Top Stories
"National study finds strong link between
diabetes and air pollution"—reliability high.
A report in Diabetes Care is among the first large-scale
population-based studies to link diabetes prevalence with air
pollution. The national epidemiologic study finds a strong, consistent
correlation between adult diabetes and particulate air pollution that
persists after adjustment for other risk factors like obesity and
ethnicity. The relationship was seen even at exposure levels below the
current EPA safety limit. "pollution came across as a significant
predictor in all our models." "From a policy perspective, the findings
suggest that the current EPA limits on exposure may not be adequate to
prevent negative public health outcomes from particulate matter
exposure." More highlights of study. See EurekAlert.
Access the full report here.
[The study notes:
"Outside the U.S., the risk may be far greater as air pollution limits
are often not enforced or are nonexistent, with some countries, notably
in Asia and Latin America, showing PM2.5 levels >10 times higher
than the U.S. EPA limits."]
"Analysis of the Copenhagen Accord pledges
and its global climatic impacts—a snapshot of dissonant ambitions"—reliability
high.
In the "Copenhagen Accord" reached last year nations have promised
various emissions goals. This research looked at the likely future
global temperature scenarios associated with the pledges made and finds
that the pledges are inconsistent with the goal of keeping global
temperature rise below 2 degrees C. "Case 1 with reference growth after
2020 results in a likely global temperature increase of 2.5–4.2 °C
above pre-industrial in 2100 and is still increasing afterwards." See Environmental
Research Letters. [2-degree limit is
impossible on current form.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Ontario to shut 4 power plants in coal phase
out"—reliability high.
Ontario will shut about 2,000 megawatts of coal-fired power
generation, according to this Reuters report. "'A coal-free Ontario
will reduce air pollution and these closures Friday bring us that much
closer to replacing coal-fired generation by 2014. Ontario will be one
of the first jurisdictions in the world to move from a past of dirty
coal generation to a future of clean energy,' Ontario Minister of
Energy Brad Duguid told Reuters in an email." More on Ontario's process
to close all its coal-fired power plants by 2014. From Reuters.
"Sunnyvale startup: compostable diaper
service"—reliability high.
Sunnyvale, California, startup "EarthBaby has signed up almost 1,000
Bay Area families for its service, which includes weekly drop-offs of
diapers made out of substances derived from corn and wood, and pickups
of soiled diapers, which decompose into topsoil within a few months."
See The
San Francisco Chronicle. [Not a new idea. In
the 80s the New England Solid Waste Council explored the possibility of
composting non-reusable diapers. Here's a concept: a service that picks
up soiled reusable cloth diapers, washes them, and brings them back to
be used again. Washing on an industrial scale could be quite efficient.
Why downcycle them to dirt after one use?]
"Car2go hits 10,000 member milestone in
Austin, TX"—reliability medium.
Eric Loveday posts "Daimler launched its Car2go program in its first
North American city, Austin,TX back in May. Now, slightly more than
four months later, the Car2go program has registered more than 10,000
eager carsharing members who have racked up more than 80,000 rentals in
the downtown Austin area." Press release says "In 2011, we will
continue to expand to other North American cities where there is a
demand for innovative and forward-thinking transportation solutions."
See Autoblog
Green. Car2go site here. [Carsharing is
still an urban phenomenon. When will it reach the suburbs?]
"Analysis: Big losses at Asia green funds
spark move to safety"—reliability high.
"Green equities funds -- a big draw over the past few years on
heightened concerns on energy prices and the environment -- have been
clobbered as stock market volatility, economic pessimism and falling
energy costs have driven investors away from the sector," reports
Reuters. Lists a number of funds that have seen investor withdrawals
and poor performance, with some funds down in the range of 20% while
broader indexes lost less than 10%. Environmental and SRI bond funds
seem to be absorbing some of the cash leaving green equity funds. See Reuters
story.
Government and
Regulation
"Obama on Climate Change Strategy"—reliability
medium.
John Collins Rudolf posts on President Obama's statements on climate
change legislation in a recent article in Rolling Stone. "One of my top
priorities next year is to have an energy policy that begins to address
all facets of our over-reliance on fossil fuels," Said Obama, and "I am
committed to making sure that we get an energy policy that makes sense
for the country and that helps us grow at the same time as it deals
with climate change in a serious way." But he recognizes that giant
omnibus climate bills are politically impossible and suggests new
policies will have to be enacted in "chunks". More comments on the
potential for such legislation. From New
York Times Green blog. Rolling Stone article here.
"Ancient Italian Town Has Wind at Its Back"—reliability
high.
New York Times story about the small Italian town of Tocco da Casauria
that installed four wind turbines and now sells enough power to the
grid to pay for some municipal services and improvements, as well as
powering the town. "the growth of small renewable projects in towns
like Tocco — not only in Italy, but also in other countries —
highlights the way that shifting energy economics are often more
important than national planning in promoting alternative energy." High
electricity prices in Italy and generous feed-in tariffs help. More on
Tocco and similar movements. See The
New York Times.
Science and
Economics
"Royal Society says climate change man made"—reliability
high.
Britain's Royal Society has published a guide to climate science that
says "that there is 'strong evidence' that over the last half century,
the earth's warming has been caused largely by human activity." "The
guide concludes that, as in many other areas, policy choices will have
to be made in the 'absence of perfect knowledge', but the scientific
evidence is an essential part of public reasoning in this complex and
challenging area." See edie.net.
Access the report here.
[Not really news,
but some don't seem to have gotten the message yet.
"The size of future temperature increases and other aspects of climate
change, especially at the
regional scale, are still subject to uncertainty. Nevertheless, the
risks associated with some of
these changes are substantial. It is important that decision makers
have access to
climate science of the highest quality, and can take account of its
findings in
formulating appropriate responses."]
