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		News Archive     14/01/2010 07:00 PM Scientists push "Doomsday Clock" back a minute Reuters: Scientists pushed back the hands on the symbolic Doomsday Clock by one minute citing hopeful developments in nuclear weapons and climate change. The symbolic clock that shows how close mankind is to self-annihilation was moved back to six minutes before midnight from five minutes on Thursday. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which maintains the clock and puts an illustration of it on its cover, attributed the move to efforts by world leaders to reduce their countries' nuclear ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Arctic permafrost leaking methane at record levels, figures show Guardian: Scientists have recorded a massive spike in the amount of a powerful greenhouse gas seeping from Arctic permafrost, in a discovery that highlights the risks of a dangerous climate tipping point. Experts say methane emissions from the Arctic have risen by almost one-third in just five years, and that sharply rising temperatures are to blame. The discovery follows a string of reports from the region in recent years that previously frozen boggy soils are melting and releasing ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Anti-malaria plant genes mapped BBC: Global supply of a key, plant-based, anti-malaria drug is set to be boosted by a genetic study, scientists say. Researchers have mapped the genes of Artemisia annua to allow selection of high-yield varieties. The study, published in the journal Science, aims to make growing the plant more profitable for farmers. "It's a major milestone for the development of this crop," Professor Ian Graham from the University of York in the UK told BBC News. Short ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM MSU experts help East Africa model climate change Associated Press: Drought blamed on global warming is the latest source of uncertainty for East African farmers, and experts at Michigan State University are working to develop climate data that helps growers pick crops that can take the heat. The project, financed by a Rockefeller Foundation grant, will focus on the effects of climate change on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. "This part of Africa is getting over the worst drought it has had in many years," said lead researcher Jennifer Olson. ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Next few weeks vital for Copenhagen accord, says US climate change envoy Guardian: The next few weeks will be critical in deciding whether the Copenhagen accord succeeds in halting global warming, America's top climate change envoy said today. "We have an accord that is lumbering down the runway, and we need it to get enough speed so it can take off," Todd Stern, the state department climate change envoy, told an investor meeting at the United Nations in his first public remarks after the Copenhagen summit. "We need to get this up and running." He said the ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Investors urge governments to take immediate action on climate change Guardian: Over 450 investors controlling $13tn of assets yesterday urged world governments to pre-empt an international climate change treaty and take immediate action on global warming, or risk losing the opportunity to establish a clean and sustainable low-carbon economy. At a conference at the United Nations in New York, the first gathering of business leaders since the disappointment of last month's Copenhagen climate summit said governments -- even in the absence of a treaty -- must adopt ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Ecuador to push Amazon oil proposal with "dignity" Reuters: Ecuador's President Rafael Correa will keep promoting his initiative to protect the country's Amazon region by refraining from drilling for oil, but warned on Thursday that his government will negotiate the deal hard. Under the Yasuni initiative, OPEC-member Ecuador would leave 850 million barrels of oil, worth $6 billion, underground in the Amazon as a contribution to countering climate change. In return for not extracting the oil, Ecuador is looking to donor countries to pay ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate change pushes massive Antarctic glacier past tipping point Mongabay: A new study shows that a major Antarctic glacier has likely passed its tipping point, putting it on track to lose 50 percent of its ice in 100 years. Such a loss is estimated to raise global sea levels by 24 centimeters (9.4 inches), according to the study published in the Proceedings of Royal Society A. Based on computer modeling, the study found that Pine Island glacier probably passed the point of no return in 1996 due to warming in the Amundsen Sea caused by climate change. If ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM India's prime minister unveils 'solar valley' vision SciDev.Net: A network of 'solar valleys', generating the know-how to realise India's solar energy ambitions, has been mooted by its prime minister, Manmohan Singh. India's solar energy mission, launched this week (11 January), is one of its eight core national missions under a national action plan on climate change (see 'Doubts raised over India's plans for solar power'). The country aims to generate 20,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the sun by 2020. "If the ambitious mission is to ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Forest CO2 market in the balance: report Reuters: The global market for carbon offsets from planting trees and preserving forests, worth nearly $150 million to date, could stall without a U.S. climate bill or a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, a report said on Thursday. "At the end of 2009, the market for forest carbon stands in an uncertain position on the verge of potentially enormous growth," the State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009 report said. "Amidst this scene of opportunity and risk, investors are still eyeing ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM UK won't use recession to meet emission cut goals Reuters: Britain will not rely on the carbon dioxide emissions reductions made due to a weaker economy to meet its climate targets, Britain's Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said on Thursday. Britain is set to over-achieve on its so-called "carbon budgets" with an estimated 36 percent cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. This was aided by the economic slowdown which reduced industrial output in 2008, causing emissions to fall by 2 percent. Any ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call for Climate Action Now Environment News Service: Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call for Climate Action Now Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call for Climate Action Now NEW YORK, New York, January 14, 2010 (ENS) - The world's largest investors today issued a statement calling on the United States and other governments to "act now to catalyze development of a low-carbon economy and to attract the vast amount of private capital necessary for such a transformation." The U.S., European and Australian investor ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Copenhagen Accord Makes Sham of Global Environmental Justice South African Civil Society Information Service: After the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, the Copenhagen Climate Summit will probably go down as the next biggest multilateral meeting failure of the 21st century, but I wouldn't say for the right reasons. In biting cold Copenhagen, there was little recognition that 400 years of capitalism is the underlying cause of global warming and simply not enough understanding that the market-driven solutions espoused by the Kyoto Protocol will only exacerbate the climate crisis and global ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Groups fight effort to regulate emissions in NM Associated Press: New Mexico's largest utility, three state lawmakers and other industry groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop New Mexico regulators from adopting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The lawsuit in state district court targets New Energy Economy, a group that has filed a petition with the state Environmental Improvement Board to adopt regulations that would reduce global warming pollution over the next decade. The group maintains the board has the authority under existing law ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Most Norwegians want Arctic drilling study: survey Reuters: An industry-backed survey published on Thursday shows most Norwegians favor an impact study that could pave the way to open a pristine, fish-rich Arctic area to oil activities and prolong Norway's energy boom. The oil industry says the waters near the Lofoten and Vesteraalen islands in the Arctic now have the most prospects off Norway and must be tapped to prolong the North Sea state's oil bonanza as output from mature oilfields declines. Environmentalists say that any spill in ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: U.S. to make decision on Cape Wind by April Reuters: The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it will issue a final decision by the end of April on a proposal to build the first major U.S. offshore wind farm. The announcement followed three meetings in which key stakeholders could not reach an agreement to settle their nine-year regulatory struggle over the proposed $1 billion Cape Wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts. The wind farm would provide electricity to about 400,000 homes, with its tall turbines ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Germany moves toward trimming solar power incentives Reuters: The government, photovoltaic companies and consumer lobby groups moved closer on Wednesday toward an agreement on trimming state-mandated incentives for solar power to reflect a steeper overall slide in costs. Although no decision was reached at the meeting, officials at the two rounds of hearings at the Environment Ministry in Berlin said they expected a decision on moderate reductions in the feed-in tariffs to be made soon. "There's an agreement that the level of the support ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Voluntary carbon market hoping for growth in 2010 Reuters: The market for voluntary carbon offsets is pinning its hopes on growth this year after demand stalled in 2009 as companies cut back spending on reducing their carbon footprints due to the economic slowdown. "Hopefully we can go back to some growth so people will look at carbon markets more seriously. It's hard for people to put (emissions cuts) at the top of their agenda when countries aren't doing it," Gilles Corre, head of carbon structuring at Tullett Prebon, told ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Snubbed in Copenhagen, EU weighs climate options Reuters: Stunned by being sidelined in the endgame of the Copenhagen world climate summit, the European Union is debating how to regain influence over the fight against global warming. Should the world's largest trading bloc and economic area respond to the policy setback and the diplomatic humiliation of the bare-minimum Copenhagen accord by playing Mr Nice, Mr Nasty, Mr Persistent or Mr Pragmatic? The first two options -- setting a more ambitious example to others, or threatening ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Biobutanol firm aims to compete with ethanol in 4 years ClimateWire: Having launched its first pilot facility yesterday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger looking on, California startup Cobalt Technologies is the latest in a growing number of biofuel ventures banking on biobutanol as an attractive ethanol alternative. Like ethanol, biobutanol can be fermented from plant sugars, either food grains or cellulosic plant parts. But because its structure is heavier than ethanol and more similar to gasoline, the advanced biofuel has a wider range of end uses -- ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Forget wind. Pickens turns focus to gas New York Times: Arabic script is about to appear on television sets across the country, with the Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens helpfully reading an English translation. "Go back to sleep, America; the oil crisis is over," Mr. Pickens intones, deadpan, in the new video. Seductive Middle Eastern music plays in the background. But suddenly, the picture switches to American troops on a desert battlefield as flames leap skyward, and Mr. Pickens declares, "I don`t think so!" What, exactly, is ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Solar shield on agenda at climate summit Telegraph: The summit of climate scientists, to be held in California in March, will examine drastic techniques for slowing climate change that are controversial and have been described as "geo-piracy'. Among the possible measures to be discussed will be ocean fertilisation, which would see iron dumped into the sea to boost plankton growth, and artificial trees that use a chemical process to soak up CO2. Most techniques focus on ways of reducing the sun's rays by blocking them using ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Indonesia signs climate funding agreements Jakarta Post: While the pledges for huge amounts made at multilateral talks remain to be seen, Indonesia has signed a number of bilateral agreements with richer nations to get climate funding -- mostly in forest-related areas. State Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta argued that the bilateral deals were currently the faster way to get climate funding. "But, even without their money Indonesia will go ahead to protect the planet," Hatta told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. "It is ... read more 15/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia: Rudd's taxing climate policy is a liability Australian: IN the lead-up to the December climate change conference in Copenhagen the Rudd government was full of bravado as it threatened to reintroduce, next month, its legislation for an emissions trading scheme which the Liberals had just defeated in the Senate. This was clearly designed to unsettle the opposition, and its new leader, Tony Abbott, by holding out the prospect of a double dissolution election if the legislation was again rejected. The Prime Minister may have believed he was on solid ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Government raises prospect of increase to 2020 emission target Business Green: The government looks set to increase the UK's emission reduction target for 2020 after confirming that it will not rely on the reduction in emissions brought about the recession to help it meet future carbon budgets. In its formal response to the first annual report from the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the government accepted the committee's recommendation that it effectively ignores emission reductions that have been achieved as a result of the economic ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM India becomes largest buyer of palm oil Mongabay: New report documents billions of dollars in losses from Indonesia's reforestation fund between 1989 and 2009. India surpassed China as the world's largest buyer of palm oil in 2009, reports Bloomberg. According to figures from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, a processor group based in Mumbai, India imported 7 million metric tons of palm oil in 2009. China imported 6.4 million tons last year. B.V. Mehta, executive director of the association, said the rise ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Errors and lies thrive in cold weather New Scientist: HERE'S the question to put to all those who confidently declare that the recent severe winter conditions prove that global warming is nonsense: "Next time there's a heatwave in summer or an unusually mild spell in winter, will you publicly accept that the 'warmists' were right all along? If not, why not? If a cold snap means the climate is getting colder, surely a spell of hot weather proves it is getting warmer?" The point, of course, is that a bout of extreme weather does not prove ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Feinstein and the Mojave vs. solar power Newsweek: You can't blame California for not being ambitious. In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set the bold goal that by 2020, a third of the state's power would come from renewable sources. Not bad for the nation's most populous state and among the world's top 10 largest economies. At the time, it was a target miles ahead of any other state, and a fairly risky one at the beginning of a would-be global recession that would drive the Golden State deep into the red. It's easy to see why ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Earth's growing nitrogen threat Christian Science Monitor: Dennis Lindsay still recalls the day four decades ago when his father, an Iowa farmer, began using nitrogen fertilizer on the family's 160 acres. With nitrogen, the family's corn crop suddenly grew much higher and stronger, and produced full ears and big harvests. When fed to their cows and pigs, that high-quality corn produced far more milk and meat. As a result, the family bought more livestock – and the farm grew. "I remember Dad bringing the neighbors over to see how much greener ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Sun shines on Italy's solar market Business Green: Italy's solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity has risen more than 36-fold in the past three years, according to figures released this week by state energy management agency GSE, which confirmed installed capacity had reached 795MW by the end of November. The country is closing in fast on the one gigawatt mark, and Italy's solar PV association GIFI said in a statement that last-minute updates to the data for grid connections in December means that GSE should soon confirm capacity at the end ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Use charcoal to fight global warming Malaysia News.Net: Biochar, a material used by Amazonian Indians to enhance soil fertility centuries ago, may help slow global warming. Mass production of biochar could capture carbon that otherwise would wind up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas leading to global warming. Kelli Roberts and colleagues of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, note that biochar is charcoal produced by heating wood, grass, cornstalks or other organic matter in ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Dairy farmers fury at carbon tax Edie: The Irish Dairy Industries Association has attacked plans for a carbon tax as 'uncompetitive' while claiming to support the drive for a low carbon economy. Ireland introduced a carbon tax, equal to 15 euros a tonne, last year in December which immediately increased the cost of petrol and diesel, while home heating oil and gas bills will go up this May. However, Irish business leaders want the plan scrapped claiming it will give the 'advantage' to imported food products and ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Zimbabwe: Crops Wilt As Dry Spell Persists The Herald: CROPS have started wilting in some parts of the country that have not been receiving rains for the past few weeks, Agritex has said. Some parts of Manicaland, Matabeleland South, Masvingo and Midlands have not received rains for the past two weeks with crops being severely affected by the dry spell. In most of these areas crops have started wilting and there are fears the crops could be a write-off if the affected areas do not receive rainfall in the coming ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Heat and moisture from Himalayas could be a key cause of the South Asian monsoon ScienceDaily: Harvard climate scientists suggest that the Tibetan Plateau -- thought to be the primary source of heat that drives the South Asian monsoon -- may have far less of an effect than the Himalayas and other surrounding mountains. As the monsoon brings needed rainfall and water to billions of people each year, understanding its proper origin, especially in the context of global climate change, is crucial for the future sustainability of the region. The researchers say the their findings, ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Birds forced to battle for food during cold weather Times (UK): First they came for Tippi Hedren. Now they are turning on each other. Wild birds are invading Britain's gardens, driving off smaller species as they compete for scarce food during the cold snap. Birds that usually eat seeds, berries or farmland insects are flocking to gardens as the frozen ground cuts off their usual sources of food. Redwing and fieldfare, both types of thrush, have been seen in almost four times as many gardens as usual, while sightings of reed bunting and ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM UN should be sidelined in future climate talks, says Obama official Guardian: America sees a diminished role for the United Nations in trying to stop global warming after the "chaotic" Copenhagen climate change summit, an Obama administration official said today. Jonathan Pershing, who helped lead talks at Copenhagen, instead sketched out a future path for negotiations dominated by the world's largest polluters such as China, the US, India, Brazil and South Africa, who signed up to a deal in the final hours of the summit. That would represent a realignment of ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia, ADB Help Vietnam Fight Climate Change Bernama: Australia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have decided to grant 1.3 million USD to help Vietnam cope with potentially devastating impacts of climate change in Mekong Delta, Vietnamese news agency, VNA, reported. Technical assistance grants will be used to carry out a full assessment of the climate change threats posed to the Mekong Delta region, and the actions needed for it to adapt in the face of an expected sea-level increase and more frequent and severe floods, according to ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Decision Promised Soon on Cape Cod Wind Farm New York Times: The Obama administration moved a step closer on Wednesday to ending the nearly decade-long conflict over a major wind power installation off Cape Cod, Mass. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, after meeting with virtually all of the parties to the dispute, said that he intended to decide whether to approve the wind turbine project no later than April. "What I want everyone to understand is that we will bring this process to a conclusion," Mr. Salazar said at a news briefing. He ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM From the ancient Amazonian Indians: 'Biochar' as a modern weapon against global warming ScienceDaily: Scientists are reporting that "biochar" -- a material that the Amazonian Indians used to enhance soil fertility centuries ago -- has potential in the modern world to help slow global climate change. Mass production of biochar could capture and sock away carbon that otherwise would wind up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Their report appears in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a bi-weekly journal. Kelli Roberts and colleagues note that ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia: Government 'too focused' on climate change Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has accused the Federal Government of being too focused on tackling climate change and neglecting other environmental problems. Mr Abbott will outline the Coalition's priorities for the environment in a speech tonight. He has foreshadowed new measures to manage water in the Murray-Darling Basin and nature conservation. Mr Abbott says Australia is losing the fight to preserve its natural heritage. "Because of his pre-occupation with ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM India: Combating climate change, with help from Lord Ram Times of India: Ram, Ramayana and global warming - the association may sound odd, until you realise how the religious context helped an NGO in Uttar Pradesh combat the ill effects of climate change. The NGO Raunak Evam Jagruk Samaj Sanstha (REJSS) in Sonbhadra district, some 250 km from Lucknow, conducts recitation of the Ramayana epic in parts of Uttar Pradesh, holds prayers for Lord Ram and distributes saplings as prasad (consecrated offering) among the devotees. "You can say it's our ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Forest carbon conservation projects top $100 million Mongabay: New report documents billions of dollars in losses from Indonesia's reforestation fund between 1989 and 2009. The market for carbon credits generated through forest conservation topped $100 million from 2007 through the first half of 2009, despite a global recession and plunging carbon prices in regulated markets, reports a new assessment by Ecosystem Marketplace. The study, State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out, found that the market for ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Qatar to use biofuels? What about the country's energy consumption? Guardian: Qatar made the news twice this week. First, the Manchester United squad flew out to the Gulf state for a few days to get in some training without the hassle of snow – hoping to revive their fortunes after a draw with Birmingham City . Second, it announced a "major environmental initiative" aimed at curbing the carbon emissions of its national airline through the use of biofuel. They won't actually be cutting emissions any time soon, of course. Those are soaring, because, bucking the ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM US carbon emissions on the rise again Business Green: Pressure on the US government to pass legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions is set to increase, after the release of official government figures warning that carbon emissions will bounce back this year. The US Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook says that economic recovery means carbon emissions will rise over the next two years, making it harder for the US to meet its proposed target of cutting emissions by 17 per cent on 2005 levels by ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Pollution imperils polar bears BBC: The long term survival of polar bears is being threatened by man-made pollution that is reaching the Arctic. This conclusion comes from a major review of research into how industrial chemicals such as mercury and organochlorines affect the bears. The review suggests that such chemicals have a range of subclinical effects. When added together, these can have a dramatic and potentially fatal impact on the bears' bones, organs and reproductive and immune systems. The ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM India plans to debut energy efficiency cap-and-trade scheme within months Business Green: India is moving forward with plans to create a market in energy efficiency credits modelled on carbon emission cap-and-trade schemes, which officials estimate could be worth 740 billion rupees ($16bn) a year by 2015. The plan, which was proposed last summer, would see energy intensive firms set energy efficiency targets. Those firms that exceeded the targets would be awarded credits that they would be able to sell on power exchanges to those companies that fail to meet their ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Nigeria: Food Crisis Looms As Climate Change Threatens Cassava Production Daily Champion: Barely one month after the Copenhagen climate change summit which failed to live up to the expectations of many developing nations including Nigeria, indications are rife that the increasing level of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere pose serious danger to some staples like cassava on which millions of African people depend. This is as the outcome of last month's Copenhagen's climate change summit failed to arrive at a binding protocol but a mere accord devoid of commitments ... read more 14/01/2010 07:00 PM Study Reveals Effects of Climate Change on UAE Emirates News Agency: Abu Dhabi (EAD) has released a report to identify and assess the potential magnitude of the physical impacts associated with climate change on the United Arab Emirates. The 3-volume report, entitled Climate Change and the UAE: Impact, Vulnerability and Adaptation in the UAE, focuses on the most vulnerable sectors: the UAE's coastal zones and Abu Dhabi Emirate's water resources and dryland ecosystems. This study was based on the international model and guidelines set for ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Colo. federal lab gets funds for biofuels work Associated Press: A consortium led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will receive up to nearly $34 million in federal stimulus funds to work on ways to make fuel from plant materials that can be used in existing pipelines and refineries. The National Advanced Biofuels Consortium is led by NREL in Golden, Colo., and its primary research partner, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The group will spend about a year investigating six process options. One or two of the processes ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Kentucky Senate panel passes nuclear power bill Associated Press: Lawmakers in Kentucky will again consider lifting a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants in Kentucky. The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would reverse a 1984 law barring construction of nuclear plants in Kentucky until a permanent waste storage facilty is in place. The measure now goes to the full Senate for consideration. Independent state Sen. Bob Leeper of Paducah has unsuccessfully pushed the ... read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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