Nature has been designing things better and for a lot longer than people have. We seem to have a tendency to waste energy and resources in our design. We also tend to create byproducts in our production processes that can – and usually do – have all sorts of negative impacts, not only for ourselves […]
I went to this event several weeks ago and came away with a great feeling about where urban agriculture and the global movement for “cooler” approaches to farming and eating are heading. I’ve written any number of times here about food and agriculture, including this view into the work of one particularly amazing urban farmer. […]
If you know me or have been reading this blog with any regularity, you know I’m a skeptic. Not about climate change but about China. I made an analysis several years back that, in retrospect, seems mistaken. I perceived that the economic and political pressures of the liberal democracies would push and pull China toward […]
I am sorry for having been off the air for a week. The “holiday season” has been, as you likely have experienced, in full swing. Among other activities, we entertained on Christmas Eve and Christmas, so there were kids and adults, presents to be wrapped and opened, and lots of cooking and eating. (I specialize […]
There is a blockbuster piece at Salon.com that looks at Five common mistakes in the coverage of the Copenhagen Accord. It punctures some of the fallacies that have abounded in some quarters such as that there could have been a better Accord voted on by the delegates, that the smaller developing nations rejected the Accord, […]
Overview – There were critical developments, breakthroughs and some setbacks in 2009 in the policy, politics, business, economics, science, and technology of climate change and energy. There were moments of high drama in Copenhagen and Washington as well as low comedy. The landmark Waxman-Markey bill passed in the US House of Representatives, the Obama Administration […]
This is the document that has taken many years and much blood, sweat, tears and toil from thousands of people to produce. Yvo de Boer, head of the UNFCCC, described the accord as “politically important.” It provides an “architecture for a response to climate change.” The “LA Times” had this story this morning: Climate summit ends […]
AP had this late tonight. The deal “…requires industrial countries to list their individual targets and developing countries to list the actions they will take to cut global warming pollution by specific amounts. Obama called that an ‘unprecedented breakthrough.’” AP further reported “German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a leading proponent of strong action to confront global […]
We’re in overtime in Copenhagen. ABC – that’s Australian Broadcasting Corp. for those Americans who might think otherwise – reports “US President Barack Obama has launched intense after-hours diplomacy with China, hoping to salvage a new world climate pact after warning that an imperfect deal would be better than no pact at all.” (See this.) […]
We’ll know the answer to that question later today. As I’ve said, though, we’re going to have REDD, certainly, and a fast start to funding for adaptation and mitigation for the developing nations. What else remains to be seen. See the “NY Times” this morning for a report that notes: “But the maneuvering and brinksmanship […]
US aid offer boosts deal at UN climate talks is the headline from the AP tonight. “Large pieces of a climate deal fell into place Thursday with new offers from the U.S. and China, but other tough issues remained before President Barack Obama and other leaders can sign off on a political accord to contain […]
“I would say hold tight and mind the doors–the cable car is moving again,” said Yvo de Boer earlier today. The “WSJ” reports here that de Boer is encouraged. “Forbes” has some other notable quotes from today, among them Hillary Clinton’s commitment to help raise $100 billion in annual funding for adaptation and mitigation in […]
“And I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari Tehachapi to Tonapah… And I’m still willin’ To be movin’.” That’s what COP 15 feels like to me – from 3,500 miles away, admittedly, but like a truckdriver that’s seen it all, and is still willin’. I said yesterday that the lead negotiators would need “poise, intelligence, good […]
I know a Tibetan whose name is Monlam Gyatso. That means Ocean of Prayer. We have an ocean of opportunity before us. What I and others, not the least of whom is McKinsey & Company, see bashing down our doors to bang us on our thick heads is an ocean of GHG abatement opportunities by […]
Here are a couple of updates on progress – or the dearth thereof – at the talks in Copenhagen. The first is from the “LA Times” – Developing nations hold the key to Copenhagen climate agreement. The developed countries have “…ramped up pressure on emerging economies China and India, as well as African and island […]