Top Stories
Get ready for seven-foot sea level rise as
climate change melts ice sheets.—reliability medium.
Although the 2007 report of the IPCC decided not to include the effects
of ice sheet melting on sea level rise predictions (models just weren't
thought to be robust enough to provide useful forecasts), more recent
work has clarified that a rise at least a couple of meters is likely in
this century. This article discusses the likely impacts. For example,
"The Mississippi Delta is unique because it lies within a country with
the financial resources to fight land loss. Nevertheless, we believe
multibillion-dollar engineering and restoration efforts designed to
preserve communities on the Mississippi Delta are doomed to failure,
given the magnitude of relative sea level rise expected. . . . Miami
tops the list of most endangered cities in the world, as measured by
the value of property that would be threatened by a three-foot rise.
This would flood all of Miami Beach and leave downtown Miami sitting as
an island of water, disconnected from the rest of Florida. Other
threatened U.S. cities include New York/Newark, New Orleans, Boston,
Washington, Philadelphia, Tampa-St Petersburg, and San Francisco.
Osaka/Kobe, Tokyo, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Nagoya are among the most
threatened major cities outside of North America." See
The Guardian from Yale Environment 360. [Consensus is
building around a 2- to 3-meter rise this century. This will affect
every business, not just those in exposed coastal locations. Does your
business rely on ports or transportation on the coast? Where do your
raw materials come from? Are your suppliers in exposed regions? Your
customers? Where will the hundreds of billions of money come from for
mitigation efforts (hint: either higher taxes or diversion of tax
revenues from other needs)? Who will serve the markets driven by these
impacts?]
British coastal cities threatened by rising
sea 'must transform themselves'.—reliability high.
"The Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Institute of British
Architects yesterday warned the future of cities including London,
Bristol and Liverpool was at risk from seas which the Environment
Agency predict could rise by as much as 1.9m by 2095 in the event of a
dramatic melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The report, 'Facing up to
Rising Sea Levels. Retreat? Defence? Attack?', suggests swaths of Hull
and Portsmouth's city centres could be allowed to flood over the next
100 years and large parts of the populations moved out." From
The Guardian. Access report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
MWV produces Swiss Army Knife packs as brand
ditches clamshell.—reliability high.
"Swiss Army Knife manufacturer Victorinox is replacing plastic
clamshell packs with MeadWestvaco's paperboard-based Natralock
packaging. . . . Paperboard-based Natralock is made from paperboard in
a PET bubble that MWV said uses 60% less plastic than petroleum-based
PVC clamshells." From
PackagingNews.
Polartec opts for fully recycled yarns.—reliability
high.
"Unifi Inc. has struck a partnership with outdoor apparel specialist
Polartec to introduce a range of fabrics made with Repreve 100. The two
companies have a long-standing history of collaboration and this latest
agreement will see the manufacture of fabrics made with the Unifi yarn
made from 100% post-consumer waste. As part of the joint marketing
program, the deal also includes the addition to clothing of a new
hangtag outlining the origin of the materials used." Recycled material
makes up 30% of Polartec's production. See
Ecotextile News.
Government and
Regulation
Japan to propose detailed marine fuel levy
plan.—reliability high.
"Japan, one of the world's top shipping operators, will submit details
of its proposal for an international levy on marine fuel ahead of a
meeting of the U.N.'s shipping agency in March, a government official
said on Friday. Under the proposal, which was first touted last year as
an alternative to an idea supported by some European countries to
introduce an emissions trading system in the sector, money raised would
be used to help cut carbon dioxide emissions relating to shipping in
developing countries." More on the proposal, and on marine shipping
emissions. From
Reuters. [See
the images in this
post. CO2 footprints of marine shipping are clearly evident.]
California toughens up biofuel standards.—reliability
high.
"The Californian Air Resources Board (CARB) said the new Low Carbon
Fuel Standard (LCFS) will reduce the carbon intensity of transportation
fuels used in California by an average of 10 per cent by the year 2020,
by forcing bioethanol producers to measure the emissions that result
from the production, transportation, and land use changes associated
with biofuels." The requirement that the emissions impacts of land use
changes associated with biofuel production be taken into account will
make it hard for ethanol produced in the U.S. to be used. Imported cane
ethanol can meet the standard. See
BusinessGreen.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]