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Archive for January 3rd, 2012
Climate change models may underestimate extinctions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2012
EurekAlert: Predictions of the loss of animal and plant diversity around the world are common under models of future climate change. But a new study shows that because these climate models don't account for species competition and movement, they could grossly underestimate future extinctions.
"We have really sophisticated meteorological models for predicting climate change," says ecologist Mark Urban, the study's lead author. "But in real life, animals move around, they compete, they parasitize each other...
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ALERT! NAMING NAMES: UN REDD+ Forest Carbon Fund to Log Primary Forests with Corporate NGO Greenwash Support
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on January 3rd, 2012
By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal and ClimateArk
TAKE ACTION HERE NOW!
Earth is facing the twin global ecological emergencies of abrupt climate change and land being scoured of natural ecosystems. Sadly, corporate American NGOs and the United Nations are responding to these crises by further promoting logging ancient forests. The United Nations REDD+ program to protect primary and old growth forests as a climate change and deforestation solution has been hi-jacked by logging interests [search] and their big pro-logging NGO friends, and will instead subsidize primary forest logging for new plantations. REDD has become a gravy train for consultants, greenwashing NGOs and charlatans of many sorts - claiming logging ancient rainforests for the first time protects them! Old standing natural forest ecosystems are key to sustaining climate, ecosystems, biodiversity, local livelihoods humanity and the Earth System. Corporate NGOs supporting REDD+ must be compelled to stop their old forest logging greenwash - or face ridicule, protest, and an end to public support, until they do.
Malawi traditional leaders step up to help fight forest fires
Posted by AlertNet: Karen Sanje on January 3rd, 2012
AlertNet: Malawi's traditional leaders have been enlisted to help prevent forest fires that are threatening livelihoods, producing climate-changing emissions and damaging the environment in this southeast African nation.
"As community leaders we should take a leading role in preventing and putting out fires,' said Paramount Chief M'mbelwa of Mzimba during a meeting on fire prevention in the government-owned Viphya plantation.
Those efforts may include things like improving labour relations to curb arson...
It’s time for sustainable development
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2012
Guardian: Bill Clinton was set to enter the White House, the European Union was born and China had its first taste of a double cheeseburger with fries when McDonalds opened its doors in Beijing. That was 1992. A lot can happen in 20 years.
In June 2012, two decades after the groundbreaking Earth summit, which put climate change and biological diversity on the global political agenda, attention will turn once again to Rio de Janeiro for the UN conference on sustainable development, or Rio+20.
But the...
Spaceship Earth: A new view of environmentalism
Posted by Washington Post: Joel Achenbach on January 3rd, 2012
Washington Post: Spaceship Earth enters 2012 belching smoke, overheating and burning through fuel at a frightening rate. It’s feeling pretty crowded, and the crew is mutinous. No one’s at the helm.
Sure, it’s an antiquated metaphor. It’s also an increasingly apt way to discuss a planet with 7 billion people, a global economy, a World Wide Web, climate change, exotic organisms running amok and all sorts of resource shortages and ecological challenges.
More and more environmentalists and scientists talk about...
BP seeking at least $20 billion from Halliburton: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2012
Reuters: BP (BP.L) has called on contractor Halliburton (HAL.C) to pay all costs and expenses it incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil major previously put at around $42 billion.
Halliburton cemented the failed well that caused the United State's biggest offshore oil spill.
In a U.S. court filing, BP said it was suing to recover costs and expenses from cleaning up the oil spill, lost profits, and "all other costs and damages incurred by BP related to the Deepwater Horizon...
Oil-Drilling Wastewater Seen Causing Earthquake
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2012
Associated Press: A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling almost certainly caused a series of 11 minor earthquakes in the Youngstown area since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said Monday.
Research is continuing on seismic activity near the now-shuttered injection well at Youngstown, Ohio, but it might take a year for the wastewater-related rumblings in the earth to dissipate, said John Armbruster of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory...