Archive for June 2016

North American Leaders Unite to Combat Climate Change and Protect the Environment

June 30, 2016 Add Comment Edit

North America is setting the pace for international climate and environmental cooperation. At a summit hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday June 29th, American President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced an historic continent wide clean energy...

Solar Roadways: Science Fiction Becoming Reality

June 29, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Solar roads are entering a new test phase that will see them installed along a portion of the iconic route 66. Solar Roadways is the brainchild of Scott and Julie Brusaw of Idaho. It all started ten years ago when Scott, an electrical engineer and his wife Julie began to imagine how solar panels...

The Costs of Volkswagen's Greenwash Continue to Mount

June 28, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The chickens are coming home to roost over Volkswagen's epic greenwash. Earlier this year it was reported that Volkswagen's pre-tax profits fell 20 percent. The disgraced auto company has just reached a more than 14 billion settlement in the US. However, their legal troubles are far from over. They...

40 More Eco-Apps that put Technology to Work for the Environment

June 27, 2016 Add Comment Edit

There are more than two million apps and a growing number of them have an ecological purpose. The huge and growing eco-apps market is making a significant contribution to the welfare of the planet and its inhabitants. This post is a follow-up to a 2012 eco-apps article. When that article was published...

Event - Global Summit on Smart, Secure & Sustainable Cities

June 26, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The Global Summit on Smart, Secure & Sustainable Cities: Opportunities and Challenges in India will take place on July 17 - 20, 2016 at Harte & Garter, Windsor, Royal Berkshire, UK.The conference will focus on the opportunities and challenges that India offers in building ‘Smart,Secure and...

Event - UK Marine Energy Conference 2016

June 26, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The UK Marine Energy Conference 2016 will take place on July 5th at the Glasgow Marriott Hotel, 500 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8RR, United Kingdom.The conference will focus on accelerating wave and tidal energy as viable energy alternatives, while maintaining the UK & Ireland's position at the...

Brexit Implications for the Climate and the Environment (Video)

June 25, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The Brexit is a pyrrhic victory. Make no mistake about it, Britain's exit from Europe is bad news for environmental and climate policy and not just in the UK. Compounding the problem is the fact that uncertainty will further destabilize a less than stable economy. Brexit has already wiped $2 trillion...

New Pipeline Safety Law Followed by Another Oil Spill

June 24, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Mere hours after President Obama signed the PIPES safety bill into law, a pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of oil. Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 became law on June 22nd. Within hours of the signing an oil pipeline erupted in Ventura County, California....

Apple's Apps for Earth Initiative Raised Awareness and Funds for WWF

June 22, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Apps are big business and a partnership between Apple and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) funneled some of these revenues to ecological causes. Given the number of apps and the volume of demand using apps to generate revenues for the environment is a boon. As of June 2016 there are approximately...

Climate Change Fueling Wildfires in North America and Russia

June 21, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Wildfires fueled by record heat have ravaged areas across North America and Russia this year. This year is very much like last year. However, the western fires of 2015, were not as widespread and they came later than they did this year. There is strong evidence that global warming has lengthened...

Climate Refugees Need to be Formally Recognized

June 20, 2016 Add Comment Edit

We need to start preparing to address the flood of climate refugees that will continue to increase as the planet warms. Climate change will make the current refugee crisis look insignificant. Climate refugees are already being forced to flee their homelands.In a recent Independent article, Malik Al...

June 20, 2016 Add Comment Edit

To commemorate International Refugee Day, here is a re-post of an article from earlier this year on the scope of the climate refugee problem both present and future. _________________________________________________ The refugees pouring out of Syria and Iraq has focused global attention on migrants...

Event - New Energy Forum, NEF-2016: The Light of Hope for New Energy

June 19, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The 6th Annual New Energy Forum, NEF-2016: The Light of Hope for New Energy will take place on June 30 - July 3 in Goyang City, Gyeonggi, South KoreaWith the reduction of traditional fossil fuels and increasingly serious global environmental degradation and health dangers, we are ready to meet new...

Event - ISEE Conference: Environmental Ethics and Economics: Values & Choices

June 19, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The 2016 edition of the annual ISEE Conference will take place on June 29 - July 2 at Pace University One Pace Plaza, New York City, NY 10038. The theme this year is "Environmental Ethics and Economics: Values & Choices".This conference asks the question: Can environmental philosophy avoid a sustained...

Fort McMurray Fire Post Mortem: Forest Fires, Climate Change and Fossil Fuels (Videos)

June 18, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The Fort McMurray fire forces us to take a closer look at the relationship between fires and climate change as well as the relationship between fossil fuels, climate change and ecological degradation. We cannot attribute an individual fire to climate change with any certainty, however it would be inaccurate...

Green Banks Leverage Private Investments for Climate Finance

June 17, 2016 Add Comment Edit

In addition to creating new jobs and improving the environment Green Banks are essential to ramping-up clean energy finance. Such banks are capable of helping to unleash the vast potential of climate focused investing. Green Banks reduce the cost of clean energy and efficiency. They are helping to...

Courts are Defending the Climate and the Environment

June 16, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The courts are emerging as a powerful tool to drive climate action and protect the environment. US courts have been maligned for a number of questionable rulings not the least of which is Citizens United which increases the power of corporations and gives them unlimited authority to influence electoral...