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459 days ago
Joe Biden is due to take the stage this evening in Denver to accept his party's nomination for vice presidential running mate. It will be interesting to see whether Biden uses his alloted time to discuss a topic dear to him on the campaign trail last year: energy independence and America's role in capping carbon emissions. If you were wondering where Biden stands here's a quick run-down from green pundits and policymakers: The Grist points out Biden scores an 83 (out of 100) from the League of Conservation Voters; Obama clocks in at 86. On the campaign trail last year, Biden favoured the U.S. taking a stronger stance in reducing its carbon impact. Specifically, he wants a cap on emissions, increasing investment in renewable fuels, legislating tougher fuel efficiency standards and establishing a national renewable portfolio standard. The Grist breaks out Biden's environmental record here. And what about the right-leaning Wall Street Journal? Biden believes the energy ...
464 days ago
Here's one for fans of wind turbines. There are a few of you other there. Correct? In a court ruling that could finally put a halt to (waning) public gripes to wind turbines in the United States, a Texas appeal court judge last week threw out landowner's opposition to a wind farm they claimed is too loud and is an eyesore. The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog called the ruling an important "legal smackdown of “NIMBYism.” According to The Houston Chronicle, landowners near Abilene, Tex., in 2005 took FPL Energy to court for building a wind farm they say too loud, ruined their scenic views and lowered property values. The judge ruled in favour of the FPL and ordered the plaintiffs to pay its legal bills. Understandably, FPL hailed the victory as "the right result." The legal victory is a big one for the entire region. West Texas is the American capital of wind energy and, according to WSJ, it is the fifth largest producer of wind energy in the ...
494 days ago
Ok, maybe he's more like The Lorax, as the New York Times writes this morning. The governator signed into law this week an only-in-California piece of legislation that gives the trees "the right to grow" -- even if it means blocking out a neighbour's solar panels from direct sunlight. Why write such an obvious thing into law? The short answer is to bring peace to Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley. The whole thing started with a neighbours dispute, pitting one family who'd planted redwood trees over a decade ago against another neighbour who installed solar panels on his home back in 2001. As redwoods are wont to do, the trees grew quite tall, creating a rather large shadow, impacting the direct path of the sun onto a neighbour's solar panels. A series of legal skirmishes ensued. Now, the state is stepping in with Gov. Schwarzenegger and his mighty pen coming to the aid of the trees. Well, old trees. Had the trees been planted after the solar panels ...
495 days ago
Few thought the target would ever be achieved, but that was besides the point. Just bringing global attention to the problem was viewed as a major advancement. In time, human compassion and ingenuity would wipe out one of the most vexing killers in our world: unsafe drinking water. How are we faring in this crusade? Sadly, not well. By 2015, the UN set a goal to reduce by half the number of people who still have no access to basic sanitation and a sustainable fresh water supply. It was the corner piece of the UN's ambitious Millenium Development Goals struck in 2000. Half-way through, and the progress is worse than expected. According to Edie.net, there are still 2.5 billion people without access to clean water and even the most rudimentary toilets. It now appears as if the goal will fall well short of anyone's expectations. "At current trends, the world will fall short of the Millennium sanitation target by more than 700m people," Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive ...
516 days ago
The Malaysian government is intent on prohibiting any new forest clearing for the establishment of oil palm plantations, the online journal Mongabay reports. According to Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi only areas zoned for agriculture will be allowed to be converted for palm oil production. "We don't have to reduce the protected forests to increase new oil palm plantations," Abdullah was quoted in the New Straits Times as saying. "With more effective management of the plantations and new technologies, production can go up by 30 per cent." But notes Mongabay," some environmental groups have expressed concern that as Malaysia improves the environmental performance of oil palm within its borders, Malaysian firms have lower standards when operating in neighboring Indonesia where much expansion is taking place." Malaysia — the world's second larger producer of palm oil after Indonesia — has already acquired land in ...
