Top Stories
Analysis: Australia's 'green' poll may
accelerate climate action.—reliability high.
"Australia could accelerate action on climate change, possibly
resurrecting an emissions trading scheme, after independent and Greens
MPs won the balance of power in elections that left a hung parliament."
More analysis, quotes. See Reuters.
Study says offshore drilling industry
forever changed after Gulf spill.—reliability medium.
"A new analysis from the tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton
concludes the BP oil spill and the political reaction to it could
prompt consolidation in the offshore industry and reduce Gulf of Mexico
oil production. Tougher liability rules — though Congress hasn’t
decided how much tougher — the increased insurance costs that come with
them, higher penalties, tougher permitting requirements and other new
rules will together change the landscape fundamentally, the company
concludes." More. From The
Hill blog.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Shrinking Packages Help Dell Cut Material
Use by Nearly 9M Pounds.—reliability high.
"In late 2008 the company announced plans to cut packaging by 20
million pounds, make 75 percent of its packaging curbside recyclable
and increase recycled or renewable content by 40 percent. ... Since
mid-2009, Dell has cut its packaging by 8.7 million pounds. Adding onto
the 9.5 million pounds reduced in fiscal year 2009, Dell is up to 18.2
million pounds of its goal. Campbell said much of that has been
possible with engineering tools that help optimize packaging size."
More details. Greener
World Media.
Wide use of corn-based ethanol fuel not
choice for China: experts.—reliability high.
"Agricultural experts said Saturday it was too early for China to
adopt corn-based ethanol fuel to feed automobiles, given the expensive
production costs and the country's large population. ... The lingering
drought that parched southwest China early this year, along with the
devastating floods that hit most parts of China this summer, raised
concerns over the country's grain supplies and stoked the debate
whether China should allow the production of ethanol from corn." From Xinhua.
Massachusetts Cap and Trade Helps Carlson
Orchards Go Solar.—reliability medium.
"One of the largest orchards in Massachusetts has just cut its utility
bill 80% with a $1.1 million 220 KW solar power plant. The state of
Massachusetts helped Carlson Orchards with grants totaling $595,000 to
help in the installation of the 1,050 solar photovoltaic panels.
Massachusetts earns money to invest in renewable energy with cap and
trade auctions as a participating member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI)." From CleanTechnica.
Government and
Regulation
Vedanta mine plan halted by Indian
government.—reliability high.
"Controversial plans to develop a bauxite mine on sacred tribal land
in India have been scuppered as India's environment ministry has
rejected a proposal by Vedanta Resources to mine the aluminium ore in
the eastern state of Orissa. ... a government inquiry said that mining
would destroy the way of life of the area's "endangered" and
"primitive" people, the Kutia and Dongria Kondh tribes. The four-person
committee also accused a local subsidiary of Vedanta of violating
forest conservation and environment protection regulations." See The
Guardian.
Science and
Economics
More Walking, Cycling Linked to Healthier
Weights Worldwide.—reliability high.
"Researchers found that people are more likely to have healthy weights
if they live in places where walking and cycling are more common. The
link held up among nations, cities and U.S. states. ... Pucher and
colleagues analyzed statistics about walking and cycling for all
purposes from 14 countries, including Sweden, Spain and Great Britain.
They also looked at statistics about walking and cycling to work (it
had to be the main way people got there) in all 50 states and 47 of the
50 largest U.S. cities. ... There is a connection between more walking
and cycling and lower levels of obesity and diabetes, the researchers
found." From Health
Behavior News Service. PDF of the paper here.
[The authors
emphasize that many other studies support these results and the public
health benefits of providing more and better walking and cycling
infrastructure. One might argue that comparing countries in bicycling
and weights could reflect the fact that poorer people can't afford cars
and can't afford excess food. (Envision the impoverished masses of The
Netherlands and Switzerland, two of the top cycling nations?) That
argument is not likely to hold when
comparing U.S. cities though. "Among American cities, the highest rates
of walking and cycling to work were in Boston, Washington D.C., San
Francisco, Minneapolis and Seattle."]
