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Old King Coal in the Winter of His Years
Old King Coal is in the Winter of his years, and the question is no longer “if,” but “when” he will expire. 2014 is likely to be remembered as the death blow which truly left old King Coal, “a dead man walking.” To put it mildly, this was not a good year for coal. “Coal […] More
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John Kerry’s Economics of Climate Change Denial
Thanking the government of Peru for hosting the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP20, John Kerry applauded the delegates for their hard work to bring global warming under control. Approving the draft text of the climate treaty in Peru was a critical stepping stone to the agreement that must be reached in Paris next year. […] More
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Clean Energy Growing Strong in Canada’s 1st Annual Report
In the past five years, investors have moved $25 billion into Canada’s renewable energy sector, propelling a 37 percent employment increase. So says a newly-released report celebrating pollution-free electricity capacity increasing in Canada by 8 gigawatts. Put another way, this is enough to power 2.7 million Canadian homes. Released by Clean Energy Canada on Tuesday, […] More
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Energy’s Future in Light of US-China Climate Pact
With the new targets set last week between China and the United States, President Obama superseded the U.S. target of 17 percent reduction in emissions by 2020, made in Copenhagen in 2009. The new target reduction aims for 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, and aligned with a plan for reducing U.S. emissions by […] More
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Reducing Carbon Emissions in the New Climate Economy
The U.S. has targeted a 17 percent reduction in carbon emissions below 2005 levels by 2020. World Resources Institute (WRI) has identified many real-world examples where government policies and sustained technological progress are creating opportunities to achieve this goal and succeed beyond. According to WRI’s latest report, Seeing Is Believing: Creating a New Climate Economy, emerging […] More
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Global Warming Mitigation Strategies from the 2014 NCA
Following up on last week’s article, Climate Change Facts from the 2014 National Climate Assessment, this article outlines necessary mitigation strategies to reduce the impacts of global warming, according to the research accomplished for the 2014 NCA. Appearing first on our sister site, EdenKeeper.org, this article is the fourth, and final, installment in the Fossil […] More
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Climate Change Facts from the 2014 National Climate Assessment
With economic reports on the New Climate Economy being released every few days, we can rest assured that the new clean energy revolution is well underway. But, are you up to speed on the latest compilation of U.S. climate change facts? If not, or if you’d like a quick refresher, the article below is helpful. […] More
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Wildfire Prediction Sees Improvements In Modeling
A single battle with a large wildfire can easily burn $1 million a day in firefighting costs alone. National and state costs combined have exploded to nearly $3.5 billion annually, and firefighting costs are not the end of the story. In an environment of global heating and prevailing droughts, firefighting costs are just the beginning […] More
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Can Protecting Nature Reduce Poverty?
Little is known about the mechanisms through which ecosystem conservation programs affect poverty, but scholars are now accumulating evidence about the effects of environmental programs on social outcomes. A recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the progress being made by researchers in Costa Rica to answer the question of […] More
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Understanding The CBD Ecosystem Approach
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international convention for protecting the diversity of life on Earth. As opposed to treaties focusing on individual species or biomes, this international treaty encompasses biodiversity on a global scale. It focuses on establishing a global network of protected natural areas, for the purpose of protecting natural capital at […] More
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True Costs in the Agriculture and Food Industry
by Heidi Darling Up until about 1960, the largest contributor of CO2 to the atmosphere wasn’t the burning of fossil fuels. It was plowing agriculture fields, which destroyed the rich dark (carbon) filled soil. Even today, agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than the transportation or industrial sector! 2% of global sea level rise is caused […] More
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Economic Analysis of Keystone XL: Jobs, the Environment, and Long Term Outcomes
John Kerry, Secretary of State, is tasked with making some high level recommendations to President Obama regarding the construction of TransCanada’s controversial oil pipeline known as Keystone XL. Environmentalists have weighed in firmly against the project, citing the “dirty” nature of tar sands oil and the high probability that the pipeline will leak and be […] More