In a potential sign of things to come, a west Texas meat packing facility has shuttered its operations as meat demand, and supply, drops. Demand for factory farmed meat is dropping for a variety of reasons, but the supply is dropping due to climate change, as persistent droughts sweep across formerly fertile farmlands. Cargill, one […]
Climate change related job losses Read More 👉
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about how America is on a slow slide to oblivion given our lowest-in-history birthrate and U.S. Census projections showing slower population growth. While it’s true that fewer babies were born last year than in previous years (due to the recession, most likely), our total fertility rate –
Five reasons why slower growth isn’t necessarily bad Read More 👉
Three European countries have pledged a combined $180 million to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), an institution created by the World Bank to compensate developing countries for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions achieved by preserving their forests. The contributions from Finland, Germany, and Norway bring FCPF’s capitalization to around $650 million, guaranteeing that developing
European Countries Donate Millions to Halt Deforestation Read More 👉
Investors reacted lukewarmly to the passage of the “beyond midnight” fiscal cliff compromise that left Democrats unhappy and Republicans, well, unhappy. When investors react with a mere “meh” to a bipartisan deal that averted what we were told was the potential end of the world as we know it, that might mean one of two
Effects of the Fiscal Cliff deal on green energy and investment Read More 👉
We’ve been hearing about the fiscal cliff a lot lately, about the risk of falling over the edge by failing to reach a political agreement, triggering automatic tax increases and spending cuts by theUSgoverment. It sounds like we’re about to sail off the edge of the world, a new end of the world since the
The Eco-Cliff and the Fiscal Cliff Read More 👉
The European Union has long been ahead of the curve in terms of sustainability efforts and legislative action around carbon emissions, cleaner energy, toxins in consumer products, and the like. The journey for the EU is well underway and looks to be picking up speed. For instance, pervasive GMO labeling laws across EU member states
How much will it cost for Europe to go entirely green? Read More 👉
When citizens of the Italian town of L’Aquila started noticing that the semi-regular tremors along the fault line on which they lived had started becoming a little more regular and a little more intense, many became nervous about the possibility of a cataclysmic event. Seven seismologists from the Italian civil protection agency evaluated the data
Of all the extreme water sports out there, the activity of surfing may have one of the most smallest environmental footprints of any hobby or sport. After all, it’s human power and nature’s energy combining to provide thrill ride after thrill ride. Only just recently have people figured out how to bring mobile electronics with
Ecoboards for your next surf adventure Read More 👉
Diesel engines are a big deal in America. They are used to haul the food we eat and the goods we otherwise consume. The biggest challenge in the wide use of the diesel engine is that its emissions will often pose a problem for maintaining clean air. The good news is that advancements in technology
EPA Allows Illegal Engines As Long As Feds Get Paid Read More 👉
One Billion Cars For many years, it was assumed that the primary emphasis on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions should concentrate on automobiles. After all, as a recent “Huffington Post” article decried, the world now has over a billion cars and their greenhouse gas emissions to deal with. In an April 2010 article, “Impact of Aviation
Green Aviation? The Sky’s the Limit for Job Creation Read More 👉
“Sustainability is about living with aloha” -Mayor Billy Kenoi Geothermal energy, wind, sunshine, good soils, and a great aquifer system have the Big Island of Hawaii feeling good these days. Billy Kenoi, mayor of Hawaii County, touted the county’s accomplishments in a recent speech at the TechConKona Conference, in which Paul Hawken keynoted. ‘The
Economic and environmental progress on the Big Island of Hawaii Read More 👉
First, context: Homo sapiens is an actively interdependent species of agents with responsibilities as collaborative participants in this web of life: all our destinies are intertwined. There is, in any healthy community a social contract, and its acknowledgement is emerging more and more vocally from our society’s closets and into our front yard again. Thank
Love Letter to Banksters Read More 👉
Virginia and West Virginia, as little as five or ten years ago, were reliably supportive of their respective party’s presidential candidate. The politics of clean energy seems to have changed both states’ political tune, with Democrats picking up the 13 electoral college votes in Virginia from Republicans, and ceding the 5 electoral college votes of
The Green Economy has changed national politics: Virginia and West Virginia case studies Read More 👉
Major survey finds 508,000 clean economy jobs created in the Pacific Northwest. Experts believe that 1.03 million net new full-time equivalents can be created by continuing the clean economy path by 2020. The jobs include clean tech engineers, machinists, installers, and other “boots on the roof” jobs, energy auditors, organic agriculture specialists, local food manufacturers,
Survey finds major growth in green jobs Read More 👉
Our aching planet just needs you to be thoughtful as you plow into your next venture. If you are, everyone wins, and wins sustainably into the indefinite future. A sustainable business considers the impacts of every facet of its operation and then attempts to address each, from paper consumption to human resources, in a way
You Think You Might start a Green Business? Read More 👉
I just downloaded The State of the Paper Industry: Monitoring the Indicators of Environmental Performance, put out by the Steering Committee of the Environmental Paper Network. On the surface, the numbers sound impressive and scary. The big bad paper industry needs to be reigned in for the good of the planet. Old growth forests are
Green Stats: Can’t We Tell Them Without the Agenda? Read More 👉
It’s been three days since the State of the Union, and while myriad pundits have already weighed in on the substance (the President averaged a C+) and style (B) of the address, a key issue that was once a campaign promise has evaporated into the cold Washington night: climate change policy. Mr. Obama did indeed
Obama Administration Tacking on Climate Change Strategy Read More 👉
Happy 2011. While the slate is clear of a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill and Fortune firms either have or are about to report sparkling sustainability performance spikes (mainly due to flat or diminished revenue growth), hope springs eternal for an interesting year of (hopefully) inspired economic activity. However, a less than promising trend
Will 2011 Bring the Great CFL Light Bulb Backlash? Read More 👉
Our GOP fiscal deficit saviors have decided that a Democratic effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the US Capitol (and save money on utilities) will be on the chopping block come January. The Washington Post is reporting that a facilities greening led by outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is unlikely to receive the public
Republicans Ridicule Capitol Greening Plan — But Keep It Anyway Read More 👉
When President Obama gave his now famous midterm election concession speech (yup, the “shellacking” address), he conceded that cap and trade was just “one way to skin the cat” with respect to failed US climate change policy. As world leaders begin the two-week UN COP16 climate change conference today in Cancún, the media is awash
Thinking Smaller in Cancún — It’s Not Only About CO2 Reduction Read More 👉
Its been quite a long and drawn out fight, but Massachusetts has approved a deal between Cape Farm and National Grid to enter into a 15-year contract to purchase the energy provided by the turbines. This is especially interesting for two reasons, one because this battle has been going on for quite some time, with
Cape Cod Bay Wind Farm Moves Forward Read More 👉
Bloomberg News is reporting that a coalition of international investors led by Deutsche Banke AG and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CALPERS) are calling for global policy action at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, November 29-December 10. The statement, which is being curated by Ceres, warns that continued weak US
Can $15 Trillion in Assets Galvanize UN Climate Talks in Cancun? Read More 👉
Based on a recent report published by sustainability analyst firm Verdantix, spending on sustainability by almost 2,000 businesses with revenues of over $1 billion will increase from $28 billion in 2010 to $60 billion in 2014. Now, I know what you’re thinking. That’s barely anything in comparison to total revenue (1.4% up to 3.3%), but
Despite Sluggish Economy, Spending on Sustainability Forecast to Increase Read More 👉
In the world of sustainable business, the words “greenhouse gases” elicit shivers down the spine, but what are greenhouse gases, really? If you ask the average person, they’d say probably something like, “Uh, bad things in the atmosphere? Something about carbon dioxide?” If we’re going to try to reduce our carbon footprints (another way of
Greenhouse Gases: We Talk About Them, But What Are They? Read More 👉
