Oil and gas royalties have been all the news this week. First, the coveted Pulitzer Prize for public service went to a small Virginia paper, the Bristol Herald Courier. It’s the sort of story which reminds us why it is essential that small local newspapers not go the way of the dodo. Its eight-segment series dissected […]
So now it’s four months after the meetings in Copenhagen. I’m in the group who thinks that more was accomplished than meets the eye and that it was an important way station to achieving more international agreement on stemming the tide of greenhouse gases we confront and adapting to the massive impacts they’ve already caused […]
One of my students flagged a recent Dot Earth post to me about an artist and physicist who creates graphics that depict our carbon output. Adam Nieman is the creative director of Carbon Visuals Ltd which “…exists to provide a range of carbon visualisation services to government, companies, NGOs and any organisation that has a ‘carbon […]
The U.N. appealed for $133 million dollars in aid on Wednesday for the food crisis for the food crisis in Niger. Erratic rainfall cost the country its crops last year, and now 60% (7.8 million) of the population faces a food shortage. The statistics don’t get better from there. The UN claims 1.5 million cases […]
The World Bank, quite rightly, has devoted a tremendous amount of time and money on water projects in recent years, according to the “NY Times” here. I highlighted World Water Day at the blog a few weeks ago and noted then some of the many critical shortfalls in clean water and proper sanitation that beset […]
We have made still another breakthrough on greenhouse gases. The EPA and the US Department of Transportation have established new standards for fuel economy and GHG emissions from cars and light trucks. The EPA release includes soundbites that have Lisa Jackson saying “We expect to reduce greenhouse emissions by the equivalent of 42,000,000 cars over […]
The worst drought to hit southwest China in nearly a century is forcing farmers to take drastic measures to cope reports Michael Wines in The New York Times. Wines reports that as, “…serious as the dry spell is, it affects only about 6 percent of China’s farmland and a tiny portion of its 1.3 billion […]
The agricultural ministers of the BRIC countries outlined a new food security strategy after meeting last Friday. According to the meeting’s declaration, the plan is meant “…to promote food security, [by supporting]…a well-functioning, worldwide food market and a trade system based on the principles of justice and freedom from discrimination.” The declaration by the BRIC […]
Here’s another story like the one below on mountaintop removal mining in which a key environmental regulatory agency steps up to the plate and hits one out of the park. It’s not a walk off, but we’re coming to the bottom of the ninth now and Indian Point is down one run with, I daresay, […]
Here’s a quick little item of good news from Europe, courtesy of the AP and BusinessWeek: “Greenhouse gas emissions from major European polluters fell 11 percent last year as the economic downturn reduced demand for energy and manufactured goods, according to a report released Thursday.” Okay, okay, this is largely a consequence of the economic […]
Fifty-nine countries pledged aid for Haiti during a conference held at the UN today to help the country rebuild itself after the devastating January earthquake. The aid from these nations, as well as other international organizations, adds up to nearly $5.3 billion over the next two years, and totals upwards of $9.9 billion for three […]
Monday, the four executives, three Chinese nationals and one Australian from Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (and so dubbed The Rio Four by Mineweb) , were convicted of bribery and stealing commercial secrets after a closed, two-day trial in Shanghai. Their sentences ranged from seven to fourteen years. One defendant has already said he will […]
The Haitian government will present a $4 billion plan for Haiti’s reconstruction to the delegates from 120 countries meeting at the UN for an international donor conference for Haiti meeting on Wednesday, March 31st. In the “Plan of Action” submitted by the government, some sections are dedicated to the problem of food insecurity, particularly in […]
As you know if you follow the blog at all, mountaintop removal mining is right up there with tar sands extraction at the top of my list of destructive, hateful businesses. Al Gore calls it a “despicable practice” in Our Choice. (This, by the way, is a truly terrific book.) Here is an article from […]
… to know which way the wind blows.”* There’s a pretty compelling story in the Old Gray Lady today: Among Weathercasters, Doubt on Warming. TV weather people, it turns out, seem to be having a hard time with the science of climate change. The article cites a study just out from George Mason University’s Center […]