Pioneering report equates biodiversity to cash in hope of encouraging conservation By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor, The Independent, London, UK Thursday, 21 October 2010 Nature and the services it provides are worth trillions of dollars annually to human society, and governments and businesses must formally recognise this to halt the continuing degradation of the natural world, a groundbreaking UN report said yesterday. The enormous economic value of forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, as well as the social and economic consequences of their loss, must be factored into political and economic policies in all countries, according to the new study Continue reading
Policy
Putting a Price on Biodiversity Loss
What exactly is the cost to society when one million hectares (8,861 sq. miles, an area roughly the size of Costa Rica) of Brazilian rainforest disappears? The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) just released Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature, a report that aims to precisely answer that question. The report highlights government and business development policies that consistently fails to value the true cost of natural resources depletion. The report makes an excellent case for biodiversity loss valuation in all governmental decision-making processes. The report also highlights the strong link that exists between ecological conservation and a society’s ability to Continue reading
Hello, Houston? Is that blip on the radar screen actually energy poverty?
Is it just us or is public awareness finally turning its ADHD gaze on energy poverty? Was it Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the launch of the Global Alliance of Clean Cookstoves at the CGI the catalyst? Is the public finally connecting the dots between deforestation and a series of natural and human disasters? (See Haiti, Pakistan) The fact is that there seems to be more and more ink dedicated to the topic of energy poverty and its impact on public health, poverty, and the degradation of local environments in developing countries. The clearest indication yet that energy poverty alleviation is Continue reading
The Lost Kittens for the week of 18 October
As the new week begins, we bring to you this compilation of Tweets and stories harvested during our internet fishing expedition over the past week. Have a great week ahead! — The Editors 1. Winner of the week’s top comedy award: 2. Nasa, via the NYT, brings perspective to Pakistan’s flooding woes: 3. Biomass more efficient than ethanol Biomass converted to electricity could achieve 80 per cent more “miles per acre” than the same material converted to ethanol, a group of United States researchers announced last year. As an example, the study by researchers from several US universities found that Continue reading
PAPER: Under ideal conditions, burning biomass is GHG neutral.
“If biomass is harvested in a sustainable way so that its long-term stocks are not depleted, and (it is) burned under ideal combustion conditions, it is effectively GHG (Greenhouse Gas) neutral.” from “Greenhouse Gas Implications of Household Energy Technology in Kenya.” American Chemical Society/Environmental Science & Technology. (2003) Authors: Rob Bailis, Majid Ezzati, and Daniel M. Kammen. The statement above would be music to the ears of solid biomass booster the world over were it not for one tiny, almost insignificant word: ideal. The lead-in to the full statement goes: “Under optimal conditions, biomass combustion results almost entirely in the Continue reading