SAN FRANCISCO – The green economy continues to show almost remarkable signs of vitality, business leaders say, despite the near-total collapse of global talks, stalemate in Washington, D.C., and polls showing decreased urgency to tackle climate change. [More]
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Editor’s introduction: Scientists have proposed compelling steps to ease specific kinds of environmental damage and slow consumption of certain resources [see “ Solutions to Environmental Threats ,”]. But Bill McKibben, scholar in residence at Middlebury College and co-founder of climate action group 350.org , maintains that to truly stop ruining the planet, society must break its most debilitating habit: growth. In his new book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet , McKibben argues that humankind, because of its actions, now lives on a fundamentally different world, which he calls “Eaarth.” This celestial body can no longer support the economic growth model that has driven society for 200 years. To avoid our own collapse, we must instead seek to maintain wealth and resources, in large part by shifting to more durable, localized economies. [More] Winds of Change I found it surprising that in “ A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030 ,” Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi do not mention the effects of the suggested energy sources on climate. The authors propose to absorb about six terawatts of energy from about 60 terawatts available in the wind, or about 10 percent of its total energy. Because the winds, at least near the U.S., usually flow around highs or lows, where the speed and related Coriolis force tend to maintain the pressure difference, I can easily envision that absorbing the energy will change the rate at which the pressure centers collapse. How this would change the weather, I do not know, but it must make a change to give us some of the energy. Possibly, the weather change would be an improvement, but as a believer in Murphy’s Law, I would be surprised. About 100 years ago dumping garbage into the ocean was justified because the oceans were infinite compared to the effect, so no one calculated how much was allowable. Let’s be smarter this time! Why not do the calculations before we cause more problems? [More] France’s call for an international trade ban on endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna is a strong political commitment, but it falls well short of giving this endangered species the immediate protection it needs from overfishing. French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo made official today that France supports the listing of Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will effectively ban all international commercial trade. However, France is asking for an 18-month delayed implementation of the ban pending new scientific analysis of tuna stocks. [...] |
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