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Carbon cost of Downloads vs. CDs | Kate’s Comment
An interesting article calculating the carbon costs of downloading music vesus buying the CD
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Desertec: African solar power for Europe – UPI.com
If it makes it beyond the drawing broad, Desertec would be the world’s largest, most ambitious and expensive green energy project ever: a series of solar thermal power plants across the Sahara desert connecting Africa under the Mediterranean Sea to Europe’s power grid.
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BP Gives up on Jatropha for Biofuel – Environmental Capital – WSJ
BP has indeed given up on jatropha, the shrub once touted as the great hope for biofuels, and walked away from its jatropha joint venture for less than $1 million.
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Synthetic Genomics and Exxon Mobil team up on algae. – Environmental Capital – WSJ
Exxon’s $600 million deal with Synthetic Genomics to brew fuel from algae could mark a coming of age for alternative fuels.
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Jeff Biggers: Jimmy Carter’s Next Urgent Mission: Polarized Appalachian Coalfields
Never has Carter’s hands-on determination for economic revival and reconciliation between divided communities been more needed in the most polarized part of our country–the devastated coalfields of Appalachia.
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Tiny nation at war with rising tide – Winnipeg Free Press
A tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean — that could be wiped off the map because of global warming — is seeking to to set an example for the world by shedding its dependency on oil and becoming powered entirely by renewable energy sources.
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How Cell Phones Are Changing the Face of Green Activism : TreeHugger
Today, mobile phones are ubiquitous. The sheer volume of the devices on this planet is staggering – in the US alone, 450,000 cell phones are discarded every day. Over half of the world’s population has quick, easy access to cell phones and wireless technology. For example, 97% of people surveyed in Tanzania had access to a mobile phone, while just 27% could access a land line phone. In Kenya, only 19% of the country’s 36 million people are reached by traditional banking methods…but virtually all have access to mobile phones. Knowing these facts, it isn’t surprising that the devices are being used as a key tool for environmental change.
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The cost of tackling climate change will be paid for by benefits that would come from better energy security, employment and health, Rajendra Pachauri says ahead of major announcement on 2013 reports
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Cranes nest in Fens after 400-years – MSN Environment UK
Cranes are nesting in The Fens for the first time in 400 years, wildlife experts believe.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says young cranes have been seen at its Lakenheath Fen reserve near Brandon, Suffolk, during the past week.
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Department of Energy – US-China Clean Energy Research Center Announced
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science Wan Gang, and Administrator of National Energy Administration Zhang Guo Bao today announced plans to develop a U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The Center would facilitate joint research and development on clean energy by teams of scientists and engineers from the U.S. and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country.
Priority topics to be addressed will initially include building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles. The U.S. and China together pledged $15 million to support initial activities. -
a 1,320-megawatt tidal power plant will be built on a 157.45-square-kilometer area of sea near the islands of Ganghwa, Jangbong and Yeongjong. The government will build it by 2017 at a cost of 3.92 trillion won ($3.0 billion), the report said.
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Walmart’s Sustainability Index: The Hype and the Reality | Joel Makower on GreenBiz.com
Walmart has just unveiled its new Sustainability Index, a project that’s been in the works for more than a year, but which is — finally, after much anticipation and more than a little handwringing by industry, activists, and others — part of the public discourse. The advance stories over the past few days have been amped up to the point of breathlessness, involving adjectives like “huge” (perhaps) and “audacious” (probably), with one story suggesting the Index will “shake the world” (um, no comment). Such hyperbole is understandable: any green commitment that Walmart makes is potentially a big deal.
But now that reality has hit, it’s time to take a more sober assessment of what’s really going on here. -
How much land area does it take to support your lifestyle? Take this quiz to find out your Ecological Footprint, discover your biggest areas of resource consumption, and learn what you can do to tread more lightly on the earth.
Only works for US and Australia 🙁
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Pattie Maes demos the Sixth Sense | Video on TED.com
This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.
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Record rain in Karachi kills dozens – CNN.com
Cleanup efforts unfolded Monday in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, after torrential monsoon rain over the weekend killed dozens, cut power to 15 million and broke a 32-year record.
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Sandbag: real action on climate change
EU wide map of polluters in the carbon market showing those with an excess of credits and those in need of credits
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Kids’ lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution
Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.