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Infographic - Review of US Solar in 2013

January 17, 2014 Add Comment Edit

EcoWatch's Five Realities of Climate Change in 2013

January 16, 2014 Add Comment Edit

EcoWatch is a leading environmental platform that publishes stories on econews, green living and sustainable business. Here is their list of the top five stories for 2013.

1. 400 ppm: World Crosses Sobering Climate Milestone

In May, scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii confirmed that concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) had passed the ominous milestone of 400 parts per million (ppm)—concentrations not seen for more than 3 million years. According to experts, the last time our planet was exposed to equivalent levels of greenhouse gases, global temperatures were 3-4 degrees Celsius hotter and sea levels were 5-40 meters higher than today.

“It is symbolic, a point to pause and think about where we have been and where we are going,” said Professor Ralph Keeling from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii on this historic milestone. “It’s like turning 50. It’s a wake up to what has been building up in front of us all along.”

2. A Year of Extreme Weather

2013 was the seventh warmest year on record. As of November it also had the second highest number of billion-dollar weather disasters around the globe since accurate records begun in 2000.

China, Russia, Europe, North America, Indonesia and India were plagued with floods while China, Portugal, Hungary, Finland and the UK all experienced heat waves. In the Uttarakhand state of India, flooding left 5,700 lives presumed lost and many more devastated. At the other extreme, California’s Death Valley saw temperatures hit 54 degrees Celsius—the hottest temperature ever record on Earth in June—while Australia got so hot, the country’s heat map needed a new color added.

The Pacific saw some of its worst storms on record this year. In October, Cyclone Phallin carved a path of damage across India’s Odisha region—with storm surges reaching as high as 3.5 meters (11 feet). In November, it was the turn of the Philippines, when Typhoon Haiyan brought winds of 315 km/hr and gusts up to 380 km/hr. It was recognized as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in modern history, and the storm’s death toll currently stands at more than 6,000.

“To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of you armchair. I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific, the islands of the Caribbean and the islands of the Indian Ocean,” urged Filippino climate commissioner, Yeb Sano in the wake of the storm. “And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines.”

3. Increasing Human Costs of Climate Change

This year has seen storm surges engulfing large parts of the low lying Marshall Islands and who villages in Fiji already being forced to relocate because of rising seas. This year has also seen a court case in New Zealand where an immigrant from the Pacific Island of Kiribati fought—and failed—for climate refugee status, arguing that sea level rises made it too dangerous to return home.

In its Turn Down the Heat report back in June, the World Bank painted a stark picture of our warming world. They warned that millions would be left trapped in poverty as temperatures rise, with two degree Celsius and four degrees Celsius of warming expected to put serious strain on agricultural production, water resources and coastal communities.

Other warnings this year include the threat of persistent flooding impacting development in Pakistan and climate change’s impact food production around the world—including in the UK and Ghana—and the potential for increased numbers of climate refugees in the Sahel region of Africa.

4. Governments Backtrack on Climate Pledges

When Australia’s new government came to power in September, the first major act of the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, was to scrap the Climate Commission—an independent climate research body. The government has also started to repeal the country’s carbon pricing laws, replacing it with a direct action plan, which experts say is uneconomical and could cause a rise in the country’s emissions.

Canada’s emissions continue to rise this year, as the country’s government blindly pursues the expansion of its tar sands industry, approving the construction of a highly controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline to export tar sands and conducting fierce lobbying tours to sell the industry to the U.S. and Europe.

Japan has also joined this year’s climate villains list as days into November’s UN climate talks, the government announced a change in its climate commitment which will see the country’s emissions rise three percent on 1990 levels by 2020—a big jump from their promised 25 percent cut.

5. Climate Activists Increasingly at Risk

In a much publicized saga, the Arctic 30—28 of who were Greenpeace activists—faced 15 years in a Russian prison after being faced with piracy this year, for protesting at a Gazprom drilling rig. The activists spent two months in jail before being given amnesty by the Russian parliament this week.

U.S. activist Tim DeChristopher was released from jail after a twenty-one month prison term for disrupting a land auction which would have sold off leasing rights to oil and gas companies, while Australian activist Jonathan Moylan is facing jail time following a fake press release blamed for setbacks on the approval of the $776 million dollar Maules Creek coal mine.

And more and more activists are paying the ultimate price to give the world a better future, with reports showing the murder of environmentalists—particularly in the global south—is on the rise, and far too many deaths reported in 2013.

While this list offers a sobering reminder of how far we still have to go as a movement, 2013 has also been a year of great wins for the environmental movement and of positive shifts that show the issue is beginning to resonate with all sectors of society.

Source: EcoWatch

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EDF's Top Stories of 2013 are Not Without Controversy

January 13, 2014 Add Comment Edit

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is a scientist founded organization that works to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. They focus on the most critical environmental problems including, climate and energy, oceans, ecosystems, and health. They use a uniquely effective approach, drawing on science, economics, partnerships and bipartisan outreach. They solve problems by bringing together insights from many disciplines and diverse groups of people. EDF works with industry and believes in a data driven approach to promote market incentives for change behavior. They describe themselves as utterly nonpartisan and oriented toward practical policy solutions. Their work is grounded in the belief that we can protect our health and the environment while improving our economic well-being.

The following article was published at the end of 2013 under the title, EDF Voices: People on the Planet A year of environmental controversy – and that’s a good thing.

Natural Gas

Whether we like it or not, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are now standard practice for U.S. natural gas production. And the fact is that natural gas development can impose serious risks on public health and the environment. That’s one reason why EDF is working hard to accelerate the transition to clean, renewable energy, and it’s why some environmentalists oppose all hydraulic fracturing. We understand that view – and we’re fighting for the traditional rights of local communities to regulate natural gas – but we don’t think bans or moratoria are sufficient. America is not going to wean itself off natural gas overnight. Natural gas heats more than half of U.S. homes, supplies more than a third of our electricity, and is a critical ingredient in our pharmaceuticals and fertilizer.

That doesn’t mean we have to sit by while development hurts our communities. No one should be forced to put their health and quality of life at risk for the sake of cheap energy. That's wrong, and that's why EDF is fighting for tough regulations and strong enforcement — vital protections needed to safeguard our air, water, land and public health.

Sometimes we fight tooth and nail against industry lobbyists to win those protections. And sometimes we’re able to negotiate with industry. In November, Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado proposed new regulations for oil and gas operations that, if adopted, will cut both conventional air pollution and climate pollution – by making Colorado the first state in the nation to tackle the problem of methane emissions.

While the new Colorado proposal doesn’t address all the issues surrounding oil and gas development, the governor and the state’s regulators should be applauded for their efforts in bringing forward these commonsense air pollution measures, which were agreed to and supported by EDF, Anadarko Petroleum, Encana, and Noble Energy. We’re proud to have helped reach that agreement, and in 2014 we’ll be defending it against attack from companies that think it goes too far and some allies who don’t think it goes far enough. As Bill Clinton used to say, if you’re getting it from both sides you’re probably in the right place.

We’re going to keep at it, because we want to make 2014 the year America got serious about its methane problem. The main component of natural gas, methane is an incredibly potent climate pollutant. Whether burning natural gas is better for our climate than burning coal depends on how much uncombusted methane leaks into the atmosphere from the natural gas system — but no one knows exactly what the leakage rate is.

To find out, EDF has launched an ambitious series of sixteen scientific studies – with over 90 partners drawn from academia, think tanks, NGOs and the energy industry – to measure methane emissions from the entire natural gas supply chain. It is work like this that led to the groundbreaking proposal in Colorado. And many of the sixteen studies simply wouldn’t be possible without industry participation, because the scientists wouldn’t have access to the natural gas fields.

Toxic Chemicals

The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1974 is as antiquated as it is inadequate. Among its many problems, it doesn’t help us distinguish between safe and unsafe chemicals, and it perpetuates the chemical industry's failure to innovate toward safer chemical and product design.

In May 2013, Senators Frank Lautenberg and David Vitter introduced the Chemical Safety Improvement Act with strong bipartisan support. It is far from a perfect bill (see our official position for a detailed accounting of its strengths and weaknesses), but Republican and Democratic support in a bitterly divided congress makes it the best chance in a generation to reform our outdated chemicals policy.

The Chemical Safety Improvement Act needs to be strengthened and improved, then passed. Some in the environmental community think Congress should throw out the bill and start over from scratch. We disagree – and that’s seen by some as controversial. But we’ve been waiting decades for a law that ensure chemicals are deemed likely to be safe before they enter the market. Our children’s health demands that we not let this chance slip away.

Corporate Partnerships

When a reporter asked the great safecracker Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, Sutton supposedly replied, “because that’s where the money is.” EDF works with multinational corporations because that’s where the pollution is – if you want to drive energy and emissions reductions through supply chains that are bigger than most nations, you need to work with big companies like Walmart. Our partnership with Walmart has generated criticism for years, so it’s important to understand that we do not accept money from corporate partners such as Walmart. Our work is funded by generous individuals and foundations, ensuring our independence and credibility.

Grist.org recently ran an article mischaracterizing our relationship with Walmart, and my colleague Tom Murray wrote a clarifying response that laid out just a few of the reasons we celebrate Walmart’s environmental gains, including:

20 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses that EDF convinced Walmart to publicly commit to cutting from its supply chain. 15 million acres of farmland that EDF and Walmart are targeting to optimize fertilizer practices, which could ultimately avoid 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. These initiatives will touch 30 percent of food and beverage sales in North America. 100 thousand products screened for hazardous chemicals thanks to a tool EDF helped create that identifies toxic chemicals in products.

Working with a company as big and controversial as Walmart makes you a target, but it can drive outsize environmental gains. And fighting for strong rules on toxic chemicals and natural gas can make you a target too – but without those rules, people and ecosystems are left unprotected. We’re confident this is the right path for EDF.

After all, some of the approaches we were criticized for in years past – in everything from fisheries management to acid rain pollution reduction – are now widely hailed as successes. So, guided by sound economics and rigorous science, we’re going to keep fighting for a healthy environment – and working with unusual allies when that will help drive progress. If that turns out to be controversial in 2014, so be it.

Source: EDF

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The David Suzuki Foundation Reflects on 2013 and Raises the Bar for 2014

January 10, 2014 Add Comment Edit

David Suzuki and the foundation that he created have been one of Canada's leading champions of the environment. Here is their review of 2013 and their hopes for 2014.

It's been a strange year. From the never-ending carnival of calamity at Toronto City Hall to the scandalous subterfuge on Parliament Hill, from horrific attacks by the Syrian government on its own citizenry to disasters inflicted by extreme weather on the people of the Philippines, 2013 recalls Queen Elizabeth's description of 1992 as an annus horribilis.

It got tiring and demoralizing watching Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sink to new depths daily, the scandals in the Prime Minister's Office and Senate grow deeper and wider, and disasters of war and weather increase in frequency and intensity. On top of it all, those of us who have taken on the often thankless task of trying to encourage people to care for the air, water, soil and diversity of plants and animals that keep us alive came under increasingly vituperative attacks from the media and even our own government.

Much of the corresponding commentary and analysis has become so stultifyingly stupid that people rely on late-night comedy shows for some semblance of insight to make sense of it all. It's as if the standards of discussion and debate, political discourse and leadership, have been diminished to the point of absurdity.

It hasn't been all bad, of course. When government focuses on the interests of the fossil fuel industry instead of the citizens it was elected to represent - spying on, demonizing and auditing citizens and organizations devoted to environmental protection, and spending taxpayers' money to promote pipeline and oil-extraction projects, as well as subsidizing the fossil fuel industry - people notice.

When media personalities and outlets throw their support behind the fossil fuel industry and launch malicious and unfounded attacks against anyone who dares call for rational discussion of energy and resource policies, they lose credibility and audience share.

Those who refuse to let disillusionment immobilize us are pushing back. Many who have become tired of media and governments ignoring our interests are joining the growing number of rallies and movements challenging Canada's becoming a petro-state, from opposition to Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline project to November's Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities National Day of Action. And it's not just environmentalists showing up and speaking out. First Nations, organized labour, students and youth groups, business people and tens of thousands of citizens from all walks of life are coming together to call for a country and world governed for people, not corporations, where clean air, water, soil and biodiversity are protected for the benefit of us all and for our children and grandchildren to come. That's not an attack on corporations; many are ethically run. It's just recognition that the planet and its inhabitants come first.

Many people are trying to raise the bar, to promote rational dialogue and solutions, from individuals to online media outlets to business leaders and even some politicians. None of that rules out criticism and scrutiny; in fact, it demands it. We must all hold ourselves to higher standards and learn from others, acknowledge when we're wrong and change our views if new information calls for it. But we can't sink to the constant personal attacks and lies so often employed to deliberately sow doubt and confusion around critical, life-threatening issues like pollution, climate change and environmental degradation.

We're seeing more evidence every day of the damage we're doing to our only home, the Earth, with our unbridled pursuit of profit and endless growth, and our mad rush to extract all the planet's precious fossil fuels so that we can burn them as quickly as possible to make money while the market's hot. We're seeing increasing instances of the kinds of extreme weather events predicted by climate scientists, from flooding in Calgary and Toronto to typhoons and cyclones in the Philippines, Italy and India to tornados in the U.S. We're seeing mounting evidence of the consequences of our actions in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report.

We're also seeing where solutions lie. There's still time to turn around, but we need everyone to raise the bar on discussion and action - in politics, the media and our own lives. Let's make the coming year a better one.

By David Suzuki with contributions from Ian Hanington, Senior Editor

Source: The David Suzuki Foundation

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Environmental Defense Canada 2013 Achievements

January 10, 2014 Add Comment Edit

Environmental Defense is one of Canada's leading green advocacy groups. They work with government, industry and individuals to create a greener economy and a more sustainable future for all Canadians for generations to come. With the help of their supporters they have spearheaded a number of noble causes in 2013 including issues related to energy, toxics, water, and grooming future leaders. Here is a summary of some of their achievements last year.

Supporting a green energy shift

In 2013, we gave the tar sands a much needed reality check. We, along with partner organizations, launched the website tarsandsrealitycheck.org and a series of reports to give Canadians the truth about the tar sands.

In Ontario, we helped to raise awareness about Enbridge’s risky proposal to reverse the aged Line 9 pipeline to ship heavy crude, including corrosive tar sands oil, from Ontario into Quebec. The proposal carries many risks, but few rewards for communities along the pipeline’s route, and puts the drinking water of millions at risk of an oil spill.

As part of our awareness efforts, we teamed up with Sarah Harmer, Gord Downie & The Sadies, Hayden and The Minotaurs for Rock the Line – a free concert at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto.

During the year, we applauded moves towards greener, modern energy. In November, we helped celebrate Ontario becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to ban coal, by hosting an event with Premier Kathleen Wynne and Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

We also demonstrated the benefits of energy conservation. In August, we, along with our allies in Blue Green Canada, released a report calling for Ontario to embrace a bold but achievable plan to cut energy use by 25 per cent by 2025 – a move that would increase jobs and the GDP, while reducing federal and provincial deficits and Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Helping Canadians to kick out toxics

This past year, we helped lead the charge in Canada to eliminate toxic chemicals with probable links to cancer and other serious health problems from our homes and workplaces.

In June, we released the report Pre-Polluted: A report on toxic substances in the umbilical cord blood of Canadian newborns. For the report, we tested the umbilical cord blood of three anonymous newborns in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton for chemicals that are known to be pervasive in the environment and are linked to serious health problems.

Out of the 310 chemicals tested for, a total of 137 were found in the three babies – the first of its kind evidence in Canada which demonstrates babies are being burdened with a toxic chemical load before they are born.

We also continued to work with and encourage industry to remove harmful chemicals from their products. As part of this effort, this month we released the report Taking Stock: How the Cosmetics Industry Ranks on Toxic Chemicals which ranked the five biggest cosmetics in Canada against each other when it comes to taking action on toxics.

Protecting water and greenspaces

As a member of the Great Lakes Protection Act Alliance, during the year we worked with communities, as well as the Ontario government, to show support for the Great Lakes Protection Act. The proposed Act is currently at the committee stage and we hope that it will be passed early in the New Year.

2013 was a record year for the Blue Flag program, which saw flags flying at 18 beaches and four marinas across Canada. To get a Blue Flag, beaches and marinas have to meet strict standards including water quality.

Sprawl developments can impact the environment and our quality of life. And as the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area, the most populated area in Canada, continues to grow it’s becoming a serious problem. During the year, we educated residents about the costs of sprawl, including releasing a report about the issue. It shows that curbing sprawl isn’t just good for the environment but also for our pocket books.

We continued to find ways to protect greenspaces as well. In March, the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance released a report which showed that over five million more Ontarians would be directly connected to the Greenbelt if the Greenbelt grew along some of southern Ontario’s best known rivers and creeks.

Creating future environmental leaders

Canadian youth once again used their writing, photography and film talents to propose solutions to local environmental issues. 2013 saw more entries in our Canada’s Next Green Journalist competition than ever before. Four Canadian youth went on to compete internationally and received top honours.

Looking ahead to 2014, we’re gearing up to accomplish even more.

Source: Environmental Defense

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WWF's Top Global Success Stories of 2013

January 10, 2014 Add Comment Edit

WWF works to achieve positive change for species, communities and diverse habitats. In 2013 they had many international successes. Their diverse success stories run the gamut from salmon farming to gillnets. They have been very active in advancing environmental issues in developing countries and they continue their work in support of a wide range of species including elephants, saola—one, snow leopards, Nepalese tigers and previously unknown species of flora and fauna. Here is their summary of international achievements in 2013.

WWF became a full partner of the Global Environment Facility, an organization created in 1992 to support bold actions in developing countries tied to large landscapes and large environmental challenges. With funding from GEF, WWF and other stakeholders have helped put tuna on the road to sustainable management in all five of the world’s oceans.

Fifteen companies, incl representing 70% of global farmed salmon production, are committing that 100% of their production will be certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council by 2020. This should measurably reduce the impact of salmon production on some of the world's most ecologically important regions, and can have ripple effects through the entire global food industry.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pledged to start a legislative process to end ivory trade in Thailand, which will help stem global wildlife trafficking. Nearly 1.5 million WWF, Leonardo DiCaprio and Avaaz supporters signed a petition calling on Thailand to ban its ivory trade. Ending the Thai ivory trade—currently the world’s largest unregulated ivory market—will aid in curbing the poaching crisis that is leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants each year.

WWF organized a global petition to urge the Mexican government to ban gillnets from the vaquita’s marine habitat, and more than 38,000 people from 127 countries and territories participated in the effort. The Mexican government will begin phasing out drift gillnets used for shrimp fishing in the upper Gulf of California in favor of more selective and vaquita-friendly fishing gear. This gear—developed and tested by WWF—reduces bycatch of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise while still allowing fishers to continue earning their livelihoods.

A camera trap set up by WWF and the Vietnamese government’s Forest Protection Department captured images of the saola—one of the rarest and most threatened mammals on the planet—for the first time in the 21st century. Saola have been documented in the wild by scientists on only four previous occasions since their discovery in 1992 by a joint team from Vietnam’s Ministry of Forestry (now called Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and WWF surveying the forests near Vietnam's border with Laos.

An ambitious new plan to protect and conserve snow leopards was endorsed by government representatives from the 12 Asian countries where the species roam. The goal is to ensure 20 healthy landscapes of snow leopards by 2020. Representatives also agreed to promote climate smart development that ensures water, food and energy security for the people living in and downstream from the high mountains of Asia.

From 2010 to 2013, 441 new species were scientifically identified in the Amazon, including a titi monkey that purrs like a cat and a new passion flower that sprouts spaghetti-like filaments from the center of the bloom. Various scientists described the new species and WWF compiled the list of 258 plants, 84 fish, 58 amphibians, 22 reptiles, 18 birds and one mammal.

Nepal’s government announced the country’s tiger population has increased by 63% since the last survey in 2009, putting the number of tigers at an estimated 198 with a range between 163-235. In Nepal, this massive wildlife survey—funded by WWF UK, WWF Australia, WWF US, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the Hariyo Ban Program (funded by USAID), and US Fish and Wildlife Service—included more than 260 trained staff, camera traps covering 1,870 square miles of tiger habitat and 7,699 tiger images. In November, 2013 the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation announced a $3 million dollar grant for further tiger conservation in Nepal.

Source: WWF

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