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Archive for February 18th, 2010
Glass Half Empty
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
Inter Press Service: The countries of Latin America have made progress in terms of access to clean water and sanitation, but have failed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, says a new United Nations report. "We should put a suitable price tag on the environment," Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), told IPS at the launch of the report in Mexico City Wednesday. "Public spending (on the environment) in ...
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Water levels at Malaysian dams falling
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
New Straits Times: The prolonged oppressive hot weather experienced in some parts of the country has been partly attributed to climate change. A weather expert said climate change will see the country experiencing extreme weather conditions. These are expected to peak between 2025 and 2050. During this period, the country may experience heavy showers and storms which could lead to flash floods. On the other extreme, hot spells may result in long droughts. The heat wave over the past few weeks has ...
The price of environmental destruction? There is none
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
Guardian: The economy is no stranger to creating its own fantasy world with little or no relation to the real one. We witnessed the damage that can cause when the banks thought they had stumbled on financial alchemy and could transform bad debt into good – economic base metal into gold. Now it's possible that a much bigger error is coming to light. The rise and rise of global corporations lifted on a wave of apparent productivity gains may have been little more than a mask for the reckless ...
Israel talks solar with Egypt, biofuel with Jordan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
Reuters: Israel has started talks with Egypt about possibly establishing a joint solar project in Egypt's Sinai Desert, Industry and Trade Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on Thursday. Ben-Eliezer raised the idea during a recent visit to Egypt with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the minister told a renewable energy conference in the southern Israeli city of Eilat. According to Ben-Eliezer, the project would provide energy for both Israel and Egypt. "Egypt has the ...
India: The battle with Vedanta is not over yet
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
Guardian: Today it was announced that the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has withdrawn its investment in Vedanta, a company linked to serious human rights and environmental abuses. This is a clear victory for proponents of corporate and social responsibility, for those who believe that companies should adhere to ethical practices, and respect human rights. And it is a hopeful sign for the Kondh, an indigenous tribal people whose livelihoods are threatened by Vedanta's proposed bauxite mine on the ...
World’s top firms cause $2.2tn of eco damage
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
Guardian: The cost of pollution and other damage to the natural environment caused by the world's biggest companies would wipe out more than one-third of their profits if they were held financially accountable, a major unpublished study for the United Nations has found. The report comes amid growing concern that no one is made to pay for most of the use, loss and damage of the environment, which is reaching crisis proportions in the form of pollution and the rapid loss of freshwater, fisheries ...
Second Hydrocarbon Boom Threatens the Peruvian Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2010
ScienceDaily: A rapid and unprecedented proliferation of oil and gas concessions threatens the megadiverse Peruvian Amazon. The amount of area leased is on track to reach around 70% of the region, threatening biodiversity and indigenous people. This is one of the central conclusions from a pair of researchers from the Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and the Washington DC-based NGO Save America's Forests, who have, for the first time, ...