Climate Climate & Energy
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From Russia, Without Love
Russia Rejects Kyoto Protocol, Likely Killing Climate Change Treaty The Kyoto Protocol on climate change received a presumably fatal blow today, when Russia announced that it will not ratify the agreement in its current form. Without Russia or the U.S. on board, the treaty will not have buy-in from at least 55 countries that account […]
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NRDC’s new Santa Monica building may be the most eco-friendly in the U.S.
Do you realize we are gathered in what must be the greenest building in the United States?” Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Frances Beinecke asked a crowd of well-scrubbed Californians gathered for the opening ceremony of the organization’s new SoCal headquarters in Santa Monica. Swilling mimosas and nibbling croissants on the building’s sunny, plant-strewn […]
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Going Steady
Methane Levels in Atmosphere Stabilize Here’s a rarity: a possible climate-change success story. Atmospheric levels of methane, the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, have stabilized following 200 years of growth caused primarily by human activities, according to new research by Dutch and American scientists published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Though […]
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Hubris on the Yangtze
555 — height, in feet, of the Washington Monument, the tallest structure in Washington, D.C. 575 — height, in feet, of the new Three Gorges Dam in China (which is also wider than 100 Washington Monuments standing edge to edge) 4.3 million — cubic meters of concrete needed to build the Panama Canal 26.4 million […]
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Anemone Mine
Fluorescent Fish Will Become First Genetically Engineered Pet in U.S. If genetically engineered food ruffles your feathers, get a load of this: The nation’s first genetically altered pet, a glow-in-the-dark tropical zebra fish, made its public debut on Friday. Developed by a Texas company and intended to be sold for about $5 a pop in […]
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Dollars and Sense
Big Institutional Investors Press for Info on Climate Change Risks Officials controlling the largest pension funds in the U.S. on Friday called on publicly traded companies, federal regulators, and Wall Street to get serious about assessing and disclosing the financial risks posed by climate change. The comptrollers of New York state and New York City, […]
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Spin Meisters
New Mini-Turbine Can Generate Electricity from Atop Homes and Offices The winds of change may soon bring mini-turbines to rooftops near you. A Scottish company today is launching Britain’s first wind-power system designed to be affixed to almost any roof to supplement electricity gotten from the grid. The 3-by-2-foot box with three rotating blades, which […]
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No Silva Lining
Once Seen as Ally, Brazilian President Draws Fire From Enviros It’s been a roller coaster year for environmentalists in Brazil. Last October, with the election to the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula, for short), they were elated, because he was seen as one of their own. Now, though, enviros say they have […]
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Methyl to Their Madness
U.S. Loses Bid for Increased Use of Ozone-Depleting Pesticide A U.S. request for permission to up use of an ozone-depleting fungicide was snubbed last week by representatives from the European Union and developing nations at an international meeting on ozone-layer protection in Nairobi, Kenya. The Montreal Protocol, a 1989 treaty that aims to halt destruction […]
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Butterfly Flutter: Bye!
Climate Change Could Wipe Out Monarch Butterflies Monarch butterflies could find themselves in serious trouble within 50 years because of climate change, according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Monarchs make an annual migration of more than 2,000 miles from spots as far north as the U.S.-Canada […]
