Climate change action now an afterthought

Bangkok Post: As beneficial as a general international framework for emissions cuts might be for the planet, there seems almost no chance at this stage that such a framework will be agreed upon, and even if it were the problems in enforcing it would be enormous As the leaders of the G8 and other invited nations gather in the US state of Maryland this weekend it's not surprising that the focus will be on the unfolding financial crisis in Europe and how to implement measures to avoid a global recession or even...

URL: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/294208/climate-change-action-now-an-afterthought

How to smear sunblock on a planet

Bloomberg: Similar to the way a slather of sunscreen can help prevent sunburn, one of its ingredients--titanium oxide--could be injected into the stratosphere to help keep the Earth from overheating, according to a British chemical engineer. Peter Davidson, former senior innovation adviser to the United Kingdom's Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, wrote in the May issue of the chemical engineering journal tceToday that TiO2, which is also used in paint and inks, is nontoxic, readily...

URL: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-18/how-to-smear-sunblock-on-a-planet
Enclosure: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=iK048pso8LAs

Canada: Oil and gas: New pipeline proposal stokes enviro fears of a Keystone XL East

Greenwire: Environmentalists battling Canadian oil companies over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to the Gulf Coast and another link west to Asia are now girding for what they see as industry's Plan C: Move heavy crude to the East. At issue is a plan announced this week by Enbridge Pipelines Inc. to reverse the flow of a pipeline that now carries 240,000 daily barrels of imported oil west from Canada's East Coast. SPECIAL REPORT Congress and the Obama administration are preparing for an all-out clash...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/05/18/1
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/05/18/map_gw_01a.png

Pollution warming atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds: Study

Eurasia Review: Pollution is warming the atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds, according to a computational study published May 10 in Geophysical Research Letters. How much the warming effect of these clouds offsets the cooling that other clouds provide is not yet clear. To find out, researchers need to incorporate this new-found warming into global climate models. Pollution strengthens thunderstorm clouds, causing their anvil-shaped tops to spread out high in the atmosphere and capture heat - especially...

URL: http://www.eurasiareview.com/19052012-pollution-warming-atmosphere-through-summer-thunderstorm-clouds/

Japan urges citizens to cut down on electricity use

BBC: Japan has urged businesses and households in parts of the country to cut electricity use by up to 15% to avoid possible blackouts. The country is facing power shortages this summer because its 50 nuclear reactors have been taken offline. Public confidence in nuclear safety was shaken by the meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant, triggered by last year's earthquake and tsunami. The call for electricity reduction will take effect from July to September. This time around the move to save...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18113785
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60318000/jpg/_60318642_014662927-2.jpg

UK climate policy can curb energy price shocks - report

Reuters: Britain's climate policies can help shield the economy from oil and gas price shocks triggered by external factors such as the Arab Spring, an analysis commissioned by the government showed on Friday. Energy price spikes can often dent economic growth, business investment and employment, as witnessed during the global financial crisis in mid-2008 when oil rose to nearly $150 per barrel, research group Oxford Economics said in a report. Yet the negative impact on economic growth could be halved...

URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/18/uk-climate-change-energy-idUKLNE84H00520120518

West Papua’s big palm oil plantations rip-off

EIA International: An Indonesian oil palm plantation in which Norway has a financial stake paid Papuan tribal landowners as little as US$0.65 per hectare for their forestland, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) can reveal. In the new report Clear-Cut Exploitation, EIA and its Indonesian partner Telapak expose woefully low payments by PT Henrison Inti Persada (PT HIP) to marginalised Moi tribe clans for land and timber. Evidence includes a copy of PT HIPs 'contract' with a Moi tribe clan leader, detailing...

URL: http://www.eia-international.org/west-papuas-big-palm-oil-plantations-rip-off?utm_content=reddmonitor%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=sickeningly%20low%20prices%20paid%20to%20indigenous%20tribes%20for%20forest%20land%20and%20timber%20by%20an%20Indonesian%20palm%20oil%20company%20in%20Papua%2E&utm_campaign=May%20update%3A%20Palm%20oil%20companies%20exploit%20Papuanscontent
Enclosure: http://www.eia-international.org/clear-cut-exploitation

Exploring the life and death of a lithium-ion battery

ClimateWire: With current battery systems reaching their performance limits, researchers are scrutinizing every component of lithium-ion cells in order to develop energy storage mechanisms that can make electric vehicles better competitors to fossil-fueled engines. Lithium-ion systems have made tremendous strides since they were invented in the 1970s. The cells have matured beyond expensive, fire-prone energy systems, becoming the go-to chemistry to power new mobile devices and electric vehicles. Still, prices...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/05/17/1

Sahel food crisis: life in Burkina Faso – in pictures

Guardian: In the Sahel region of west Africa drought and conflict have left millions of people facing severe shortages of food and water. The situation is critical near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso, where thousands of Malians have poured into refugee camps and many Burkinabes are surviving on aid from the Red Cross

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/gallery/2012/may/18/sahel-food-security-burkina-faso-in-pictures
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/15/1337081630549/Red-Cross-in-Burkina-Faso-017.jpg

Jakarta Poaches on Farmland Waters

Inter Press Service: The 18,000 litres of clean water that Jakarta consumes per second are expected to hit 26,000 litres by 2015. The solution? A 54-km stretch of toll road cut through prime paddy land to access the water resources of this salubrious hill district. Jakarta's administrators expect the capital city to be a show window for its efforts in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, including those for water supply and sanitation. The government, by stated policy, is looking to private-public...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107848
Enclosure: http://ipsnews.net/fotos/107848-20120519.jpg

With natural gas plentiful and cheap, carbon capture projects stumble

New York Times: A federal proposal to ban the construction of coal-fired power plants that release all of their carbon dioxide into the atmosphere would seem to smooth the way for carbon capture, a budding technology that traps the greenhouse gas for storage or other uses. But even as the Environmental Protection Agency prepares to open hearings on the proposed rule, unveiled in March, industry experts say the persistently low price of natural gas is threatening the viability of the nation's carbon capture projects....

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/business/energy-environment/low-natural-gas-prices-threaten-carbon-capture-projects.html

New EPA carbon pollution limit draws criticism and record support

The Republican: Protesters from a variety of organizations joined the Sierra Club on Saturday for a clean air rally outside Mass. gov. Deval Patrick's Springfield office on Dwight Street. (Republican Photo by Robert Rizzuto) Sierra Club Clean Air Rally in Springfield, Mass. gallery (8 photos) With the support of more than 1 million Americans, including approximately 31,000 Massachusetts residents, a coalition of environmental groups will deliver comments to the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to support...

URL: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/more_than_1_million_voice_supp.html
Enclosure: http://media.masslive.com/republican/photo/2011/12/10317792-large.jpg

Germany: Durban Platform climate talks in Bonn

AfriqueJet: Africa stresses 'fair emission cuts' as key to moving climate talks forward - African countries attending the opening of the 'Durban Platform' climate talks in Bonn, Germany, on Thursday expressed worry that there had been no change in proposed emission cuts, even though the current inadequate pledges risk 2.5-5C of warming. In the first session of discussions on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union and other developed countries' proposed emission that cuts remained...

URL: http://www.afriquejet.com/germany-durban-platform-climate-talks-in-bonn-2012051838637.html

Gathering urges rethink on carbon emitters

Mail and Guardian: Divisions over who should lead the fight against climate change should be laid aside say ministers from some of the world's poorest countries. The vexed issue of which countries should bear the greatest responsibility for cutting greenhouse gas emissions has been a sticking point in international negotiations for two decades. Under the original settlement reached in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit and formalised in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, some rapidly emerging economies such as China were left out...

URL: http://mg.co.za/article/2012-05-17-gathering-urges-rethink-on-carbon-emitters/

Door to 2 degree temperature limit is closing - IEA

Reuters: The chance of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius this century is getting slimmer and slimmer, the head of the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday. "What I see now with existing investments for plants under construction...we are seeing the door for a 2 degree Celsius target about to be closed and closed forever," Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist, told a Reuters' Global Energy & Environment Summit. "This door is getting slimmer and slimmer in terms...

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/16/energy-summit-iea-idINDEE84F0F120120516

Stakes High as Negotiators Begin Climate Talks in Germany

National Geographic: Negotiators picked up discussions toward a new global climate treaty in Bonn, Germany this week. The meeting was the first since the 2011 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Durban where leaders initially agreed to put together a plan that would limit Earth-warming emissions. The stakes for the 10-day meeting are high--negotiators have set goals of building support for funding developing nations to the tune of $100 billion a year by 2020 and of constructing a global, legally binding...

URL: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/17/stakes-high-as-negotiators-begin-climate-talks-in-germany/

China rejects US ruling in solar dumping case

Associated Press: China's government on Friday rejected a U.S. antidumping ruling against its makers of solar power equipment and Chinese manufacturers warned possible higher tariffs might hurt efforts to promote clean energy. The conflict has worsened U.S.-Chinese trade tensions. The two governments have pledged to cooperate in developing renewable energy but accuse each other of violating free-trade pledges by subsidizing their own manufacturers. "The U.S. ruling is unfair, and the Chinese side expresses its...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/china-rejects-us-ruling-solar-dumping-case-074948298--finance.html

Australia: Qld govt axes climate change jobs

AAP: The Queensland government has offered voluntary redundancies to more than 30 public servants as it winds back its efforts to combat climate change. A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection says climate change mitigation efforts are now being addressed by the Federal Government's Clean Energy Future plan. About 30 members from the department's Office of Climate Change have been offered voluntary redundancies as a result, she says. But she emphasised there would...

URL: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8469838/qld-govt-axes-climate-change-jobs

U.S. sets new tariffs on Chinese solar imports

Reuters: The United States imposed punitive tariffs on solar panel imports from China, the latest in a series of trade disputes between the world's two biggest economies and sparking accusations by Beijing of protectionism. The new tariffs of around 30 percent, much bigger than had been expected, were set on Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department after it ruled in favor of local firms which said Chinese exporters were dumping cut-price panels on their market. The size of the tariffs is larger than...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/18/us-china-trade-idUSBRE84H06O20120518?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

London housing crisis: should we build on the green belt?

Guardian: Within the M25, there are 110,000 hectares of green belt land. Even if we built on a third of it, we could provide more than 1 million new and affordable homes. First-time buyers could have a chance to get on the housing ladder, we could restore some sort of sanity to London's crazy housing market and, most importantly of all, we could at last house the poorest and most vulnerable Londoners, instead of sending them off to Stoke and other northern districts... London has simply run out of space...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/davehillblog/2012/may/18/should-we-build-on-london-green-belt
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/16/1318786127254/Green-belt-land-007.jpg

Climate Negotiators Try To Make Headway In Bonn Talks

Climate Central: The latest round of U.N. climate talks are underway in Bonn, Germany, in preparation for higher-profile negotiations in Doha, Qatar later this year. The Bonn talks follow from last year's discussions in Durban, South Africa, during which many countries agreed to extend the life of the Kyoto Protocol, while also working on a new legally binding deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which would go into effect by 2020. That new treaty is supposed to apply to industrialized and developing nations...

URL: http://news.opb.org/article/climate_negotiators_try_to_make_headway_in_bonn_talks/

Analysis: New facilities spotlight next-generation biofuels

Reuters: After a decade of promise, advanced biofuels makers are entering a crucial make-or-break period with the first of a new generation of production facilities about to come on line. The new facilities are designed to take biofuels beyond corn-based ethanol and begin to shift the industry to "advanced" fuels made with a lower carbon footprint derived from products that will not compete with demand for food. Many of the companies are turning to cellulosic plant materials, animal waste and plant...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/18/us-biofuels-plants-idUSBRE84H18W20120518?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120518&t=2&i=608918083&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE84H1RFY00

United Kingdom: Richard Branson and Jamie Oliver put their hearts into it

Telegraph: It was not an invitation to decline. "Come to our conference and Jamie Oliver and Sir Richard Branson will together cook dinner.' Indeed, the prospect of discovering how the two icons would get on in the kitchen was even more alluring than the promise of an exceptional meal. I accepted, of course. Yet when I turned up at the erstwhile naked chef's Fifteen restaurant in Shoreditch, east London, earlier this week, I found that celebrity cooking was off the menu; the titans merely arranged one course...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9274997/Richard-Branson-and-Jamie-Oliver-put-their-hearts-into-it.html
Enclosure: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02223/branson_2223666b.jpg

Apple’s Main Data Center Will Use Only Green Power by 2013

Yale Environment 360: Apple Inc. has received approval to build two solar power installations at its main data center in North Carolina, allowing the technology giant to run the center entirely with renewable energy by next year. The two solar farms, which will cover 250 acres near its core data center in Maiden, N.C., will utilize high-efficiency solar cells and an advanced solar-tracking system provided by SunPower Corp and startup Bloom Energy. The solar arrays will generate 84 million kWh of electricity per year....

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/apples_main_data_center_will_use_only_green_power_by_2013/3472/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Palm oil industry adds lobbying muscle in EPA climate battle

The Hill: The palm oil industry has hired law and lobbying giant Holland & Knight to help battle the Environmental Protection Agency's preliminary finding that palm-based biofuels don't meet the greenhouse gas standards of the federal renewable auto fuels mandate. The action by Indonesian and Malaysian trade groups -- and a major biofuel refining company -- underscores the financial stakes of the wonky, behind-the-scenes scuffle over how to scientifically gauge the carbon footprint of the fuels. Lobbying...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/228055-palm-oil-industry-adds-lobbying-muscle-to-epa-climate-battle-

Rio+20 to mull giving UN climate body more teeth: Brazil

Agence France-Presse: Next month's Rio summit on sustainable development will discuss how to strengthen the UN Environment Program (UNEP), Brazil's environment minister said Friday. France, backed by at least 100 countries, is proposing to turn the second-string UNEP into a global super-agency on a par with other UN specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization or the Food and Agricultural Organization. But Washington is strong opposed to the idea. "There is no consensus in international organizations...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/rio-20-mull-giving-un-climate-body-more-210945048.html

Clean up this fracking mess!

Discovery: Well, well, well, now that's a deep subject...especially if you are talking about the use of hydraulic fracturing to create natural gas wells. There's a lot of frack and forth in the debate about drilling for natural gas using hydraulic fracturing. Some Americans shake in fear of earthquakes and polluted ground water potentially caused by hydrolic fracturing, or fracking. Others believe natural gas can provide a less-polluting alternative to other fossil fuels like oil and coal. Geologists...

URL: http://news.discovery.com/earth/fracking-getting-less-bad-over-time-120518.html
Enclosure: http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef016766939666970b-800wi

Cassava a 'rambo root' that can fight climate change in Africa

Deutsche Welle: Drought, poor soil and erratic rainy seasons are problems that affect African farmers daily. But scientists are hoping to change that, with the help of cassava roots that seem able to withstand climate change. Cassava root, also known as manioc, is dark brown on the outside while the inside is grey or reddish. Some varieties taste sweet while others are bitter. They are mostly grown in South America, Asia and Africa. Front runners are farmers in Nigeria. One of them is Abubakar Sadiq Alaji Takingari....

URL: http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15956780,00.html

United States: Sierra Club protests coal as fuel

Muskogree Phoenix: Environmentalists campaigned Thursday against the use of coal as an energy source at a shareholders meeting of a company that operates two of the state`s oldest coal-fired plants. The Sierra Club, the nation`s largest grassroots environmental organization, commissioned a plane to fly a banner over downtown Oklahoma City, where OGE Energy Corp. shareholders were meeting. The banner urged the company`s subsidiary, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, to "move beyond coal," a slogan the group uses in...

URL: http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1647278122/Sierra-Club-protests-coal-as-fuel

China posed for carbon emissions scheme

United Press International: The outcome of China's planned carbon emissions scheme could have a transforming effect on efforts to tackle climate change, experts say. China is preparing to run pilot carbon trading schemes beginning in 2013 in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hubei and Guangdong , major cities with a combined population of 250 million people. The government's goal is to introduce a national trading scheme by 2015, just two years after the seven pilot programs are scheduled to be in place. "For...

URL: http://www.upiasia.com/Top-News/2012/05/17/China-posed-for-carbon-emissions-scheme/UPI-13131337273223/

Huge Alaska mine could impact premier salmon fishery, EPA says

MSNBC: Rivers and streams in the world's premier wild salmon fishery would be greatly degraded for decades should a vast gold and copper mine be built and then see a failure in the dam holding back its mine waste, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a draft report Friday. The proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska has stirred passions for and against, with fishermen and native tribes in the Bristol Bay watershed generally against the project. If the tailings dam were to break, the draft report...

URL: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11759425-huge-alaska-mine-could-impact-premier-salmon-fishery-epa-says?lite
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/g-cvr-120518-mine-3p.photoblog600.jpg

United Kingdom: Climate change: new bird species may arrive

Irish Times: CLIMATE CHANGE has the potential to bring 20 new breeding species of birds to Ireland, according to a new book. Bird Habitats in Ireland is one of the most comprehensive attempts to date to document the location of the entire bird population in Ireland, ranging from cities to bogs, sea cliffs and wetlands. It features the work of 25 academics and 12 photographers and was launched yesterday at a symposium in the RDS on bird species in Ireland. The chapter on climate change warns that hotter, drier...

URL: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0519/1224316360898.html

Palm oil industry hires lobbying powerhouse to overturn EPA ruling on biofuels

Mongabay: The palm oil industry has hired lobbying powerhouse Holland & Knight to help overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that palm oil-based biodiesel fails to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets under the country's Renewable Fuels Standard, reports The Hill. "Lobbying disclosure records show that the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, the Indonesian Palm Oil Board and Neste Oil have brought on Holland & Knight, which is among K Street's highest revenue lobby shops," writes Ben Geman on...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0519-epa-palm-oil-lobby.html
Enclosure: http://travel.mongabay.com/indonesia/600/sumatra_1469.jpg

Alberta admits it likely missed its greenhouse gas reduction targets

Calgary Herald: The Alberta government acknowledges it likely missed its 2010 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal and is now revamping the province's overall climate-change strategy to meet future targets. Alberta Environment said Tuesday the province didn't meet its goal of reducing emissions by 20 megatonnes below business-as-usual projections in 2010, although final audited numbers have yet to come in. The PC government has also been criticized for not being on track to meet its own target for 2020,...

URL: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/politics/Alberta%20admits%20likely%20missed%20greenhouse%20reduction%20targets/6640939/story.html

Analysis: Germany's Merkel losing green battle to cheap coal

Reuters: To reach its strict climate targets and fulfill Chancellor Angela Merkel's nuclear exit plans, Germany needs to avoid coal and build a stack of gas power plants to secure clean energy supplies beyond 2020. Yet the challenge facing Merkel's new environment minister Peter Altmaier, his predecessor fired this week following a disastrous state election defeat, is finding a way to make gas an attractive option while coal remains the more profitable way to produce electricity for Europe's biggest economy....

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/18/us-energy-summit-power-gas-idUSBRE84H0C020120518?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120518&t=2&i=608649944&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE84H0QI600

49.9-MW Hudson Ranch I Geothermal Plant Unveiled in California

![][1] EnergySource hosted the unveiling of its 49.9 Hudson Ranch I geothermal plant, now renamed John L. Featherstone Plant – a geothermal innovator in the Salton Sea area, today in Imperial Valley, California. Commissioned on March 9th, it is the first geothermal plant to go online in the Salton Sea area in 20 years. Recognizing the area's huge potential capacity of reportedly up to two gigawatts, EnergySource expects to start drilling for its 49.9 Hudson Ranch II project this summer and hopes to start construction in 2013.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/18/1332-49-9-mw-hudson-ranch-i-geothermal-plant-unveiled-in-california.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/49-9-mw-hudson-ranch-i-geothermal-plant-unveiled-in-calif?cmpid=rss

Will Chinese Solar Module Tariffs Restore Balance to the Industry?

![][1] In the quest to "level the playing field," the 31 percent anti-dumping tariff announced Thursday was a good start, said SolarWorld President Gordon Brinser, but even more is needed to bring the industry back into balance.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/18/1332-will-chinese-solar-module-tariffs-restore-balance-to-the-industry.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/will-chinese-solar-module-tariffs-restore-balance-to-the-industry?cmpid=rss

France plans to revive EU carbon tariff

EurActiv: Arnaud Montebourg, the newly-appointed French minister for "industrial revival" who has built a reputation for his fierce attacks against globalisation, has promised to revive old plans by Nicolas Sarkzoy for a carbon tariff at the EU's borders, an idea previously rejected as protectionist among France's European partners. "We must demand reciprocity," Montebourg told French public television during his first interview as minister, saying he will revive plans for a carbon tariff at the EU's borders...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/18/france-eu-carbon-tariff

Warmer Climate To Deprive South Africa of Water

LiveScience: Warming climate may mean less rainfall for drought-sensitive regions of the Southern Hemisphere, a new study says. Hundreds of species of unique South African plants may be affected. "The link between climate change and rainfall in certain latitudes can have large effects on ecosystems," said Paul Filmer, of the National Science Foundation, which funded the work, said in a statement. "Plants, for example, may be able to grow in a wider area, or conversely, be squeezed up a mountain or onto a peninsula....

URL: http://www.livescience.com/20413-warmer-climate-deprive-south-africa-water.html

South African plant under threat, say scientists

SAPA: Fynbos, a vegetation found only in the Western Cape, is under serious threat from climate change, according to recent findings by a team of scientists. University of Cape Town professor Michael Meadows and others found that winter rainfall for the province would decrease as the planet warmed due to a build-up of greenhouse gases. Some projections estimated that annual rainfall would reduce between 10 to 30 percent in winter rainfall zones by 2050, threatening more than 5500 endemic plant species....

URL: http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/cape-s-fynbos-under-threat-say-scientists-1.1299590
Enclosure: http://www.iol.co.za/polopoly_fs/iol-scitech-may-18-fynbos-1.1299589!/image/934400968.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_300/934400968.jpg

Industrialised Countries Under Critical Spotlight at U.N. Meet

Inter Press Service: The latest session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), taking place May 15-25 in the former German capital Bonn, is the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the enormous and growing body of scientific expertise on policies to tackle global warming. During the current session, attended by hundreds of scientists, environmental activists, and government delegates from all over the world, the UNFCCC – the agency tasked with fulfilling the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107837

Splits remain over draft Rio+20 conclusions

SciDev.Net: Talks on the proposed outcome document for nations to sign at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil next month (20-22 June), have been marked by divisions on some of the key concepts such as a green economy, and the institutional framework for sustainable development -- as well as individual words and phrases. The latest round of 'informal-informal' negotiations in New York this month (27 April--4 May) finished with little agreement and the outcome document was running...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/splits-remain-over-draft-rio-20-conclusions-1.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment

We're putting our foot in it

New Zealand Herald: We are heading for hell in a fossil-fuelled handcart, spinning towards implosion. Planet Earth is not able to keep pace with humanity's demands nor cope with its wasteful by-products. And the gap - the "ecological overshoot" - is growing. This bleakest of prognoses for our planet's future comes from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which this week released its ninth Living Planet Report. It is a cry for help (if anyone is listening): * Biodiversity - the number and range of species - is in freefall,...

URL: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10806900&ref=rss
Enclosure: http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201220/101829742_220x147.jpg

Heat will stay on this summer

Associated Press: And the heat goes on. Forecasters predict toasty temperatures will stretch through the summer in the U.S. And that's a bad sign for wildfires in the West. The forecast for June through August calls for warmer-than-normal weather for about three-quarters of the nation, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. The warmth is expected south of a line stretching from middle New Jersey to southern Idaho. Only tiny portions of northwestern U.S. and Alaska are predicted to be...

URL: http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/65690/group/homepage/

Apple to Power 3 Data Centers with 100 Percent Renewable Energy

![][1] Greenpeace advocates gathered outside of Apple's Cupertino headquarters early this week dressed as iPhones and iPods, declaring their outrage about the company's lack of clean energy use. They projected social media messages from supporters on the side of the building:

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/18/1332-apple-to-power-3-data-centers-with-100-percent-renewable-energy.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/apple-to-power-3-data-centers-with-100-percent-renewable-energy?cmpid=rss

Are IT Data Centers Emerging as a 'Killer App' for Green Power? Part 1

![][1] Last month, Greenpeace launched a series of coordinated protests at Amazon, Apple and Microsoft locations to draw attention to the companies' use of GHG intensive fuels in powering their data centers. The protests were a follow up to their recently released report, "How Clean is Your Cloud," which criticized the companies fo

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/17/8479-are-it-data-centers-emerging-as-a-killer-app-for-green-power--part-1.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/are-it-data-centers-emerging-as-a-killer-app-for-green-power-part-1?cmpid=rss

Energy efficiency: What Are the Laggards Thinking?

![][1] Why do some states avoid creating policies that encourage consumers and businesses to save energy? What's the psychology of the laggards? A new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy sheds some insight as it examines the states that consistently fall behind in the organization's annual energy efficien

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/18/0-energy-efficiency-what-are-the-laggards-thinking.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/energy-efficiency-what-are-the-laggards-thinking?cmpid=rss

The Forest's Treasure: A Profitable Solution to Woody Waste

![][1] When forests are logged, managed or selectively trimmed so they'll be less susceptible to raging fires, there are usually huge piles of stumps, branches and other wood debris left laying on the ground. Now a group of researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle is developing a portable technology to turn these waste piles into treasure troves by converting them into biochar—charcoal made from plant material that can be burned for energy or applied to soils, where it helps plants grow.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/18/1332-the-forest-s-treasure-a-profitable-solution-to-woody-waste.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/the-forests-treasure-a-profitable-solution-to-woody-waste?cmpid=rss

FedEx Closes in on Vehicle Fleet Fuel Efficiency Goal Years Ahead of Schedule

FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp., has made significant progress towards its goal to make its vehicle fleet 20 percent more fuel efficient by 2020, announcing that the FedEx Express vehicle fleet is now 16.6 percent more fuel efficient through FY2011 than it was in 2005.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12026.html

La Brea Bakery’s Delivery Fleet Includes All-electric Trucks from Smith Electric.

The trucks, designed by Smith Electric Vehicles Corp., generate zero tailpipe emissions and operate for up to 100 miles on a single charge. La Brea Bakery's four trucks will travel a combined estimated 1,120 miles a week throughout Los Angeles County to more than 80 retailers and restaurants.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12028.html

BP and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power to Develop Hawaii Wind Farm with Energy Storage.

In a first for the BP and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power strategic partnership, the Auwahi Wind farm will utilize a battery storage unit capable of storing in excess of 4 megawatt hours of renewable power. This stored electricity will help to regulate the intermittent wind power, providing a valuable source of grid stability for Maui Electric Company.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12027.html

Republic Services Unveils Apex Landfill Renewable Energy Generating Facility Set to Power 10, 000 Southern Nevada Homes.

Energenic receives landfill gas extracted from a series of wells at the landfill and processes the gas in two state-of-the-art turbine-generators to make renewable electricity for NV Energy customers. The captured methane is converted to water and carbon dioxide when the gas is burned to produce electricity.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12025.html

Seabed test mimics carbon dioxide release

BBC: Scientists are beginning a month-long experiment in Scottish waters to study the impact of a possible leak from an undersea carbon dioxide storage site. Working in Ardmucknish Bay near Oban, researchers will allow CO2 to bubble through sediments from a buried pipe and look for impacts on marine life. Capturing CO2 from power stations and burying it under the seabed is viewed as an important global warming fix. A number of countries have plants in operation, though the UK does not. This...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18045733
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60193000/jpg/_60193924_c0049226-underwater_hydrothermal_vent-spl.jpg

Domestic Module Manufacturing: PV Globalization or Political Vote-Seeking?

![][1] Despite 2011 having been a particularly challenging year for PV cell and module manufacturers, new small-scale module manufacturing facilities continue to be implemented, especially in emerging markets. In some cases, these companies/facilities are either aligned to local government policies or are implemented purely as diversification strategies. Other examples are joint-ventures between private and government entities. Such JV's are intended to represent "national" centers-of-excellence to serve domestic or regional market demand.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/17/1332-domestic-module-manufacturing-pv-globalization-or-political-vote-seeking.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/domestic-module-manufacturing-pv-globalization-or-political-vote-seeking?cmpid=rss

Japan: Activists Brace for Long War Against Nuclear Power

Inter Press Service: For the past two decades Masao Ishiji (59), has been fighting tooth and nail to ban the operation of four nuclear reactors that dot the western coastline of Oi in the Fukui prefecture facing the Japan Sea. Earlier this week, that desperate battle reached a critical front. When the Oi municipal assembly passed a new resolution Monday to restart Unit 3 and 4 reactors that had been closed for a year for stress tests, anti-nuclear activists knew they had reached a crucial juncture in their fight to...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107821

Feds: Fire Season Off to Slow Start Even As Wildfires Rage in Southwest

National Public Radio: Raging wildfires are burning tens of thousands of of acres in Arizona, Nevada and parts of New Mexico and Colorado. But federal agencies overseeing the response say they're not worried - by this time last year, there had already been more fires that destroyed more acres. "I would describe [this season] as getting off to a slow start," said Kari Boyd-Peak, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center, which bills itself as a national support center for wildland firefighting. "We're just...

URL: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/05/17/152911097/feds-fire-season-off-to-slow-start-even-as-wildfires-rage-in-southwest?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/05/17/arizonafire.jpg?t=1337270320&s=3

Q. and A.: How to Save Bangladesh?

New York Times: In just over a month, policy makers from around the world will meet in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The meeting has been called Rio+20, reflecting the two decades that have passed since a landmark conference on the environment and development was held in Rio in 1992. This time the main themes are energy, sustainable cities, food security, water shortages, the health of oceans, disaster readiness and assuring people a livelihood. Bangladesh is a prime...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/q-and-a-how-to-save-bangladesh/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/17/business/bangla/bangla-blog480.jpg

British team cancels geoengineering experiment

Science: A U.K. project that is examining the feasibility of geoengineering the Earth's climate to reduce global warming will no longer involve an outdoor experiment that was scheduled to take place later this year. The Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project was set to test the delivery of aerosols high into Earth's atmosphere. Today, however, planners announced that they have cancelled the test because of concerns that researchers involved in the project could have a commercial...

URL: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/05/british-team-cancels-geoengineer.html?ref=hp

While Japan turns away from nuclear power, South Korea sticks to its path

Guardian: The traffic lights are still blinking in Odaka town, north-western Japan, but few cars pass through these deserted intersections. Frozen in time after being hit by the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and meltdowns in the nearby Fukushima Dai'ichi nuclear plant, tables are still laid in partially-collapsed restaurants and cars are stacked up against railings where they were deposited by the retreating wave. When I visited last week, a deathly silence reigned, the only noise the chirruping of...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/17/japan-nuclear-south-korea
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/17/1337267618756/Seoul-by-night-008.jpg

Dust in the wind?

Portland Tribune: All six proposed coal export projects would sent coal through the Columbia River Gorge, five by train and one by barge. After years of lobbying, Portland environmentalists won a remarkable victory in 2010 when Portland General Electric consented to halt coal-burning by 2020 at its Boardman power plant -- the single-largest Oregon source of greenhouse gas emissions. Washington environmentalists replicated the feat months later, securing a similar pledge for the Northwest's other coal plant in...

URL: http://portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=133721219844877400
Enclosure: http://portlandtribune.com/news_graphics/133721321760982000.jpg

Melting Sea Ice Could Lead to Pressure on Arctic Fishery

Environmental News Network: With melting sea ice opening up previously inaccessible parts of the Arctic Ocean, the fishing industry sees a potential bonanza. But some scientists and government officials have begun calling for a moratorium on fishing in the region until the true state of the Arctic fishery is assessed. When scientists with the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program began tracking 323 vertebrate species across the entire Arctic several years ago, most assumed that many fish and animals would not fare well...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/44408?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29

Report: Floods are growing trend

Des Moines Register: The report called on federal authorities to: * Enact requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050. * Protect the Clean Air Act authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. * Overcome barriers to investment in energy efficiency. * Work with state and local governments to ensure that green infrastructure techniques are used in construction projects. Heavy rainfall is falling more often in the Midwest and severe flooding...

URL: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120517/NEWS/305170038/-1/ENT05/Report-Floods-growing-trend

Brazil Navy investigates new oil spill off coast

Reuters: An oil spill was discovered off Brazil's coast near the country's Espirito Santo state, Brazil's Navy said on Thursday, the latest in a series of spills that have raised questions about the safety of a massive expansion of the country's oil production capacity. The Navy said it has sent a team to investigate and has no immediate estimate of the spill's size. Oil workers returning home after work offshore said there was an oil stain about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long on the ocean near the P-57...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-brazil-oil-spill-idUSBRE84G0VC20120517?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Australia's Warming Is Confirmed Using 1,000 Years Of Climate Data

redOrbit: Scientists in Australia have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years. This is the first study of its kind. Researchers at the University of Melbourne led the study. They used a range of natural indicators including tree rings, corals and ice cores to study the temperatures in Australia over the past millennium and compared them to climate model simulations. "The results show that there are no other warm periods...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112537246/australias-warming-is-confirmed-using-1000-years-of-climate-data/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2012/05/australia-92658658-617x416.jpg

United Kingdom: Row over nuclear waste dump proposal in Kent

Guardian: A furious row has broken out among local politicians over a proposal to build a nuclear waste dump in Kent. Romney Marshes is being mooted as a site for Britain's first store for high-level radioactive materials by members of Shepway district council but the move has infuriated the leader of Kent county council and a local MP. "Let's not sell Romney Marsh short; I believe it has and deserves a better future than being the dumping ground for all of Britain's high level nuclear waste," said Damian...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/17/row-nuclear-waste-dump-proposal

United States: Retreat of Columbia Glacier Vividly Captured in NASA Satellite Images

Yale Environment 360: Two false-color thermal images taken by NASA satellites depict the rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier in Alaska over the past 25 years. Since 1986, the glacier's end-point, or terminus, has retreated 12 miles up an inlet in Prince William Sound, and the glacier also has lost about half its total thickness and volume. The top image, taken by a Landsat 5 satellite in 1986, shows two branches of the glacier joining together at a point marked "medial moraine." The glacier's terminus was just north...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/nasa_satellite_images_retreat_columbia_glacier_alaska/3470/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://e360.yale.edu/images/slideshows/columbia_glacier_nasa_1986_2011.jpg

Ford, GM and BMW linked to illegal logging and slave labour in Brazil

Guardian: Ford, GM and BMW are sourcing material from Brazil that is driving illegal logging and slave labour, according to campaigners at Greenpeace. Brazil is a major exporter of pig iron, a primary ingredient of steel and cast iron, that is produced using massive quantities of charcoal. Reports over the past decade from the Brazilian government, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the US Department of Labour have indicated that charcoal used by many pig iron suppliers in the Amazonian...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/17/ford-gm-bmw-logging-brazil
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/16/1337190602388/Pig-iron-in-Brazil--Amazo-008.jpg

Last 50 years were Australia's hottest: study

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: For the first time scientists have provided the most complete climate record of the last millennium and they found that the last 50 years in Australia have been the warmest. The researchers from Melbourne University used 27 different natural indicators like tree rings and ice cores to come to their conclusion, which will be a part of the next United Nations intergovernmental panel on climate change report. The findings show that no other period in the last 1,000 years matches the temperature...

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-17/study-says-last-fifty-years-were-australias-hottest/4016304
Enclosure: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-17/1000-years-of-climate-data-confirms-australia-is/4016352

Humanmade Pollutants May Be Expanding Tropical Zone, Study Says

Yale Environment 360: U.S. scientists say emissions in the Northern Hemisphere of black carbon aerosols and ozone, both of which absorb solar radiation, are likely causing the hemisphere's tropical regions to expand poleward. After comparing observations of tropic expansion — which suggest that the tropics have widened 0.7 degrees per decade since 1970, largely because of global warming — with climate models, researchers at University of California, Riverside, found that the climate models tended to underestimate that...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/black_carbon_ozone_may_be_expanding_tropical_belt/3469/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Major New Project Targets Mystery of Thunderstorms

Climate Central: A multifaceted air and ground-based scientific field campaign is underway in the Central and Southern U.S., with about 275 scientists, pilots, and technicians out to solve meteorological mysteries about how thunderstorms affect the chemistry of the upper atmosphere. The 45-day field campaign, known as the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Project, or DC3, could help climate scientists fine tune their computer models and improve simulations of global warming. The project, which involves experts...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/scientists-embark-on-major-storm-research-project?utm-source=feedburner&utm-medium=feed&utm-campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
Enclosure: https://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/dc3/

US car industry drives deforestation in Brazil

Guardian: From the Amazon to Cerrado the production of pig iron in illegal charcoal kilns is driving Brazilian rainforests to destruction. A two-year investigation by Greenpeace shows how trees are being burned to make charcoal, used in the production of 'pig iron'. This pig iron is exported to the US and converted into steel, which is bought by some of the biggest car makers in the world

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2012/may/17/pig-iron-deforestation-brazil
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/16/1337179543374/Illegal-charcoal-kilns-in-013.jpg

Can the Voice of Solar Shine Brighter?

![][1] Solar manufacturers and installers face the same challenge as many business owners: How can a company make time for media outreach as part of their overall marketing strategy? With so many other tasks vying for our time and dollars, making connections with the media, which is one of the best forms of free publicity, is often forgotten about. Why?

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/17/1332-can-the-voice-of-solar-shine-brighter.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/can-the-voice-of-solar-shine-brighter?cmpid=rss

Mission Critical: A Clean Energy Call to Arms

![][1] They say nothing can get done in Washington, D.C. on the issue of clean energy, which has become a political lightening rod over the last year. With Congress at a high watermark of partisanship, accusations abound on Capitol Hill that American energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and the policies that support them are job killers and a money-wasting hoax on taxpayers. And yet, there's reason for optimism about energy innovation in this country. Why? Because the most powerful force in the world, the U.S. military, is mobilizing on a clean energy mission — and I believe they're going to win this war.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/17/1332-mission-critical-a-clean-energy-call-to-arms.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/mission-critical-a-clean-energy-call-to-arms?cmpid=rss

Rethinking the Role of Government in Cleantech

![][1] Another year, another wringing of the hands over tax credits and incentives for clean technology. Lobbyists and vendors in the U.S. are once again singing the blues, calling for continued and expanding government investments in clean technology. At the same time, political challengers continue their Solyndra hootenanny, raking the curren

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/17/9527-rethinking-the-role-of-government-in-cleantech.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/rethinking-the-role-of-government-in-cleantech?cmpid=rss

China's power grid is expensive, advanced but not 'smart,' report says

Lisa Friedman: China will fail to meet its carbon and energy intensity targets unless it makes dramatic changes to its electricity grid, a groundbreaking new report finds. The study, two years in the making, finds that China's grid is its "Achilles' heel," said lead author and Energy Transition Research Institute Research Director William Chandler. While newer and in many ways more technologically advanced than the U.S. grid, China's system is nevertheless being built to perpetuate the use of coal and large...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/05/16/1

Fight over auto emissions is measured in grams

New York Times: The battle to control carbon dioxide from automobile tailpipes in the European Union is fought by the gram — a measure roughly equivalent to the weight of a paperclip. Greenhouse gases in these amounts may sound tiny, but they could affect millions of jobs in the Union and help determine Europe's future as a major manufacturer. Four years ago, France, where Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroën produce small and fuel-efficient cars, favored a proposal requiring each automaker's fleet to emit, on average,...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/business/energy-environment/fight-over-auto-emissions-is-measured-in-grams.html

Shift by US muddles solar imports case

New York Times: Renewable energy companies around the world are awaiting a decision Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department on whether to impose anti-dumping tariffs on solar panels imported from China, as a little-noticed policy shift by the department last year has made the outcome of the case unusually hard to predict Chinese companies grabbed nearly half the U.S. market for solar panels last year through aggressive price cuts that helped make solar energy considerably more affordable for U.S. families and...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/business/global/shift-by-us-muddles-solar-imports-case.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/17/business/17solar-pic/17solar-pic-articleLarge.jpg

Five Shining Examples of Renewable Energy Innovation and Investment

![][1] Sinking revenues and shrinking policy support may be causing a bit of a haze on the renewable energy horizon, but there's plenty of sunshine trying to peek through if you look hard enough.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/16/1332-five-shining-examples-of-renewable-energy-innovation-and-investment.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/five-shining-examples-of-renewable-energy-innovation-and-investment?cmpid=rss

About 750000 UK households escape fuel poverty in 2010

Reuters: About 750,000 UK households were lifted out of fuel poverty in 2010 due to rising incomes among cash-strapped consumers and lower consumption following the roll out of energy efficient boilers, helped by stable energy prices, the government said. The latest report on fuel poverty statistics by the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shows that the number of households spending over 10 percent of total income on warmth fell from 5.5 million in 2009 to 4.75 million in 2010. In...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/uk-fuel-poverty-idUSL5E8GH9AM20120517

Interior ignored tribal concerns about wind farm impacts

Greenwire: An American Indian tribe has filed a federal lawsuit against the Interior Department in an effort to stop what would become California's largest wind farm on public land. The lawsuit filed late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego by the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation says the proposed wind project's 112 turbines would cause "irreparable injury" by destroying "culturally and visually significant lands and resources." It accuses...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/05/15/2
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/05/15/document_gw_01.pdf

Hawaii first state to ban plastic bags at checkout

MSNBC: By now, it's hardly news when a city bans plastic bags at checkout counters -- but an entire state? That's happened in Hawaii, where Honolulu County has joined the state's three other counties to give Hawaii a first-in-the-nation title. "Passing the bans did take an effort -- change always does -- but people seemed to understand the need for such an effort," Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club's Hawaii chapter, told msnbc.com of the two-year campaign across the islands. The Honolulu...

URL: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11720480-hawaii-first-state-to-ban-plastic-bags-at-checkout?lite

Brown coal's allure in new coal economy

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: The Australian economy now rides on the back of a mining truck, with mineral exports fuelling the top end of the two speed economy. Now, a controversial new export industry is being proposed. The plan is to sell millions of tonnes of Victorian brown coal to overseas markets like India and Japan. Greg Hoy reports. GREG HOY, REPORTER: After decades feeding the furnaces of four giant power stations producing Australia's cheapest, if most carbon intensive, electricity, to...

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3503600.htm

Denmark aims low with green energy policy

Reuters: Over a beer or two, Danes like to tell a story that goes like this: One night the energy ministers of the countries around the North Sea got together to divide up its oil and gas wealth. The Danish minister got very drunk, but the Norwegian managed to stay sober. As a result, Norway carved out a jagged shape that included Ekofisk, which has proved to be a major field, and Denmark was left with the dregs. Regarded as a model of how to spend oil and gas wealth wisely, Norway has stashed away surplus...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/us-eu-denmark-green-idUSBRE84G0DQ20120517?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Up to 20% of humanity directly dependent on forests

Mongabay: Despite a global trend towards urbanization some 1.2-1.7 billion people worldwide remain primarily dependent on forests for their livelihoods, reports a review [PDF] published by the Forest Peoples Programme. The figures exclude people who are indirectly dependent on forests for the services they provide, including climate regulation, provision of clean water, and carbon sequestration. The data, which comes from an array of sources, indicates that the vast majority of people dependent on forests...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0517-forest-people-population.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/papua/600/papua_0156.jpg

UK climate experiment cancelled on patent concerns

Reuters: British scientists have abandoned an experiment to test the possibility of spraying particles into the upper atmosphere to stem global warming, largely due to concerns over a patent for some of the technology, the project's leader said. Scientists and engineers from the universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford are behind a three-year, 1.6 million pound geo-engineering project called Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE). They had intended to pump water through...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-climate-experiment-cancelled-patent-concerns-113921511.html

Asia Pulp & Paper to temporarily suspend rainforest clearing in Indonesia

Mongabay: Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a forestry giant that has been heavily criticized for destroying rainforests and peatlands in Indonesia, will temporarily suspend clearing of natural forest areas until conservation assessments have been conducted. In a statement issued Tuesday, APP said the moratorium on forest clearing will take effect June 1 for concessions owned outright by its subsidiaries. APP said its "independently owned" pulpwood suppliers will be expected to come into compliance by December 31,...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0516-app-forest-moratorium.html
Enclosure: http://photos.mongabay.com/11/1221eof.jpg

Extreme rain doubled in US Midwest

Reuters: The number of extreme rainstorms - deluges that dump 3 inches or more in a day - doubled in the U.S. Midwest over the last half-century, causing billions of dollars in flood damage in a trend climate advocates link to a rise in greenhouse gas emissions. Across the Midwest the biggest storms increased by 103 percent from 1961 through 2011, a study released by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council reported on Wednesday. States in the upper Midwest fared...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-climate-rainmidwestl1e8gglzd-20120516,0,271408.story
Enclosure: http://rockymountainclimate.org/reports_3.htm

England is stuck in drought despite wettest April on record

ClimateWire: Huge swaths of Britain remain stuck in drought after two abnormally dry winters despite the country's having suffered its wettest April on record last month, with little letup in the often torrential downpours enduring into May. An occasional series on the severity of droughts around the world and their economic, social and political impacts. The rains in some areas have been so heavy that the Met Office, the United Kingdom's weather service, was issuing extreme weather warnings on a regular...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/05/15/1

Fracking's Methane Trail: A Detective Story

National Public Radio: There are a lot of cheerleaders for the nation's natural gas boom - in part because they believe it's a lot cleaner than dirty coal. It's pretty well-known that power plants that burn coal pump out far more greenhouse gases than power plants that run on natural gas. But there's a hitch: We don't really know how much air pollution is created when companies drill for natural gas. Well heads, storage tanks and pipelines all leak methane in sprawling gas fields. "We need to know a lot about methane...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/151545578/frackings-methane-trail-a-detective-story?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=151545578&m=152890076

United Kingdom: Geoengineering experiment cancelled due to perceived conflict of interest

Guardian: A controversial geoengineering experiment to simulate the cooling effect of volcanoes has been cancelled due to concern over a perceived conflict of interest with some of the researchers. The experiment would have injected 150 litres of water into the atmosphere from a weather balloon via a 1km pipe tethered to a ship as part of the Spice project (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering). Matthew Watson, a scientist at Bristol University and the principal investigator of Spice,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/16/geoengineering-experiment-cancelled
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/pictures/2011/08/31/SPICEpipebaloon2.gif

Water policy needs 'radical' change to protect people and environment

Guardian: The international community needs to "radically transform" the way it manages water, energy and land to ensure the needs of the poorest people are met and the environment is protected, according to the European Report on Development, published on Wednesday. The flagship report, Confronting scarcity: managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth, calls on the EU to adopt an integrated approach to managing the three elements to achieve universal access to water and energy,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/may/16/water-radical-change-people-environment
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/15/1337089264246/MDG--Water-policy---line--008.jpg

Gas leak off Scotland's coast plugged after 7 weeks

MSNBC: A gas leak on a North Sea oil platform has been stopped after more than seven weeks, its operators said Wednesday. Heavy mud was pumped into the well in a bid to "kill" the leak on Total's Elgin platform, which is around 150 miles from Aberdeen, Scotland. Gas had been escaping from the site since late March. Reuters reported the leak cost Total around $3 million a day in relief operations and lost net income. The French firm's chief executive Christophe de Margerie has previously said the...

URL: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11731774-total-plugs-gas-leak-off-scotlands-coast-after-7-weeks?lite

Australasia has hottest 60 years in a millennium, scientists find

Guardian: The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists that supports the case for a reduction in manmade carbon emissions. In the first major study of its kind in the region, scientists at the University of Melbourne used natural data from 27 climate indicators, including tree rings, corals and ice cores to map temperature trends over the past 1,000 years. "Our study revealed that recent warming...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/may/17/australasia-hottest-60-years-study

Davey: solar feed-in tariff start date may be 'tweaked'

BusinessGreen: Ed Davey has today hinted the government may put back the planned July cut to subsidies for solar power, in a move that drew a mixed reaction from the industry. The Energy and Climate Change Secretary spoke of a potential "tweak" to the feed-in tariff regime in the House of Commons the day after Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said on Twitter that the government was considering "pushing back a little the next proposed reduction". In response to a query from Shadow Energy and Climate Change...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2175515/davey-solar-feed-tariff-start-date-tweaked?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Davey%3A+solar+feed-in+tariff+start+date+may+be+%27tweaked%27

Climate deal milestones should be set this year: U.N

Reuters: Countries which agreed to sign a deal in 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions should set milestones this year to ensure the necessary work is done on time, the United Nations' climate chief said on Wednesday. Last year's U.N. climate talks in Durban, South Africa, agreed a package of measures which would eventually force all the world's polluters to take legally binding action to slow the pace of global warming. Delegates agreed on the so-called "Durban Platform for Enhanced Action" - a process...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/16/us-energy-summit-climate-idUSBRE84F0Z420120516

Beleaguered West Papuans left to count the cost of Indonesia's palm oil boom

Guardian: Papua is one of the last great frontier wildernesses. Its vast rainforests and coral rich waters are home to more than 250 indigenous tribes, the most linguistically diverse population on Earth. But it is also the scene of a brutal and under-reported conflict. Indonesia took control of the western half of New Guinea – now the provinces of Papua and West Papua – in 1969. Its claim was ratified by the UN through the controversial Act of Free Choice, in which only 1,026 of an estimated population...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/17/beleaguered-west-papuans-palm-oil-boom
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2012/5/16/1337161535633/MDG--Deforestation-in-Wes-008.jpg

When oil and gas talks, Obama team listens more closely

EnergyWire: The Obama administration is listening more attentively to the oil and gas industry in the past few months, the top White House official on energy said yesterday, after neglecting the relationship early in the president's term. "We probably could have been doing a lot more outreach in the beginning," said Heather Zichal, President Obama's deputy assistant for energy and climate change. "We have worked over the last few months to try to set a better dialogue and create a better working relationship....

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/05/15/2

Thinner sea ice may lead to more mercury contamination

Daily Camera: The replacement of thicker sea ice that formed over multiple years in the Arctic with a thinner layer of ice that formed during the last winter is changing the air chemistry above the ice and likely increasing the amount of mercury contamination in the region, according to a new study led by a Boulder scientist. Thinner sea ice -- which is riddled in the spring with cracks and fissures -- allows elements known as halogens to escape from the briny seawater onto the surface of the ice. There, the...

URL: http://www.dailycamera.com/science-environment/ci_20639599/noaa-thinner-sea-ice-may-lead-more-mercury

Rich nations stall talks on their record of cutting emissions

Times of India: On the second day of the Bonn climate change negotiations, the US, the EU and other developed countries tried to stall discussions on whether the rich countries had met their obligations on reducing emissions and financing the poor countries. Many developed countries pushed for talks to take place only on a new single legal treaty that would wipe out all past and existing obligations. The talks got stalled with developed countries opposing adoption of the agenda, which requires pending issues...

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/Rich-nations-stall-talks-on-their-record-of-cutting-emissions/articleshow/13185138.cms

Himalayas warming faster, facing severe climate change impact: Study

Times of India: A scientific study published on Wednesday revealed that the Himalayas, one of world's richest biodiversity zones, is warming faster than other parts of the globe. The research, conducted by Boston-based University of Massachusetts and Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) points that the average mean temperature during a 25-year period (1982-2006) in the Himalayas has increased by 1.50 degree Celsius. The researchers claimed that the rise in temperature...

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/Himalayas-warming-faster-facing-severe-climate-change-impact-Study/articleshow/13214640.cms

Tiny Frigid Bubbles Get To The Core Of Climate Change

Climate Central: As Michael Bender prepared to lead the way into the storage area of his lab at Princeton University, he gave a visitor a quizzical look. "You really might want to put these on," he said, holding up a bulky red parka and a pair of thick gloves. "Oh, I'll be fine," said his guest. "No, really," Bender insisted gently. "It would be a good idea." A minute later, it all made a lot more sense. The storage area is a refrigerator the size of a walk-in closet, chilled to minus 30°F, and with a powerful...

URL: http://news.opb.org/article/tiny_frigid_bubbles_get_to_the_core_of_climate_change/

Australia: Warm seas helped cause 2010 Qld floods

AAP: Record high sea-surface temperatures contributed to the enormous rainfall that devastated large parts of Queensland nearly 18 months ago, according a new study. Some 35 people lost their lives in the January floods, which followed the record rains in December of 154 per cent above average. It was previously thought the huge downpour was due mainly to a powerful La Nina system but study leader Dr Jason Evans, from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, (UNSW)...

URL: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8468241/warm-seas-helped-cause-2010-qld-floods

Getting Around Without Fossil Fuels

Subtitle:

While challenging, it is possible to meet our transportation needs while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels

Images:

[![][1]][2]

[Last week][3] I laid out some arguments on why we should wean ourselves from fossil fuels, and offered some suggestions of how we could go about doing that in our homes — by superinsulating, switching to oil- and gas-free heating, and converting to renewable electricity. Those steps certainly aren't easy or inexpensive, but there's a pretty clear path for doing so.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/BikeSharing_Portland_7648_awilson_MedRes.jpg (Bike sharing in Toronto)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/getting-around-without-fossil-fuels
[3]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/getting-fossil-fuels

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/getting-around-without-fossil-fuels

EEStor Provides a Progress Update on the Development of its Ultra-Capacitor Based Electrical Energy Storage Units.

EEStor has been working on the development of single layer Electrical Energy Storage Units (EESUs) as a step toward full commercial units.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12023.html

Planet Too Hot? Paint it White.

If all else fails stratospheric particles could reflect sunlight and cool us down.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2012/20120049.html

Seven Days of Solar 4-29-12

During the week beginning April 29, 2012, this publication received news announcements regarding more than 9 megawatts (MW) of solar projects completed, more than 586 MW under construction and more than 2.5 MW in the development pipeline.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2012/20120048.html

Balqon Receives Contract from the Port of Los Angeles to Retrofit Electric Yard Tractors with Lithium-ion Batteries.

In 2009, Balqon delivered 14 Nautilus XE20 electric yard tractors equipped with lead acid batteries to POLA under an agreement between Balqon and the City of Los Angeles. The limited range of the vehicles equipped with lower energy density lead acid batteries led to the development of an extended range lithium battery powered electric yard tractor, Model XR E20.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12024.html

NY-BEST: Stakeholders Meet to Detail Plans for Advanced Battery and Energy Storage Product Commercialization Center.

Last December, the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council announced $3.5 million in State funding for NY-BEST to establish a commercialization center for advanced battery and energy storage at Eastman Business Park, where it will provide an array of services and access to equipment to accelerate the development and commercial viability of battery and energy storage technologies. Energy storage technologies include advanced batteries, ultracapacitors, fuel cells and other products.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12022.html

House Armed Services Committee Proposes Ban on Biofuels

![][1] Just one month before the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) in Hawaii, the world's largest international maritime exercise, the biofuels industry has encountered a possible roadblock. The House Armed Services Committee issued its report on next year's Pentagon budget, which inclues a measure that would exclude the development and purchase of biofuels that cost more than traditional fossil fuels.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/16/1332-house-armed-services-committee-proposes-ban-on-biofuels.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/house-armed-services-committee-proposes-ban-on-biofuels?cmpid=rss

Solar FIT Fallout: Germany's Environment Minister Forced Out

![][1] The European shake-up continues as Germany's powerful Minister of the Environment Norbert Roettgen was fired Thursday as Chancellor Angela Merkel looks to hold onto power following her party's regional election loss over the weekend.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/16/1332-solar-fit-fallout-germany-s-environment-minister-forced-out.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/solar-fit-fallout-germanys-environment-minister-forced-out?cmpid=rss

The $6 Gasoline That Almost Was

![][1] A landmark 2009 study, conducted by researchers at Iowa State's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, and updated this week for impacts through 2011, found that US ethanol production reduced wholesale gasoline prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon, in 2011.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/16/1332-the-6-gasoline-that-almost-was.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/the-6-gasoline-that-almost-was?cmpid=rss

EGS Takes Geothermal Global

![][1] As ancient as the earth itself, unharnessed geothermal energy most often bubbles to the surface in geological hot spots long known for geysers and naturally-boiling mud pots.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/16/1332-egs-takes-geothermal-global.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/egs-takes-geothermal-global?cmpid=rss

Almost One Tenth Of Western Hemisphere Mammals In Danger From Climate Change

RedOrbit: A new study led by Carrie Schloss, an analyst in environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington, finds that nine percent of the Western Hemisphere`s mammals, and nearly forty percent in particular regions, will fall victim to the changing climate. Some mammals are merely too slow to escape climate change in their natural habitats and are unable to move into different areas. The study seeks to understand if the mammals can actually adapt to these conditions by moving or not. Scientists...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112535989/almost-one-tenth-of-western-hemisphere-mammals-in-danger-from-climate-change/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2012/05/97854273-617x416.jpg

United Kingdom: Operation to kill gas leak on North Sea oil platform is 'complete success'

Independent: A gas leak on a North Sea oil platform has been stopped, according to the operators. Work to "kill" the leak started yesterday on Total's Elgin platform, around 150 miles (241km) from Aberdeen, with heavy mud being pumped into the well. Total said the operation lasted 12 hours. All 238 staff were evacuated from the platform when the leak was detected almost two months ago in March. At one point about 200,000 cubic metres of gas was leaking every day but this was said to have been reduced...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/operation-to-kill-gas-leak-on-north-sea-oil-platform-is-complete-success-7757156.html

'Nobody is exempt from climate responsibility'

New Scientist: Could Christiana Figueres have the world's toughest job: getting all nations to agree how to tackle climate change? We talk to the UN's climate chief You are in charge of the United Nations climate negotiations - a notoriously tricky process. What would be considered a successful outcome? The governments need to put in place regulations and incentives to reach the point of emission reduction at which we can stabilise the temperature below 2 °C [of warming above pre-industrial temperatures]....

URL: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.100-nobody-is-exempt-from-climate-responsibilty.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=climate-change

Rio+20 talks ‘very helpful’ for UN climate talks – Figueres

Environmental Finance: Sustainable development talks at next month's Rio+20 summit are set to be "very helpful" for the UN climate change negotiations, said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Speaking to reporters on Monday as the latest round of climate talks began in Bonn, Germany, Figueres said that the meeting in Brazil -- taking place 20 years after the original Earth Summit, where the UNFCCC was drawn up, among other things -- is being watched closely...

URL: http://www.environmental-finance.com/news/view/2494
Enclosure: http://www.environmental-finance.com/img/upload/4fb2659a8a289/christiana.jpg

United Kingdom: Greenpeace reprimanded over 'irresponsible' ad campaign

Guardian: The advertising watchdog has given Greenpeace a dressing down for running an "irresponsible" ad campaign to raise funds to takeover and deface property to make environmental protests. Greenpeace ran a campaign on its website, www.greenpeacegiving.org.uk, calling for donations to support direct action protests against power station chimneys. The text asked web users to send an £80 gift to fund Greenpeace activists "redecorating" power station chimneys with slogans, such as "stupid" and "no new...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/may/16/greenpeace-ad-campaign
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Columnists/Columnists/2012/5/16/1337163966962/Greenpeace-008.jpg

Australia: Govt undecided on Kyoto's next phase

AAP: javascript:WebForm_DoPostBackWithOptions(new%20WebForm_PostBackOptions("btnDateLess",%20"",%20true,%20"",%20"",%20false,%20true))

URL: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8468031/govt-undecided-on-kyotos-next-phase

United Kingdom: Elgin gas leak 'has been stopped'

BBC: The gas leak from the Elgin platform in the North Sea has been stopped, according to oil firm Total. The company's platform was evacuated when the gas began leaking on Sunday 25 March. An attempt to stop the leak by pumping heavy mud into the well got under way on Tuesday. Total said the operation had stopped the well leak within 12 hours and described the development as a "major turning point". Learn lessons Yves-Louis Darricarrère, Total's president of exploration and production,...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-18087748#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60267000/jpg/_60267173_elgin_platform_greenpeace.jpg

Adding Rice Farmers to the Rio+20 Agenda

Inter Press Service: The year 2011 was one of extremes for the small Sri Lankan village of Verugal. Lying on the island's Northeastern coast, Verugal began the year with incessant rainfall. Between January and February of 2011, the East coast received a year's worth of rain, which destroyed over 7,000 hectares of rice crops in Verugal and about 17 percent of the country's annual rice harvest. Some villages were cut off for weeks on end. "I was working in a life jacket for over two weeks," said Ponnabalam Thanesvaran,...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107800
Enclosure: http://ipsnews.net/fotos/107800-20120515.jpg

Governments meet in Bonn for climate change talks

Afriquejet: Government representatives started meeting Monday in the German city of Bonn to embark on the next essential steps required to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and help developing countries adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change. The meeting will be the first opportunity to assess and to continue to implement the results of the Durban conference held last December in South Africa, and is also designed to prepare decisions for adoption at the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar,...

URL: http://www.afriquejet.com/zambia-governments-meet-in-bonn-for-climate-change-talks-2012051538406.html