Top Stories
"UN: Annual cost of environmental damage tops
$6.6tn"—reliability high.
A new report from the UN Environment Program and the Principles for
Responsible Investment initiative says that "Global environmental
damage resulting from human activity resulted in an economic cost of
$6.6tn (£4.2tn) during 2008, equivalent to 11 per cent of global GDP,
and is set to cost $28tn a year by 2050. ... It concluded that the
world's top 3,000 public companies are responsible for a third of all
the global environmental damage carried out in 2008, running up
unaccounted costs equivalent to $2.2tn." See BusinessGreen.
PDF of press release here.
PDF of executive summary here.
[Its the
externalities, folks. We all pay for them.]
"Research suggests climate change target 'not
safe'"—reliability high.
A recent study of climate during the Last Interglacial
(130,000-116,000 years ago) shows temperatures about 1.5 degrees C
higher than today, but which "appear to have resulted in global sea
levels some 6.6 to 9.4 metres higher than today, with a rate of rise of
between 6 to 9 centimetres per decade — more than double that recently
observed." that Lead author Turney said: "The results here are quite
startling and, importantly, they suggest sea levels will rise
significantly higher than anticipated and that stabilizing global
average temperatures at 2˚C above pre-industrial levels may not be
considered a 'safe' target as envisaged by the European Union and
others. The inevitable conclusion is emission targets will have to be
lowered further still." From EurekAlert.
Access full report here.
[Yet several other
reports recently (for example this one)
suggest the chances of global action to keep warming below 2 degrees C
are small, and that we may already be committed to an increase at least
this high. Very scary for our grandchildren.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Accelerating to a better future"—reliability
medium.
Feature article about high-speed rail in China. Extols the extent and
benefits of high-speed rail development in China, and the potential for
China to be a competitive supplier of rail technology world wide. See Xinhua.
"U.S. Military Orders Less Dependence on
Fossil Fuels"—reliability high.
Feature article looks at the U.S. military's push to find renewable
and alternative energy sources for combat troops, bases and ships.
Gives examples of systems being tried in Afghanistan. Commercial
products are being adapted because of the haste of the program. The
high cost of transporting fuel to remote sites to run generators makes
even expensive technology cost effective. The military's buying power
may drive development of technologies that will later find civilian
applications. At The
New York Times.
"IMO fails to reach consensus on emissions
cut plans"—reliability high.
"As this week's [International Maritime Organization] marine
environment protection committee meeting drew to a close on Friday,
delegates said there was little consensus on proposals for technical
and operational measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions
from ships," reports Reuters. The ocean shipping sector is thought to
account for about 3% of global carbon emissions. From Reuters.
Another article at Sustainable
Business.com. [The failure of the
industry to come up with its own plan may stimulate national
regulation. Particulate emissions are also a major issue for some
national pollution control agencies.]
"Hungary declares a state of emergency after
sludge disaster"—reliability high.
"The Hungarian government has declared a state of emergency after a
third person died today in flooding from a ruptured red sludge
reservoir at an alumina plant. Six people were missing and 120 injured
in what officials said was an ecological disaster." From The
Guardian. [Since
I reported on the Macondo blowout it is only fair to include this.
Another example of corporate and government incompetence, indifference
or worse. Expect more regulations. Coal ash stories: same thing.]
"Hara’s newest software looks to supply
chains for energy savings"—reliability high.
"Energy management startup Hara released today its biggest software
product to date, a supply-chain module that can evaluate energy
efficiency among a client’s suppliers – vendors, transportation
services, warehouses and the like." Article discusses "Why would a
customer pay for a software that helps its suppliers analyze energy
efficiency?" See Venture
Beat.
Government and
Regulation
"China hopes 'eco-city' will prove a model
alternative"—reliability high.
About an "eco-city" for 350,000 being developed near Tianjin, China,
by a Chinese-Singaporean consortium. Lists some of the proposed
amenities and "green" features. The site on "11.6 square miles of
non-arable salt pans and former fishing villages has more cranes than
wind turbines and will not be finished for at least another decade."
See Grist
from AFP. [Eighty
percent of the city's power is to come from coal-fired plants! A new
sort of "green".]
"Brazil election sees breakthrough for Greens
and environmental agenda"—reliability high.
The Green Party candidate won 19% of the vote in Brazil's presidential
election, exceeding expectations and forcing a runoff between the
Workers' Party and the Social Democrat candidates. The Green Party said
it would take a couple of weeks to decide which of the remaining
candidates to support, if any. From The
Guardian. [Another
electorate speaks. Is it because of support for Green Party policies or
rejection of main party business as usual?]
From a Sister
Blog
"Climate Change--What We Know and What's
Uncertain"—reliability medium.
A digest of the Royal Society's recent summary of climate change
science. Information is categorized according to whether it is agreed
among scientists, subject of general consensus but still being debated,
or just not yet known. "What we know is sobering. What we don't know is
scary. The fact that we don't know everything is unsurprising. ... That
we are unable to deal with the problem, or that some even deny that it
is a problem, is just human nature." See Doc's
Green Blog.
