TreeHugger

Vattenfall Wakes Up to VattenFAIL Reputation: Did Twitter Help Topple CEO?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:26:07 -0500

Image: Vattenfall Vattenfall, the Swedish national energy concern named after waterfalls, will announce a new CEO in the coming weeks. Apparently caught by surprise with a candidate who has not yet entirely been confirmed, the company is figh...

"Angry Mermaid" To Honor Biggest Greenwasher At Copenhagen Talks

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:35:29 -0500

Photo: The Little Mermaid statue, Copenhagen (AP) Move over Disney and Hans Christian Andersen, here comes the Angry Mermaid. Thankfully, this new spin is not at all a postmodern rehashing of a fairytale classic, but rather a new environmental award launching tomorrow, ahead of December's climate talks at Copenhagen. Based on Denmark's famed Little Mermaid statue, the dubious honour will be decided by public vote and given to the feckless organization that is "doing the most to sabotage effective action on climate change". Top nominees include:...

Adapting to Climate Change in the Arid Middle East

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Yemen and other countries in the Middle East are dry and dependent on agriculture. Photo by Ai@ce via Flickr. Lying at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, both water-poor and heavily agriculture-dependent areas, Turkey has more reasons than many to worry about the effects of climate change. So what are Turkish officials and others in the region doing about it?...

Asian Pacific Countries Backslide On Emissions Cuts Pledge

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:02:19 -0500

Photo via Reuters With about month left until the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Asian Pacific countries gathering in Singapore this weekend are backing off their pledge to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2050. Their new language reads: "We believe that global emissions will need to peak over the next few years, and be substantially reduced by 2050, recognizing that the timeframe for peaking will be longer in developing economies." ...

FDA Backs Off On Plan to Ban Some Gulf Oysters

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:34:55 -0500

photo: The Nature Conservancy The Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will back off on its plan to ban as of 2011 the sale of raw oysters from the Gulf Coast during part of the year because they have been linked with about a dozen annual deaths from poisoning. The move met stiff resistance from oysterman and foodies who say that frozen oysters are no substitute and that the ban will ruin a cultural tradit...

A Conversation with 7 Planning Directors: Theft is a Good Thing!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:53:41 -0500

(from left to right) Gabriel Metcalf, John Rahaim, Diane Sugimura, Amanda Burden, Brent Toderian, Bill Anderson, Barbara Sporlein & Susan Anderson. photo via Street'sblog San Francisco's Michael Rhodes Planning Directors from 7 forward thinking cities got together in San Francisco last week to share ideas and answer questions from an eager audience. The room was packed with 200 attendees, double the amount expected, with standing room only for man...

Study Shows Investing in Nature More Valuable than Gold (Literally)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:22:00 -0500

Photo via Corbis If 'moral prerogative' isn't reason enough to invest in protecting nature, here's another one: it's just been found to bring up to hundredfold return on capital. Yes, that's a potential 10000% gain--better than an investment in gold. According to a new study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), putting money into protecting wetlands, coral reefs, and forests could be the best financial move one could ever...

America Recycles Day: The Value Of Proper E-Waste Recycling

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:21:40 -0500

Curbside TV trash. Image credit:PhillyNewsBlog, Scene On The Road, T. Gralish. This Sunday, November 15th, marks the 12th annual America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized day for Americans to recycle and purchase recycled products. While the global waste stream continues to grow, current trends indicate that electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing commodity within the waste stream. In fact, volumes are growing at more than three times the rate of other wastes and have doubled in the last d...

US Considers Scaled-Back Climate Deal - Congressional Inaction Holds Up Global Commitment

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:07:00 -0500

photo: blakeimeson via flickr. I have to admit there are some days when I have trouble holding back my frustration following the painful progress of the climate change negotiations, and this is one of those times. The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is looking at endorsing a short-term climate pact and pushing off stronger action until next year. Essentially because Congress can't get off its delaying, Aidan Jones via flickr. With all the conflicting and changing national pledges on the table for COP15, it's very easy for someone not closely following this to lose sight of what really needs to happen. In case you one of those people that can't rattle off the components of a

Cap and Trade Works: Europe to Hit Kyoto Targets with Ease

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:27:08 -0500

Photo via Greenpacks Well, so much for the truckloads of naysayers that have lambasted the EU's carbon trading system over the years--Europe is set to easily meet the emissions reduction goals set by the Kyoto Protocol. You know, that treaty the US helped draft and then never signed, saying it would leave our economy in shambles and that it gave China unfair advantages? Yeah, that one. Europe has successfully cut emissions, grown its economy, and seen a huge surge in NOAA. Bluefin tuna is on the verge of total collapse. Maybe. It depends on who you ask. We may have been talking about bluefin tuna shortages for years, but many scientists and co...

Good News/Bad News - Amazon Deforestation Reaches Record Low, But Greenland Ice Melt Accelerating

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:43:00 -0500

photo: kaet44 via flickr. A mixed bag in climate change news this morning: Satellite imagery reveals that Amazon deforestation has dropped to the lowest rate since Brazil began monitoring efforts, President Inácio Lula da Silva announced yesterday afternoon. Woo hoo! But a new article in the journal Science shows that the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing m...

Did Rock Music Peak Right Before Oil Did?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0500

Photo via Rolling Stones Lyrics What's the correlation between good, quality rock music and worldwide oil supplies? They both peaked around the same time, according to Overthinking It, and they both illustrate what occurs when you're using something up from a limited pool--crude oil stores in one case, and musical ideas in the other. Have we run out of both?