Thomson Reuters Point Carbon is reporting this morning that China is going to launch carbon-trading schemes in six regions before 2013. If all goes well, that will then lead to a nationwide carbon trading platform by 2015. According to the report (which is sitting behind a pay-wall or I would link to it), the areas […]
I have written on a number of occasions here about the Alberta tar sands. Like many environmentalists, I find the idea of ripping tar out of the ground with excavators the size of aircraft carriers – or sucking it up after spending months softening it with injected steam – repellent. The greenhouse gas implications are […]
Will Schanbacher holds a PhD in Religious Studies from Claremont Graduate University. His research and teaching interests include social ethics, globalization and poverty, religious ethics, and liberation theologies. His recent book, The Politics of Food: The Global Conflict between Food Security and Food Sovereignty offers an ethical examination of the current global food system and […]
Wednesday, a Liberian-flagged tanker sailed out of Libya’s northeastern port of Marsa al-Hariga carrying one million barrels of oil. At spot prices, this means the cargo is worth $100 million. This represents a significant milestone for the anti-Khadafy forces based in and around Benghazi in the east (formerly known as Cyrenaica). Symbolically, this provides greater […]
Last week, the Carnegie Endowment held its yearly Nuclear Power Conference. As happens annually, the conference brought together hundreds of experts to discuss both civilian nuclear power and nuclear security concerns. Naturally, this year was a bit different due to the Fukushima affair. Despite the news from Japan, the consensus among the conference panelists appeared […]
Food is in short supply in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), where factions are fighting over the disputed presidential election of November, 2010. Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down even though the United Nations, the African Union, the United States and the European Union have have recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner. […]
You know the EPA made its endangerment finding on greenhouse gases for a reason: There are a number of ways in which human health is now being harmed or threatened by climate changes including steadily rising temperatures and temperature extremes. An article just out in a peer-reviewed journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health […]
There’s an event next Wednesday, April 6th, in NYC that you might like to attend. It’s being cosponsored by NYU’s Center for Global Affairs (where I teach) and the government of Québec. Our public programming at CGA is, as a rule, pretty interesting and engaging. This program, Going North: Economic Development and Sustainable Livelihoods, “…will […]
One of the enduring security threats to the US is its dependence on imported oil. President Obama was at Georgetown University this morning to address the problem. He noted that in 2008, the US imported 11 million barrels of oil per day. His ambition is to cut that by 1/3 by 2025. I hesitate to […]
Here’s a terrific book from the sustainability pioneer Lester Brown that I used in my Clean Tech class last Fall. It touches on everything that needs examination. It shows the state of the climate system and the impacts we’ve been experiencing, and it looks closely at all the other environmental insults we’ve been visiting on […]
(Poster in front reads: Fukushima warns: Pull the Plug on all Nuclear Power Plants. White banner behind reads : ‘Solidarity with the people in Japan.’ AP Photo/dapd/Roberto Pfeil) ************ I wrote last Fall about how the Germans get it: that nuclear power, in a sane society, should not long endure. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor […]
A new study from EBG Capital and the World Policy Institute may have the energy industry, policymakers and environmentalists going back to the drawing board. For years now, the debate about energy and the environment has been about carbon emissions, how green various forms of energy are. This study asks how much water is utilized […]
“Hundreds of millions in thousands of cities, towns and communities in a record 134 countries were expected to have participated …” That’s the word from the Earth Hour folks. Good on ya! (See a slideshow here.)
The US-Canadian electrical grid is one of the main sources of carbon emissions on the planet. Decarbonizing it will be a major undertaking, although the goal of cutting emissions 80% by the year 2050 is feasible. The Center for Global Affairs at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and the Consulate General […]