November 2009
91 posts
A photographer's profile of world leaders at the... →
During the UN General Assembly in September, a photographer captures stunning images of heads of state.
During the UN General Assembly in September, New Yorker photographer Platon set up a…
Morning Coffee - 30 November 2009 →
Summary: Get your Morning Coffee: Honduras votes; Filipino workers protest warlordism in wake of massacre; U.S. journo detained by Canadian border guards, and all eyes turn to deadbeat…
Emissions reductions does not have to cost... →
Though skeptics question the effect of emissions reductions on economic development, India can show how these interests are not mutually exclusive.
Under the Kyoto Protocol developing…
Conflict Minerals on 60 Minutes tonight →
The famed television news magazine 60 Minutes broadcasts a segment on conflict minerals. Here is an in-depth interview on the subject I conducted with an expert.
The famed television news…
Obama, Singh Establish Green Partnership ahead of... →
U.S. President Barack Obama and India PM Manmohan Singh
A US-India “Green Partnership” was established this week following the first official visit of India Prime Minister Manmohan…
It's Finally Official - India's National Solar... →
photo: Ryan D’Souza via flickr. Rumors and draft reports have been circulating about India’s National Solar Mission plan since early summer, but the program has finally been…
Forget About Climate Change, Cutting Greenhouse... →
Air pollution in Tehran, photo: Hamid Najafi via flickr. Forget about climate change for one moment, a series of six papers appearing in The Lancet says that reducing CO2 and other…
BREAKING: Obama to Attend COP15 Climate Summit →
photo: Alex Johnson via flickr. We don’t have many details on this one yet, but the Washington Post says President Obama will indeed be attending the COP15 climate change summit….
Morning Coffee - 25 November 2009 →
Summary: Death toll in South Philippines massacre at 46 and rising, prime suspect is a close ally of the Arroyo government; 250,000 Irish workers strike; Gadhafi volunteers to mediate…
Rhino Horn Now Worth More Than Gold - And You... →
Black rhino photo: Neil via flickr. The problem of rhino poaching continues to grow, with poaching levels at 15-year highs. Part of the reason according to WWF is rising demand in…
Does Afghanistan need a "Tajik Solution?" →
We can’t use Tajikistan as a model to fix Afghanistan.
Foreign Affairs ran a recent essay describing Tajikistan as a model for ending the war in Afghanistan. George Gavrilis recommends…
Investment in wind power blows into Chile →
Investment in wind power blows into Chile:
The Latin American nation has limited indigenous energy resources, with the exception of hydropower. As a result, the country…
Victims of climate change tell the world how it’s... →
Victims of climate change tell the world how it’s destroying their lives:
OXFAM’S climate hearings are being held in 17 countries around the world, taking the…
Climate change: What price will future generations... →
Climate change: What price will future generations pay?:
Climate change poses a huge barrier to a fulfilling future, argues Lord Puttnam, an ambassador for Unicef UK.
When world leaders sit round the table in Copenhagen next…
50% More Civil War In Africa by 2030... Thanks to... →
image: Future Atlas via flickr. I’m sure you’ve heard estimates someone say how civil strife is likely to increase because of climate change. It’s an oft-cited notion, but until…
World Bank backs Kenya renewable energy power plan →
World Bank backs Kenya renewable energy power plan:
NAIROBI, Kenya - The government’s recent efforts to switch the country’s power production from hydro dependency to…
Dangerous, Potentially-Irreversible Climate Change... →
photo: Loco085 via flickr. A lot’s happened with climate change science since the last IPCC report. With the general consensus (hacked CRU email non-revelation brouhaha aside)…
PETA Ad Tells the Truth About Factory Farmed... →
Ever the any publicity is good publicity mongers, PETA created this ad and intended to run in on NBC during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. NBC wanted to stats to back up the claims…
A game-changing coalition? →
With employment effects of climate protection measures having been debated widely (see for example a recent op-ed in the Huffington Post, also Worldwatch’s Green Jobs report), the …
Trade issues at Copenhagen →
Last week the EU and US filed a complaint to the World Trade organization against China’s duty on exported metals, aimed at reducing overproduction and carbon emissions.
China’s attempt to…
Electricity Out Of The Blue - World's First... →
all images: Statkraft If you haven’t heard of osmotic power, you’re very much forgiven. Though Norway’s Statkraft has been researching the technology — which generates power by…
The TH Interview: Jeremy Jones - Founder of... →
When you’ve spent the better part of two decades out in the backcountry riding some of the toughest lines in snowboarding and developing a deep desire to protect mountain environments, global…
Morning Coffee - 24 November 2009 →
Summary: In today’s Morning Coffee: Blackwater is working in Pakistan; parliamentary wrangling delays Iraq’s elections; the White House pledges to announce carbon reduction targets.
UNICEF Chief talks shop with the Washington Post →
UNICEF Director Ann Venemen sits down for an interview with Steve Perlstein of the Washington Post.
UNICEF Director Ann Venemen sits down for a brief interview with Steve Perlstein of the…
Trudging toward Copenhagen: Leaders express... →
Having scaled back their ambitions for Copenhagen, world leaders are working to salvage the effort, and some are optimistic about the prospects for a legally binding international climate…
Goodbye Cruel World - Ants Save Mates from Danger... →
Sometimes nature isn’t so harsh and here are two stories as example: BBC News reports that two grandmother macaques have been observed nursing and caring for their grandchildren, the first…
Winning writing on international development →
The winners of the Guardian Newspaper’s International Development Journalism competition have now been chosen.
The winners of the Guardian Newspaper’s International Development…
Not Your Parents’ Climate Change Report →
The climate change report by the United Nations Population Fund was admittedly a bit outside the ordinary, especially for the UN. It included a bit of the usual background material on the basics…
So How Much Agricultural Land Will We Need to Keep... →
photo: Ed Lushcei via flickr. With a continuing stream of announcements regarding the aviation industry’s drive to keep on flying while being a bit greener about it — KLM is making the
Video by: http://www.roughmountainstudios.com... →
Video by: http://www.roughmountainstudios.com December 7-18, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate the next global climate change treaty — and social movements from…
The naked truth about f-gases
F-gases, or HFCs,... →
The naked truth about f-gases
F-gases, or HFCs, are the super greenhouse gases that cool our drinks, our cars, and our buildings. They are a growing threat to our climate. Eliminating…
Morning Coffee - 23 November 2009 →
Summary: The U.S. embedding special forces troops with anti-Taliban militias; 21 pols and journos slaughtered in the Philippines; 104 miners die in China coal mine blast.
Top…
East Antarctic Ice Loss Accelerating Since 2006 -... →
photo: Eli Duke via flickr. With all the focus on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melting, we could always take a small bit of comfort in knowing that the eastern part of the continent was…
Climate Change-Induced Drought Causing Crop... →
Less precipitation falling, and when it comes it falls in a shorter period of time… photo: Harry via flickr. Compared to the focus on Arctic and Antarctic ice melting, glacial…
Confirmed: Oceans Absorbing Less CO2 - First... →
photo: Shayne Kaye via flickr. The first year-by-year study of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s oceans since the industrial revolution confirms a disturbing…
Indonesia Scores One For Press Repression &... →
The sort of destruction trying to be prevented… photo: Greenpeace. Seems the government of Indonesia didn’t much like Greenpeace activists trying to disrupt the continued…
Morning Coffee - 20 November 2009 →
Summary: Perk up with Morning Coffee: The EU picks a president; Honduran coup leader promises to take a breather; human fat-stealing gangsters busted in Peru.
Top Story:
UN: Fight climate change with free condoms -... →
UN: Fight climate change with free condoms - Yahoo! News: “As the growth of population, economies and consumption outpaces the Earth’s capacity to adjust, climate change could become much more…
Why New Renewable Energy Records Don't Mean a... →
photo: Chauncey Davis via flickr. Remember how last week Spain was touting a new wind power record, more than 50% of demand for part of the day on a Sunday morning? A pretty great…
Indonesia Suspends Controversial Paper Company's... →
The Kampar Peninsula is the last large intact area of pear swamp forest in Riau, Indonesia with some of the deepest peat (read: most stored carbon). Photo: Greenpeace. Indonesia may have…
Finally Truth In Oil Company Advertising! Enough... →
From a 1962 edition of Life Magazine available on Google Books… We were a bit late in picking up on this one, but it’s really worth passing on anyway. So credit where credit is due:
Jane Goodall discusses climate change →
Photo courtesy Crosby Allison
Jane Goodall, the venerable field biologist and chimpanzee champion, addressed the looming perils of climate change during a visit to the World…
U.S. Senate rejects false choice between... →
Yesterday afternoon the Senate defeated an amendment to a funding bill that would have taken money from the U.S. contributions to the UN to pay for extended benefits for U.S. Veterans.
…
Rice Husks & Biomass Gasification Provide Power... →
Rice = food and electricity at the same time… photo: ya po guille via flickr. One solution for getting clean electricity to the 440-some million people in rural India who currently…
Split Carbon Costs of Deforestation Between... →
It’s probably no great secret to TreeHugger readers at this point that part of the reason carbon emissions in developing nations are rapidly rising is partially because manufacturing of…
$36 Billion Rainforest Protection Plan Agreed to... →
photo: flickrfavorites. A group of 35 nations have agreed to a plan that aims to reduce global deforestation by 25% by 2015, The Guardian reports. The price tag for it all could…
Melting Arctic Sea Ice Diluting Surface Water -... →
photo: Wikipedia. Here’s a not so comforting discovery: A new paper in Science magazine says that Arctic sea ice melting is starting to dilute surface waters and threatening the…
Women Will Be Hit Hardest By Climate Change →
The poorest billion people on the planet contribute only 3% of the global carbon footprint. Those same billion people will also bear the brunt of climate change.
The poorest billion people…
Utah's Largest Wind Farm Completed - 203 MW... →
Good to see some bigger wind power projects being completed… First Wind has announced that the first 203 MW phase of the Milford Wind Corridor in Utah has been completed. Located on…
Spanish Wind Power Supplies 50% of Demand Last... →
photo: Antonia Zugaldia via flickr. I have to admit I sometimes get fed up with stats parsing like this, but this new Spanish wind power record is pretty impressive. The Spanish…