Top Stories
As Florida Keys residents confront rising
sea levels, what lessons?—reliability high.
Feature about impact of sea level rise on Florida Keys' ecology,
economy and society. "Across the Keys in a best-case scenario, the
study suggested, the sea would rise seven inches by 2100, which could
wipe $11 billion from property values. In the worst-case scenario, the
sea would rise 55 inches by 2100, with 5,950 acres lost on Big Pine
alone. Property values over all the islands could take a hit of more
than $35.1 billion." Read more at The
Christian Science Monitor. [Sea level rise in
inevitable. This article discusses its current impacts in one exposed
region.]
Your Taco's Footprint: 19 Ingredients that
Logged 64,000 Miles.—reliability medium.
"The tacoshed project found some surprising results, and some less
surprising. The taco, chosen for being "the absolute most economical
option possible," contained some truly local ingredients, including the
salt and the cheese. Other ingredients had longer legs, including
avocados from Chile and rice from Thailand." Story at GreenBiz
blog. Check out the project at their website,
and HaraBara's
blog. [This
was a cheap, fresh taco from a Juan's Taco Truck in the Mission
District of San Francisco. The study just tallied the miles. It's not
an analysis of environmental impact. "Tell him about the Twinkie taco."]
Green jobs debate.—reliability
high.
The Economist's on-line debate for 9-20 March has the proposition:
"This house believes that creating green jobs is a sensible aspiration
for governments." Some will agree and some will disagree. Arguments
will be made. What will be the final vote? See The
Economist. [Voting started
strongly against the motion, but is now running 58% in favor.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Increased Number Think Global Warming Is
'Exaggerated'.—reliability high.
"Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global
warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a
record-high 41% now say it is exaggerated. This represents the highest
level of public skepticism about mainstream reporting on global warming
seen in more than a decade of Gallup polling on the subject. ... Since
1997, Republicans have grown increasingly likely to believe media
coverage of global warming is exaggerated, and that trend continues in
the 2009 survey; however, this year marks a relatively sharp increase
among independents as well. In just the past year, Republican doubters
grew from 59% to 66%, and independents from 33% to 44%, while the rate
among Democrats remained close to 20%. ... a record-high 16% say the
effects will never occur. (Prior to now, Gallup polling found no more
than 11% of Americans saying the effects of global warming would never
happen.)" More highlights. More at Gallup
site. [Deniers
1, scientists 0]
The scientific century.—reliability
high.
"The Royal Society has published a new report entitled ‘The scientific
century: securing our future prosperity’. ... It distils two urgent
messages. The first is the need to place science and innovation at the
heart of the UK’s long-term strategy for economic growth. The second is
the fierce competitive challenge we face from countries which are
investing at a scale and speed that we may struggle to match." See The Royal
Society site. PDF of the report here.
[There is a
serious problem of poor quality and quantity of
science/math/engineering high-school graduates. "No-one can predict the
21st century counterparts of quantum theory, the double helix and the
internet. But there is little doubt that advances in science and
technology will continue to transform the way we live, create new
industries and jobs, and enable us to tackle seemingly intractable
social and environmental problems." Report says UK must support science
education if it wants to be in the game.]
Government and
Regulation
How Green Is My Mansion?—reliability
high.
Software mogul Mitch Kapor "wants to build a 10,000-square-foot house,
complete with a 10-car garage, in Berkeley, Calif. When the house won
planning approval earlier this year, many neighbors were surprised —
not so much by the size of the house, or by its sleek design, but by
the fact that, under Berkeley regulations, the house will qualify as
'green.' ... Gary Earl Parsons, a Berkeley architect and a member of
that city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, called the designation
of the Kapor house as green 'absurd.' 'That the staff, the owners and
the architects indulge in this kind of greenwashing only serves to make
a joke out of Berkeley’s environmental aspirations,' Mr. Parsons wrote
on the Berkeleyside blog. ... the system’s failure to account for size
enrages some environmentalists, who note that a 10,000-square-foot
house is likely to require four times the resources of the average new
American house ... . ... However the Kapor case is decided, it could
lead to changes in the checklist approach used in Berkeley and
elsewhere. In their appeal to the board, residents proposed a
modification to the 'green point' system. Since the house is at least
the size of three typical houses, they wrote, 'The 91 green points
earned should really be divided by three, yielding a score of 30.' That
is far below the number required for a green designation." Story in The New
York Times. [Some might say
these 'green points' systems are mainly to confer bragging rights,
rather than to guide architects and their clients toward truly
sustainable housing. Let sustainability be measured by
performance--emissions and consumption can be measured. Divide by
number of occupants and compare. Look at your footprint, not your green
points score. Big consumers can live in huge houses if they want--they
have the money and maybe that's how they want to enjoy it. But don't
pretend it's sustainable. Sustainable is 2-3 tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions per person per year.]
£30bn high-speed rail plan signals end of
the road for motorways.—reliability high.
"The [UK] government signalled the end of intercity motorway building
today as it announced plans for a £30bn high-speed rail network, with
the first phase between London and Birmingham opening in 2026. Lord
Adonis, the transport secretary, said the motorway network had reached
its limit and the burden of ferrying millions more people between
cities would instead be taken by fleets of trains travelling at up to
250mph. ... Having pledged to eliminate demand for domestic air travel
with ultra-fast trains, the transport secretary took on motorways in a
152-page 'command paper'. He said: 'I do not envisage building another
generation of intercity motorways.'" See story at The
Guardian. [Choosing
a lower-carbon path.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
