The Tibetan Plateau’s vast reserves of glacial freshwater, which supply Asia’s most populous regions, are both at risk and are emerging as a issue in the increasingly tense political and cultural strife between China and Tibet, scientists and experts say, according to a new report by Circle of Blue published Thursday.
“At least 500 million people in Asia and 250 million people in China are at risk from declining glacial flows on the Tibetan Plateau,” said Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, in an interview with Circle of Blue. “This is one of the great concerns – a staggering number of people will be affected in the near future. There aren’t too many researchers who have looked at this water situation and its far-reaching impacts.”
Read more at Circle of Blue | WaterNews
In this week’s episode of ZapRoot: Ode Magazine gives us a roundup of eco-friendly fast food, Nalgene water bottles get banned, and we show you some of the worst transportation ideas we’ve seen.
Treehugger
All eyes have been on the Kansas legislature this week as they look to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ veto of a bill proposing two coal-fired power plants in the state. The Kansas State Senate did override the veto, but the State House did not achieve an override. Think that’s a success? Hold up – there’s word that the State House will try again today to override a veto that has the state making a stand for clean energy. It’s been a long road thus far in this skirmish over two proposed coal-fired power plants in the state – all stemming from Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby in Oct. 2007 denying Sunflower Electric’…Keep reading
Climate Counts to Release Updated Company Climate Scores May 7
(CSRwire) April 22, 2008 - Climate Counts (www.climatecounts.org) is urging consumers to consider a company’s climate commitment this Earth Day by checking out company scores and rankings on the Climate Counts Company Scorecard. The Scorecard helps consumers to factor a company’s track record on climate change into their purchasing decisions for everything from sneakers to soft drinks. Climate Counts scores the largest corporations in major consumer sectors - from apparel to electronics to fast food - on their commitment to reversing climate change.
“This Earth Day, we’re urging consumers to make ‘climate count’ in their purchasing decisions. Today, consumers will, no doubt, be given dozens of tips for reducing their own climate footprint. Our Scorecard gives consumers critical information on which companies share their personal concerns about global warming,” said Wood Turner, Climate Counts Project Director.
Climate Counts also announced today that its second annual Climate Counts Company Scorecard will be released to the public on May 7.
The companies were once again scored on a scale from zero to 100, based on 22 criteria that fall within four benchmarks: whether they measure their carbon footprint; what efforts they have made to reduce their own climate impact; whether they support or oppose global warming legislation; and what they disclose to the public about their work to address climate change.
Consumers can see all the current company scores and download a pocket shopping guide at www.climatecounts.org. Consumers can also use their mobile phones to access Climate Counts company scores when they are out shopping (by texting “cc company name” to 30644). Scores will be updated and available May 7.
For more information please contact:
Sam Boykin
Fenton Communications
212-584-5000
In this week’s episode: Blind people have introduced a bill that will require hybrids to make a noise while in electric mode, Patagonia embraces transparency in manufacturing, and we look at some Damn Good Designs, ZapRoot, helping you go green.
By Mike Tidwell, Orion, May/June, 2008 issue.
“What the scientists have been wrong about — and I mean really, really wrong — is the speed at which it’s all occurring. Our climate system isn’t just ‘changing.’ It’s not just ‘warming.’ It’s snapping, violently, into a whole new regime right before our eyes. A fantastic spasm of altered weather patterns is crashing down upon our heads right now. The only question left for America is this: can we snap along with the climate? Can we, as the world’s biggest polluter, create a grassroots political uprising that emerges as abruptly as a snap of the fingers?… Amid the sudden need to rethink everything a.s.a.p. comes another piece of good news: the clean-energy solutions to global warming grow more economically feasible and closer at hand with each passing year… Getting off carbon fuels-though vital and mandatory-won’t steer us clear of climate chaos. We’ve delayed action far too long… But the answer to the question Can human beings artificially cool the planet? is almost certainly yes. That answer, I realize, poses a terrible conundrum for conservationists like me who understand it’s precisely this sort of anthropocentrism and technological arrogance that got us into the mess we’re in. But like it or not, we are where we are. And I, for one, can’t look my ten-year-old son in the eye and, using a different sort of ideological arrogance, say, No, don’t even try atmospheric engineering. We’ve learned our lesson. Just let catastrophic global warming run its course… Although there are surely dark times ahead, I can see him living through them, living deep into the twenty-first century, when most of the lingering greenhouse gases will have finally dissipated from our atmosphere, allowing an orderly end to the geo-engineering process.”
Mike Tidwell is the author of The Ravaging Tideand is the founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
 |
Citizen scientists can contribute greatly
to research
Earthwatch/Martin K Skow |
Nigel Winser and Raghu Saxena
25 April 2008 | EN
Volunteer citizen scientists are an important resource — particularly for developing countries, argue Nigel Winser and Raghu Saxena.
Time and again, ‘citizen scientists’ — members of the public who voluntarily help scientific studies — have made a real difference to research, for example by meticulously collecting data.
With a well planned project, a list of tasks suitable for untrained people, and a strong leader who can ensure that volunteers are productive, citizen science can work.
Keep Reading »
The US Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and current enabling rules have been in place since the 1970’s. From the customer viewpoint, there’s no excuse for a nationally prominent firm formulating gardening products without proper safety testing and registration.
EPA is ordering Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., located in Marysville, Ohio, to stop selling and distributing two pesticide products that have not been registered with the EPA. The pesticides are “Garden Weed Preventer + Plant Food” and “SLS Fertilizer With .28 Halts” and are commonly used on lawn..Keep reading
TreeHugger
Image courtesy of D&J Huber via flickr A festering problem Lloyd reported on last year — the invasion of British Columbia’s forests by voracious mountain pine beetles — has taken a drastic turn for the worse, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. Werner Kurz of Natural Resources Canada found that the beetles are turning large tracts of forests into carbon sou…Keep readingÂ
EarthJustice.Org
Scientists from EPA Region 9 (California) report most meddling by political appointees
April 23, 2008
Washington, DC — An investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency released today found that 889 of nearly 1,600 staff scientists reported that they experienced political interference in their work over the last five years. The study, by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), follows previous UCS investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and climate scientists at seven federal agencies, which also found significant administration manipulation of federal science.
“Our investigation found an agency in crisis,” said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS’s Scientific Integrity Program. “Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported that their work has been manipulated or suppressed. That’s 900 too many. Distorting science to accommodate a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our democracy itself.”
EPA Region 9, headquartered in San Francisco, reported the highest levels of political interference among EPA regional offices across the country. EPA scientists in regional offices support environmental permitting and enforcement decisions for specific sources, and review state and regional planning efforts required under federal environmental laws.
Keep Reading »
BlogoSquare