ICAP , An international coalition has "announced the formation of the International Carbon Action Partnership to fight global warming." Here's the press release from two days ago in Lisbon. ICAP's founding membership includes, among others, New Jersey, California, New York, the European Commission, New Zealand, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. They have come together to attempt to forge the foundations for a truly global carbon market structure. The belief is that a post-Kyoto agreement will necessitate this international financial architecture and so those who are interested in setting up or furthering cap-and-trade regimes are clearing a path now. See also this release from Cordis, the EU's news service.
Business Gets Greener , "Fast Company," a magazine focusing on business innovation and the people driving all that creative thinking and doing, has a great little article: 50 Ways to Green Your Business. Two tidbits: "Wal-Mart is providing funding to the biggest truck manufacturers–ArvinMeritor, Eaton, International, and Peterbilt–to develop the first heavy-duty diesel-hybrid 18-wheeler. Wal-Mart, which operates the second-largest truck fleet in the country, will test the prototypes next year." and "The much-hyped Bank of America Tower, which will be the second-tallest building in New York when it's finished next year, is the first skyscraper in America to pursue LEED Platinum certification. Our favorite innovation: a geothermal heat-exchange system that's the first of its kind in a high-rise. In the winter, pumps will draw heat from groundwater to help warm the building; in the summer, the process will work in reverse, pumping excess heat into the bedrock beneath the tower. The system will contribute to the building's goal of using just half the electricity of a conventional building its size." Check out the other 48 ideas at the link above, or see their slideshow.
Children and Climate Change , The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization of 60,000 medical professionals, just issued a report saying, among other things, that "Direct health impacts from global warming include injury and death from more frequent extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tornados. For children, this can mean post-traumatic stress, loss of caregivers, disrupted education and displacement. Increased climate-sensitive infectious diseases, air pollution-related illness, and heat-related illness and fatalities also are expected." Go here for the report and here for the policy statement. This is comprehensive, responsible work and makes yet another important argument for getting our collective act together.
Not incidentally, you can find out a great deal about initiatives having to do with children at the FPA's blog on Children written by the estimable Cassandra Clifford.
"Dot Earth" , Andrew Revkin, the superb climate change reporter for the "NY Times" has a new blog examining "efforts to balance human affairs with the planet's limits." Revkin explains the rationale for his new effort in Why a Blog, and Why This Blog? See also this slideshow from Revkin. This will be a worthwhile site to visit for some time to come.
"Biofuels – At What Cost?" , The International Institute for Sustainable Development's Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) has added fuel to the fire on the debate about the choices that are being made on biofuels. (See previous posts here on More on Biofuels and Biofuels , Boon or Bane?) The GSI "is concerned that many of the policies currently in place are ineffective [my emphasis] in achieving greater energy security and lower greenhouse gas emissions, the objectives which have officially been used to justify increasing subsidy levels." See their latest report, on the U.S. subsidy programs, and the other reports in the series, here.
