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Archive for June 3rd, 2010
Fires in Amazon challenge emission reduction program
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Science Codex: Fire occurrence rates in the Amazon have increased in 59% of areas with reduced deforestation and risks cancelling part of the carbon savings achieved by UN measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation. New research led by the University of Exeter, published on Friday 4 June, in Science, analysed satellite deforestation and fire data from the Brazilian Amazon to understand the influence of United Nation's REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation ...
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Rescuing ecosystems can save trillions of dollars: U.N
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Reuters: A few million dollars invested by governments in restoring nature could prevent far greater losses of the free services that ecosystems provide to people around the world, a U.N. report said on Thursday. In the study released before World Environment Day on June 5, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said nations could boost their economies by replenishing dying forests, marshes, coral reefs and riverbanks. "What are the real economic value of some of these ...
BP rocked by ratings downgrades over oil spill disaster
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Agence France-Presse: British energy giant BP was hit Thursday by two ratings downgrades over the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and admitted that it had been ill-prepared for the worst spill in US history. International ratings agency Fitch said it had cut BP's long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating from AA+ to AA and had placed them on negative watch, citing risks from the enormous oil spill. "The downgrade of BP's ratings reflects Fitch's opinion that risks to both BP's business ...
Corporate Greenwash at EU Environment Meet?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Inter Press Service: Coca-Cola, recently indicted for causing serious damage to water and soil in India, might seem like an odd champion of environmental protection. Yet the global beverages giant was given a platform to present itself as ecologically progressive by one of the European Union's (EU) most powerful bodies. The public relations exercise on Jun. 2 did not go unchallenged. As Salvatore Gabola, a representative of Coca-Cola Europe, started to address 'Green Week', an annual EU conference, ...
United Kingdom: Thames Water flicks the switch on UK’s first desalination plant
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Business Green: Thames Water yesterday cut the ribbon on the UK's first mainland desalination plant, promising that it would provide much-needed backup supply for the " seriously water-stressed" capital in the event of drought conditions. Powered by biodiesel from used cooking oil, the £270m Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works in east London will be able to turn a mixture of seawater and river water from the Thames into drinking water. Thames expects the Gateway to produce 150 million litres ...
Obama Says He’ll Push for Clean Energy Bill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
New York Times: President Obama said Wednesday that it was time for the United States "to aggressively accelerate' its transition from oil to alternative sources of energy and vowed to push for quick action on climate change legislation despite almost unanimous opposition from Republicans and continued skepticism from some Democrats. Seeking to harness the deepening anger over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to the advantage of his legislative agenda, Mr. Obama promised to find the lagging votes ...
White House approves Louisiana berm plan: Jindal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Reuters: The White House on Wednesday approved plans to construct several large offshore sand berms that BP Plc will fund to help buffer the Louisiana coast from the giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana's governor said. U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told BP to pay for the five berms approved by the White House, in addition to one he and the Army Corps of Engineers approved last week. The British energy company later said it supported the six projects and would pay the ...
Catastrophe in the Gulf: How Bad Could It Get?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Time Magazine: When Captain James Peters kicks his three engines into high gear, hold on to your hat - and your body too, if you don't want to end up overboard in the Mississippi Delta. Ordinarily on a clear June day like this one, Peters would be taking out a pack of eager sport fishermen from his home port in the southeastern Louisiana town of Venice, a community that proudly bills itself as the fishing capital of the world. But since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 - triggering a ...
Spill threatens Florida’s beaches and tourism
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Agence France-Presse: The Gulf of Mexico oil spill approached the sandy white beaches of Pensacola Thursday, threatening Florida's tourist industry just ahead of its prime summer season. Some oil stains have been spotted in the sea about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Pensacola and were expected to come ashore over the next two days, Florida Governor Charlie Crist said Wednesday. "The shifts, the winds and the currents are projecting weathered oil from the leading edge (which) could impact the ...
Fitch cuts BP rating on oil spill risks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 3rd, 2010
Agence France-Presse: International ratings agency Fitch on Thursday lowered BP's rating from "AA+" to "AA" and placed it on negative watch, citing risks arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. "Fitch Ratings has today downgraded BP plc's Long-term Issuer Default Rating and senior unsecured rating to 'AA' from 'AA+', respectively, and placed the ratings on Rating Watch Negative," the agency said in a statement. Fitch added that the ratings of senior unsecured issues from BP's capital markets ...