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Archive for January, 2011
EPA Plans to Revisit a Touchy Topic — the Value of Saved Lives
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on January 18th, 2011
Greenwire: How much would you pay to avoid a slight chance of death? Government economists think they have a pretty good idea, but they are thinking about a rebranding campaign to mend ties with the public, which has often bristled at the idea that bureaucrats might be putting a price on human lives. During a meeting this week in Washington, D.C., officials from U.S. EPA will meet with their economics advisers to discuss a planned makeover (pdf) for the process. At issue is the "value of a statistical life,"...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on EPA Plans to Revisit a Touchy Topic — the Value of Saved LivesClimate change to spur crop shortages by 2020: study
Posted by CTV: None Given on January 18th, 2011
CTV: The world may be 2.4 degrees warmer by the end of this decade, and that could have deadly consequences for global food production, according to a new study overseen by Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist Osvaldo Canziani.
"The Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production: A 2020 Perspective," was published Tuesday afternoon by an Argentina-based non-profit group called the Universal Ecological Fund released (UEF).
According to the report, by 2020 there will be a shortfall of 14 per cent for...
Climate change could boost crops in US, China
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: A global population explosion combined with the steady effects of climate change are forecast to create a worldwide food shortage in the next 10 years, but the news isn't all bad for some countries.
The United States, China, Ethiopia and parts of northern Europe are among the select few that are expected to be able to grow more crops as a result of changes in temperature and rainfall, said a study out Tuesday.
The forecast is based on UN figures about climate change released in 2007, and projects...
Soil Association given libel warning after objection to huge pig farm
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2011
Guardian: When a charity objected to plans for a pig factory for up to 25,000 animals, they expected a fight. But now the battle looks likely to intensify after the leading London lawyers Carter Ruck threatened libel proceedings.
The organic farmers' group the Soil Association objected to an application from Midland Pig Producers (MPP) for an intensive pig farm in Foston, Derbyshire, last summer, raising concerns in general terms about disease, antibiotic resistance and animal welfare in large pig herds....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Soil Association given libel warning after objection to huge pig farmRELEASES: Utne Reader Names Ecological Internet’s Leader a Visionary (2)
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on January 18th, 2011
National Magazine Selects Glen Barry Among 25 People Who Are Changing the World
From Earth's Newsdesk and New Earth Rising, projects of Ecological Internet (EI)
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, President, Ecological Internet glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
GREEN BAY, Wis. (Jan. 14, 2011) Utne Reader, the best of the alternative press, names Glen Barry, founder of Ecological Internet, a visionary who is making the world a better place. Barry is among 25 people the magazine has chosen for its November/December issue, on newsstands now.
An early political blogger, Barry has built a large network for ecological change. His global grassroots advocacy adds muscle to local environmental fights all over the world, and when mainstream green groups fall short, he speaks up. Barry resides in Green Bay.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on RELEASES: Utne Reader Names Ecological Internet’s Leader a Visionary (2)Water crisis in Andes is challenge for US security establishment, Peru
Posted by Physorg: Wendy Leopold on January 18th, 2011
Physorg: The Medill School of Journalism graduate student team yesterday released its latest story in its series on the national security implications of climate change. Heather Somerville of Medill National Security Reporting Project reports from the Andes in Peru, where mountain glaciers are rapidly melting. Facing a dramatic shortage in the country's water supply, Peru has turned to Washington for help.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials worry Peru could quickly become a case study in how climate change could...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Water crisis in Andes is challenge for US security establishment, PeruRwandan police crack down on environmental damage
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Rwandan police will begin cracking down on those degrading the environment as part of their widened jurisdiction to shore up ecological protection, a statement said Tuesday.
"The role of the police in this exercise is to protect and prevent environmental degradation," Cyprien Gatete, the head of the police disaster response unit said in the statement.
Building in wetlands, use of plastic bags, unauthorised felling and burning of trees, spitting and smoking in public places are prohibited under...
Geothermal energy: All the benefits of nuclear – but none of the problems
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2011
Guardian: By mass, 99.9% of the Earth is hotter than 100C. That means that not far below our feet is the power to boil unlimited water and generate clean, renewable energy. Is the UK throwing all it can at this extraordinary opportunity? Of course not, who do you think we are? Germans?
That contrasts strikingly with the more glamorous sister of deep geothermal energy, nuclear power. Both ultimately tap the heat generated by the decay of radioactive elements. Geothermal plants send water down holes to bring...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Geothermal energy: All the benefits of nuclear – but none of the problemsWheat Research for a Hotter, More Crowded Planet
Posted by ClimateWire: Tiffany Stecker on January 18th, 2011
ClimateWire: A $25 million grant for wheat and barley genetics research will help agronomists develop varieties suited for a warmer world with more mouths to feed.
Headed by the University of California, Davis, the grant will allow 55 researchers, plant breeders and educators across 21 states to examine how evolving wheat and barley varieties -- which use similar technologies in breeding labs -- respond to biotic (pests and diseases) and abiotic (floods and droughts) stresses.
But the biggest stress, according...
City slickers are greener than country cousins
Posted by Telegraph: Richard Alleyne on January 18th, 2011
Telegraph: Researchers found that people with good jobs found in large cities are most likely to recycle, volunteer for environmental organisations and participate in other "green" initiatives.
This is because they are encouraged by their work colleagues and corporations and are more likely to be threatened by environmental problems.
Scientists at the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS) at Michigan State University led the study along with collaborators in the United States and China....