Planetary Ruin

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore (25 February, 2008) — Applying organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting, to agricultural land could increase the amount of carbon stored in these soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research published in a special issue of Waste Management & Research (Special issue published today by SAGE).

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – An Australian subsidiary of CLP Holdings Ltd, the larger of Hong Kong’s two power utilities, has agreed with Melbourne-based Solar Systems to develop the world’s largest solar power station.

TRUenergy will contribute an initial A$7 million ($6.5 million) to develop a 2-megawatt heliostat concentrated photovoltaic pilot plant, subsequently investing up to A$285 million to build the remaining stages of the 154 megawatt project in northern Victoria, Australia, CLP said.

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KUNMING (Reuters) – China could meet its own annual targets for energy efficiency for the first time this year, but will still have problems meeting its goals of reducing emissions, according to a state-backed think tank.

China in 2006 set a goal of cutting energy intensity, or the amount of energy needed to produce $1 in economic growth, by 20 percent by 2010. But after it failed to meet the annual target in 2006, the first year of the campaign, it has not published the annual goals for subsequent years.

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CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s carbon emissions would continue to grow due to a heavy reliance on coal for electricity, a government report said on Monday, although the country would meet its Kyoto emissions targets by 2012.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said emissions would grow by 108 percent of 1990 levels from 2008 to 2012, meeting commitments under the Kyoto Protocol which sets binding Greenhouse gas targets for developed nations.

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Tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active material could be used to remove toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous materials from water much more effectively and at lower cost than conventional water purification methods, according to researchers writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Nanotechnology.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Thursday for the creation of an independent European carbon bank to improve the functioning of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme and help fight climate change.

He also called for agreement on a World Bank multilateral fund to finance investments to help poor countries transition to a low-carbon economy.

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MONACO (Reuters) – China expected local capital to fund 90 percent of the infrastructure and other investment needed to meet its goal to get 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, a senior official said.

Gao Guangsheng, director general of climate change at Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission, was speaking on Wednesday to a conference of environment ministers and other delegates at 154-nation climate talks in Monaco.

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Feel like heading off from Jersey for a croissant breakfast in Paris, then returning home in time to meet your friends at a local pizza shop for lunch? How about an overnight stay at a B&B in Sydney Harbor, where you can keep a lookout for sharks from your bedroom window? Or, if you’re in the mood for a cross-country jump from LaGuardia to LAX, you could be California Dreamin’ in mere minutes — though it’ll probably take twice as long to cut through all that traffic en route to your hotel.

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UNEP Launches Year Book 2008 at its 10th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Monaco 20-22 February

Monaco, 20 February 2008-An emerging Green Economy is glimpsed in the latest United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Year Book as growing numbers of companies embrace environmental policies and investors pump hundreds of billions of dollars into cleaner and renewable energies.

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The Whole Foods grocery chain plans to stop offering customers plastic grocery bags, and instead use only recycled paper or reusable bags.

A rising number of governments and retailers are banning plastic bags, or discouraging their use, due to concerns about their environmental impact.

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