World Watch articles from May 2008

World Watch archives from May 2008

More on biofuels.
May 1, 2008... "The future of biofuels is cellulosic fuels... they do not compete for prime cropland... and even restore degraded lands... ." I was saddened by these quotes from Raya Widenoja's response to Heinrich Smith's timely criticism of biofuels...

Carbon transport costs.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... I read with concern your piece on the prospects for and issues with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology [Vital Signs, March/April]. While CCS will almost certainly be implemented in some locations (those proximate to promising...

Cheers for NPG.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... Cheers for Rebecca Redfield! ["From Readers," March/April] The negative population growth that she wants should get extended and detailed coverage in World Watch, and her proposal, instead of getting your defensive put-off, should be acted on...

Adjustments to agriculture may help mitigate global warming.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... A recent report from Greenpeace details the direct and indirect effects of agriculture on climate change and suggests how the sector can move from being a major greenhouse gas emitter to being a carbon sink. "As a key contributor to climate...

Eugene, Oregon, earns global recognition for its transportation efforts.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Eugene, Oregon, has much to celebrate in its first year of operating the new Emerald Express (EmX) bus rapid transit, or BRT, system. In January, the city received a 2008 Sustainable Transport Award "Honorable Mention" along with Pereira,...

UN "buying local" for food aid program.(United Nations World Food Programme buys food for the program from developing countries)
May 1, 2008... Last year, the world's largest humanitarian organization bought a record 80 percent of its food aid from poorer nations. In what it termed a "win-win" situation, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) purchased a total of 2.1 million...

Gorilla tactics.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Gorilla Tactics In February, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo joined forces to protect the world's 700-some remaining mountain gorillas. The 10-year transboundary conservation project will focus on greater security and...

Lethal ejections.(Carbon dioxide emissions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Lethal Ejections Carbon dioxide releases from marine shipping are nearly three times higher than previously believed and account for some 4.5 percent of global carbon emissions, says the International Maritime Organization. The U.S. government...

Un-Glacial melt.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Un-Glacial Melt Thawing of the world's glaciers has reached a new record, the World Glacier Monitoring Service reported in March. Data from some 30 glaciers in nine mountain ranges indicate that between 2004-05 and 2005-06, the average rate of...

Species savings plan.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Species Savings Plan The world's conservation resources are not concentrated where the greatest threats to biodiversity are projected to occur, according to a study from the University of California at San Diego. The study notes that regions...

World's copper use strains "nonrenewable" resource base.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Each year, humans use about 18,000 times more copper than the planet puts into new deposits, according to a study in the March issue of the journal Geology. At this rate, the amount of copper available within 3.3 kilometers of the Earth's...

China's bag ban likely to change consumer habits.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... In January, China's State Council issued a directive banning the production of ultra-thin plastic bags nationwide. The ruling also prohibits shops and supermarkets from handing out free plastic bags starting on June 1, according to China News...

SCAMming environmental policy: policymakers crave certainty, but almost all science operates in shades of gray. The results of this clash can undermine the public interest.(Scientific Certainty Argumentation Method)
May 1, 2008... ON DECEMBER 21, 2004, a U.S. federal task force issuced its final report on proposals to allow U.S. citizens to import prescription drugs from Canada. Because the task force "could not be sure" that the imported drugs would be safe, its members...

The incredible shrinking Amazon rainforest; But is the rate of loss rising or declining?
May 1, 2008... The news coming out of the Amazon basin never seems to be good. Stories on rainforest losses generally use comparisons with U.S. states or countries of the world: since 1970, an area of rainforest the size of Texas has been lost; in the worst...

What goes around comes around.(historic american buildings )(Photograph)
May 1, 2008... All images (except the Nebraska image above) are from the Historic American Buildings Survey in the Prints and Photographs Division of the U.S. Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/). [ILLUSTRATION...

Home-grown juice: why the sunny, windy United States is so far behind calm, cloudy Germany in renewable electricity generation.
May 1, 2008... Georg Schurer lives in a suburb of Freiburg, a 900-year-old city perched on the fringe of Germany's Black Forest. Herr Schurer's house, sturdy and comfortable, is fairly indistinguishable from the others surrounding it in the Vauban community....

Malaria: new methods and new hope in battling an old scourge.
May 1, 2008... In THE SOUTHERN MEXICAN VILLAGE OF Colotepec, most mornings unfold slowly as villagers tend to their animals, weed their fields, or shop for the day's food. But on this hot Thursday morning in August, the day begins with a meeting on the town's...

Carbon markets gain momentum, despite challenges.
May 1, 2008... Carbon markets are designed to combat climate change by putting a price on carbon dioxide ([CO.sub.2]) and other greenhouse gases, and then allowing companies and other entities to trade the right to emit these gases through permits, credits,...

Global economic growth continues at expense of ecological systems.
May 1, 2008... In 2007, gross world product (GWP)--the global total of all finished goods and services--was expected to grow 5.4 percent to US$72.3 trillion (in 2007 dollars, purchasing power parity basis). This was less than earlier estimates due...

We are what we read.(MATTERS OF SCALE)(Table)
May 1, 2008... Number of times "food" appears in the title of a book on the 68,084 Amazon website Number of times "wine" appears 16,121 "Coffee" 8,138 ...