Global

What's the long-term impact of the EU’s carbon market crisis?

Wed, 2012-08-08 00:22 — Maeryn Obley

greenbiz.com - Bruce Kennedy - July 31st, 2012

The European Union’s new plan to shore up its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) following a plunge in carbon prices underscores just how volatile – and vulnerable – the carbon emissions trading market has become.

Battered by global economic uncertainty, an overuse of allowances and political polarization, the ETS will probably remain in limbo until at least September. That’s when the EU’s climate change commission next meets.

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Business for Good Map

Tue, 2012-08-07 10:48 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Map: The above map shows the work of individual companies, as well as the collective impact of business on communities when points are clicked.

At BCLC, we know businesses make a positive difference around the globe. Our knowledge is now yours. The Business for Good Map is your tool to learn where and how companies invest in creating a better, more sustainable world.

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Climate change the cause of summer's extreme weather, Congress told

Mon, 2012-08-06 23:04 — Maeryn Obley

guardian.co.uk - Suzanne Goldenburg - August 1st, 2012

Drought, wildfires, hurricanes and heatwaves are becoming normal in America because of climate change, Congress was told on Wednesday in the first hearing on climate science in more than two years.

In a predictably contentious hearing, the Senate's environment and public works committee heard from a lead scientist for the UN's climate body, the IPCC, on the growing evidence linking extreme weather and climate change.

"It is critical to understand that the link between climate change and the kinds of extremes that lead to disaster is clear," Christopher Field, a lead author of the IPCC report and director of global ecology at the Carnegie Institute for Science, said in testimony.

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Ecocities Emerging

Fri, 2012-08-03 23:27 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Jerry Erbach

Ecocity Builders

Mission and Vision

Ecocity Builders reshapes cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems.

We develop and implement policy, design and educational tools and strategies to build thriving urban centers based on “access by proximity” and to reverse patterns of sprawl and excessive consumption.

Ecocity Builders and associates’ definition of “ecocity” is conditional upon a healthy relationship of the city’s parts and functions, similar to the relationship of organs in living complex organism. We are concerned with city design, planning, building, and operations in an integral way and in relation to the surrounding environment and natural resources of the region, utilizing organic, ecological and whole-systems lessons to actually reverse the negative impacts of climate change, species extinction and the destruction of the biosphere.

We believe the form of the city matters, that it is within our ability, and indeed crucial, to reshape and restructure cities to address global environmental challenges.

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Avian Flu Makes Jump to Seals, May Pose Threat to Humans

Wed, 2012-08-01 22:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Susan Steinhauser

AMA - BulletinHEALTHCARE.com

mBio - Emergence of Fatal Avian Influenza in New England Harbor Seals

Many outlets reported on new research, published online July 31 in the journal mBio, which documents a mutated form of avian flu in seals. The sources all discussed the significance of the development, focusing on the risk the transmission of bird flu to mammals poses to humans.

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mBio - Emergence of Fatal Avian Influenza in New England Harbor Seals

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Technology Opens the Doors of Africa's Health Sector

Tue, 2012-07-31 20:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

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India Power Outage Spotlights Energy Planning Failure

Tue, 2012-07-31 18:15 — Maeryn Obley

New Delhi train passengers sit stranded in a darkened train idled by the massive power outage that swept across India on Tuesday.

Image: New Delhi train passengers sit stranded in a darkened train idled by the massive power outage that swept across India on Tuesday.

Marianne Lavelle, Jeff Smith and Rebecca Byerly - July 31st, 2012 - news.nationalgeographic.com

In one of the world's worst power blackouts ever, more than 600 million people across India lost electricity Tuesday, the second massive grid failure in as many days, raising questions whether the government's failure to modernize and bolster its energy delivery system had finally left the nation at the breaking point.

Rail service was halted, streets were clogged at intersections with darkened traffic lights, and people sweltered without air conditioning in temperatures above 90°F (32°C), as authorities worked to restore power and pinpoint the cause of the problem. The outage that began Monday lasted 15 hours, and only shortly after service was restored, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, a far larger system collapse swept across the nation's northern and eastern grids.

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Most Power Restored After India Hit by Second, Even Larger Outage

Tue, 2012-07-31 17:48 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Heavy traffic backs up at a toll gate along a highway on the outskirts of New Delhi as power outages leave half of India without power Tuesday, July 31.

cnn.com - by Harmeet Shah Singh - July 31, 2012

New Delhi (CNN) -- India suffered its second huge, crippling power failure in two days Tuesday, depriving as much as half of the vast country, up to 600 million people, of electricity and disrupting transport networks for several hours.

The first power grid collapse, on Monday, was the country's worst blackout in a decade. It affected seven states in northern India that are home to more than 350 million people.

But Tuesday's failure was even larger, hitting eastern and northeastern areas as well. Both blackouts cut power in the Indian capital, New Delhi, and left people sweltering in high heat and humidity.

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The Ecology of Disease

Tue, 2012-07-31 17:15 — Maeryn Obley

Image: The Ecology of Disease cover, by Olaf Hajek

Jim Robbins - July 14th, 2012 - nytimes.com

There's a term biologists and economists use these days — ecosystem services — which refers to the many ways nature supports the human endeavor. Forests filter the water we drink, for example, and birds and bees pollinate crops, both of which have substantial economic as well as biological value.

If we fail to understand and take care of the natural world, it can cause a breakdown of these systems and come back to haunt us in ways we know little about.

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Pictures: 10 Green-Tech City Solutions for Beating the Heat

Tue, 2012-07-31 17:00 — Maeryn Obley

Singapore Supertrees Photograph by Wong Maye-E, AP

Image: Singapore supertrees. Photograph by Wong Maye-E, AP

Tasha Eichenseher - July 26th, 2012 - news.nationalgeographic.com

A series of images and short articles by the National Geographic showcase green technology in cities across the world used to mitigate the 'heat island effect'.

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