The Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, is raising the elevation of four of its dams to help reduce the risk of flooding in the event of precipitation more extreme than any ever recorded in eastern Tennessee.
The Toyota Prius hybrid leads the 2010 model cars in fuel efficiency with 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 48 mpg in city driving conditions, according to the latest federal government ratings for fuel efficiency.
Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s topic is climate change. As such, today’s finds will all relate to technology aimed at addressing this threat… enjoy!
A no-brainer: Engineers have found one simple approach to addressing the release of methane into the atmosphere: seal natural gas well leaks.
Sketching up energy management: Buildings are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The open-source tool Open Studio can now be plugged into Google’s SketchUp (a 3D modeling tool) to account for energy usage in the building design process. (via CNET Green Tech)
Ever signed an online petition? Made a short video as part of a campaign directed an issue that’s meaningful to you? These have been ways activist organizations have tried to demonstrate numbers and unity. This week, Kofi Anan’s Time for Climate Justice campaign (aka TckTckTck) will add a new tool to the activism arsenal: a song download.
The world’s largest global investors today issued a joint call for strong action this year from U.S. and international policy makers to control global warming. Signed by 181 investors, who collectively manage more than $13 trillion in assets worldwide, the statement on the “urgent need for global agreement on climate change” was released at the International Investor Forum on Climate Change in New York.
OK, quick quiz…
What’s the status of the ACES bill in Congress?
What’s happening in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7-18?
If your answer to both questions was “I don’t know” (and “What the hell is ACES?”), you’re probably not alone. Here in the US, climate change and clean energy legislation has taken a back seat to the health care debate. Even as we approach the Copenhagen Summit, where the follow-up to the Kyoto Treaty should be rolled out, much of the world seems to have hit the snooze button on the climate crisis. Global alliance TckTckTck thinks it’s time for a wake-up call…
Huh? Isn’t meat production one of the major causes of global warming? Well, yes… but according to Lisa Hamilton, author of Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness, eating meat raised under the right conditions can actually help mitigate climate change.
Five years ago, activist, writer and professor Bill McKibben published an essay at Grist calling for artists to step up and address one of the most pressing issues facing humanity: climate change (The Day After Tomorrow and State of Fear just weren’t doing it for him). We don’t know if artists responded directly to McKibben’s call; we do know that we’ve seen much more creative work on global warming since then. Visual artists, musicians, and filmmakers have all engaged the subject, creating some compelling, thoughtful work.
Last week, Grist commemorated McKibben’s essay by launching a series on artistic creation that addresses climate change.
Friday’s passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) signaled a definite shift in US policy towards energy use and climate change. Though the bill had its detractors — most notably Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and even progressive Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) — ACES, or Waxman-Markey, set new standards for clean energy adoption, energy efficiency, and, most notably, greenhouse gas emissions.
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel gift shop
Think of a hotel or tourist destination gift shop as a place full of cheap crap likely made by underpaid workers in the developing world? In most cases, you’re spot on. At Yellowstone National Park’s Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, though, concessionaire Xanterra Parks & Resorts is aiming for a very different kind of gift shop experience: one that educates shoppers on the effects of global warming, and the lifecycle of the gifts they purchase.
“It was only thanks to your massive pressure over the past six months that we could so dramatically shift our climate-change policies…. To those who were arrested, we thank you.”
Ever heard such a statement from a politician? Me either. Yet, last week, EU leaders thanked European citizens who’d participated in months of non-violent direct action on the causes of global warming, and noted this activism had resulted in the political will to address climate change in a meaningful manner.
Lots of activities all over the US this week in celebration of Earth Day, but if you’re in New York, and looking for something to do after the recycling demonstrations and green product pitches, you may want to check out Swimming with the Polar Bears. In this one-man show, veteran stage actor Mel England (Israel…
NAIROBI, Kenya, March 2, 2009 (ENS) – Mayors from 33 capital and major cities across Africa pledged Friday to quicken climate change adaptation and mitigation plans for their cities. Concluding a two-day meeting in Nairobi, the mayors issued the Nairobi Declaration, in which they resolved to integrate these plans into city development strategies. Despite their…
GLAND, Switzerland, February 5, 2009 (ENS) – A new international network of resource managers, scientists and decision-makers is being forged to help some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and societies cope with the impacts of global climate change. The Ecosystems and Livelihoods Adaptation Network, or ELAN, is being created as a collaboration between two of…
Everybody’s favorite green host, Simran Sethi, is making the rounds on the Huffington Post, offering her journalistic skills in an effort to shine the light on a very important Government decision regarding the future of Kansas’ environment. Simran Sethi has hosted Sundance Channel’s THE GREEN [www.sundancechannel.com] in the past. Her other major contribution to Sundance…
TOWNSVILLE, Queensland, Australia, January 9, 2009 (ENS) – Global warming is slowing the growth of corals on the world’s largest reef, Australian scientists have shown in a newly published study. “Evidence is strong that the decline has been caused by a combination of rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification,” say the scientists. Both phenomena…
CHICAGO, Illinois, December 17, 2008 (ENS) – In announcing Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as his choice for secretary of the interior and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for secretary of agriculture, President-elect Barack Obama said he considers both men to be key members of his energy and environment team. “It’s time for a new kind…
GAINESVILLE, Florida, December 15, 2008 (ENS) – The gas price roller coaster and climate change concerns are making plug-in hybrid-electric cars look increasingly attractive to many people. Now, a new University of Florida partnership is testing to determine if they are in fact a cleaner, cheaper and more reliable choice than other cars. Pierce Jones,…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2008 (ENS) – Climate-heating greenhouse gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, and last year, global concentrations of carbon dioxide again reached the highest levels ever recorded, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the World Meteorological Organization. Greenhouse gases trap the Sun’s radiation within the Earth’s atmosphere causing it…
LOS ANGELES, California, October 17, 2008 (ENS) – The 27th Street Learning Complex in South Los Angeles was completed last month as the first of five green public charter schools planned for the Los Angeles area. Two side-by-side charter public high schools for Green Dot Public Schools make up the complex. Classes for 1,050 students…
Robyn Hitchcock has been contributing his ideas for preventing climate change in two recent GREEN BLOG posts. His trip in the arctic continues and he recently performed at the launch event for his Cape Farewell Arctic excursion. He wrote some new lyrics for the popular song “Cocaine.” Check out his performance now. You can find…
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 18, 2008 (ENS) – The world’s supplies of clean, fresh water cannot sustain today’s “profligate” use and inadequate management, which have brought shrinking food supplies and rising food costs to most countries, WWF Director General James Leape told the opening session of World Water Week in Stockholm today. “Behind the world food…
This mission, if you choose to accept it, will be eaten with great gusto! People in developed countries have so many food options that a trip to the grocery market can be a herculean exercise in quick decision-making. A huge quantity of the options in the market come from all over the world, sometimes having…
LONDON, UK, July 16, 2008 (ENS) – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today met with the Prince of Wales to discuss strategies for addressing global climate change, particularly reducing the impacts of deforestation. They met at Clarence House in London. Governor Crist also met with the Duke of York, Prince Andrew. “I am deeply grateful to…
WASHINGTON, DC, July 9, 2008 (ENS) – Today’s federal environmental research, development, and monitoring programs are not structured to handle such major problems as global climate change, declines in freshwater, and loss of biodiversity, warns a group of former senior federal officials who want to form a new agency by merging two existing ones. In…