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Checkbiotech | Biofuels | News
The Guardian | Climate change | News
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New Scientist | Climate change | News
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IPS | Environment | News
Climatechangenews.org | Headlines
Climate change adverts draw mild rebuke from advertising watchdog
The Guardian | Climate change | News 13 03 2010
Read the ASA adjudication on climate change adverts
The Guardian | Climate change | News 13 03 2010
Solar by Ian McEwan
The Guardian | Climate change | News 13 03 2010
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Checkbiotech / Biofuels / News
Biofuels Experts Says Yes To 20% Target
12 03 2010 Stakeholders and leading thinkers in the African bioenergy sector meeting in Stellenbosch next week will have to decide whether they agree with the 20% targets for sustainable bioenergy production set by their European counterparts in the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project.

Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol to Power IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010
12 03 2010 SAO PAULO - The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has renewed its fuel supply agreement with the Indy Racing League for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season, which opens on Sunday, March 14, with a race in Brazil's largest city, São Paulo.

Under the new agreement, the IZOD IndyCar Series will continue to utilize sugarcane ethanol to fuel its race cars, including at its signature event, the Indianapolis 500.

Second-Generation Biofuel Volumes Set to Grow at 50% P.A. for Next Five Years
12 03 2010 The production of bioethanol based on woody plant materials (so-called second-generation biofuels) will grow by over 50% a year over the next five years according to a new report by Innovation Observatory.

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The Guardian / Climate change / News
Articles published by Guardian Unlimited Environment about Climate change
What the Sami people can teach us about adapting to climate change
13 03 2010

As global warming and habitat degradation accelerates, people indigenous to the Arctic circle say they have much to teach the world about how to adapt, survive, and thrive Elina Helander-Renvall comes from Utsjoki, a place so obscure that even many Finns have little idea where it is. Utsjoki, or Ochejohka, Uccjuuha, and Uccjokk, depending on which local language you are speaking, is Finland's northern-most municipality. Straddling the border with Norway, it shivers, unregarded, deep inside the Arctic circle, a few icy miles from the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Utsjoki, population 1,034, is home to Finland's largest concentration of Sami speakers, the indigenous people once loosely known as Lapps who have eked out an itinerant existence herding reindeer across the frozen wastes of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and western Russia since the last Ice Age. Nearly 50% of Utsjoki's population are Sami. In Finnish terms, it's the closest this eternal minority has got to being the majority. Born and raised on the margin though she was, Helander-Renvall's message these days is strictly mainstream. As accelerating climate change and other man-made environmental degradations create growing alarm across the planet, the Sami people have much to teach the world about how to adapt, survive, and thrive, she says. "There is a lot to learn from the Sami, they have the traditional ecological knowledge, they really know about nature," said Helander-Renvall, head of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples Office at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi. "They have the most precise knowledge about the weather conditions, about the plants, the diet, the resources. The Sami people have an ethical relationship with nature; a respect for nature that also has a spiritual side." The Arctic region is uniquely vulnerable to global warming, but if it is to weather the storm, it would do well to adopt Sami methods of land and resource management, communal co-operation and communication, local knowledge and best practice, she said. In order to keep a reindeer herd out of trouble, for example, a knowledge of different types of snow could be decisive, Helander-Renvall said. Muohta (ordinary snow) or oppas (untouched snow) might be safe. But the presence of sievla (wet snow), skarta (thin, ice-like snow layers) or ceavvi (a hard layer that the reindeer cannot penetrate in search of lichen) could dictate a life-saving change of route or decision to move camp. Local knowledge will also be vital to the large-scale industrial development on the fast-expanding oil and gas fields of western Russia's Yamal peninsula, and for the burdgeoning commercial and tourism industries in the Scandinavian north. Knowing where it is safe to build, how to site the foundations for a new road, airstrip or pipeline, what terrain to avoid, and how to do so responsibly while protecting biological diversity will all be increasingly important. "We need to preserve and transfer indigenous knowledge to future generations," Helander-Renvall said. Professor Monica Tennberg of the Arctic Research Centre in Rovaniemi said the Sami had shown notable ability to adapt to changing climate conditions. "We've seen how the community adapts, for example finding new ways to deal with floods. We've seen better co-operation, better municipal leadership, better communications, better early warning systems," she said. Adverse effects of climate change on pasture and traditional herding trails had been met with new rotation and migration patterns and also by a tighter communal discipline. The Arctic as a whole faces enormous challenges. Broadly speaking the region is warming at double the rate of the rest of the world, said Paula Kankaanpaa, director of the Research Centre, with local "hotspots" that fare even worse. Symptoms include reduced sea ice; the opening of blue-water sea passages both east and west in summer, north of Canada and Russia; increased levels of carbon-carrying organic waste in the Arctic Ocean caused by melting tundra; coastal erosion due to increased wave activity; loss of habitat for large mammals such as seals and polar bears and growing disruption of indigenous human communities. Governments still resist the idea that Arctic indigenous peoples have something unique to contribute. Canada announced this month that it will convene a foreign ministers' meeting of the five Arctic Ocean states (Canada, Russia, the US, Norway and Denmark/Greenland) in March "to encourage new thinking on responsible development" and "reinforce ongoing collaboration in the region". To their dismay, Arctic indigenous people's organisations, including the Sami, Inuit and Inuvialuit, were not invited.


guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


Letters: Our goal – education and a better life
13 03 2010
Today, many parents will be putting their children on to buses, cars or bikes and seeing them on their way to school. Sadly for the parents of 72 million children around the world, they do not have this choice. Today the prime minister of Britain and the president of France have the chance to change this when they meet in London. This year provides us with an opportunity to get all children through the school gates. In 2005, musicians took to the stage to perform in the name of Make Poverty History and helped secure an additional $50bn in aid for poor countries. In 2010, footballers will be taking to the pitch and playing in the name of the 1Goal campaign to secure funding for every child to go to school (South Africa ready to host World Cup, says Zuma, 5 March). Backed by millions of campaigners, hundreds of companies and some of the biggest stars in football, this year's World Cup has the opportunity to leave a unique legacy never seen before through a sporting occasion. The South Africans recently agreed to host an extraordinary high-level summit on education to deliver this. We look to both the UK and France, which pride themselves on the quality of their domestic education, to deliver such opportunities to the rest of the world. Adrian Lovett Chair, 1Goal campaign committee • As healthcare professionals, we are very aware that the impact of climate change on maternal and child health in developing countries will be enormous. Climate change will greatly increase deaths of the most vulnerable through water and food scarcity, increased infectious disease and forced migration. There will be no possibility of meeting the UN millennium development goals of reducing maternal and child deaths without serious action by the rich countries of the world, and there are real connections between poverty, inequalities, conflict and climate change which add to the urgency of our efforts. We urge leaders in both politics and healthcare to show an example in moving to a low-carbon future, and to build on the innovative work in the health service through the NHS Sustainable Development Unit to reduce the carbon footprint of the NHS. If we do not tackle this problem ourselves, we must be held responsible for causing thousands of mother and child deaths in most of the poor countries of the world. Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran President, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Dr Peter Carter General secretary and chief executive, Royal College of Nursing Professor Ian Gilmore President, Royal College of Physicians Professor Alan Maryon-Davis President, Faculty of Public Health Professor Terence Stephenson President, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Professor Cathy Warwick General secretary, Royal College of Midwives
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


UN brings in top scientists to review IPCC report on Himalayan glaciers
13 03 2010

Moves aims to restore public confidence in science of global warming after mistake over melting rates of glaciers The UN called in the world's top scientists today to review a report by its climate body, four months after public confidence in the science of global warming was shaken by the discovery of a mistake about the melting rates of Himalayan glaciers. In an announcement at the UN in New York Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, and Rajendra Pachauri, the much-criticised head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the InterAcademy Council, which represents 15 national academies of science, would conduct the independent review. The announcement follows months of controversy which, while not altering the scientific consensus on climate change, has given fresh ammunition to opponents of action on global warming. Pachauri has faced calls for his resignation, a controversy he acknowledged obliquely today. "We have received some criticism. We are receptive and sensitive to that and we are doing something about it," he said. The review, which is to complete its work by August, will not undertake a dissection of the 2007 report, which has been pored over by climate sceptics, or re-examine the scientific consensus that human activity is causing climate change, said Robert Dijksgraaf, the head of the InterAcademy Council. "It will definitely not go over vast amounts of data," he told reporters. "Our goal will be to assure nations around the world that they will receive sound scientific advice on climate science." Instead, he said it would focus on putting in place better quality control procedures for the next report, which is due in 2014. These would include guidelines for dealing with material that has not undergone peer review such as the item on Himalayan glaciers. One focus of the review would be the role played by Pachauri who has been criticised for his handling of the error when it first came to light. Djiksgraaf also said the panel, likely to be made up of 10 experts, would also look at procedures for making corrections in a timely and transparent manner. The report has been pored over by climate sceptics for errors since last November when it emerged that the IPCC had stated, wrongly, that Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035. As Pachauri and Ban noted today, the solid body of the 3,000 page report remained unchallenged. The discovery of the error goes to the core of criticism of Pachauri whose first response to questions about the accuracy of the IPCC's prediction on the melting of the Himalayan glaciers was to dismiss it as "voodoo science". Pachauri had also rankled critics by refusing to apologise for the mistakes. But a spokesman for Pachauri today said the IPCC had initiated the independent review, and had pressed the UN to call in the scientists. In his brief comments, Pachauri said the work of the IPCC, which shared a Nobel prize with Al Gore in 2007, remained the gold standard of climate science. "We believe the conclusions of that report are really beyond any reasonable doubt," Pachauri said. Environmental and science organisations supported the UN's decision. "This is the right move," said Peter Frumhoff, the science director for the Union of Concerned Scientist and a lead author on the IPCC report. "If this independent review is carried out with rigour and transparency, it will help strengthen the IPCC's commitment to robust scientific assessments and restore public confidence that has been shaken by an aggressive campaign to sow confusion about climate science."


guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


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WMO / News
World Meteorological Organization News
Intergovernmental Meeting for the High-level Taskforce on the Global Framework for Climate Services
17 11 2009 From 11 to 12 January 2010, the Intergovernmental Meeting for the High-Level Taskforce on the Global Framework for Climate Services will take place in Geneva
Two strong tropical cyclones in the North Pacific
19 10 2009 Two strong tropical cyclones - Typhoon Lupit (called “Ramil” in the Philippines) in the western North Pacific, and Hurricane Rick in the eastern North Pacific are currently being closely monitored.
National Ice Services advise of continuing navigation hazards
19 10 2009 The International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG) celebrated from 12 to 16 October its 10th meeting at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with a focus on Arctic shipping.
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New Scientist / Climate change / News
New Scientist Environment - special report on climate change
Battle over climate science spreads to US schoolrooms
13 03 2010 In three states, alternatives to the scientific consensus on global warming must be taught – and there seem to be links to efforts to teach creationism


US still responsible for most CO2 emissions
09 03 2010 Europeans import nearly twice as much carbon dioxide per head as US citizens – but the US is still the world's largest emitter


High-carbon ice age mystery solved
08 03 2010 It turns out carbon dioxide levels at the time of the Ordovician ice age were not that high after all


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Environmental News Network / Climate
China and India endorse Copenhagen Climate Accord
12 03 2010 China and India joined almost all other major greenhouse gas emitters Tuesday in signing up to the climate accord struck in Copenhagen, boosting a deal strongly favored by the United States. More than 100 nations have now endorsed the Copenhagen Accord, a non-binding agreement reached after two weeks of tortuous wrangling at a 194-nation summit in December. The accord plans $100 billion a year in climate aid for developing nations from 2020 and seeks to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, but produced no timetable of emission limits to reach that goal.
Amazon Droughts and Greening
12 03 2010 The sensitivity of Amazon rain forests to dry season droughts is still poorly understood, with reports of enhanced tree mortality and forest fires on one hand, and excessive forest greening on the other. In a current story there is a report that previous conclusions of large scale greening of the Amazon as a result of drought are not reproducible. Approximately 11%-12% of these drought stricken forests display greening, while, 28%-20% show browning or no change, and for the rest, the data are not of sufficient quality to characterize any changes. These changes are also not unique; approximately similar changes are observed in non-drought years as well.
New Report Offers Little Hope for International Climate Agreement
10 03 2010 It's the big pink elephant in the room that few others wish to acknowledge, but a central theme in a new report by former climate negotiator Nigel Purvis: An international climate change treaty isn't likely to be signed anytime soon. Purvis served as president Clinton's chief UN climate negotiator, and in his report released today Purvis says that the United States and Europe should "accept reality" and take immediate practical steps to deal with global warming.
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Environmental News Network / Top Stories
Global Trade’s Dirty Secret: Outsourced Emissions
13 03 2010 The Carnegie Institution of Science released a new study this week finding that one-third of the carbon dioxide emissions developed countries release into the atmosphere result from goods and services produced outside their borders. The report’s details are troubling: Carnegie’s researchers estimate that 2.5 tons of CO2 per person are consumed in the United States but are produced elsewhere, and that figure spikes to 4 tons per European. Another point that will cause considerable disagreement among global climate negotiators is Carnegie’s analysis that one-quarter of the emissions in China are actually the result of its exports to its trading partners such as the United States.
Green Cleaning Supplies
13 03 2010 When we get out the rags and the wash buckets, we have the best of intentions. Cleanliness is a virtue, right? And healthy too! Well, if you use conventional cleaning products, perhaps not. Have you ever cleaned your shower or oven and then had teary eyes, burning nasal tissues, an itchy throat, a headache, or dizziness? Guess what? All of these symptoms and more could have been caused by chemicals commonly found in household cleaners.
Heinz Redesigns Ketchup Package. Landfills Groan.
12 03 2010 In case you’ve been under a rock, the big news on the street is the incredible new Heinz Ketchup Packet which will apparently revolutionize french fry enjoyment for the 21st century. The packet contains a larger amount of ketchup than the traditional sachet and opens in two ways – the traditional "squeeze" and the newfangled "dip." Blogs and other media are aflutter with excitement, and Heinz's corporate communications department is no doubt popping the champagne at a veritable coup d'etat of publicity.
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IPS / Environment / News
Inter Press Service is a global news agency producing independent news and analysis of events affecting the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations especially in the south
ENVIRONMENT-HONDURAS: Forest Corruption a Major Challenge
18 02 2010 TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 17 (Tierramérica) - The effects of climate change in Honduras have a local accomplice. Not only are forests suffering from global warming; they are also the victim of illegal logging.
ENERGY-ARGENTINA: Agrofuels Rev Their Engines
18 02 2010 BUENOS AIRES, Feb 17 (Tierramérica) - In a measure that was delayed by supply problems, this year Argentina is beginning to require that gasoline be mixed with ethanol and diesel fuel with biodiesel, at a proportion of five percent, to possibly reach 20 percent by 2015.
Q&A: "Sustainability Issues Are Economic Issues"
17 02 2010 NEW YORK, Feb 16 (IPS) - Fresh from a whirlwind tour of non-stop meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos and a U.N .investor summit on climate risk attended by George Soros, Al Gore, and 500 of the world's most powerful institutional and private investors, Mindy Lubber has a full plate.
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Climatechangenews.org / Headlines
Say goodbye to one of the driest, warmest Canadian winters since 1948 - The Guardian
12 03 2010 Environment Canada says the winter we just experienced was one of the warmest and driest across the country since 1948.
Sealevelgate
12 03 2010 Imagine this. In its latest report, the IPCC has predicted up to 3 meters of sea level rise by the end of this century. But climate sceptics websites were quick to reveal a few problems (or tricks , as they called it).First, although the temperature scenarios of IPCC project a maximum warming of 6.4 °C (Table SPM3), the upper limit of sea level rise has been computed assuming a warming of 7.6 °C. Second, the IPCC chose to compute sea level rise up to the year 2105 rather than 2100 " just to add that extra bit of alarmism.
Battle over climate science spreads to US schoolrooms
12 03 2010 In three states, alternatives to the scientific consensus on global warming must be taught " and there seem to be links to efforts to teach creationism
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