In Yosemite, scientists find species movin’ on up.
| Speaker Susan Buckingham says gender matters on sustainability. At Lewis & Clark College next week, scholars, students and community members will try to figure out what people mean when they talk about sustainability—and how gender roles fit into a sustainable future. |
| Birds’ decline shows wider damage to nature - study. Dwindling numbers of birds worldwide are a sign that governments are failing to keep promises to slow damage to nature by 2010, an international report said on Thursday. |
| Denvers Climate Plan In-Depth: Incentivize Energy Conservation On May 17, the Mayors Greenprint Advisory Council announced the release of Denver’s draft climate action plan. It offers a set of solutions to bring the city toward a 10 percent reduction in per capita greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 rate by the year 2012, in conformity with the U.S. Mayors Climate Agreement.We [.] |
| Tropical species also threatened by climate change. While the most significant harm from climate change so far has been in the polar regions, tropical plants and animals may face an even greater threat, say scientists who studied conditions in Costa Rica. |
| White House Comments Dismiss Seriousness of Global Warming Just as a critical hearing on solving our global warming crisis is about to take place, disturbing comments on an EPA document reveal the White House’s lack of seriousness on the issue. The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on September 23rd, on the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The Supreme Court ruled last year that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. (Learn more about the ruling.) In response, EPA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on July 11, 2008, that sets forth common sense pathways for taking action to address global warming pollution today. While EPA staff have offered a menu of cost-effective approaches, they have encountered fierce resistance from the White House. (Read more about Learn more about the ruling.) In response, EPA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on July 11, 2008, that sets forth common sense pathways for taking action to address global warming pollution today. While EPA staff have offered a menu of cost-effective approaches, they have encountered fierce resistance from the White House. (Read more about White House’s past moves to block efforts to regulate greenhouse gases.) A June 20th fax [PDF] from the White House Office of Management and Budget to EPA — submitted during the development of EPA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking — provides a disturbing look at the views of the White House forces that have steadfastly obstructed progress in addressing global warming. Resources
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| Press Release: Maryland Drivers Can Save Money, Environment by Driving Less
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jennifer Andreassen, 202-572-3387, jandreassen@edf.org
Michael Replogle, 301-529-0351-c, mreplogle@edf.org
(Washington, DC – September 16, 2008) Environmental Defense Fund praised Progressive Insurance for announcing it now is offering Marylanders an optional Pay-As-You-Drive insurance program that will reward low mileage drivers with lower premiums than traditional, flat-rate insurance.
Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) insurance allows auto insurance holders to pay per-mile, as opposed to paying a flat rate regardless of how much they drive. The Maryland Climate Commission last month recommended that the state do more to promote PAYD insurance to help cut global warming pollution. Unfortunately, state regulatory barriers in many other states don’t allow PAYD policies for a variety of reasons.
“Pay-As-You Drive insurance helps reduce low mileage drivers’ pain at the pump from high gas prices,” said Michael Replogle, Transportation Director at Environmental Defense Fund and former consultant to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. “It also helps the environment by encouraging Maryland drivers to drive less, reducing air and global warming pollution as well as our dependence on foreign oil.”
A Brookings Institute report released in July estimates that if PAYD were offered to all drivers, it would save two-out-of-three households an average of $270 per car, result in an eight percent decline in driving, reduce driving-related damages by $50 billion to $60 billion; and cut carbon dioxide emissions and oil consumption.
Drivers who sign up for Progressive’s PAYD program receive a small wireless device that plugs into a port in their car to monitors how, how much and when the car is being driven. Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day receive a lower premium.
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| Sea-level to rise by one-metre this century: scientists Global warming calculations have been too optimistic, and the sea level round the globe is likely to rise a full metre this century, two senior German scientists warned Wednesday.Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Research on Global Warming Effects and Jochem Marotzke, a leading meteorologist, said UN-backed data on climate change, predicting a rise of 18 to 59 centimetres, was out of date. |
| Negative Impacts of Incineration-based Waste-to-Energy Technology Despite being an attractive technological option for waste management, combustion-based processes for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment are a subject of intense debate around the world. In the absence of effective controls, harmful pollutants may be emitted into the air, land and water which may influence human health and environment. Although incineration of municipal [.] |
| Impacts seen as the next climate frontier. Scientists hope the next U.S. president will devote more of the billion-dollar climate change research program to impacts. |
| In Yosemite, scientists find species movin’ on up. Scientists have retraced the century-old steps of legendary naturalist Joseph Grinnell through Yosemite National Park. They found that most species have moved to higher, cooler elevations. |