Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
Engineering Earth “is feasible”
From the BBC on 1st September 2009
A UK Royal Society study has concluded that many engineering proposals to reduce the impact of climate change are “technically possible”. Such approaches could be effective, the authors said in their report. But they also stressed that the potential of geo-engineering should not divert governments away from their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [full article]
“Natural systems our biggest allies”: TEEB study
From Reuters on 02 September 2009
Governments can help combat climate change by investing more in natural areas, including forests and mangroves, a European study said on Wednesday. The paper pointed out that nations have natural assets worth trillions of dollars which could help fight global warming and save investment in industrial schemes for carbon capture. [full article]
Academics set the pace in cycling to work groups
From The Guardian Environment Blog on 02 September 2009
Last month we published a news story about a scheme encouraging novice cycle commuters in London to ride to work in guided groups, calling it “a first for a British city”. Michael Bane wrote to the paper to say that this was not the case. Here, he explains how he helped to set up a similar system at the University of Manchester – and how you can do the same. [full article]
365 ways to go green
From Mike Lieberman on 01 September 2009
New blog launched offering “simple green acts that you can also do without rearranging your daily lives”. New Yorker and avid eco-warrior Mike Lieberman sets off on a self-imposed challenge to become a little greener every day. “I was doing a lot of talking about going green, but what was I doing? So I posed a challenge to myself to perform one simple green act a day for a year and to document them to hold myself accountable.” [visit blog]
Scotland winning waste battle
Scotland is producing less municipal waste than in previous years, and recycling more as well. Figures released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), show that Scotland’s recycling and composting rate for the last quarter of the 2008/09 financial year increased to 33.2%, an improvement on 30.1% for the same quarter of 2007/08. [full article]
Sita to appeal Cornwall EfW refusal
From MRW on 02 September 2009
Recycling and waste management contractor Sita Cornwall is to lodge an appeal this month against refused planning permission to build an energy-from-waste facility. The Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre was to manage residual household waste in the county and generate enough electricity to power 21,000 homes. [full article]
EPA draft greenhouse gas rule focuses on large emitters
From Scientific American on 01 September 2009
US EPA has sent a draft rule to the White House that could limit regulations on greenhouse gas emissions to cover only very large industrial sources. The agency submitted a rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget that experts say will likely limit strict permitting requirements to industrial sources of more than 25,000 tons a year of carbon dioxide equivalent. [full article]
Google trick tracks extinctions
From the BBC on 04 September 2009
Google’s algorithm for ranking web pages can be adapted to determine which species are critical for sustaining ecosystems, say researchers. According to a paper in PLoS Computational Biology, “PageRank” can be applied to the study of food webs. These are the complex networks of who eats whom in an ecosystem. The scientists say their version of PageRank could be a simple way of working out which extinctions would lead to ecosystem collapse. [full article]
Don’t forget to drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up of green news.
]]>Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
Poor countries could be paid to go nuclear
From New Scientist on 05 June 2009
For the first time in eight years, countries are contemplating giving nuclear stations carbon credits in the run-up to the crucial world summit on climate change in Copenhagen in December. Draft text currently under negotiation at climate change talks by 182 countries in Bonn, Germany, includes an option to make nuclear facilities eligible for funding from 2012 under two schemes meant to help poorer countries develop low-carbon technologies: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation. Nuclear power was excluded from these schemes under the Kyoto protocol in 2001, after opposition from European and developing countries. Now the nuclear industry is hoping to overturn that, and open the door for funding to flow to nuclear stations across the developing world. [full article]
Wind turbines on public sector land could power 1.5m homes
From The Telegraph on 05 June 2009
On World Environment Day (5th June), the Environment Agency are calling on the Government to use the one million hectares of land and tens of thousands of buildings owned by public sector organisations to generate more renewable electricity. At the moment less than 0.1 per cent of the total amount of renewable energy which the UK is capable of producing comes from renewable energy projects on publicly owned property like Ministry of Defence land, schools, hospitals and public parks. However the Environment Agency calculate that it would be possible to generate three gigawatts of power – mostly through installing wind turbines on public sector land but also through hydroelectric plants on rivers and solar panels on buildings like hospitals and schools. [full article]
Melting ice could lead to waves of climate refugees
From Sustainablog on 04 June 2009
As the earth warms, the melting of the earth’s two massive ice sheets – Antarctica and Greenland – could raise sea level enormously. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, it would raise sea level 7 meters (23 feet). Melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would raise sea level 5 meters (16 feet). But even just partial melting of these ice sheets will have a dramatic effect on sea level rise. Senior scientists are noting that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of sea level rise during this century of 18 to 59 centimeters are already obsolete and that a rise of 2 meters during this time is within range. [full article]
Modest carbon price could save Borneo forests
From Reuters on 04 June 2009
Tropical forests in Borneo under threat of conversion to palm oil plantations could be more profitable left standing if carbon credits were priced between $10 and $33 per tonne, a study has found. Forests soak up vast amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide each year and are crucial in the fight to curb climate change. Many governments and scientists want to put a price on the carbon locked away in forests as an incentive to curb deforestation, which contributes nearly a fifth of mankind’s greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers led by Oscar Venter of the University of Queensland in Australia studied data from 808 concessions in Kalimantan, Indonesia’s part of Borneo island, covering 8 million hectares (20 million acres). [full article]
Fat people causing climate change says Jonathan Porritt
From The Telegraph on 03 June 2009
Echoing the famous slogan “fat is a feminist issue”, Sir Jonathan, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, said “fat is a climate change issue”. He pointed out overweight people eat more protein-rich food such as beef or lamb, which is responsible for producing greenhouse gases because of the toxic methane livestock emits. He also said obese people are more likely to use cars rather than walk or cycle, therefore producing more carbon emissions. The former Green Party politician, who has caused controversy before by suggesting people should not have more than two children to prevent over-population, said the Government should be encouraging people who are above the recommended body mass index to lose weight not only to improve their health but to help the environment. [full article]
Chevron Escapes Tar Oil Accountability
From Planetsave on 02 June 2009
Much will be said at the Chevron Corporation’s shareholder conference this week; the agenda is full. However, there will be little said about Chevron’s involvement in controversial projects concerning tar sand. Despite the requests of shareholders owning $31.4 billion dollars, Chevron will remain quiet, keeping the Alberta tar sand projects off the agenda. Tar sand, a source of non-conventional oil, consists of bitumen, a sticky, tar-like form of petroleum which is so thick and heavy that it must be heated or diluted before it will flow. Harvesting tar sand requires huge amounts of energy and water. [full article]
Friends of the Earth slams offsetting model
From BusinessGreen on 02 June 2009
The practice of carbon offsetting is “profoundly unjust” and “fundamentally flawed”, according to a critical new report from Friends of the Earth. A Dangerous Distraction, which calls on the UK government to ditch calls for an expansion of UN-backed offsetting schemes, argues there is now ample evidence to show that offsetting is “ineffective and damaging”. The report has been released to coincide with international talks in Bonn this week, where reforms designed to expand the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) offsetting scheme to include forestry are expected to be high up the agenda. [full article]
Why do whales beach themselves?
From Scientific American on 01 June 2009
Mass strandings of dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals date back to the time of Aristotle, but some environmental activists have suggested that human impacts of pollution, shipping noise and, in some cases, military sonar have led to a rise in such frequency and severity of such events. And so scientists have been trying to untangle what factors cause these normally adept swimmers and maritime navigators end up in shallow water where they can become beached and die. To find out more about mass strandings we spoke with Darlene Ketten, a neuroethologist and expert on hearing in marine mammals at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. [full article]
MPs attack shipping industry’s inaction on emissions
From The Guardian on 01 June 2009
The international shipping industry has acted irresponsibly in failing to address rapidly growing climate change emissions and the UN body that governs it is “not fit for purpose”, according to an influential group of MPs. Showing clear impatience at continuing lack of progress in cutting emissions, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee said: “There can be no excuse for the lack of progress within the International Maritime Organisation since the Kyoto protocol was signed [in 2005]. That the IMO has yet to reach agreement even over the type of emissions control regime to take forward, let alone decide any details, suggests it is not fit for purpose in this vital area. [full article]
Extinct bumblebee to be reintroduced from New Zealand
From The Guardian on 01 June 2009
A bumblebee which died out in the UK, but survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago, is to be reintroduced here under plans announced today. Small populations of the short-haired bumblebee were established on the South Island of New Zealand after being transported there on the first refrigerated lamb boats in the late 19th century to pollinate crops of red clover. The bees will not suffer from jet lag as they will be in hibernation when they are transported on planes in cool boxes, according to Natural England. The short-haired bumblebee became extinct in this country in 2000, but the populations on the other side of the world have clung on — although conservationists say they are unprotected and under threat. [full article]
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British supermarkets are driving destruction of the Amazon rainforest by using meat from farms responsible for illegal deforestation, according to a three-year investigation of the global trade in Brazilian cattle products.
High Street brands
The Greenpeace report names Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer among dozens of high-profile companies it says profit from products supplied by Brazilian farms on illegally deforested land. Much of the trade is in processed beef, used for pies, canned meat and frozen ready meals. The supermarkets insist it is not from the Amazon.
“UK companies are driving the destruction of the Amazon by buying beef and leather products from unscrupulous suppliers in Brazil. These products are ending up on our shelves.” Sarah Shoraka, Greenpeace
The investigation also tracked the global trade in other Brazilian goods made from cattle. It names Nike, Adidas, Timberland and Clarks Shoes among companies it says use leather linked to Amazon destruction.
Greenpeace wants companies to refuse to buy products sourced from farms that have carried out illegal deforestation. It wants consumers to pressure supermarkets and high-street brands identified in the report to clean-up supply chains.
Piecing together the evidence
The Greenpeace report compiles government records, company documents and trade data from Brazil, China, Europe, Vietnam and the USA, to piece together the global movement of meat, leather and cosmetics ingredients made from Brazilian cattle.
Campaigners used satellite images, surveillance flights and undercover visits to assess deforestation on dozens of ranches across the Amazonian states of Para and Mato Grosso.
“The cattle industry is the single biggest cause of deforestation in the world and is a disaster for the fight against climate change.” Sarah Shoraka, Greenpeace
Cattle farming is now the biggest threat to the remaining Amazon rainforest, a fifth of which has been lost since 1970. Big ranches are blamed for 80% of all deforestation in the region; the number of cattle in the Amazon grew from 21m in 1995 to 56m in 2006.
Slaughtering the Amazon
The report, Slaughtering the Amazon, describes how ranches responsible for illegal deforestation sell cattle to slaughterhouses controlled by a handful of Brazilian companies. These ship beef or hides to facilities in the south of Brazil and process them for export. They are often processed again in the importing country.
Greenpeace says records show that cattle from hundreds of farms across the Amazon are mixed and processed in this way, making it currently impossible to trace the origins of products. “In effect, criminal or ‘dirty’ supplies of cattle are ‘laundered’ through the supply chain.”
Britain is the second largest importer of processed Brazilian beef after the US, taking 50,000 tonnes last year.
Download the report: Slaughtering the Amazon
From The Guardian
]]>Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
Beavers released back into the wild
From The Independent on 29 May 2009
Beavers have been released back into the wild for the first time in 400 years. They have been taken to Scotland from Norway and are being released in Knapdale Forest, Argyll, following six months in quarantine. The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland were given the go-ahead for a trial reintroduction programme in May last year. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will monitor the trial and report to ministers on the outcome. The 11 beavers have been fitted with tracking devices. Colin Galbraith, director of policy and advice for SNH said: “We are pleased that the trial is under way as it provides the best opportunity to see how beavers fit into the Scottish countryside, in a carefully planned and managed way.” [full article]
Arctic’s mineral riches could stoke international strife
From The Guardian on 29 May 2009
The battle for the Arctic’s hidden mineral riches is likely to intensify after a survey revealing the energy reserves present beneath the ice. A map of potential oil and gas reserves in the region, published today in Science, shows that about 30% of the world’s unexploited gas and 13% of oil lie under the seas around the north pole. Billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas lie within the Arctic circle, where, until now, permanent ice has prevented drilling. The report is likely to further stoke international competition for mineral, tourism and shipping rights in the region. Exploration and drilling for oil and gas have become easier as climate change forces the ice to retreat, and all countries with borders inside the Arctic circle are fighting to claim their share. [full article]
Climate change causes 315,000 deaths a year
From Reuters on 29 May 2009
Climate change kills about 315,000 people a year through hunger, sickness and weather disasters, and the annual death toll is expected to rise to half a million by 2030, a report said on Friday. The study, commissioned by the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF), estimates that climate change seriously affects 325 million people every year, a number that will more than double in 20 years to 10 percent of the world’s population (now about 6.7 billion). Economic losses due to global warming amount to over $125 billion annually – more than the flow of aid from rich to poor nations – and are expected to rise to $340 billion each year by 2030, according to the report. [full article]
E-waste trade is the unacceptable face of recycling
From The Guardian on 28 May
Dell, the world’s second largest PC manufacturer, announced earlier this month that it is imposing a ban on the export of used equipment bearing its name to developing countries – unless the equipment is in full working order and intended for legitimate use. The idea is to undermine the huge trade in e-waste, too much of which ends up in giant trash piles in Africa, India and China, from where it is dismantled, burned, treated with corrosive chemicals and otherwise persuaded to give up tiny amounts of chemicals that can be sold on. The big question is why all the other manufacturers don’t have a similar policy. [full article]
UK and Norway launch North Sea carbon store study
From BusinessGreen on 28 May 2009
The UK and Norway today signed a wide-ranging deal that will see the two countries co-operate on the development of the North Sea as a potential site for storing captured carbon emissions. Under the terms of the deal, the two governments have jointly commissioned a major new study designed to analyse the sea bed of the entire North Sea, identify areas that are likely to be suitable for the storage of liquefied carbon dioxide. The study will also attempt to identify the likely business models that could be developed to support an emerging carbon storage industry and the extent to which the North Sea could be used to sequester carbon emissions from other European countries. [full article]
Carbon trading and cash values on forests cannot curb carbon emissions
From The Guardian on 28 May 2009
When Sir Crispin Tickell had the temerity to suggest that “the business community needs to re-examine the fundamentals of economics” at the recent World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, his discordant tone was drowned out by a chorus of more than 800 delegates singing the praises of unfettered markets as a means to tackle climate change. The commitment to carry on with business as usual took an almost surreal form at times. Indra Nooyi, the chief executive officer of PepsiCo, proudly proclaimed: “The fact that I flew here for 1 1/2 hours to sit on a panel them I’m flying straight back to the US is an example of our commitment to environmental sustainability.” [full article]
China puts faith in solar power with huge renewable energy investment
From WorldChanging on 27 May 2009
By 2020, Chinese government is committed to raising the share of renewable energy in the energy mix to 6%. China is to throw its economic might behind a national solar power plan that could result in it becoming one of the world’s biggest harvesters of the sun’s energy. The government body responsible for overseeing energy policy has finalised a proposal for billions of pounds of incentives for solar farms and rooftop panels, which will come from the government’s £400bn economic stimulus fund. Once approved by the state council, it is expected to give a boost to the domestic solar power market, which has lagged behind China’s wind, nuclear and hydroelectric power investments. [full article]
Swarms of giant African butterflies invade England
From The Telegraph on 27 May 2009
Unusually high numbers of the three-inch wingspan Painted Lady butterflies have been counted by wildlife experts – with more than 3,000 spotted in one area alone in less than one hour. Wildlife expert Kerry King said that not since the 1980s had there been such a surge of numbers of the insects. He said: “In a space of about 45 minutes, we counted nearly 3,000 of these butterflies which is quite incredible. The Painted Lady is not a British butterfly. It migrates to this country. This year, because we’ve had mild weather conditions and the wind has been perfect for them, we have seen this abundance of Painted Lady butterflies swarming across the South East. Numbers of his magnitude are very rare indeed.” [full article]
US says climate policies among world’s toughest
From Reuters on 26 May 2009
Washington defended its plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions as among the most ambitious in the world Tuesday as major economies meeting in Paris rallied around a Mexican plan to raise cash to fight climate change. “The United States is proposing to make a seismic change” in toughening policy, US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern said after two-day talks among 17 major emitters including China, the European Union, India and Russia. “If you look at what the US is proposing from where we are now – which is, after all, all we can gain control of – it’s every bit as ambitious as anything that anybody in the world is proposing,” he told a news conference. [full article]
Endangered species to be moved because of climate change
From The Telegraph on 25 May 2009
Conservationists fear that rapid climate change could see animals and plants “trapped” in homes that become too hot or dry for them, raising the possibility of extinction. But now for the first time experts have been evaluating ways to help species adapt to rapid climate change. They are considering a controversial strategy called “managed relocation”. The project, partly funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), involves humans stepping in to move species into more accommodating habitats. Managed relocation has been rejected by some scientists who fear the relocated species could overpopulate a new area and cause local organisms to become extinct. [full article]
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Across the Amazon basin, river dwellers are adding new floors to their stilt houses, trying to stay above rising floodwaters that have killed 44 people and left 376,000 homeless.
Flooding is common in the world’s largest remaining tropical wilderness, but this year the waters rose higher and stayed longer than they have in decades, leaving fruit trees entirely submerged. Only four years ago, the same communities suffered an unprecedented drought that ruined crops and left mounds of river fish flapping and rotting in the mud.
“Something is telling us to us to be more careful with the planet. Changes are happening around the world, and we’re seeing them as well in Brazil.” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Experts suspect global warming may be driving wild climate swings that appear to be punishing the Amazon with increasing frequency. “It’s the $1 million dollar question,” says Carlos Nobre, a climatologist with Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.
While a definitive answer will take years of careful study, climatologists say the world should expect more extreme weather in the years ahead. Already, what happens in the Amazon could be affecting rainfall elsewhere, from Brazil’s agricultural heartland to the US grainbelt, as rising ocean temperatures and rain forest destruction cause shifts in global climate patterns.
More extreme climate
“It’s important to note that it’s likely that these types of record-breaking climate events will become more and more frequent in the near future,” Nobre said. “So we all have to brace for more extreme climate in the near future: It’s not for the next generation.”
The immediate cause of the unusually heavy rains across northern Brazil is an Atlantic Ocean weather system that usually moves on in March, but stayed put until May this year.
Almost simultaneously, southern Brazilian states far from the Amazon have suffered from an extended drought, caused by La Nina – a periodic cooling of waters in the Pacific Ocean. And La Nina alternates with El Nino, a heating up of Pacific waters that is blamed for catastrophic forest fires plaguing the Amazon in recent years.
Brazil’s government approved $440 million in emergency funding in response to the northern floods and southern drought.
From MSNBC/AP
]]>Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
Wales plans for energy self-sufficiency with renewables in 20 years
From The Guardian on 22 May 2009
Wales today laid out radical plans to make it one of the most energy- and resource-efficient countries in the world within a generation. The government development plans, which are legally binding, are far in advance of anything planned for England or Scotland and would see it become energy self-sufficient in using renewable electricity within 20 years and reduce waste to zero by 2050. The proposals would make Wales one of only three countries in the world legally bound to develop “sustainably”. “We intend to reduce by 80-90% our use of carbon-based energy, resulting in a similar reduction in our greenhouse gas generation,” said Jane Davidson, the Welsh environment minister. [full article]
Eco-vandals take on the gas-guzzlers
From The Independent on 22 May 2009
Police are searching for a gang of radical environmental activists after a series of attacks on 4×4 vehicles. The gang, who claim to have targeted up to 80 vehicles across South Manchester, let down tyres and leave notes accusing the owners of adding to global warming and increasing the chances of road deaths. In the last week tyres on 20 vehicles were slashed or deflated in the Ladybarn and Withington of the city. This follows similar attacks on 11 cars last month. Police classify the deliberate acts as criminal damage. A statement from the activists said: “Given the threat of climate change and the Government’s inaction, direct action such as this is, unfortunately, necessary. Large SUVs emit substantially more greenhouse gases.” [full article]
Canada enjoys biofuel boost with first waste-to-biofuel plant
From BusinessGreen on 22 May 2009
Canada-based biofuel and biochemical producer Enerkem said yesterday that it has received approval to build a commercial facility to turn municipal waste into biofuels. The C$70m (£39m) plant will be a joint effort with Toronto-based GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s leading ethanol producer, and is the first of its type in North America. “This unprecedented project is set to change the dynamics of the waste and fuel industries by making waste that would otherwise be landfilled a resource for transportation fuels,” said Vincent Chornet, chief executive of Enerkem. The plant will work by using the waste to create synthetic gas. Then catalysts will be used to convert the gas into a variety of biofuels and chemicals. [full article]
Thousands evacuate in Australia flood emergency
From Reuters on 22 May 2009
Authorities moved to evacuate thousands of people from a second Australian town Friday as floodwaters from days of torrential rain inundated large parts of the country’s east coast. About 5,000 residents in Lismore, in northern New South Wales (NSW) state, were evacuated from their homes as floodwaters, in some places more than 10 meters (32 feet) deep, surged across riverlands stretching along 300 km (185 miles) of coastline. Authorities also urged 9,000 people to evacuate the nearby town of Grafton, with floodwaters up to 8 meters deep expected to hit the town late Friday. State authorities declared disaster zones in six areas, unlocking government help. [full article]
Washington governor orders cutbacks in emissions
From LA Times on 21 May 2009
Chris Gregoire sidestepped her Legislature’s refusal to adopt a cap-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gases, signing an executive order Thursday to achieve similar reductions by ratcheting back coal-fired electricity and automobile emissions. “I wanted cap-and-trade. I didn’t get it,” said Gregoire, a Democrat, whose order directs government agencies to expand public transit and other programs to meet auto emissions goals, and to reach agreement with the state’s only coal-fired power plant to reduce its carbon output at least 50% by 2025. The order also calls for development of an even wider-ranging set of emission reduction strategies to achieve across-the-board greenhouse gas targets by 2020. [full article]
China’s tire demand rolls over Southeast Asian forests
From Scientific American on 21 May 2009
Geographer Jefferson Fox thought he was on to something big when the Chinese military stripped his team’s weather monitoring equipment from a montane rubber plantation in the run-up to last year’s Olympics. How big? In the past 20 years, more than 1.2 million acres (485,000 hectares) of evergreen broadleaf and secondary forests have been cleared throughout Southeast Asia to make way for rubber plantations to fuel China’s growing appetite for automobile tires. Fox – who is based at the East West Center in Honolulu – warns in Science this week that the environmental consequences of these massive land use changes, particularly on water resources, could be devastating. [full article]
Obama opens new front in climate change battle
From The Independent on 20 May 2009
The United States served notice yesterday that it finally intends to take firm action to combat the planet’s climate crisis, announcing unprecedented plans to regulate vehicle emissions from 2012 with exhaust standards that match those sought for years by California and a handful of other states. Unveiling the new plan, surrounded by car executives from the US, Japan and Europe, President Barack Obama left no one in doubt that he means to make good on his campaign promises to drag his country out of years of lethargy and inaction on climate protection. “The status quo is no longer acceptable,” President Obama declared, “We have done little to increase the fuel efficiency of America’s cars and trucks for decades. This is unprecedented change.” [full article]
Government greatly concerned by palm oil production
From The Independent on 19 May 2009
The Government has joined calls for Britain’s best-selling household groceries to use sustainable palm oil. The Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said the Government was “greatly concerned” by the impact of palm oil production in South-east Asia, where it causes extensive deforestation and threatens the survival of the orangutan and other rare animals. Producers chop down forests in Sumatra and Borneo to plant high-yielding oil palms whose oil is poured into food, soaps and skin creams. As the Independent disclosed earlier this month palm oil is in, or suspected to be in, 43 of the UK’s 100 best-selling grocery brands, including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Mr Kipling cakes and Dove soap. [full article]
Obama to overhaul car industry with stringent exhaust targets
From The Guardian on 19 May 2009
Barack Obama is to compel US car makers to give up on gas guzzlers and step up production of a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet. In a ceremony today at the White House, Obama will establish the first national limits on car exhaust and dramatically raise fuel efficiency standards. The new exhaust target will force US manufacturers to produce cars and trucks that are nearly 40% more efficient. Environmentalists said the new standards will do more to reduce global warming pollution than any of the other measures taken by Obama so far, and could lead to the overhaul of the US car industry. Cars and trucks are responsible for about a quarter of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. [full article]
Carbon capture and storage may be key to Climate Bill
From Scientific American on 18 May 2009
With Congress crafting energy and climate legislation, disparate lobbyists are urging lawmakers to think about China and other developing countries as reasons to develop power plants that capture coal’s carbon emissions. If the United States succeeds in building commercially viable coal plants, lobbyists and some independent experts argue, it could export the technology to countries that are building traditional power plants at a rapid clip. “China burns twice as much coal as we do,” said Howard Herzog, principal research engineer at the MIT Energy Initiative. “If there’s not a way for China to clean up its coal emissions, it almost doesn’t matter what anybody else does in the long term.” [full article]
Don’t forget to drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up of green news.
]]>The final section of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm is officially switched on today. The Whitelee development on Eaglesham Moor, just outside Glasgow in Scotland, is made up of 140 massive turbines and can produce enough clean green energy to power over 117,000 homes.
Director of ScottishPower Renewables Keith Anderson said Whitelee was a landmark for the country because of its size and scale.
“This is now the first over 300 MW wind farm in the UK and we believe others will follow” Keith Anderson, ScottishPower Renewables
But he said more work was needed on infrastructure to develop the industry, particularly to improve power grid connections and capacity to handle even larger offshore wind farms and wave and tidal projects.
More turbines to be added
And, in an announcement today, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said ScottishPower Renewables had been given permission to add a further 36 turbines to the site.
That will allow the £300m wind farm to power 250,000 homes and could create up to 300 jobs.
Mr Salmond was speaking as he officially switched on the 140-turbine Whitelee wind farm.
]]>Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
Student activists try to save wildlife on China’s menu
From The Guardian on 15 May 2009
Stewed turtle cures cancer, crocodile meat relieves asthma, pangolin scales regulate menstruation and scorpion venom helps stroke victims. Such is the traditional wisdom in Guangdong province, where animal markets teem with snakes, scorpions, salamander and dozens of different species of birds and turtles, some of which are endangered and all of which are fated to end their lives in restaurants, pharmacies or pet cages. Eating rare wildlife is normal in southern China, but a growing group of student activists is trying to do something considered far stranger: they are trying to save them. [full article]
West Antarctic ice sheet collapse exaggerated, scientists say
From The Telegraph on 15 May 2009
One of the most alarming consequences of rapid global warming would be a collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet. Until now scientists have generally assumed that it would raise the global sea level by five to six metres or 17 feet but a more detailed analysis, published in the journal Science, shows this is an overestimate. Professor Jonathan Bamber, from the University of Bristol, who led the research, said the rise in sea levels is more likely to be around three metres or 10 feet – though this is still enough to badly affect different parts of the world and swamp cities like London and New York. [full article]
Government earmarks £29m for green travel city
From BusinessGreen on 15 May 2009
The government has this week announced plans to invest up to £29m in England’s first “Sustainable Travel City”. The money will help to fund improvements to public transport, cycling networks and services for commuters. The move follows the successful completion of three pilot projects in Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester which the government said had helped cut car use by almost 10 per cent over the past five years. Transport minister Paul Clark said the Sustainable Travel Towns initiative, which saw £10m invested over five years in green travel programmes for the three towns, demonstrated that improved education and facilities could help cut car use and congestion in urban centres. [full article]
Birds swell the ranks of critically endangered species
From New Scientist on 14 May 2009
A bird native to the Galapagos islands, the medium tree-finch, this year joined 191 other bird species newly added to the critically endangered list, the roster of the world’s most threatened species. But while the medium-tree finch is in jeopardy because of parasitic flies introduced to the islands, most of the species on this year’s red list of threatened species are imperilled by inexorable loss of their habitat. “The absolute number one factor is habitat destruction or deterioration,” says Martin Fowlie of BirdLife, the organisation in Cambridge, UK, which compiles the bird entries for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list of endangered species. [full article]
Existing gas power plants could pump out hydrogen
From New Scientist on 12 May 2009
Kick-starting the hydrogen economy will require cheap ways to produce vast quantities of the gas. But rather than building a new and costly plants, societies could modify existing gas powered stations instead, say Dutch and French chemists. It is the latest proposal in a long line aimed at solving a problem that is the main barrier to a cleaner, low-carbon, hydrogen-fuelled future. However, the new idea is not without its problems: critics say retrofitting gas plants would be inefficient, but agree that the hydrogen-generation hurdle will only be surmounted using existing fossil fuel technology. Although cheaper fuel cells and other technology needed to convert hydrogen to power are fairly advanced, there is currently no way to cheaply generate the large quantities of hydrogen needed. [full article]
Barack Obama’s key climate bill hit by $45m PR campaign
From The Guardian on 12 May 2009
America’s oil, gas and coal industry has increased its lobbying budget by 50%, with key players spending $44.5m in the first three months of this year in an intense effort to cut off support for Barack Obama’s plan to build a clean energy economy. The spoiler campaign runs to hundreds of millions of dollars and involves industry front groups, lobbying firms, television, print and radio advertising, and donations to pivotal members of Congress. Its intention is to water down or kill off plans by the Democratic leadership to pass “cap and trade” legislation this year, which would place limits on greenhouse gas emissions. [full article]
Richard Briers digs in to help stop the third runway
From Greenpeace UK on 12 May 2009
When the time came to dig an allotment on the Airplot, we knew that we needed some expert advice. And who better to turn to than the man who brought allotments to the attention of millions in 70s TV sensation The Good Life, and organic gardening supremos Garden Organic? Yes, the latest guest to the Airplot is Richard Briers, who has dusted off his spade and started digging up the land earmarked by Gordon Brown for the construction of a new runway at Heathrow airport. Richard is joining Gardener’s World presenter Alys Fowler to plant organic carrots on the plot – they want to send vegetables to every member of the cabinet, in the hope that they’ll enjoy them so much they’ll ditch their plans for a third runway. [full article]
UK plans smart meter revolution to cut energy cost
From Reuters on 12 May 2009
Every household in Britain should by 2020 be able to cut its energy bills and carbon footprint using “smart meters” and handheld devices to control energy use closely, the government said on Monday. Britain plans to replace all existing electricity and gas meters – often clunky objects hidden away amid domestic clutter in dark understairs cupboards – with easily viewed devices that show consumers exactly how much energy they are using, including by individual appliances. The hope is users will change their behavior to save money. The meters will also help homeowners sell electricity from green technologies like roof-top wind turbines back to the grid while improving energy demand forecasts and network management. [full article]
Whaling peace talks fall short
From BBC News on 11 May 2009
Moves to make a peace deal between pro and anti-whaling nations have stalled, with no chance of agreement this year. Countries have been talking for nearly a year in an attempt to hammer out an accord by this year’s International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting. But a draft report seen by BBC News admits the process has “fallen short”. A source close to the talks blamed Japan, saying it had not offered big enough cuts in its Antarctic hunt, conducted in the name of research. Earlier meetings had raised the possibility that Japan might countenance annual reductions in its catch over the next five years, perhaps down to zero. [full article]
A cautionary video about America’s ’stuff’
From NY Times on 10 May 2009
The thick-lined drawings of the Earth, a factory and a house, meant to convey the cycle of human consumption, are straightforward and child-friendly. So are the pictures of dark puffs of factory smoke and an outlined skull and crossbones, representing polluting chemicals floating in the air. Which is one reason “The Story of Stuff”, a 20-minute video about the effects of human consumption, has become a sleeper hit in classrooms across the nation. The video is a cheerful but brutal assessment of how much Americans waste, and it has its detractors. But it has been embraced by teachers eager to supplement textbooks that lag behind scientific findings on climate change and pollution. [full article]
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Forests covering an area the size of the Isle of Wight could be felled under controversial Government plans which would increase the nation’s carbon emissions by an amount equivalent to putting an extra 172,000 cars on the road.
The proposal would see up to 116 square miles (30,000 hectares) of English woodland cleared and turned into open heathland.
Conservationists say the move would help to boost numbers of rare birds, such as nightjars, woodlarks and dunlins; reptiles like the sand lizard; insects, including solitary bees and the tiger beetle, and rare plants like the lesser twayblade.
Considerable cost
However, it would cost taxpayers £61 million to carry out and critics say it would set back the fight against climate change as there would be fewer trees to “lock up” carbon emissions.
“There is a strong argument that rather than cutting down trees, releasing carbon and putting people out of jobs, we would be better off spending a smaller amount of money ensuring other areas of heathland are better managed.” Stuart Goodall, Confederation of Forest Industries
The scheme has been drawn up by the Forestry Commission. According to its own calculations, the forest clearance would increase England’s net annual carbon emissions by 0.1 per cent or 506,000 tonnes – equivalent to putting an extra 172,000 cars on the road.
The scheme has caused division among Britain’s environmental organisations. Conservation groups like the RSPB strongly back the plans to create a more “open habitat” for wildlife. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have both refused to condemn the scheme. But the plans are strongly opposed by the Green Party.
Public consultation
The Forestry Commission is currently considering targets for how much land should be cleared. The maximum option is to chop down 116 square miles over a 10 to 15 year period. The minimum option is to clear 23 square miles (6,000 hectares) over the same period.
Ministers will set a target following a public consultation. If the maximum option was taken, it would represent 15 per cent of the Forestry Commission’s entire estate.
Although the Forestry Commission has not identified specific areas of woodland to clear, heathland restoration schemes have already taken place in the New Forest, Cannock Chase, Sherwood Forest and the Forest of Dean.
Currently, around 1.9 square miles (500 hectares) a year are returned to open habitat.
From The Telegraph
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Pumping CO2 underground best hope for climate
From Reuters on 08 May 2009
Projects to capture industrial emissions and store them in the earth’s crust could cut CO2 pollution by up to 40 percent, according to officials from oil major Shell. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) – gathering CO2 emissions at their source and pumping them underground – faces steep cost hurdles, but may someday be worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year, a Shell executive said. “CCS is probably the largest source of potential carbon reduction for the next 30 years, and a way to deal with 30 to 40 percent of (global) emissions,” said Kimberly Corley, Shell senior advisor for CO2 and environmental affairs. [full article]
Sea ’snake’ generates electricity with every wave
From New Scientist on 07 May 2009
Anaconda, a giant rubber ’snake’ that floats offshore and converts wave energy to electricity, is a step closer to commercialisation. An 8-metre long, 1/25th scale version is currently undergoing tests in a large wave tank in Gosport, UK, and a full-size working version could be a reality in five years. Harnessing the power of waves is an attractive proposition because they are much more energy dense than wind. But wave power remains the poor relation of the renewable energy sector due to the difficulties of cheaply operating machinery in the harsh marine environment. The world’s first commercial wave farm only began operating last year, off the northern coast of Portugal. [full article]
US organic sales grow by a whopping 17.1 percent in 2008
From Natural Choices on 07 May 2009
US sales of organic products, both food and non-food, reached $24.6 billion by the end of 2008, growing an impressive 17.1 percent over 2007 sales despite tough economic times, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which today made available final results from its 2009 Organic Industry Survey. While the overall economy has been losing ground, sales of organic products reflect very strong growth during 2008. “Organic products represent value to consumers, who have shown continued resilience in seeking out these products,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director. [full article]
Some Americans clamor to try wind power at home
From Reuters on 07 May 2009
The idea of wind turbines churning out free electricity alongside every home and office building has appeal, judging by the throngs around “community wind” purveyors at a Chicago wind power convention this week. Darrin Russell of Southwest Windpower was inundated with questions during the Windpower 2009 convention where he explained the economics of the company’s workhorse 2.4 kilowatt Skystream turbine, which plugs into the local electrical grid. “It’s nice watching the (electricity) meter go backward. Sometimes it gets going pretty fast when the wind blows hard” which it does often at the company’s headquarters in Flagstaff, Arizona, he said. [full article]
Trampling biodiversity in the name of biofuels
From Conservation Magazine on 06 May 2009
These days, Jason Clay walks around with an eerie sense of déjà vu. Over the past few years, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) anthropologist has become deeply entangled in the tortuous struggle to ensure that supposedly “green” biofuels – such as ethanol brewed from corn and biodiesel wrung from palm nuts – don’t decimate biodiversity in an attempt to save the planet. It’s been a dizzying and sometimes disorienting experience. For instance, Clay watched as biofuels, once hailed as the savior of the climate, became an environmental sinner almost overnight – blamed for everything from food riots to trashed tropical forests. [full article]
China ready for post-Kyoto deal on climate change
From The Guardian on 06 May 2009
China is ready to abandon its resistance to limits on its carbon emissions and wants to reach an international deal to fight global warming, the Guardian has learned. According to Britain’s climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, who met senior officials in Beijing this week, China is ready to “do business” with developed countries to reach an agreement to replace the Kyoto treaty. Miliband said he was encouraged by the change in tone since late last year in the country that emits more greenhouse gases than any other. “I think they’re up for a deal. I get the strong impression that they want an agreement,” he told the Guardian. [full article]
Government gives green light to ‘green belt destruction’
From The Telegraph on 06 May 2009
The move is contained in the Government’s new South East Plan which will see 32,000 houses built every year between now and 2026. The controversial document includes a recommendation to review green belt land in Oxfordshire and Surrey in order to build 6,000 more homes there. Countryside campaigners fear the move will “open the floodgates” to more building on the green belt and the Tories accused the Government of “concreting over” the South East. However, the Government insisted green belt boundaries should not be “set in stone” when there is so much demand for affordable housing. [full article]
Energy bill to include plan offering cash for gas guzzlers
From LA Times on 06 May 2009
President Obama and key House Democrats agreed Tuesday to include a “cash for clunkers” program in the major energy bill being written in Congress, but they ended a White House meeting without reaching agreement on thornier issues – including how to reduce the economic impact of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The “clunkers” program would offer federal payments to consumers who scrapped older gas-guzzling vehicles and bought new, more environmentally friendly ones to replace them. Similar programs have enjoyed some success in Europe. [full article]
Europe votes to ban seal product trade
From The Guardian on 05 May 2009
Europe moved today to halt the clubbing to death of hundreds of thousands of seals every year, when MEPs voted overwhelmingly to ban trading in seal products, hoping that the collapse of the market will drastically reduce the massacre. The decision to outlaw virtually all trade in seal products was directed mainly at Canada, where the yearly cull kills around 300,000 seals, a practice condemned by many as barbaric. Canada, which exports several million dollars worth of seal products to the EU, is threatening to take Brussels to the World Trade Organisation because of the ban, which still needs to be endorsed by the EU’s 27 national governments. [full article]
Russia to build floating Arctic nuclear stations
From The Observer on 03 May 2009
Russia is planning a fleet of floating and submersible nuclear power stations to exploit Arctic oil and gas reserves, causing widespread alarm among environmentalists. A prototype floating nuclear power station being constructed at the SevMash shipyard in Severodvinsk is due to be completed next year. Agreement to build a further four was reached between the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and the northern Siberian republic of Yakutiya in February. The 70-megawatt plants, each of which would consist of two reactors on board giant steel platforms, would provide power to Gazprom, the oil firm which is also Russia’s biggest company. [full article]
Don’t forget to drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up of green news.
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