from Shared Talent India workshop

Rigby is working on a solution that will require less cleaning, but will likely face huge opposition from detergent makers that push the message that things are only clean if they are washed often and sparkling white. This is the same kind of misleading message that similar companies have sent in brainwashing folks to think that only soaps that foam clean.

Still some fashionistas are moving ahead on the many angles of green fashion. The two aforementioned women are both students at the London College of Fashion, whose Center for Sustainable Fashion has launched an international initiative that will launch in early 2010, enabling Western designers to get in touch with Indian suppliers of sustainable materials and textiles. Led by the Indian government and the UK Government Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) run Sustainable Clothing Roadmap, those involved include Indian textile suppliers, buyers, and undergraduates from London College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and Amsterdam Fashion Institute. Shared Talent India will also feature an “Indian Sourcing Toolkit” to help connect deisgners with suppliers in India. For more information on these and other similar programs, click here.

Click here for winners of the Sustainable Fashion Awards at the London College of Fashion.

QUICK TIPS TO LIVING A GREENER LIFE
•    Use Energy Star light bulbs and turn off fans and lights whenever you leave a room.
•    Wear more layers and use less heat
•    Drive cars with high MPG rate, at least 18 mpg
•    Walk or ride a bike instead of driving whenever possible
•    Recycle and reuse all containers, including bath and body products.
•    Switch from paper towels and napkins to all cloth, assigning each family member a cloth napkin to use for the week
•    Only buy new clothes that you can wear to work. Take the money you would’ve used to buy clothes and start a savings account to fund future education, retirement or debt payments.
•    Buy fair trade, organic products wherever necessary, without GMO. This includes fair trade clothing, which might become more widely available thanks to the recent announcement from Transfair about a pilot program.
•    BEGIN COMPOSTING. This does not have to be overwhelming. Composting doesn’t mean one has to start their own compost pile or buy a composting machine. Anyone can start by using compostable plastic bags, available online and at The Container Store, and keeping waste in the freezer until it is ready to dump. Community gardens and compost piles, as well as participating composting organizations at farmer’s markets, will take your compost. The most common things to compost, which can all be bagged together, include: fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grinds and paper towels and napkins. Just keep the bag out while you are cooking or doing food prep and toss waste scraps in your compost bag, instead of the trash. Use this EPA resource to find a composting spot near you. Check out this Wall Street Journal feature for a guide to the best composting machines.

The Dirt:
Britain’s MOBO Awards show proves that Black culture, specifically music, touches all humans across the globe. The awards show that stands for Music of Black Origin began in 1996 and has been going strong ever since. On October 15, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) will air the 13th annual MOBO Awards with hosts Rev Run and Mel B. Unlike some award shows, this one breaks down talent into a diverse group of genres ranging from Best UK Newcomer and Best Club DJ to Best Gospel and Best African Act. To top it off, this year, MOBO created its first MOBO Black Music Panel, featuring a variety of executives from radio DJs to BBC producers to the head of MTV Base to journalists from varying publications.

The MOBO awards demonstrates that music of black origins runs the gamut from jazz, hip-hop and gospel to reggae, African and R&B. The big names still make an appearance on the nomination lists, such as Dizzee Rascal, Jay Sean and Leona Lewis. Then there are the folks that by their appearance would be judged as pop stars, but in fact, take cues from soul, rhythm and blues and the meeting of punk, dance and hip-hip. Take Duffy’s song Mercy or Warwick Avenue, which clearly echoes of the painful soul tunes of heartbreak. Or the young emerging artist Adele, whose porcelain skin might disguise onlookers, but whose Right As Rain track conjures the image of backup girls swaying and cooing, sharing the feeling of love lost, that seems to be inspired by Gladys Knights & The Pips and the softer, original R&B sound. Or, take the Sri Lankan-born U.K.-raised superstar M.I.A., whose funky music has been gaining momentum for over five years. Then add the international category, whcih covers the popular stars known all over the world, including Mariah Carey, Akon and Ne-Yo, among others. But, it’s the Best African Act category that has us tuned into iTunes UK.

This category serves as a wakeup call to show the world that there is more coming out of Nigeria than oil conflict. Both 9ice and Asa have catchy singles, the former exhibiting R&B and hip-hop sounds and the latter offering a playlist for fans of Corinne Bailey Rae and Norah Jones. 9ice’s catchy single Gongo Aso is so addictive you won’t care that it’s not in English. Asa’s Jailer speaks of humanity and injustice but the peaceful rhythm serves as a means to musical magical realism. The MOBO Awards show teaches listeners all over the world to listen not look, and appreciate the music over the person through the creation of many genre categories and the inclusion of musicians from all races.

Bonus:
BET Networks hosts the Hip Hop Awards on October 18 in Atlanta, Georgia, and airs on BET on October 23. The network is also hosting two panel discussions October 17-18 at Clark Atlanta University that will focus on teaching the youth about understanding finance, civil and women’s rights, and getting younger generations involved in politics. Participants include Russell Simmons, MC Lyte, journalist Michaela Angela Davis, activist Moya Bailey, Brown University Professor Tricia Rose, Ludacris and more.

Where:
For more information on the MOBO Awards, visit the MOBO website.

Picture of Asa courtesy of Naïve.

A United Nations official told the BBC 100 about people have been killed and up to 25,000displaced in the African nation of Somalia because of fighting between militia and Islamic insurgents. The insurgents have taken over the port city of Kismayo, but fighting is also rampant in the capital, Mogadishu, where Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout is thought to have been abducted, CBC reports. Meanwhile, pirates are said to be hijacking boats off the north coast. The violence comes two years after the radical unit of the Union of Islamic Courts, Al-Shabab, was pushed out of power.

Canadian health officials confirmed an outbreak of a bacteria called listeria from Maple Leaf Foods meat products, CBC reports. To date, 21 cases have been confirmed, 16 of which are in Ontario, and 30 more are suspected. Three have died so far. The recall includes Irving, Sub Delicious and Needs brand sandwiches.

The remaining body part of a 17-year-old U.K. national Cara Marie Burke was found in a river outside Goiania, Brazil, The Telegraph reports. Burke was visiting boyfriend Mohamed D’Ali Carvalho Santos, 20, who confessed to murdering her and then putting her in a suitcase and dumping it in the river.

Hackers hits Facebook, whose membership has leaped to roughly 100 million active users worldwide,New York Times reports. Spam has invaded the social networking giant in the form of hijacked accounts, some of which were deactivated. The site admitted it has been permeated by spam, phishing attacks and a worm. “We are investigating every report, removing false content, blocking bogus links and addressing the concerns of our users,” the company said in a statement. Some attacks were tied to the worm Koobface, which has about 27 mutations according to Internet security firm Kaspersky Lab.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for an investigation into China’s claim that the Dalai Lama spurred the violence in China-occupied Tibet, BBC reports. While the Chinese government says 19 people were killed in the riots in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, the Tibetan government puts the number at about 99.

In the United Kingdom, government unit The Home Office announced plans for its new national ID cards security system, which aims to have 90% of foreign nationals carrying ID cards by 2015. The cards, which will be rolled out in November, will show the person’s immigration status, the length of their visa and if they are allowed to work or obtain benefits. All those with a card will be fingerprinted.

The African nation of Mozambique plans to boost power supplies to South Africa to help it deal with electricity shortages. Electricity prices are set to rise by more than 50% because of the crisis, BBC reports.

Pakistan has elected its first female speaker of parliament, Fehmida Mirza, Reuters reports.

Vice President Dick Cheney is in the Middle East to help foster peace talks. Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement put forth by the Yemeni government and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad is scheduled to talk with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Taiwan elected Ma Ying-jeou as its new president, to be inaugurated on May 20. Ma plans to work with Mainland on direct airline flights, increased mainland tourism, commercial ties and confidence-building military arrangements, The Washington Post reports.