carbon dioxide
The US government is hurting its efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions by using flawed economic models that grossly underestimate the greenhouse gas’ impact on the climate and the economy’s future, according to a group of more than 200 climate economists. “The Social Cost of Carbon,” a report from
Jurdy realises that what goes up must eventually come down …
microfinance
What a cool idea: have some of the ‘net’s top bloggers choose their favourite entrepreneur, feature those entrepreneurs on inspirational trading cards, then sell those cards to raise money for Kiva, a micro-finance project that helps small startup businesses in developing countries. That’s what EvanCarmichael.com (which last
recycling
With groggy eyes and messed up, bed-head hair I stumble down the stairs of my studio flat in central London, wrestling three large and unwieldy boxes as I go. It’s 7.15 in the morning and it;s cold and wet outside — the last thing I want is to
oil exploration
So US President Barack Obama has decided to open vast new stretches of the nation’s coastline to oil and gas exploration, begging the question, “Why?” We decided to consult our Magic 8 Ball: Question: Will this expansion wildly increase domestic fossil fuel production? Magic 8 Ball answer: “Don’t
clean energy
There’s a lesson the would-be architects of our clean, renewable-energy future can take from the international response to the deadly Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti: it’s not the possible that matters … it’s the scalable. The evidence remains everywhere to be seen in quake-torn cities like Port-au-Prince, where
global warming
Ancient conifers buried in the peat bogs of New Zealand could hold the key to a better understanding of changes in the Earth’s climate since the end of the last Ice Age. However, scientists hoping to unlock the climate secrets held within the rings of these preserved kauri trees
low carbon economy
Energy- and carbon-minded British officials are keeping busy this week: on the eve of a rollout of new feed-in tariffs that will pay homeowners to generate their own renewable power, the UK is also outlining plans for reducing the government’s carbon footprint and spearheading an effort to revive global
wind energy
After decades of sending manufacturing operations to cheaper labour markets overseas, could the West being seeing the first signs of a sea change? Is it possible the next great economic shift will be away from globalised markets and back to local manufacturing? What Forum for the Futures’ Hugh Knowles describes
low carbon economy
If European and North African power markets worked together, both regions could generate 100 per cent of their electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2050, according to a new study. The report — prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the International Institute for
climate
While IT types are hailing 2010 as the “Year of the Cloud,” a new report by Greenpeace raises questions about how ongoing growth of the internet could fuel climate change by increasing demand for carbon dioxide-spewing coal power. On the plus side, the report also shows how IT can become
Winston Churchill once noted, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” But have the pressing problems facing us today — looming peak oil, climate change, the still-strangled credit markets — given other forms of government an edge over democracy?
