Blogs

Blundering into a Himalayan mistake

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has a penchant for setting the cat among the (green) pigeons. His latest foray is to endorse the findings of a retired scientist that there is no proof that Himalayan glaciers are retreating. The study, titled Himalayan Glaciers: A state of art review of glacial studies, glacial retreat and climate change, has been compiled by V K Raina, a former Deputy Director General of the Geological Survey of India. ...
Read more...

Tuesday,24 November, 2009 | Hits: 83

Barney Lipscomb

Botanist Barney Lipscomb Receives 2010 Peter H. Raven Award American Society of Plant Taxonomists presents award to Barney Lipscomb of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas for advancing the public's understanding of plant systematic work and its value to society FORT WORTH, Texas, -- Botanist Barney L. Lipscomb, the Dorothea L. Leonhardt Chair of Texas Botany at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth and head of BRIT's scientific press, has received the 2010 Peter H. Raven Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. He was presented the award at ASPT's annual meeting on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, in Providence, R.I. ...
Read more...

Wednesday,04 August, 2010 | Hits: 133

Fast action needed for near-term mitigation

Emissions spewing into the atmosphere now could easily lead to atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 1,000 parts per million by the year 2200, effectively pushing the world beyond the tipping point for irreversible climate impacts, according to a survey of 14 renowned climate scientists published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...
Read more...

Monday,05 July, 2010 | Hits: 113

‘Fuel’ film galvanizes support in louisiana for deepwater oil spill solutions

With the Launch of the DVD on June 22nd, the FUEL team of Energy Experts Began a National Dialogue on Solutions for the DeepWater Oil Spill LOS ANGELES, CA (July 1, 2010) - To coincide with the two month anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that triggered the worst environmental disaster in American history and the June 22nd DVD release of the Sundance Award Winning documentary, FUEL, New Orleans native, filmmaker and alternative fuels activist, Josh Tickell and his producing partner and wife Rebecca Harrell Tickell kicked off a campaign earlier this week to address the Gulf oil spill. ...
Read more...

Saturday,07 August, 2010 | Hits: 134

Science and the Law

Just how much will the earth’s temperature eventually increase from global climate change? The answer requires knowing how rapidly Earth’s temperature increases with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and also how much carbon dioxide human society will emit in future. ...
Read more...

Saturday,07 August, 2010 | Hits: 164

Green Jobs: Working for People and the Environment

The pursuit of so-called "green jobs"—employment that contributes to protecting the environment and reducing humanity's carbon footprint—will be a key economic driver of the 21st century. "Climate-proofing" the global economy will involve large-scale investments in new technologies, equipment, buildings, and infrastructure, which will provide a major stimulus for much-needed new employment and an opportunity for retaining and transforming existing jobs. ...
Read more...

Saturday,07 August, 2010 | Hits: 152

TALKING GREEN 2.30, from MY GREEN CHANNEL

" TALKING GREEN " weekly e-Newsletter of My GREEN CHANNEL, an initiative of LAKSHYA [ issue 2.30, Friday, 23rd July 2010 ] Dear Friends, When we talk about development, the growth perspectives always turns its pole towards the GDP and infrastructure [ in short economic dev] in our cities and metros. Visuals speaks too many and ask too many as well! I urge you to have a look at this small documentary of 9.12 min of uncomfortable truths of our country. We are talking about sanitation in this issue to raise few questions of truth and reality of the Indian commons……….. Water supply and sanitation is a State responsibility under the Indian Constitution. States may give the responsibility to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in rural areas or municipalities in urban areas, called Urban Local Bodies (ULB). At present, states generally plan, design and execute water supply schemes (and often operate them) through their State Departments (of Public Health Engineering or Rural Development Engineering) or State Water Boards. Highly centralized decision-making and approvals at the state level, which are characteristic of the Indian civil service, affect the management of water supply and sanitation services in the Indian sub continent . For example, according to the World Bank in the state of Punjab the process of approving designs is centralized with even minor technical approvals reaching the office of chief engineers. A majority of decisions are made in a very centralized manner at the headquarters. I can go on and on with examples but I really couldn’t understand why we always fail to implement what we plan and in papers and do not look at issues from a citizens utility perspectives……! GREEN CHANNEL’s objective has been always to education and interact with the strength of the common man in finding way for a better planet. Please step forward to share news of change to your known world …! We appreciate your solidarity in growing together….! with GREEN hope and GREEN thoughts ….………… ENJOY READING!! Uzzwal Madhab President / Executive Director LAKSHYA Foundation, New Delhi , INDIA India – Rating of Cities under the National Urban Sanitation Policy Rating of Cities under the National Urban Sanitation Policy announced on may 12th 2010 is the part of the exercise started last year to create awareness about sanitation. The exercise of rating of Cities covers all major cities of the country and almost 72 percent of India’s total urban population. The country was divided into five zones for the purpose- North; South; West; East and North East and Central and South Central. Each city has been scored on 19 indicators which are divided into three categories: Readmore UK's largest coal-fired power plant could switch to biomass within 10 years Drax, Britain's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, could stop burning coal by the end of the decade. Finance director Tony Quinlan said the company was looking to convert all six units of the coal-fired power station so they only burn biomass, such as wood chip, within the next 10 years. "Drax is a viable business today as a coal plant," he told the Guardian. "But the opportunity to turn it into a renewable power company Readmore National Urban Sanitation Policy Sanitation is defined as safe management of human excreta, including its safe confinement treatment, disposal and associated hygiene-related practices. While this policy pertains to management of human excreta and associated public health and environmental impacts, it is recognized that integral solutions need to take account of other elements of environmental sanitation, Readmore Business-As-Usual Emissions of GHGs Washington, DC, July 6, 2010 – Emissions spewing into the atmosphere now could easily lead to atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 1,000 parts per million by the year 2200, effectively pushing the world beyond the tipping point for irreversible climate impacts, according to a survey of 14 renowned climate scientists published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Readmore Are new biofuels the ethical answer? New biofuels offer a sustainable source of energy but we must consider the ethical and social implications, say Joyce Tait and Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka. Biofuels were first pioneered in the early days of car manufacturing. Cheap fossil fuels soon overtook them as our fuel of choice, but concerns about climate change have revived interest in them — global biofuel production doubled between 2000 and 2007, and is expected to double again by 2011. Readmore China signals major shift into GM crops China wants to push forward with the large-scale planting of genetically modified (GM) crops, according to its first policy document of the year. Pest-resistant Bt cotton is already grown on an industrial scale in China. Bt rice and phytase maize — which eliminates the need to feed extra phosphate to poultry and pigs — will now follow suit within 3–5 years, predicted Huang Dafang, Readmore Poor want biomass, not biodiversity, finds study Preserving biodiversity may be the goal of conservationists and environmental activists, but preserving biomass is a more important priority for the poor, says a literature review. The finding, which researchers said was unexpected, was the result of one of three reviews presented to a symposium this week (28-29 April). "People just don't care about biodiversity," Craig Leisher, of the US-based Nature Conservancy, told SciDev.Net at the meeting, Readmore Intuit Partners with Freecycle for Office Recycling Programs As more of us try to concoct ways to become more "green" or "sustainable," one of the most tried and true methods to reduce one's carbon output is to just not buy new items in the first place. It's easy to focus on solar panels, composting bins, double-paned windows, or weatherizing your home. Readmore Canon Stumbles in Green Product Campaign in Asia Greenwashing apparently knows no boundaries, either geographically or by industry. For example, Korean supermarket aisles boast products touting their "well-being" attributes, without explaining how they could possibly make anyone well. The Shanghai Expo touts its green activities, Readmore USAID appointment boosts science diplomacy focus Alex Dehgan has been appointed USAID's science and technology advisor to step up US science diplomacy The US government's international development agency is stepping up its focus on science and technology with a key appointment intended to enhance the agency's programmes in the Middle East and bolster the Obama administration's push for science diplomacy. Readmore GREEN VIEW GREEN REEL OUR INITIATIVES © Copyright 2010, Lakshya Foundation. Newsletter Management by The Old Mans Furnace You're receiving this Newsletter because you have subscribed to the Newsletter Service at http://mygreenchannel.org/. To unsubscribe please click {unsubscribe}Unsubscribe{/unsubscribe} ...
Read more...

Thursday,22 July, 2010 | Hits: 827

UK's largest coal-fired power plant could switch to biomass within 10 years

Drax, Britain's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, could stop burning coal by the end of the decade.Finance director Tony Quinlan said the company was looking to convert all six units of the coal-fired power station so they only burn biomass, such as wood chip, within the next 10 years. ...
Read more...

Thursday,22 July, 2010 | Hits: 151

Canon Stumbles in Green Product Campaign in Asia

Greenwashing apparently knows no boundaries, either geographically or by industry. For example, Korean supermarket aisles boast products touting their "well-being" attributes, without explaining how they could possibly make anyone well. The Shanghai Expo touts its green activities, as if all that frenzied construction could somehow be offset or mitigated.The electronics manufacturer Canon has launched an ambitious green marketing program in Asia, which is smart marketing because consumers in the Pacific Rim region are becoming more aware of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Or perhaps Canon's marketing department realizes that such a program would receive a heavy dose of scrutiny in the Euro Zone or North America. ...
Read more...

Wednesday,14 July, 2010 | Hits: 124

Intuit Partners with Freecycle for Office Recycling Programs

As more of us try to concoct ways to become more "green" or "sustainable," one of the most tried and true methods to reduce one's carbon output is to just not buy new items in the first place. It's easy to focus on solar panels, composting bins, double-paned windows, or weatherizing your home. But if more of us would be content using used products, that alone would make a huge step in reducing the depletion of our resources. ...
Read more...

Monday,12 July, 2010 | Hits: 142