October 2009
164 posts
Brazilian Presidential Candidate Advocates a... →
Brazil’s Green Party presidential candidate and former Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, spoke Monday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of a “common responsibility” to…
Media Alert - Photo Op: "Wake Up" Climate... →
Media Alert - Photo Op: “Wake Up” Climate Negotiators:
WHAT: Barcelona residents and visitors holding 1000 alarm ringing clocks – as government delegates arrive at the…
If Iran deal falters, then what? →
Bad and worse options follow should this Vienna nuclear deal falter.
Spencer Ackerman says:
there’s no doubt that diplomatic outreach to Iran on the nuclear question suffers…
Exclusive: UN responds to ProPublica story about... →
Exclusive to UN Dispatch, the UN Development Program responds to a ProPublica story on unaccounted UN funds in Afghanistan
T. Christian Miller and Dafna Linzer write in ProPublica that…
India Can Provide Excellent Maternal Care – But... →
Every year in India, half a million women die as a result of pregnancy. And for every death, there are 20-30 cases of maternal injury.
A new article at The Daily Beast highlights the…
Bold Steps May Be the Prudent Way →
Amory Lovins continues to encourage with examples of how smart and simple measures can slash our energy use to a fraction of today’s – and he visualizes how foolishly we are currently wasting…
Sopogy SolarFlare Brings Solar Thermal Power to... →
image: Sopogy When you think of solar power on roofs your quite naturally think of photovoltaic panels or solar hot water heaters. Well, expand that idea a bit: Anaheim, California-based…
Commonly Held Resources Don't Always Mean... →
Cattle used to graze in Boston Commons until 1830… photo: David Berkowitz via flickr. If you’ve been around the environmental movement for more than a week you’ve surely heard someone…
Mir Hussein Moussavi coming out against the IAEA... →
It would seem that the man for whom we tinted our Twitter feeds green is coming out against the proposed nuclear deal with Iran.
The saga of the potential Iranian low-enriched uranium…
Multiyear Arctic Sea Ice Practically Gone - Not in... →
You can’t navigate through multiyear ice… photo: arcticroute.com via flickr. You’ve probably seen all sort of predictions about when the Arctic will see it’s first ice-free summer…
Next Stop COP15! Kyoto-Copenhagen Train to Tout... →
Not the actual train… photo: Craig Nagy via flickr. While not a substitute for practical action, I’m a big fan of the symbolic, so this next one is pretty cool: The UNEP has just…
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Ban Supported by Fishing... →
For at least the past eighteen months there have been consistent cries that a fishing ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna was required to prevent the iconic species being relegated to extinction….
U.N. official deported from Zimbabwe →
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak was deported from the airport in Harare yesterday.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak was deported from the airport in…
World Forestry Congress Sends Message to Climate... →
Feelings of inequality and tensions between the global North and South—which have plagued international negotiations leading up to the December United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen,…
Only One-Sixth on European Retailers Showing... →
photo: fitri agung via flickr. Back in the spring WWF said that they found that while plenty of companies had committed to using sustainable palm oil, only a tiny percentage of…
Susan Rice on Cuba vote: "Here we go again." →
The General Assembly votes to condemn the American embargo of Cuba. The resolution passes 187-3. The Cold War rages on in the Caribbean.
Each year for as far back as I can remember, the…
Europe to Recommend 50 Billion in Annual Aid for... →
photo: Matthias Ott via flickr. The amount of aid that developing nations are to receive to help with adapting to climate change has been a long-running point of contention between…
All World's Tigers Extinct in 15-20 Years Without... →
photo: Photos8.com via flickr.
Recently we heard that Africa’s elephants face a bleak future, but it seems the world’s tigers aren’t long for this world either. The Economic Times…
General Assembly to take up Goldstone Report next... →
The General Assembly will likely vote on a resolution asking the Security Council to take on the Goldstone Report. There is very little chance the Council will do so.
The General Assembly…
Chinese Fruit Bats Demonstrate Unusual Sexual... →
Greater short-nosed fruit bat feeding on kapok, photo: Wikipedia. New research published in the online journal PLoS ONE demonstrates for the first time that a non-human adult animal…
Morning Coffee - 28 October 2009 →
Summary: Your Morning Coffee: The Taliban slaughters 6 UN election officials in Afghanistan, a market bombing kills dozens in Pakistan, Venezuela nabs alleged Colombian spies.
Top…
A Strong Voice: Indian Youth Fighting for 350 ppm →
The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) is a coalition of individuals and youth-led organisations from across India united in their concern about climate change. In partnership with …
Ocean Acidification Means Hard Times Ahead For... →
photo: Robert Rheault via flickr. New research from Stony Brook University’s School of Marine at Atmospheric Sciences shows the future isn’t so pleasant for the world’s clams,…
Tigers Given a Bit More Breathing Room in Nepal -... →
photo: Claudio Gennari via flickr. China may be doing little to stop the illegal tiger trade, but Nepal has just taken some action to protect its tigers: WWF reports that the
Phones unfortunately more widespread than food →
The WFP announces a new twist in its successful program using mobile phones to alert Iraqi refugees in Syria about available food aid.
The WFP has announced a new twist in its…
Congressional Gold Medal for Muhammad Yunus? →
Rush Holt, the New Jersey Democrat, is passing around a “Dear Colleague” letter in support of a resolution to award Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal:
Rush…
China Failing to Stop Gangster's Tiger Trade -... →
Tiger skin in Lhasa, photo: EIA The illegal trade in tiger and other big cat skins and body parts is big business for international crime syndicates, with tiger skins fetching up to more…
More COP15 Expectation Management: UN Plans... →
photo: Sara Petagna via flickr. Though the grand exercise of managing expectations regarding the possibility of actually getting a global climate deal signed at the COP15 talks…
Morning Coffee - 27 October 2009 →
Summary: Get your Morning Coffee: Iran may OK nuke deal, Israel starves Palestine for water says Amnesty, sex and the Saudis.
Top Story: IRAN “WILL ACCEPT…
Amnesty International Accuses Israel of Stealing... →
Amnesty International issued a new report today accusing Israel of unjust division of water resources.
Amnesty International issued a new report today accusing Israel of unjust…
Department of Energy Invests $151 Million in... →
photo: Tetsumo via flickr. Money from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (aka The Stimulus) continues to find its ways through the governmental pipes and out into the world….
Too Many Orange Trees in China? →
Chinese farmers have planted so many citrus trees they can barely sell their fruit. This could be a symptom of a larger economic problem.
I was intrigued by this article on…
AP Throws Cold Water on Skeptics' Global Cooling... →
photo: Kevin Dooley/Creative Commons via flickr. Between the brouhaha over Super Freakonomics and an article from the BBC, there seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or…
Canadian Tar Sands: Still Super Dirty, Even With... →
Want some more evidence that squeezing oil out of Canada’s tar sands is just a horrendous idea? Here it is: New analysis from WWF shows that even with carbon capture and storage…
5 Reasons New Yorkers Are the Most Eco-Friendly... →
photo: Eric E Yang via flickr. TreeHugger’s been saying for a while that urban living is one of the greenest ways to live. Well, over at Yale Environment 360, David Owen (who’s a…
Kerry delivers major address on Afghanistan →
John Kerry gave a major address on Afghanistan at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. today.
John Kerry gave a major address on Afghanistan at the Council on Foreign…
Iraqi asylum seekers forcibly returned... →
The UK attempts to forcibly return a group of Iraqi asylum seekers, despite the fact that the UN Refugee Agency says international protection should be given.
The UN Refugee Agency set out…
Stern vs. Stern →
Worldwatch Institute senior researcher Michael Renner recently posted a blog outlining the policy positions of two leading front men in the international climate negotiations: UK.. economist…
Morning Coffee - 26 October 2009 →
Summary: Today’s Morning Coffee: UN inspectors make their first visit to a nuclear plant near Tehran; cryogenics may be the last hope for coral reefs.
Top Story:
'We Changed the Odds Today' - 350 Takes Over Times... →
photo: Matthew McDermott It may have been alternating between heavy mist and outright downpour in Times Square for the International Day of Climate Action, but that didn’t really…
'We Changed the Odds Today' - 350 Takes Over Times... →
Sometimes heavy rain didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits or limit turnout out at the International Day of Climate Action in Times Square. And somehow standing in the middle of it all…
UN Plaza: Talking U.S. Sudan policy →
In this edition of UN Plaza, I speak with Sam Bell of the Genocide Intervention Network about the administration’s newly released Sudan policy review.
In this edition of UN Plaza, I speak…
A European newcomer’s observations of the U.S.... →
Before coming to DC to witness climate and energy discussions, I had been warned, of course, that big business is trying to protect its interests and the status quo while undermining progressive…
New Report: Livestock account for at least half of... →
Have the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) been miscalculating GHG emissions from livestock? An article in the latest edition of W
Good Morning New Zealand! First Images From... →
all photos courtesy 350.org The first images from the International Day of Climate Action are coming in from New Zealand via the folks over at 350.org. “Here in Aotearoa, New…
Logged Tropical Rainforest Can Regain Lost... →
photo: Rob and Stephanie Levy via flickr. Here’s a testimony to the resiliency of tropical forests: Mongabay points out that a study in the journal Conservation Biology shows…
Forget Natural Variation: New Arctic Sediment... →
Not the actual lake… photo: D. Sikes via flickr. A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science further closes the door on the notion that current…
Just 57% of US Residents See Evidence of Global... →
People in the Mountain West have the lowest opinion of there being solid evidence of global warming. Colorado Springs photo: Jay Miller via flickr. A new Pew Research poll shows that…
Separate Climate Treaty Needed to Address... →
Though short-lived in the atmosphere, soot from diesel engines and cooking fires can be strong contributors to global warming. Photo: Matt Buck via flickr. As if getting one global…
EU Offers 95% Emission Cuts by 2050, 30% by 2020 -... →
Poland isn’t so pleased by proposed emission reductions, saying it will hurt their coal dependent economy. Photo: irgendwo via flickr. Game on! In an effort to show that it really is the…