Top Stories
The Oil Supply Picture, Post-Spill.—reliability
high.
"in a report issued on Thursday, the International Energy Agency ...
put out some preliminary projections on the disaster’s impact. The
group projects that a one- to two-year delay for all planned new
deepwater oilfield projects in the gulf could reduce daily production
by 100,000 to 300,000 barrels a day by 2015. At the high end, that
would be nearly 18 percent of current production in the gulf and 5
percent of total domestic production, but less than 2 percent of total
national oil consumption. To make up the supply difference, the United
States would need to drill more onshore and probably import more from
OPEC and perhaps from Canada in the form of oil sands. Tighter supplies
could mean higher prices too, though much will depend on the health of
the American and world economies." Story in The
New York Times Green blog. PDF of IEA report here.
[Higher oil prices
will make more dangerous, deeper and dirtier oil economically feasible.
This spill will lead to more harm in the future, especially in
developing countries where regulation and supervision are even weaker
than in the U.S.]
M&S Says Plan A Generated $73 Million
Profit This Year.—reliability high.
"Marks & Spencer has achieved a 20 percent reduction in food
packaging, increased energy efficiency in stores 19 percent, used 417
million fewer carrier bags last year and invested over £50 million, or
$73 million at the current exchange rate, of profit from its Plan A
activities back into the business, according to the company’s latest
Plan A activities report". See Environmental
Leader.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
How Video Chat Can Fight Climate Change.—reliability
medium.
"One of the best things to happen to video conferencing in recent
months wasn’t a technology breakthrough, a business merger or the
emergence of a new company. It was the Icelandic volcano, which shut
down a good chunk of airline travel for many weeks, prevented the
emissions of millions of tons of carbon dioxide, and reminded grounded
business travelers that there’s a broadband-based alternative for that
transcontinental business meeting. Will the explosive growth of video
conferencing over the next five years — which could rise to 29.6
billion video calls during 2015, according to a new report ... mean a
significant cut in plane flights? Companies that are selling video
conferencing services and gear, along with independent researchers,
seem to think so." See earth2tech
item. [Why
consider just flights? A lot more meetings require driving. Why not use
video for them too? And think of the time saved.]
Confidence in climate science remains
strong, though down somewhat, poll shows.—reliability high.
"Climate science's winter of discontent has not made a large impact on
the British public's attitudes to global warming, according to poll of
over 1,800 people. ... The survey showed that almost three-quarters
(71%) of Britons are concerned about climate change. Some 78% think the
climate is changing, which is down from 91% who said it was in a
similar poll in 2005." See Guardian
story. PDF of poll results here.
Tesla Sells Car(bon) Credits to Honda for
$13.8m.—reliability high.
"Tesla Motors has sold $13.8 million in ... credits to Honda Motor
since 2008, despite not making a profit on its manufacturing business
yet, according to a report in Automotive News. ... Under the state
regulations, Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM and Nissan must sell a combined
60,000 plug-in hybrids or battery operated vehicles over a three year
period. Honda lacks a plug-in model." Story at Environmental
Leader.
No paper pulp fiction this?—reliability
high.
About efforts at Indian ministries and schools to make handmade file
covers from waste paper. "On an average, nearly 30 kg of waste paper is
generated daily at the Secretariat. This waste is converted into
hand-made paper which, in turn, is used to make files. Since the unit’s
installation in 2005, it has been making nearly 72,000 files per year.
These files are consumed by the Secretariat. 'We save on the money for
new files and also on waste disposal,' said the Department’s Senior
Scientific Officer Dr B.C. Sabat." See story in Hindustan
Times. [An interesting
developing-country waste management solution. The agencies establish
their own papermaking units, rather than using an industrial channel.
Hand-made paper is very labor intensive because it is, well, made by
hand. And maybe there is some reason to keep
the recycling effort in-house. A cottage industry within a government
agency. It is unbelievable that this can "save
money". Makes it more difficult for a paper recycling industry to get
started, though.]
Dutch study claims that 50 mph speed limit
would cut CO2 by 30%.—reliability medium.
"A study out of the Netherlands by consulting firm CE Delft predicts
that a strictly enforced 80 kilometer per hour (50 mile per hour)
highway speed limit could slash CO2 emissions by 30 percent. The study
is careful to acknowledge that the results only apply to the
Netherlands and that results will vary significantly elsewhere. ... The
Dutch study assumes that time added to trips by such a low speed limit
would push more drivers to skip trips or switch over to using public
transport." From Autoblog
green.
Government and
Regulation
Scotland launches zero waste plan.—reliability
high.
"Plans to reduce almost 20M tonnes of waste produced annually in
Scotland to nothing were unveiled today (June 9). In the document the
Scots announce aims to stop all reusable waste or recycling being
landfilled by 2020. It also plans two new targets on all of Scotland's
waste, firstly a 70% target for recycling and secondly, a maximum of
only 5% sent to landfill, both by 2025." See edie.net
story. Access the plan here.
[Headline writer
got carried away: The plan calls for "no waste with reuse or recycling potential
being landfilled by 2020." Emphasis added.]
Massive forest carbon scam alleged in
Liberia.—reliability medium.
"Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf established a commission
investigate a proposed forest carbon credit deal between the West
African nation's Forest Development Authority (FDA) and UK-based Carbon
Harvesting Corporation ... . ... The investigation by Global Witness
questioned Carbon Harvesting Corporation’s 'relevant inexperience, the
lack of consultation, and the inadequate safeguards and monitoring
mechanisms.' Global Witness said the project potentially exposed the
Liberian government to more than $2 billion in liabilities. ... The
unregulated nature of the nascent forest carbon market — whereby
landholders are paid for conserving and sustainable managing forests —
has sparked concern among environmental and social rights groups over
land-grabbing and scams." See Mongabay.
Science and
Economics
Melting glaciers put millions at risk in
Asia: study.—reliability high.
"Increased melting of glaciers and snow in the Himalayas and Tibetan
Plateau threatens the food security of millions of people in Asia, a
study shows, with Pakistan likely to be among the nations hardest hit.
... Lead author Walter Immerzeel and his team conducted a detailed
analysis looking at the importance of meltwater for each river,
observed changes to Himalayan and Tibetan glaciers and the effects of
global warming on the water supply from upstream basins and on food
security. ... They found that meltwater was extremely important for the
Indus basin and important for the Brahmaputra basin, but played only a
modest role for the Ganges, Yangtze and Yellow rivers." Story at Reuters.
Abstract here
(article behind pay wall). [The IPCC may have
let an error on this subject slip into its latest report, but that does
not mean that the measurable loss of ice mass in thousands of glaciers
in the region is not a life-or-death issue for millions of people.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
