Environment (enn.com)
- No excuse to neglect U.N. climate fight: delegates
POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) - The economic slowdown is “no excuse” to neglect a fight against global warming that could widen water shortages to half of humanity by 2050, delegates told the opening of U.N. climate talks in Poland on Monday.U.S. President-elect Barack Obama also won praise at the December 1-12 talks of 10,700 delegates from 187 nations for setting “ambitious” U.S. goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change.
- Lula’s Green Light for Monsanto Has Flooded Brazil with GMO Soya & Increased Amazon Deforestation
*Lula’s government promotes genetically-modified organisms despite social opposition.Brazil is home to one of the world’s largest areas of genetically-modified seed cultivations with 15 million hectares in 2007. The greatest increase of these crops occurred under the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, despite growing opposition from Brazilian farmers and environmentalists.
- CleanTech Goes Through The Roof
Investment managers at cleantech funds are looking at the world with totally new eyes these days — the financial crisis, which has ravaged stock prices and wiped out major financial institutions, offers buying opportunities that are unprecedented. Now’s the best time to snap up bargains, they say.The hard numbers prove this ain’t illogical. The US clean tech sector rose 55% to more than $2.4 billion over the past twelve months. One of the main drivers of this could be the US government’s $700 billion Housing and Recovery Act stimulus package. The tax concessions boosted wind energy, geothermal and biomass projects and are expected to have a long lasting effect on the capital markets.
- Amazon deforestation trend on the increase
Brasilia, Brazil: Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon forests has flipped from a decreasing to an increasing trend, according to new annual figures released yesterday by the country’s space agency INPE.Commenting on the figures, Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc confirmed that the government will on Monday announce forest related carbon emission reduction targets, which will link halting deforestation to the national climate change campaign.
- U.N. climate boss warns of “cheap, dirty” energy fix
POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) - The world must avoid a “cheap and dirty” fix for the economy that could undermine the fight against global warming, the U.N.’s top climate official said on Sunday.Yvo de Boer said the world risked a second financial crisis if governments reacted to economic slowdown by building cheap, high-polluting coal-fired power plants that might then have to be scrapped as climate impacts hit.
- US Beef Back on Shelves of South Korean Supermarkets
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea’s supermarket chains resumed selling U.S. beef Thursday, nearly five months after the government lifted an import ban imposed over fears of mad cow disease.South Korea banned American beef in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S. The government lifted that ban in June - a move that sparked weeks of violent protests by South Koreans concerned about the health risks of eating U.S. meat.
- Hot air: UN climate talks to create 13,000 tonnes of carbon
Staging a global forum on climate change is a dilemma, for it adds to very problem it is trying to solve.Around 13,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) will add to Earth’s greenhouse effect from the December 1-12 meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UNFCCC said.
- A carbon-neutral way to power your home
A super-efficient system that has the potential to power, heat and cool homes across the UK is being developed at Newcastle University.It works by burning vegetable oil to power a generator and provide electricity for the home. The waste heat from this process is then used to provide heating and hot water and is also converted to cool a fridge.
- New LED Light Bulbs Can Replace 100W Incandescents
I recently had the chance to test two state-of-the-art LED light bulbs fromEarthLED. LED bulbs have many advantages over incandescents and compact fluorescent: LEDs use very little power, they last 10 years or more, and they contain no hazardous substances. They are also tough: they can be dropped and turned off and on repeated without damage, they can operate in very cold or warm temperatures. They can also save you money in the long term despite costing $50 (for the 100 watt equivalent Evolux) and $90 (for the 60 watt equivalent Zetalux). - Building trust tops global climate agenda
A year-long push to devise a new global climate-change treaty — one that picks up where the Kyoto Protocol leaves off — gets under way Monday in Poland, with delegates from more than 190 nations set to resume grappling with the thorny issues of how much more to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and who will pay.
