As we know equivocally from the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the cabaret in Cancún, Mexico (29 November to 10 December 2010), encompasses the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP),Continue reading “Climate security, no. Job security, yes we Cancún.”
Category Archives: environment
The Week’s Environmental Story Roundup
Stories of environmental interest this week:
International and National:
Monsanto appeals judge’s order to uproot genetically modified sugar beets; Obama administration reverses offshore oil-exploration plans; 4200 sq miles reclosed in gulf of Mexico following find of oil tainted shrimp; Walking to stores ‘damages planet more than going by car’; Waste-pickers demand first dibs on rubbish; When life gives you hydrocarbons, make energy, Kyoto CO2 limits not to be extended this year.
California News:
HSU professor scales redwoods for clues to global warming; Kettleman City toxic waste facility fined for violations; Jerry Brown’s Hobson’s choice; new study criticizes high-speed rail effort.
If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?
Lands owned by state and federal government lands contribute little to California’s wood supply (see the graphic below). Private landowners (the green area) now carry nearly all burden for California’s timber harvesting and its wood demand. (Source: California Forestry Association CA Timber Harvest Statistics 1978-2009.) As previously noted on this site: Our California forestsContinue reading “If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?”
Are You Eating Genetically Modified Foods? Relax. We’ve been eating GMOs for many, many years
You people in the developed world are certainly free to debate the merits of genetically modified foods, but can we please eat first? – Dr. Florence Wambugu of Kenya Over at TheEnvironmentSite.org Environment Forum, EcoBlogger has posted an article titled Are You Eating Genetically Modified Foods? 7 Tips to Avoid Eating GMOs! I wouldContinue reading “Are You Eating Genetically Modified Foods? Relax. We’ve been eating GMOs for many, many years”
10,000 attendees set an example at the Cancún shindig
“Global warming is now such a serious threat to mankind that climate change experts are calling for Second World War-style rationing in rich countries to bring down carbon emissions,” environment correspondent, Louise Gray wrote in Britain’s Telegraph under the headline, “Cancun climate change summit: scientists call for rationing in developed world Apparently a fair numberContinue reading “10,000 attendees set an example at the Cancún shindig”
The blind chasing after the blind in Cancún
Briggs over at William M. Briggs, “statistician to the stars,” has a delightfully damning post about Cornell’s delegation to the shindig aka COP 16 [the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in Cancún.
The Week’s Environmental Story Roundup
Seventeen stories in this week’s roundup. 1. Cancún Climate Change Conference expectations: more hot air The United Nations Climate Change Conference is to be held in Cancún, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. What is it supposed to do? According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) website, the conference ”Continue reading “The Week’s Environmental Story Roundup”
Green quotes
“On what principle is it that, when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us.” – Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1830 in Edinburgh Review “You have to have at least one square meal a day to be a conservationist or an environmentalist.” Richard Leakey, quoted by Dr. NormanContinue reading “Green quotes”
Leaving on a jet plane
According to PR Newswire there is an “initiative to promote aviation biofuel development in the Pacific Northwest” that “will include an analysis of potential biomass sources that are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, including algae, agriculturally based oilseeds such as camelina [wildflax], wood byproducts and others.” Because biomass sources absorb carbon dioxide while growing andContinue reading “Leaving on a jet plane”
Gaming Malthus with “Fate of the World”
I have submitted this to the Record-Bee for my December Green Chain column. “I have observed that not the man who hopes when others despair, but the man who despairs when others hope, is admired by a large class of persons as a sage.” – John Stuart Mill In 1901, while searching for giant clamsContinue reading “Gaming Malthus with “Fate of the World””
Nullius in Verba 