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Archive for February 21st, 2011
Is Natural Gas Good, or Just Less Bad?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 21st, 2011
Greenwire: Natural gas is billed by its supporters, including President Barack Obama, as a clean fuel that could play a big role in a low-carbon future. But others are questioning the environmental credentials of an energy source that, while easier on the atmosphere than coal and oil, is still a fossil fuel that causes sizable emissions of climate-warming gases. Its backers say it emits only half as much carbon as coal when burned, and some environmentalists agree that it could bridge the gap until cleaner...
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Discourse: Lukewarm efforts stall REDD
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 21st, 2011
Jakarta Post: Question: Could you explain what the taskforce would do with the so-called “forest mafia”? Answer: Indonesia suffered vast deforestation when destruction and encroachments were seemingly done in “legal” ways. Natural forests and peatland containing high-value environmental resources were reduced to only some 28 million hectares in the country. The forests became incapable of providing for forest-dependant people. Forest destruction increased as permits were carelessly issued after regional autonomy....
If I ran the UNFCCC COP process..
Posted by Hydro: None Given on February 21st, 2011
Hydro: This started as something of a rant on the ill logic of the UNFCCC COP process, following on my post on 14 December 2010, but I have elected to reframe this conversation in a more constructive tone. Hopefully this will be better-received in the community than the mere rantings of a young(ish), topically- and socially-aware scientist with global aspirations. I developed much of this discussion while gathering information for the beginnings of a timeline for use in my research, using Dipity, putting...
Environmentalists Say Moratorium on Forest Conversion an Empty Promise
Posted by Jakarta Globe: Fidelis E. Satriastanti on February 21st, 2011
Jakarta Globe: Green activists said on Wednesday that the government’s much-hyped plan for a moratorium on new logging concessions would only apply to forests that were already protected in the first place.
The two-year moratorium on new concessions in peatland and primary forests is part of a bilateral agreement with Norway, in exchange for which Indonesia will receive $1 billion in funding for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD-plus) activities.
In order for the moratorium...
Wild swans under threat as numbers begin to decline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 21st, 2011
Independent: Britain's two species of migratory wild swans, which come from the far north to spend the winter here and add grace and charm to many lakes and pools, are undergoing contrasting fortunes which are beginning to worry conservationists.
Both birds, the whooper swan and the Bewick's swan, are similar -- being snow-white with yellow on their bills, in contrast to the orange-billed and more familiar mute swan which lives in Britain all year round.
But while numbers are soaring of the big whooper...
United Kingdom: Planning changes ‘put forests at risk’
Posted by Independent: Mark Hughes on February 21st, 2011
Independent: Some forests could be stripped of protection under planning reforms being considered by the Government, the Woodland Trust has warned.
The conservation charity says the changes to planning guidance could slip through unnoticed in the aftermath of the row that forced the Government into a U-turn over its plans to privatise public forests.
According to the trust, a review that aims to consolidate the 25 clauses in the current legislation as part of an attempt to hand power back to local communities,...