Economy

Climate Change's First Toll: Women

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Officials say women in developing countries are taking the brunt of the hardships created by climate change. Speaking at the Aspen Environment Forum in Colorado, government officials from Africa, the Middle East and South America described a variety of problems, reports the Aspen Daily News. In Nicaragua, droughts have forced women, who traditionally gather water and firewood accompanied by their daughters, to travel farther from home, keeping young women from school. Mozambique’s coastline is eroding and turning to desert, sending women farther to find fresh water, sometimes in competition with wild animals such as elephants. Advocates hope renewable energy projects and education will both help improve conditions, the newspaper reports.

Environment

Global warming melts national borders

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Parts of the Swiss Alps may soon go Italian, as global warming melts the glaciers that originally defined that international border, reports New Scientist magazine. Although an Italian legislator has already proposed redrawing the dividing line, and both countries will amicably share the Matterhorn (as is currently the case), experts fear trouble may occur in other regions. Melting borders may be a flashpoint for conflict in the Himalaya Mountains, where a glacial meltdown in Kashmir could heighten tensions between India and Pakistan. In the Arctic, where the melt is opening up oil drilling and shipping possibilities, the United States, Canada and Russia are all claiming territorial rights. At the other end of the globe, Chile and Argentina may renew their battle over the Patagonia ice fields bordering both nations.

Environment

Can Superfund Weather Climate Change?

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Global warming coupled with funding shortages are hurting efforts to clean up the most dangerous waste sites in the United States, activists say. A study by the nonprofit Center for Health, Environment and Justice found that extreme weather conditions like hurricanes and tornadoes, which may be related to climate change, are causing more damage at toxic waste sites. Advocates say that if Congress does not renew “polluter pay” fees, which ended in 1995, Superfund will remain short on cash, and the problem will only get worse. In Colorado, The Monte Vista Journal reports that the Summitville Superfund site is underfunded, and that polluted water leaking from a mining facility there affects a river used for agriculture, livestock and recreation. –Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
“Global Warming hits SLV”
The Monte Vista Journal, March 26, 2009
“Superfund Report”
The Center for Health, Environment and Justice, March 19, 2009

Economy

Herbicides Come to Southwest Border Fight

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In an effort to fight illegal immigration, the United States Border Patrol plans to spray a chemical herbicide on tall plants near the Texas-Mexico border. The Carrizo cane is an invasive plant that grows up to 30 feet high and provides a cover for illegal border crossers, thieves and smugglers, according to the Houston Chronicle. Helicopters will spray the plants “until all plant life in the area is poisoned.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Border Patrol say the herbicide imazapyr is safe for animals, but critics say the chemical’s safety is questionable and could threaten the water supply of towns near the river. Government agents asked Nuevo Laredo’s water utility to turn off their water pumps before the spraying, reports El Paso’s Newspaper Tree.

Environment

Geo-Engineering: High Hopes, Climate Questions

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Some British scientists say “geo-engineering” is needed to counter the effects of global warming and maintain world temperatures at acceptable levels, according to a report in The Sunday Times. One proposed measure calls for massive planting of fast-growing trees, such as willows, to absorb more carbon dioxide. Another proposal would seed clouds with ocean water to form salt crystals, which would reflect more sunlight back toward the sun and away from the Earth. However, some critics say not enough is known about climate to manipulate it safely. Others argue that artificial solutions focus attention away from the real problem — the need to develop more environmentally friendly economies.

Economy

Wind Energy: Becalmed by Recession

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At a time when green energy is being touted as a potential booster for a slow global economy, a wind energy company in North Dakota has laid off nearly a quarter of its staff. The Telegraph reports that DMI Industries, one of the largest producers of wind-turbine towers, is suffering from a huge drop in demand just one year after seeing impressive growth. The company expanded its factories last year, when the U.S. wind industry doubled its activity, but was forced to lay off workers when banks and other lenders were hit by the slowdown. DMI’s president told the newspaper: “So many positive things have been said about renewable energy, but when the banks have problems, it has an impact on us too.” Some analysts say the investment slowed has undermined renewable energy’s potential to combat climate change.

Environment

Acid Oceans Threaten Shellfish and Much More

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Months ahead of official United Nations climate talks, scientists are meeting in Copenhagen to discuss concerns that global climate change could be worse than 2007 predictions — and could occur sooner. Among the topics at hand is new Australian research that shows carbon dioxide pollution is creating acidic oceans at a rapid pace, potentially leading to the mass extinction of deep-water species, reports Agence France-Presse. Researchers say this last occurred about 65 million years ago, when a giant release of carbon dioxide produced mass oceanic extinctions. Current evidence shows that acidity is destroying the shells of tiny organisms that help absorb enormous amounts of carbon pollution from the atmosphere. The Guardian reports that growing acidity is already placing pressure on shellfish and other marine life in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Environment

Bamboo Bikes for the People

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Craig Calfee, an elite bicycle designer, makes high quality, fully functional bicycles out of bamboo that sell for over $2,000 in the United States.  
Now, Calfee has launched Bamboosero Bikes, which will bring a priced-down version of his eco-friendly bicycles to rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to industry journal Bicycle Retailer.  
Most bikes in Africa are cheaply made imports from China and India. 
Calfee has designed a cargo bike made from locally grown bamboo that is more appropriate for heavy loads and bumpy roads than imported bikes.   
The bikes, which are said to be fully sustainable and require no power tools to make, are intended to to give rural Africans better transport options, and to foster a bike-building cottage industry.   
–Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org 
Source:
“Africans Mold Bamboo into Cargo Bikes”
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, March 2, 2009

Environment

Sweden's own Ecotopia

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The small town of Kalmar, Sweden, is on track to become entirely free of fossil-fuel use by the year 2030, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. 
The city’s comprehensive program to reduce fossil fuels includes heat and electricity generated by a local wood pulp plant, an entire fleet of biodiesel municipal trucks, strict energy efficient building codes and tax incentives.  
Kalmar’s 60,000 residents save money by getting over 65 percent of their energy from renewable resources. 
They say that while the shift has been an adjustment, it “hasn’t made life miserable.” 
At first, most of the city’s politicians scoffed at the idea of independence from fossil fuels, but now they are overwhelmingly in support of the transition. 
“We are not eco-freaks,” one sustainability officer told the Tribune. “We’re just making it easy to change, giving people the tools.”  
–Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org
Source:
“Going green: Entire Swedish city switches to biofuels to become environmentally friendly”
Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2009
 

Environment

A Soft 'n' Gentle Forest Killer?

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The environmental costs of “luxury” toilet paper may exceed that of driving an SUV or eating fast food, reports the Guardian. Toilet paper made from virgin forests accounts for 98 percent of the U.S. domestic market, with tissue made from recycled paper, which doesn’t “fluff up” as easily, trailing behind. The United States is the world’s biggest consumer of paper, yet less than a third of all paper products used nationwide are recycled. One scientist told the Guardian, “People just don’t understand that softness equals ecological destruction.” In addition to causing deforestation, making toilet paper is water intensive and produces chemical pollution.