Worldwide development of hydrogen as the transport fuel of the future is growing exponentially, with Europe a dynamic center of hydrogen activity. A new Europe-wide coalition of carmakers and oil companies proclaimed, "Now is the time to move forward
to pave the way for the introduction of hydrogen-based mobility in Europe."
Although we like to think that the music we consume is planet-friendly (don’t groups do global warming benefits?) the truth is that CDs and big-ticket tours create carbon emissions and hefty material waste streams. The good news is that an industry vanguard is recognizing that impact and taking steps to neutralize it. Some performers even try to reduce carbon emissions above and beyond their own impact.
A new study by the international environmental group WWF released last week reported that two-thirds of the forests in Africa’s Congo River Basin could disappear within 50 years if logging and mineral exploitation continues unabated.
It is widely agreed that aquatic life and fisheries are in global decline. However, a new report says the damage could be worse than previously suspected. Appearing in Science, the report summarized a four-year study by a team of ecologists and economists, and concluded that at current rates of over-fishing almost all marine life harvested by humans will be wiped out before 2050.
The nonprofit Rainforest Action Network urged 54 financial institutions last week not to participate in lending Texas-based TXU Corp. the $11 billion it needs for the construction of 11 new coal-burning power plants across Texas. The new plants would produce some 78 million tons of new carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year they are operating, which is more greenhouse gas pollution than is produced by 21 states or by small countries like Sweden, Denmark and Portugal.
The Democratic Congressional victories are likely to provide new momentum for the U.S. to finally act on climate change. Three newly empowered Senators—Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) sent a letter to President Bush November 15 urging him to work with them to "signal to the world that global warming legislation is on the way."
When Wal-Mart announced plans to double its offering of organic products (see "High-Volume Organic: Should We Applaud When Wal-Mart Goes Crunchy?" Currents, September/ October 2006) the organic community responded with mixed feelings. Now skeptics have new ammunition, because the Cornucopia Institute has filed a legal complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture accusing Wal-Mart of selling non-organic food products as organic.
Querido DiálogoEcológico: Una serie de productos, incluyendo el papel y la ropa—y hasta cerveza y ciertos alimentos—se hacen a base del cáñamo. ¿Qué es lo que hace al cáñamo tan versátil, y por qué es ilegal cultivarlo en los Estados Unidos? ¿Es ilegal también en Canadá?
Querido DiálogoEcológico: ¿Es cierto que las selvas húmedas contienen quizás miles de plantas y hierbas con propiedades medicinales?
Last October, Iceland announced it would resume hunting great whales, breaking a 20-year moratorium on commercial whaling. Icelandic whalers will be allowed to kill nine endangered fin whales and 30 smaller, more abundant minkes by the end of August. The killing has already begun: By the end of last November, whalers had killed seven fins, producing a storm of international criticism.
When it comes to solid waste, most people think of candy wrappers, soda bottles and Styrofoam packing peanuts instead of the house they’re living in or the Target where they shop. However, the EPA estimates that up to 40 percent of U.S. solid waste is construction and demolition debris. Deconstruction—taking homes and commercial buildings apart, rather than landfilling the waste—does involve more labor than demolition, but it also avoids costly disposal fees. What had been a total loss—demolition and landfilling—turns into a revenue-generating opportunity to resell what was previously waste.
