Archive for June 2015

The Pope's Encyclical Opposes Fossil Fuels and Supports Renewables

June 30, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The Encyclical of Pope Francis clearly states that fossil fuels are a leading cause of climate change causing emissions and as such we must reduce their use. He has called for stringent policies to restrict emissions and increased use of renewable energy. "We know that technology based on the use...

Supreme Court Setback for EPA's Coal Plant Mercury and Toxics Rule

June 30, 2015 Add Comment Edit

On Monday June 29th, the Supreme Court ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to clean-up pollution from US coal-fired power plants. The ruling appears to favor economic concerns over cleaner air and water. The EPA's 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standard rule was created to address...

June 29, 2015 Add Comment Edit

While Pope Francis is not the first pope to address environmental concerns he is the first to embark on a global campaign with lofty ambitions that include influencing the outcome at COP21 later this year in Paris. Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II, spoke about the environment and “creation”, but...

Improving Health by Tackling Climate Change

June 29, 2015 Add Comment Edit

A recent has identified several significant opportunities to improve human health by tackling climate change, most notably the phasing out of coal. This is the finding in the 2015 edition of The Lancet, Comission on Health and Climate. This report involved the work of more than 40 researchers and it...

June 28, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The ninth annual Energy Storage World Forum will take place on September 14 - 17th in Sydney, Austria.Some of the issues that will be addressed at the Forum include the following. Examining The Business Case For Solar With Energy Storage• How will solar benefit from energy storage?• In which scenarios...

Event - Sustainable Brands Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

June 28, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on August 25-27, 2015 at the Windsor Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At this event participants can learn how to successfully innovate their brands for sustainability. This events takes place in Rio de Janeiro which continues to inspire brand, sustainability and design...

Sustainability in the Apparel Industry and Eco Fashion (Video)

June 27, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Sustainable apparel and eco-friendly fashion is growing. This type of fashion has a much smaller environmental footprint this includes minimizing waste and eliminating the use of harmful chemicals. For years the clothing industry has been dominated by cheap imports from places like China and India,...

Market Based Green Growth: Natural Capital and Sustainable Economic Growth (Videos)

June 27, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Green growth that factors natural capital can drive competitiveness and power innovation for generations. Resource productivity alone is a $3 trillion opportunity. We must start with the understanding that the choice between the economy and the environment is a false choice. As demonstrated by...

Pope Deprives Republican Climate Deniers of Religious Support

June 26, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Climate denying Republicans can no longer take refuge in religion. Those who eschew the virtues of science have been morally defrocked by the Pope's recent rejection. In the process of calling for bold environmental action, the Pope has admonished conservative critics in the U.S. and elsewhere.The...

Danish Legal Victory Shows How the Courts Can Combat Climate Change

June 26, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Precedent setting Danish legal decision forces the government to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Government legislatures and corporate boardrooms may be the most logical places to lower GHG emissions. However, in some places lawmakers and board members are either corrupt (eg beholden to...

June 25, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Responsible business practices pay dividends. The value of this apprach has been demonstrated in the areas of socially responsible investment (SRI) corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and sustainability. In fact thee are now years of research...

Pope Francis' Moral Call to Environmental Action

June 25, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The new encyclical written by pope Francis may draw heavily upon science, but it is ultimately a moral call to environmental and social action. Moral and faith based advocacy of climate action is of immense benefit in reaching those who are not familiar with the merits of science. We have needed a...

The Pope's Encyclical is an Indictment of Capitalism

June 24, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The recent encyclical of Pope Francis is as much about capitalism as it is about the environment. The pope clearly point to the interrelationship between unbridled capitalism and environmental degradation. His encyclical states that our economic system has importance implications for our efforts to...

June 24, 2015 Add Comment Edit

June 24th is a good time to explore the greening of the Canadian province of Quebec. Each year Saint Jean Baptiste Day, also known as the "Fête nationale du Québec" and "Quebec's National Holiday" is held on this day. Traditionally the day marks the feast day of St John the Baptist, however, it has...

Science Adds Weight to the Pope's Environmental Encyclical

June 23, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The position of Pope Francis on the environment is premised on good science. In essence he agrees with the salient findings of the IPCC. While the Pope may not be a working scientist, he does have a "titulo" degree (between a bachelors and a masters) in chemistry and he even worked for a time as a...

New Charges Against MMA Employees in Lac Mégantic Train Wreck

June 23, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Several people have been indicted 2 years after the tragic oil train derailment that killed 47 people and decimated the town of Lac Mégantic Quebec. This includes President and CEO of the now defunct Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) rail company Robert Gindrod, managers and the train's engineer....

Climate Change has Potentially Catastrophic Health Impacts

June 23, 2015 Add Comment Edit

A new study reiterates the fact that the health impacts of climate change are being felt today and it warns that they could soon become potentially "catastrophic" in the near future. Climate change makes us sick both physically and mentally.Over the last half century we have seen dramatic improvements...

May was the Wettest Month on Record in the US

June 22, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The month of May 2015 was the wettest month on record. We all know that heat is the most common corollary of climate change, however so is drought on the one hand and extreme precipitation on the other. While California has been plagued with drought, most of the southern 48 states have been inundated...

The Encyclical of Pope Francis Calls for Revolution

June 22, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The zeal surrounding the recently released encyclical of Pope Francis is as revolutionary in modern times as the message which it conveys. In his unprecedented encyclical called "Laudato Sii", or “"Praised Be", the pope has called for a " bold cultural revolution" to tackle environmental and social...

Countdown to COP21 - Emissions Reductions and Economic Growth: The IEA's Energy and Climate Change Report 2015

June 22, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a champion of sustainable energy production and on June 15th they launched a special report on climate change. The World Energy Outlook Special Report 2015 is a 200 page document that was published just six months ahead of the COP21 Paris Climate Summit scheduled...

Event - Water and Society Conference 2015

June 21, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The 3rd International Conference on Water and Society will take place on the 15th to the 17th of July, 2015 in A Coruña, Spain. The first of which was held in Las Vegas in 2011, followed by the meeting in 2013 in the New Forest, UK, home to the Wessex Institute. Conference Proceedings Papers presented...

Event - Next steps for climate Change Policy: Delivering the National Adaptation Programme

June 21, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This CDP certified event will take place Thursday July 9th, 2015, at the Congress Centre, 28, Great Russell Street, London, UK. With the new Conservative government committed to tackling climate change, this seminar will be a timely opportunity to discuss practical steps for the future of policy in...