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The Latest Green News
Cost of Deforestation is Vastly Greater than that of the Current Financial CrisisWhile your 401K smolders in ruins, take a gander at this BBC article and it might give you some perspective. Unfortunately, it's not immediately an optimistic perspective: We are actually losing more money through deforestation than through the current financial meltdown. The reasoning behind this is clear when we start calculating the often overlooked value ofNatural Capital - resources provided by our environment including minerals, water, air, sunlight, heat, plants, animals, and other organic matter.
U.N. says credit crisis could enable "green growth"
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Instead of sidelining the fight against climate change, the global credit crisis could hasten countries' efforts to create "green growth" industries by revamping the financial system behind them, the U.N. climate chief said on Friday.
Cutting air pollution in cities may raise global temps, says scientist
Cleaning air in Beijing and in other large cities suffering from pollution problems by limiting car and power-plant emissions may raise global temperatures instead of lowering them, a German scientist warns.
Carbon tax seen as best way to slow global warming
Climate taxes, not cap and trade markets alone, will lead to the vast technological changes the world's energy system needs to fight global warming, a top U.S. economist said on Thursday. Cap and trade has emerged as the dominant attempt to slow global warming. Global deals in permits to emit greenhouse gas emissions have hit nearly $65 billion a year.
Ethiopia signs deal for largest wind farm in Africa
Ethiopia on Thursday signed a 220-million-euro (300 million dollar) deal with a French company for the construction of Africa's largest wind farm. The contract was inked by representatives of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) and French wind turbine manufacturer Vergnet.
Research shows link between bisphenol A and disease in adults
A research team from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the University of Iowa, have found evidence linking bisphenol A to diabetes and heart disease in adults A research team from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the University of Iowa, have found evidence linking Bisphenol A (BPA) to diabetes and heart disease in adults.
Green alarm as EU ministers mull climate opt-outs
France, Germany and Austria called on Friday for an easing of EU climate ambitions to help industries facing an economic downturn, causing green groups to warn that the battle against climate change was in jeopardy.
Global Warming Triggers an International Race for the Arctic
A new epoch is beginning at the top of the Earth, where the historic melting of the vast Arctic ice cap is opening a forbidding, beautiful, and neglected swath of the planet. Already, there is talk that potentially huge oil and natural gas deposits lie under the Arctic waters, rendered more accessible by the shrinking of ice cover. Valuable minerals, too.
Wall Street seen adding to global rout
Wall Street headed to another huge decline Friday, extending a global sell-off on concerns that even low interest rates won't help end the worsening credit crisis. Dow Jones industrials futures plunged 400 points ahead of the opening bell in New York.
U.S. focus on climate could ease financial crisis
If the United States focused on curbing climate change as soon as a new president took office -- or sooner -- it could help pull the world from the financial brink, environmental policy experts told Reuters.
UN agency questions wider use of biofuels
The International Herald Tribune, October 8, 2008 Wednesday - The United Nations food agency on Tuesday called for a review of biofuel subsides and policies, noting that they had contributed significantly to rising food prices and the hunger in poor countries. With policies and subsidies to encourage biofuel production in place in much of the developed world, farmers now often find it more profitable to plants crops for fuel rather than for food, a shift that has helped lead to global food shortages.
Climate change could force millions from homes
Environmental damage such as desertification or flooding caused by climate change could force millions of peoples from their homes in the next few decades, experts said on Wednesday. "All indicators show we are dealing with a major emerging global problem," said Janos Bogardi, director of the U.N. University`s Institute on the Environment and Human Security in Bonn, Germany.
Fisheries losing $50 billion a year: World Bank
Thomson Financial News Super Focus, October 9, 2008 Thursday 6:08 AM GMT - As more and more fishermen chase fewer and fewer fish, $50 billion is lost each year in potential economic benefits to the fishing industry, a report released Wednesday said. Released by the World Bank and the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, the report blamed poor management, inefficiencies and overfishing for more than $2 trillion of avoidable economic losses over the last three decades.
Sea-level to rise by one-metre this century: scientists
Global warming calculations have been too optimistic, and the sea level round the globe is likely to rise a full metre this century, two senior German scientists warned Wednesday.Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Research on Global Warming Effects and Jochem Marotzke, a leading meteorologist, said UN-backed data on climate change, predicting a rise of 18 to 59 centimetres, was out of date.
'Acoustic smog' is major threat to whales, say researchers
BARCELONA (AFP) — Underwater cacophony caused by commercial and military ships has become so intense that it is killing whales, scientists at the World Conservation Congress here say. Sounds ranging from the hum of yacht motors to sonar blasts strong enough to destroy a whale's inner ear are wreaking havoc on the ability of these cetaceans to migrate, feed and breed, they said on Thursday as a historic case began to be heard by the US Supreme Court.
Clean energy act sets Philippines up for $3 billion rebate
Manila, Philippines - With the passing of its Renewable Energy Act — legislation that spent 19 years in limbo - the Philippines can save over US$2.9 billion, a WWF and University of the Philippines study has found. The savings would come from increasing the country’s renewable energy share in its power generation mix from 0.16 per cent to 41 per cent from wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydropower and biomass.
Map reveals species most at risk from climate change
We heard this week that a quarter of all mammals are threatened with extinction. One of those, the polar bear, made headlines earlier this year for being the first animal to be listed on the US Endangered Species Act, because of its vulnerability to climate change.
One Megawatt Solar Power System Unveiled at Gap Inc.'s West Coast Distribution Center
MMA Renewable Ventures and SunPower Corporation joined representatives from Gap, Inc. on Tuesday to unveil a one megawatt solar power system at the Gap’s West Coast Distribution Center in Fresno. The five-acre installation is one of the largest in northern California. Designed bySunPower, the system features SunPower Tracker technology that tracks the sun’s movements throughout the day. The system increases energy capture by up to 25% over fixed-tilt systems, while decreasing land use requirements.
Focus sharpens on forests for climate fix
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Payments from polluters in rich countries to tropical communities in exchange for slowing deforestation may soon play a bigger role in combating climate change if problems like measuring preservation efforts can be overcome.
Seeking Africa's green revolution
By applying a mixture of crop breeding, soil management, irrigation and diversification, agro-science experts are helping subsistence farmers to cope with climate change and buck the trend in neighbouring African countries.
8 Ways to Green Your Battery Use
You may not realize how often you use batteries until you have to operate for a few hours without electricity. Batteries are great at keeping a charge in our mobile devices, but the components that help generate these charges wreak havoc in landfills.
Benefits of the Bailout Bill for Green Consumers
So say what you like about the bailout bill that was passed last week in the House, but it includes some pretty excellent benefits for those of us Americans looking to embrace energy-saving and renewable energy. The bill makes it cheaper for us to go solar or to get a plug-in hybrid. Here’s a summary of the incentives included in the bill, courtesy ofGreen Wombat, The New York Times, and Speaker Pelosi’s website.
Japan sees big firms trading CO2 next year
Japan is looking to over 1,000 companies, including big firms, to join in a local over-the-counter market for carbon offsets that is being launched to spur voluntary efforts to cut emissions, a government official said. "We're expecting major companies which currently take part in the voluntary action plan to join in," Yasuo Takahashi, director at Ministry of the Environment's office of market mechanisms, said in an interview for Reuters' global environment summit.
Geothermal energy development gathers steam
An unusual combination of economic and environmental forces have created a "perfect storm" that could help geothermal shed its back-seat status to its renewable cousins wind and solar energy, experts said at an international conference.
Sarah Palin makes few friends among U.N. climate experts
U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is making few friends among U.N. climate experts with her view that natural swings, along with human activities, may explain global warming. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N. Climate Panel, says that evidence is mounting that human activities are the main cause of warming. The panel reported last year that it was at least 90 percent certain that human activities, led by burning fossil fuels, were heating the planet.