Under Reported Green News Round Up
Here is the under-reported Green News, from RAdio Ecoshock.
You've seen the hurricanes, heat waves, flooding rains, and altered weather, in person, and on TV. Now it's time to let your politicians know - we need real action to protect our climate.
There will be climate change demonstrations this December 3rd in at least 24 countries. They'll be marching in Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, England, Germany, Greece, everywhere in Europe, plus Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and even the United States.
To find out what's happening in your country, or to organize in your city, contact info@globalclimatecampaign.org or go to the website at www.campaignagainstclimatechange.net
December 3rd is the Saturday midway through the "MOP" (First "Meeting of Parties" to the Kyoto Protocol)- the Climate Talks in Montreal, starting November 28th and finishing December 9th.
How long will you wait, until the carbon economy destabilizes nature and your lives? It's time to show up in the streets. Even if you think it's just you, it's not. Millions of people are rightly worried about the weather. Make a sign and get out there.
---------------
In Britain, the country's chief scientist appears to have sold out to Tony Blair and the nuclear lobby. Sir David King won wide respect for his brave and outspoken warning about global climate change. Here is a clip from his interview with Australian ABC National radio:
[audio clip]
But now, George Monbiot writes in this, in the Guardian newspaper for October 25th:
"I report this with sadness: Sir David King has lost his bottle. Until a few weeks ago, the chief scientific adviser looked to me like one of the few brave souls in the British government. In an article in 'Science' at the beginning of last year, he argued that 'climate change is the most
severe problem that we are facing today' 'more serious even than the threat of terrorism' and criticized the Bush administration for 'failing to take up the challenge'(1). In response, he was viciously attacked by the Exxon-sponsored climate change denier Myron Ebell(2). Being
viciously attacked by Myron Ebell is something to which all self-respecting scientists should aspire.
Last month he was attacked again, and this time he deserved it. At a meeting of climate change specialists, Sir David announced that a 'reasonable' target for stabilizing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 550 parts of the gas per million parts of air. It would be 'politically unrealistic', he said, to demand anything lower(3).
Simon Retallack, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, stood up and reminded Sir David what his job was. As chief scientist, his duty is not to represent political reality 'there are plenty of advisers schooled in that art' but to represent scientific reality. Retallack's own work, based on the latest science, shows that at 550 parts per million the chances of preventing more than two degrees of global warming are just 10-20%(4). To raise them to 80%, carbon concentrations will have to be stabilized at 400 parts.
Two degrees is the point beyond which most climate scientists predict catastrophe: several key ecosystems are likely to flip into runaway feedback; the biosphere becomes a net source of carbon; global food production is clobbered and two billion people face the risk of drought. All very reasonable, I'm sure.
Sir David replied that if he recommended a lower limit, he would lose credibility with the government. As far as I was concerned, his credibility had just disappeared without trace. By shielding his masters from uncomfortable realities, he is failing in his duties as both scientist and adviser. Anyone who has studied the BSE crisis knows how dangerous the cowardice of scientific counselors can be.
As if to prove that his nerve has gone, on Friday Sir David made his clearest statement yet that he sees nuclear power as the answer to climate change. With the right carbon taxes, he said, nuclear power would become cheaper than coal. 'It's important we do take the public with us on the environmental debate,? he said. 'That is why I'm trying to sell it'(5).
Sir David may have political reasons for 'trying to sell' new nuclear power stations' at the Labour Party conference Tony Blair said he wants to re-examine the nuclear option(6)- but he would, I suspect, have as much trouble identifying a scientific case as he had at the meeting last month. The figures leave him stranded.
Let us forget, for the moment, that nuclear power spreads radioactive pollution, presents a target for terrorists and leaves us with waste that no government wants to handle. Like Sir David I believe that while all these problems are grave, they are not as grave as climate change.
Let us concentrate on the money.
It seems clear that new nuclear power stations will not be built unless the government supports them. A recent review by the economics consultancy Oxera shows that even if you exclude the cost of insurance and include the benefits of emissions trading (which attaches a price to
carbon dioxide), 'a programme of public assistance' would be needed to 'boost predicted [rates of return] to a level that is acceptable to private investors'. The consultants suggested that £1.6 billion of grants might be enough to tip the balance in favor of a new nuclear programme(7).
The first 'even if' is a big one. Private insurers will not cover the risk. Three international conventions limit investors? liability and oblige governments to pick up the bill on their behalf(8). According to a report commissioned by the European Parliament, the costs of a
large-scale nuclear accident range from 83 billion euros to 5.5 trillion(9). They would have to be met by us.
To get George Monbiot's full article, go the Guardian site at www.guardian.co.uk
------
This nuclear power lobby is spreading like an octopus, trying to feed on genuine environmental concerns. NimFm radio from Australia reports that a well-known "eco fund" is investing in uranium mining, saying that would be a good way to stop climate change. Uranium mining is environmentally friendly? Don't be insane. We have much safer ways to solve our problems.
Check with your green investment fund, to make sure they aren't falling on to the dirty nuclear wagon, all in the name of environmentalism.
-------
The American Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it's Green Power Partnership has produced three billion Kilowatt hours this year from environmentally friendly sources. Green power includes solar, wind, and other renewable sources. The Partnership includes some Fortune 500 companies, and is growing. According to the EPA press release, dated October 25th, three billion Kilowatt's would power 300,000 American-style homes. While anything Green coming out of the Republican-style EPA is something to cheer about, this rain drop of production from America the energy giant is also pretty pathetic.
To get more information about the project, go to http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.
-------------
The European Environment Agency has released a report on the use and limits of biomass, burning organic material like wood, or crop waste, for energy. The report says that electricity, heat, or fuel for transportation can be generated without compromising the environment.
The report was released at the 14th European Biomass Conference in Paris, which started on October 17th.
To get more info on the report, titled "EEA Briefing 2/2005 - How much biomass can Europe use without harming the environment?" go to reports.eea.eu.int/briefing_2005_2/en The report is available as a PDF file, in several languages.
-------
ENS, the environmental news service reports that the European Union plans to clean the marine environment in 15 Years. The Commission faces a general decline in the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic, and most inland waters, due to toxic waste, excess nutrients, harsh over fishing, and the impacts of climate change.
The new plan is called "the Thematic Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment." It was presented in Brussels on October 23rd.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said, “Europe’s seas and oceans make a huge contribution to our quality of life and our economic prosperity, but they are deteriorating because of over-exploitation, pollution, climate change and a range of other factors."
For the full story, go to www.ens-newswire.com.
------
Greenpeace International is denouncing the complete lack of law, when it comes to importing illegally cut wood. They say:
"Everyone knows it's illegal to import pirated CDs and DVDs, with heavy penalties if you get caught, but what happens when you import stolen timber from the world's last ancient forests? Absolutely nothing.
The Amazon lost an area roughly the size of Belgium last year, and the Paradise Forests of South East Asia are disappearing so rapidly, that their most famous residents, orang-utans, are facing extinction in the wild within the next decade. The African Forests of the Great Apes is similarly facing a huge assault. Why? Illegal and destructive logging, driven by demand for cheap wood from Europe.
Last week, in the port city of Livorno, Italy, we blocked the unloading of the freighter 'Guan He Kou' which was carrying timber from a company involved in illegal logging in the Congo Basin. The presence of the 'Guan He Kou' and its rainforest cargo in Europe shows just how easy it is to steal from some of the most biologically rich areas in the world.
After the activists were arrested, the ship continued to deliver the timber before sailing to Spain, where we greeted it again in the port of Valencia on Monday. No inspections, no seizure of the stolen goods."
That is from a feature at the website, at www.greenpeace.org.
-----------------
Reuters reported, October 11th, on a strange new development in the Amazonian rainforest, often called the lungs of the planet. Blogger Japhet, at the Rainforest Action Network, or RAN, puts it this way:
"Reuters reports today on another shocking fact concerning the rainforests of South America: they’re drying up. Its the worst drought the Amazon River basin has seen in 40 years adding to a list of challenges the region already faces, including wildfires, contaminated drinking water and millions of dead fish piling up in the puddles that were once roaring stream beds."
Check out www.ran.org/blog.
==========
The World Watch institute has a number of intriguing articles for sale, as downloadable PDF files, at four dollars each.
The latest is by Gerald Marten, Steve Brooks, and Amanda Suutari.
It tracks how people all over the world are beginning to calculate the "tipping points" - the point where converging environmental measures can
"set off a cascade of positive changes that tip the system towards sustainability." They are looking for the key changes that allow nature to mend itself.
There is a range of detailed articles, although it appears that many of them are written by and for institutions, rather than aimed at what individuals can do. To see the summaries of the latest issues of World Watch magazine, go to www.worldwatch.org.
---------
Finally, in the Green News department, the World Wildlife Fund has release the results of testing the blood of typical European families.
At www.panda.org, the October 6th press release says:
"Results from WWF's first European-wide family blood testing survey, found a total of 73 man-made hazardous chemicals, in the blood of 13 families, (grandmothers, mothers and children,) from 12 European countries.
The highest number of chemicals was detected in the grandmothers' generation (63). However, the younger generation had more chemicals in their blood (59) than their mothers (49), and some chemicals were found at their highest levels in the children.
WWF’s Generations X survey, (with participants aged 12 to 92,) confirms the results of previous tests on Members of the European Parliament, EU ministers, scientists, and celebrities.
"It shows we are all unwittingly the subjects of an uncontrolled global experiment, and it is particularly shocking to discover that toxic chemicals in daily use are contaminating the blood of our children," said Karl Wagner, Director of WWF's DetoX Campaign.
Do you think your blood is clean? Free of these persistent organic chemicals produced in huge vats daily, trucked and railed through your cities, and poured into products for your home?
Hail to the subjects of the uncontrolled global experiment with toxic chemicals!
------
Tune into 24 hour all environment news, interviews, and music at www.ecoshock.org. It's commercial free, all natural radio.
You've seen the hurricanes, heat waves, flooding rains, and altered weather, in person, and on TV. Now it's time to let your politicians know - we need real action to protect our climate.
There will be climate change demonstrations this December 3rd in at least 24 countries. They'll be marching in Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, England, Germany, Greece, everywhere in Europe, plus Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and even the United States.
To find out what's happening in your country, or to organize in your city, contact info@globalclimatecampaign.org or go to the website at www.campaignagainstclimatechange.net
December 3rd is the Saturday midway through the "MOP" (First "Meeting of Parties" to the Kyoto Protocol)- the Climate Talks in Montreal, starting November 28th and finishing December 9th.
How long will you wait, until the carbon economy destabilizes nature and your lives? It's time to show up in the streets. Even if you think it's just you, it's not. Millions of people are rightly worried about the weather. Make a sign and get out there.
---------------
In Britain, the country's chief scientist appears to have sold out to Tony Blair and the nuclear lobby. Sir David King won wide respect for his brave and outspoken warning about global climate change. Here is a clip from his interview with Australian ABC National radio:
[audio clip]
But now, George Monbiot writes in this, in the Guardian newspaper for October 25th:
"I report this with sadness: Sir David King has lost his bottle. Until a few weeks ago, the chief scientific adviser looked to me like one of the few brave souls in the British government. In an article in 'Science' at the beginning of last year, he argued that 'climate change is the most
severe problem that we are facing today' 'more serious even than the threat of terrorism' and criticized the Bush administration for 'failing to take up the challenge'(1). In response, he was viciously attacked by the Exxon-sponsored climate change denier Myron Ebell(2). Being
viciously attacked by Myron Ebell is something to which all self-respecting scientists should aspire.
Last month he was attacked again, and this time he deserved it. At a meeting of climate change specialists, Sir David announced that a 'reasonable' target for stabilizing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 550 parts of the gas per million parts of air. It would be 'politically unrealistic', he said, to demand anything lower(3).
Simon Retallack, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, stood up and reminded Sir David what his job was. As chief scientist, his duty is not to represent political reality 'there are plenty of advisers schooled in that art' but to represent scientific reality. Retallack's own work, based on the latest science, shows that at 550 parts per million the chances of preventing more than two degrees of global warming are just 10-20%(4). To raise them to 80%, carbon concentrations will have to be stabilized at 400 parts.
Two degrees is the point beyond which most climate scientists predict catastrophe: several key ecosystems are likely to flip into runaway feedback; the biosphere becomes a net source of carbon; global food production is clobbered and two billion people face the risk of drought. All very reasonable, I'm sure.
Sir David replied that if he recommended a lower limit, he would lose credibility with the government. As far as I was concerned, his credibility had just disappeared without trace. By shielding his masters from uncomfortable realities, he is failing in his duties as both scientist and adviser. Anyone who has studied the BSE crisis knows how dangerous the cowardice of scientific counselors can be.
As if to prove that his nerve has gone, on Friday Sir David made his clearest statement yet that he sees nuclear power as the answer to climate change. With the right carbon taxes, he said, nuclear power would become cheaper than coal. 'It's important we do take the public with us on the environmental debate,? he said. 'That is why I'm trying to sell it'(5).
Sir David may have political reasons for 'trying to sell' new nuclear power stations' at the Labour Party conference Tony Blair said he wants to re-examine the nuclear option(6)- but he would, I suspect, have as much trouble identifying a scientific case as he had at the meeting last month. The figures leave him stranded.
Let us forget, for the moment, that nuclear power spreads radioactive pollution, presents a target for terrorists and leaves us with waste that no government wants to handle. Like Sir David I believe that while all these problems are grave, they are not as grave as climate change.
Let us concentrate on the money.
It seems clear that new nuclear power stations will not be built unless the government supports them. A recent review by the economics consultancy Oxera shows that even if you exclude the cost of insurance and include the benefits of emissions trading (which attaches a price to
carbon dioxide), 'a programme of public assistance' would be needed to 'boost predicted [rates of return] to a level that is acceptable to private investors'. The consultants suggested that £1.6 billion of grants might be enough to tip the balance in favor of a new nuclear programme(7).
The first 'even if' is a big one. Private insurers will not cover the risk. Three international conventions limit investors? liability and oblige governments to pick up the bill on their behalf(8). According to a report commissioned by the European Parliament, the costs of a
large-scale nuclear accident range from 83 billion euros to 5.5 trillion(9). They would have to be met by us.
To get George Monbiot's full article, go the Guardian site at www.guardian.co.uk
------
This nuclear power lobby is spreading like an octopus, trying to feed on genuine environmental concerns. NimFm radio from Australia reports that a well-known "eco fund" is investing in uranium mining, saying that would be a good way to stop climate change. Uranium mining is environmentally friendly? Don't be insane. We have much safer ways to solve our problems.
Check with your green investment fund, to make sure they aren't falling on to the dirty nuclear wagon, all in the name of environmentalism.
-------
The American Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it's Green Power Partnership has produced three billion Kilowatt hours this year from environmentally friendly sources. Green power includes solar, wind, and other renewable sources. The Partnership includes some Fortune 500 companies, and is growing. According to the EPA press release, dated October 25th, three billion Kilowatt's would power 300,000 American-style homes. While anything Green coming out of the Republican-style EPA is something to cheer about, this rain drop of production from America the energy giant is also pretty pathetic.
To get more information about the project, go to http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.
-------------
The European Environment Agency has released a report on the use and limits of biomass, burning organic material like wood, or crop waste, for energy. The report says that electricity, heat, or fuel for transportation can be generated without compromising the environment.
The report was released at the 14th European Biomass Conference in Paris, which started on October 17th.
To get more info on the report, titled "EEA Briefing 2/2005 - How much biomass can Europe use without harming the environment?" go to reports.eea.eu.int/briefing_2005_2/en The report is available as a PDF file, in several languages.
-------
ENS, the environmental news service reports that the European Union plans to clean the marine environment in 15 Years. The Commission faces a general decline in the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic, and most inland waters, due to toxic waste, excess nutrients, harsh over fishing, and the impacts of climate change.
The new plan is called "the Thematic Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment." It was presented in Brussels on October 23rd.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said, “Europe’s seas and oceans make a huge contribution to our quality of life and our economic prosperity, but they are deteriorating because of over-exploitation, pollution, climate change and a range of other factors."
For the full story, go to www.ens-newswire.com.
------
Greenpeace International is denouncing the complete lack of law, when it comes to importing illegally cut wood. They say:
"Everyone knows it's illegal to import pirated CDs and DVDs, with heavy penalties if you get caught, but what happens when you import stolen timber from the world's last ancient forests? Absolutely nothing.
The Amazon lost an area roughly the size of Belgium last year, and the Paradise Forests of South East Asia are disappearing so rapidly, that their most famous residents, orang-utans, are facing extinction in the wild within the next decade. The African Forests of the Great Apes is similarly facing a huge assault. Why? Illegal and destructive logging, driven by demand for cheap wood from Europe.
Last week, in the port city of Livorno, Italy, we blocked the unloading of the freighter 'Guan He Kou' which was carrying timber from a company involved in illegal logging in the Congo Basin. The presence of the 'Guan He Kou' and its rainforest cargo in Europe shows just how easy it is to steal from some of the most biologically rich areas in the world.
After the activists were arrested, the ship continued to deliver the timber before sailing to Spain, where we greeted it again in the port of Valencia on Monday. No inspections, no seizure of the stolen goods."
That is from a feature at the website, at www.greenpeace.org.
-----------------
Reuters reported, October 11th, on a strange new development in the Amazonian rainforest, often called the lungs of the planet. Blogger Japhet, at the Rainforest Action Network, or RAN, puts it this way:
"Reuters reports today on another shocking fact concerning the rainforests of South America: they’re drying up. Its the worst drought the Amazon River basin has seen in 40 years adding to a list of challenges the region already faces, including wildfires, contaminated drinking water and millions of dead fish piling up in the puddles that were once roaring stream beds."
Check out www.ran.org/blog.
==========
The World Watch institute has a number of intriguing articles for sale, as downloadable PDF files, at four dollars each.
The latest is by Gerald Marten, Steve Brooks, and Amanda Suutari.
It tracks how people all over the world are beginning to calculate the "tipping points" - the point where converging environmental measures can
"set off a cascade of positive changes that tip the system towards sustainability." They are looking for the key changes that allow nature to mend itself.
There is a range of detailed articles, although it appears that many of them are written by and for institutions, rather than aimed at what individuals can do. To see the summaries of the latest issues of World Watch magazine, go to www.worldwatch.org.
---------
Finally, in the Green News department, the World Wildlife Fund has release the results of testing the blood of typical European families.
At www.panda.org, the October 6th press release says:
"Results from WWF's first European-wide family blood testing survey, found a total of 73 man-made hazardous chemicals, in the blood of 13 families, (grandmothers, mothers and children,) from 12 European countries.
The highest number of chemicals was detected in the grandmothers' generation (63). However, the younger generation had more chemicals in their blood (59) than their mothers (49), and some chemicals were found at their highest levels in the children.
WWF’s Generations X survey, (with participants aged 12 to 92,) confirms the results of previous tests on Members of the European Parliament, EU ministers, scientists, and celebrities.
"It shows we are all unwittingly the subjects of an uncontrolled global experiment, and it is particularly shocking to discover that toxic chemicals in daily use are contaminating the blood of our children," said Karl Wagner, Director of WWF's DetoX Campaign.
Do you think your blood is clean? Free of these persistent organic chemicals produced in huge vats daily, trucked and railed through your cities, and poured into products for your home?
Hail to the subjects of the uncontrolled global experiment with toxic chemicals!
------
Tune into 24 hour all environment news, interviews, and music at www.ecoshock.org. It's commercial free, all natural radio.
