Month: December 2011

  • Climate talks mean life or death for island states

    So while climate change delegates haggle over deadlines, binding targets and finance, some of the world’s poorest states are warning that rising sea levels and storms will sweep them away unless the world agrees to tackle global warning. “We will be one of the first countries to go under water,” said Foua Toloa, a senior…

  • One Quarter of World’s Agricultural Land “Highly Degraded”, UN Report Concludes

    On Monday, the UN released the results of the first ever global study on the state of Earth’s land. The main finding: 25 percent of all land is highly degraded making it unsuitable for agriculture. The implications of this finding are enormous; the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that farm output must increase…

  • Wind turbines are supposed to like the wind!

    Huge wind turbine erupts in flames as 165mph winds strike Scotland These amazing pictures show the moment a huge wind turbine erupted in flames after it was struck by hurricane-force winds in Scotland. Local photographer Stuart McMahon from Ardossan, North Ayrshire, snapped the fireball as it wrecked the turbine earlier this afternoon. Stuart told ClickGreen…

  • New Large Boiler Rules

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing changes to Clean Air Act standards for boilers and certain incinerators based on extensive analysis, review and consideration of data and input from states, environmental groups, industry, lawmakers and the public. The proposed reconsideration would achieve extensive public health protections through significant reductions in toxic air pollutants,…

  • Deforestation and forest degradation down in the Brazilian Amazon since August

    Deforestation and forest degradation are down moderately from August through October 2011 relative to the same period a year ago, reports a satellite-based assessment released today by Imazon, a Brazilian group. Imazon’s near-real time system, which tracks change in forest plots 25 hectares (62 acres) or larger, found that 512 square kilometers of rainforest were…

  • Walnut Industry May Crack Under Climate Pressure

    Eat all the walnut treats you can this holiday season. They might not be so plentiful in coming years. Commercially grown walnut trees (Juglans nigra and Juglans regia) are very particular about their growing conditions and drought or untimely frosts can crack the walnut tree’s defenses.

  • NASA data confirms pollution has nearly halved from US coal power plants

    A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant, sulphur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and can cause serious health problems.

  • Whales win, walruses lose in warmer Arctic

    The Arctic zone has moved into a warmer, greener “new normal” phase, which means less habitat for polar bears and more access for development, an international scientific team reported on Thursday. Arctic air temperatures were higher – about 2.5 degrees F (1.5 degrees C) higher in 2011 than the baseline number for the previous 30…

  • Green policies can halve CO2 emissions from energy sector, says OECD and IEA

    Rising global energy demand and the need to drastically cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions require a transformation in the way nations produce, deliver and consume energy, according to a new joint report from the OECD and IEA. The Green Growth Studies: Energy report says governments need to increase energy efficiency and lower the carbon-intensity of…

  • Electric Car Battery Safety

    Electric cars may present different hazards than conventional design. Recent crash tests as well as one report of a battery fire suggest that the present car design may have to be improved. Crash tests have been carried out in the well known Euro NCAP testing center on the Volt and the Renault Fluence EV that…