The Guardian on Facebook

The Guardian on Facebook:"He also rejects any notion that Desertec carries with it even a whiff of neo-colonialism. Earlier this year such sentiments were raised by Daniel Ayuk Mbi Egbe of the African Network for Solar Energy. "Many Africans are sceptical [about Desertec]," he said. "[Europeans] make promises, but at the end of the day, they bring their engineers, they bring their equipment, and they go. It's a new form of resource exploitation, just like in the past." Other Mena-based speakers made similar points, not least that any electricity generated will first be desperately needed by local populations as they fight poverty."

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Joint High-level Segment of the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties of the Climate Change Convention and the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 17/CMP 7)

Joint High-level Segment of the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties of the Climate Change Convention and the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 17/CMP 7): "4. Developing countries are now more than ever experiencing the very real impacts of climate change, which are undermining our development prospects and aggravating preexisting vulnerabilities.

5. This has been confirmed a few days ago by the Summary for Policy Makers from the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) that was adopted by IPCC member governments, highlighting that fatality rates and economic losses expressed as a proportion of GDP are higher in developing countries.

6. That points to the fact that a higher ambition in emission reductions of Green House Gasses (GHG) is urgently needed. In this regard, and as you are aware, Madam President, raising the level of ambition of emission reductions is a twofold path, since Parties agreed to a two- track negotiation process in 2007, the Bali Roadmap."

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Can today’s technology tackle climate change? Who cares? | Grist

Can today’s technology tackle climate change? Who cares? | Grist: The latest outbreak has come in the wake of a report from a panel of energy analysts in California that spent the last two years digging in to what it would take for the state to meet its ambitious climate goal (reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, even as its population grows from 37 million to 55 million and demand for energy doubles). It released its report earlier this year: California's Energy Future—The View to 2050. It's a fascinating read with some important insights; for instance, it totally rejects the use of biofuels for passenger vehicles (we need to save them for hard-to-electrify stuff like freight trucks and planes).

Societies with class structure expand faster than egalitarian ones, Stanford researchers say

Societies with class structure expand faster than egalitarian ones, Stanford researchers say: In environments where the availability of resources fluctuated from year to year, stratified societies were better able to survive the temporary shortages because the bulk of the deprivation was absorbed by the lower classes, leaving the ruling class – and the overall social structure – intact. That stability enabled them to expand more readily than egalitarian societies, which weren't able to adapt to changing conditions as quickly.

Global carbon intensity on the rise for first time in a decade - 07 Nov 2011 - News from BusinessGreen

Global carbon intensity on the rise for first time in a decade - 07 Nov 2011 - News from BusinessGreen: The combination of strong growth in the emerging economies of China, Brazil and South Korea, unusually cold winters in the northern hemisphere, a drop in the price of coal relative to gas, and a slowdown in renewable energy deployment was credited with driving the increase in emissions.

Droughts and Famines in East Africa: From man-made problems to man-made solutions | End Poverty

Droughts and Famines in East Africa: From man-made problems to man-made solutions | End Poverty: How can droughts and famines be avoided? This is the big question many conferences and summits have grappled with in recent weeks. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to avoid droughts in future because climate change will put more pressure on scarce land and extreme climate events, both rains and floods, will likely occur much more frequently — and even more unpredictably.

Great Transition Initiative

Great Transition Initiative: A Great Transition to a future of enriched lives, human solidarity, and environmental sustainability is possible.

Carboun: Advocating Sustainability in the Middle East

Carboun: Advocating Sustainability in the Middle East: Following on Carboun’s recent article discussing the two trends of energy and carbon emissions in the Arab World. Carboun has recently released a visual guide to energy and emissions with the goal or explaining the fundamentals of energy use in the region and how it relates to carbon emissions, economic development, climate change, and renewable energy. It aims to explain the regional trends in local details but within the global context. Copyrights for all infographics are reserved for Carboun. No reproduction or republishing of any infographic or part thereof without prior written consent from Carboun.

Paul Van Son: Tapping Egypt's solar power potential | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today's News from Egypt

Paul Van Son: Tapping Egypt's solar power potential | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today's News from Egypt: "gypt also realizes that nuclear power is not so easy to implement. If they insist on developing a nuclear program, it will be very difficult to finance because of insurance and security costs, which are skyrocketing."

Climate Change: Doing Nothing Will Cost More Than Preventative Measures, New Report Shows

Climate Change: Doing Nothing Will Cost More Than Preventative Measures, New Report Shows: "“To do something is a choice, but to do nothing is a choice. And I believe the American people make good decisions -- I know they do -- when they have the facts in front of them. And the facts are, there are going to be costs.”"

Why You Won't Read This Earth Day Article (And Why That Doesn't Matter) - FoxNews.com

Why You Won't Read This Earth Day Article (And Why That Doesn't Matter) - FoxNews.com: "'The real opportunity for us isn't to further bolster public opinion,' Maibach said. 'The real opportunity is for us as a society to figure out how to make it easier to perform these behaviors.'"

Desertec concept gets boots in Tunisia - UPI.com

Desertec concept gets boots in Tunisia - UPI.com
Representatives of the Desertec project, an industrial initiative that plans to build giant solar and wind power plants in North Africa, last week met with officials from the interim Tunisian government.