Pakistan’s renewable energy awaits tapping - SciDev.Net

Pakistan’s renewable energy awaits tapping - SciDev.Net The report on solar energy said although the source was abundant, with the country receiving 200-250 watts per square metre daily with an estimated potential of 2.9 million megawatts of solar power per annum, the country generates less than seven megawatts.  

Solar energy was hampered by poor integration of techno-economic and socio-political aspects and inconsistent government policies, although it was ideal for the remote areas of Balochistan, Cholistan and the Thar desert where grid connectivity was difficult.

Club of Rome has a skeptical take on the future | Environment | DW.DE | 09.05.2012

Club of Rome has a skeptical take on the future | Environment | DW.DE | 09.05.2012: Looking at politics, the Club of Rome predicts a shift of power and influence from the US to China.

Game Over for the Climate - NYTimes.com

Game Over for the Climate - NYTimes.com: Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.

Nasa scientist: climate change is a moral issue on a par with slavery | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Nasa scientist: climate change is a moral issue on a par with slavery | Environment | guardian.co.uk: Averting the worst consequences of human-induced climate change is a "great moral issue" on a par with slavery, according to the leading Nasa climate scientist Prof Jim Hansen.

Fast Track Creation of New Global Environment Agency, Says Distinguished Scientist

Fast Track Creation of New Global Environment Agency, Says Distinguished Scientist: “there is urgent need to reorganize our system of environmental governance. The planet is in peril and we must do something about it.Otherwise, human beings will be the ultimate losers.”

China warns on growing water shortages - FT.com

China warns on growing water shortages - FT.com: Environmentalists say many water policies have had a limited impact, because of the difficulty in enforcing rules on the ground, where local officials may prize GDP growth – long a consideration for official promotion – over meeting environmental guidelines.

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."

'via Blog this'

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."

'via Blog this'

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.