Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Nov 2, 2009 | 0 Comments
Obama Putting $3.4 Bn Toward a ‘Smart’ Power Grid, Associated Press
President Obama pledges $3.4 bn in government support for 100 different research projects in “smart” grid engineering, ranging in size from $400,00 to $200 million. Speaking Tuesday at the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in west Florida, Obama likened the search for power grid [...]
Posted by Tristan Jones | Oct 30, 2009 | 1 Comments
Last week the Pew Center released a new poll regarding the “Changing Opinions About Global Warming.” The polls are certainly telling, if not alarming: in April 2008 71% of Americans believed there was solid evidence that the earth was warming. That’s down to 57% this month.
Perhaps more importantly, the percentage of those people who believe [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Oct 27, 2009 | 0 Comments
WWF: We Have Until 2014 to Stop Global Warming, Popular Science
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) publishes a new report concluding that by 2014 the world must fully embrace low-carbon technologies. By “embrace” they mean a minimum growth of 22% in green industries, which they estimate could translate into a 63% reduction in emissions by [...]
Posted by Cathy Vaughan | Oct 23, 2009 | 0 Comments
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) has recently released a series of documents designed to walk policymakers through the potential impacts of the current El Niño. In addition to the health-related report featured earlier, two new papers highlight weather and socioeconomic concerns associated with current climatic conditions.
As readers of this blog well [...]
Posted by Tristan Jones | Oct 21, 2009 | 0 Comments
On October 1, I attended a symposium entitled “Going Beyond Rhetoric: Metrics for Assessing Global Agriculture,” hosted by the Earth Institute and convened at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fifteen stories in the air, we were surrounded by miles of urban landscape — Queens to the east, Manhattan to the west, and no [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Oct 19, 2009 | 0 Comments
Memo Calls for Reversing Law to Phase Out German Nuclear Plants, The New York Times
German Chancellor Angela Merkel moves to reverse legislation that gradually phases out nuclear power by 2022. The proposed reversal, contained in a working document sent to Merkel’s political coalition partner, the Free Democrats, calls nuclear power the crucial “bridge” to a [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Oct 9, 2009 | 0 Comments
Food Prices May Rise 121% by 2050 Due to Climate Change, Business Standard
A report released on Wednesday by the International Food Policy Research Institute outlines the threats to agricultural security posed by climate change. Food prices, already expected to increase significantly by 2050, could rise further as the effects from climate change continue to unfold. [...]
Posted by Tristan Jones | Oct 6, 2009 | 2 Comments
In 2008 the world faced one of its most severe food crises in recent history. Around the world riots broke out in otherwise food-secure nations — places like Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil. The world’s governments responded — a major U.N. conference was held in Geneva. What they discussed there was the fundamental issue of [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Oct 4, 2009 | 0 Comments
Gordon Brown’s $100 bn Climate Aid Proposal is ‘Only First Offering‘, guardian.co.uk
Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposes $100 billion in future aid to countries struggling to adapt to climate change. The compensation, which could rise to a higher number as international negotiations continue, would be supplied by “rich” nations in a timeframe extending to 2020. The [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Sep 25, 2009 | 0 Comments
Denver to Barcelona: Global Cities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, ScienceDaily
ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology is publishing a new study in October identifying which cities are producing the greatest levels of greenhouse gases. Denver was number one on the list, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, Cape Town, and Bangkok. Researchers identified high electricity and heating use [...]
