While the world burns, America fiddles …

It is reminiscent of the story of Nero playing the violin while Rome burned, because of his lunacy.  In the past week gatherings of the world’s powers to discuss climate change all advocate accelerated, multilateral, cooperative action to reduce carbon emissions and change human consumption habits, except America. The richest country in the world uses …
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OpenEco – business tools to track GHG

OpenEco is a new global on-line community that provides free, easy-to-use tools to help participants assess, track, and compare business energy performance, share proven best practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage sustainable innovation. Akin to social networks, OpenEco aims to help build support for carbon-reduction strategies though sharing information among companies, government institutions …
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Carbon auction on regulated exchange

The first carbon auction held on a regulated exchange just concluded in Brazil. 800,000 tonnes of carbon rights were sold by the City of Sao Paolo which is earning them from power generation from methane released by a massive urban landfill. The winning bidder, Fortis a European bank, paid € 13 million or about € …
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Where are the green taxes going?

In the UK, the Taxpayers’ Alliance has claimed that the government is raising billions of pounds more in green taxes than it needs to remove the UK’s “carbon footprint”.  In a report they say that emissions in 2005 had done damage worth an estimated £11.7 billion (covering the “social cost” of climate change to the …
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Antartica melting: images

Even the coldest continent on Earth is melting, say NASA scientists. These maps illustrate different aspects of seasonal melting on Antarctica.  After analyzing 20 years of satellite data, scientists have concluded that persistent melting—melting that lasts for at least three daytime periods or one consecutive day and night—has been occurring increasingly farther inland and at …
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APEC for climate change and trade

The principal messages from leaders meeting at the APEC summit recently concluded in Sydney Australia are to prioritise action to reduce climate change and to successfully conclude the WTO Doha round trade talks. These are entirely appropriate prime objectives.  Unfortunately, the US, which is the largest per capita carbon emitter and world superpower, and Australia, …
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Arctic ice shrinkage at new record

The US National Snow and Ice Data Center said the minimum extent of 4.13 million sq km was reached on 16 September. The figure shatters all previous satellite surveys, including the previous record low of 5.32 million sq km measured in 2005. Even the fabled Arctic shipping route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the …
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5th Global Corporate Climate Change Report issued by CDP

The Carbon Disclosure Project released its fifth Global Corporate Climate Change Report, tracking carbon disclosure and attitudes toward climate change in the world’s largest companies. The CDP this year also launched the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index, an honor roll for companies who are best addressing climate change issues. The launch coincided with the U.N. summit …
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Silent but deadly: livestock farming challenges transport system as top carbon producer

The UK Vegetarian Society has launched a great campaign to raise awareness of the link between diet and climate change. The society argues that farmed animals produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the world’s entire transport system. The ad campaign is backed up by a new report entitled Why it’s green to go vegetarian – …
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