Is our planet running out of space?

Deutsche Welle, Germany, 25 Oct.  2011, The global population is growing at a faster rate than ever before. But can our planet sustain seven billion people? Some politicians and experts are rethinking our current economic and social models. 

There will be nine billion people by 2050

 

By the end of October, a baby will be born somewhere on this planet that will, according to United Nations estimates, make the global population add up to seven billion.

Experts like to call our population growth a "population explosion." In the last 200 years, the growth rate has been the fastest in the history of humankind. By 2050, the global population is expected to exceed 9.1 billion.

According to the UN, every individual is born with unalienable rights: the right to the protection of his or her dignity, a right to food and water, education, health and housing. Most individuals are likely to dream of material wealth and well-being, based on a Western lifestyle.  

 But is the planet actually able to support this Western model? "The typical US-American or European lifestyle is not sustainable," says Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, German environmental expert and member of the World Future Council. If the world continues along its current growth part, he is convinced "we would need three planets." Read More

(Source : Deutsche Welle, Germany)

Piece of satellite could fall on Sweden

UARS Satellite and its parts are falling to earth. Photo: Scanpix.

Sweden could be hit by pieces of a 20-year-old NASA satellite expected to hit the earth tonight Friday. But the risk is still small, reports Swedish Radio News.

The satellite was used for research on the ozone layer until 2005. It’s the size of a small bus and weighs six tonnes. However, only about 500 kilos of it is expected to reach the ground, or, as NASA hoped for, the sea. The risk zone in Sweden is from Goteborg and south.

Olle Norberg, director general of the Swedish National Space Board, told Swedish Radio News that friction from the satellite colliding with the atmosphere is so great that a large portion of the satellite will burn up. “It’s like a very long, drawn out falling star that will burn and glow for several minutes.”

Norberg said because a larger portion of the earth is made up of ocean and uninhabited areas, the risk that anyone could be harmed is relatively small.

(Source : Radio Sweden)

Particles can move faster than light, scientists say

According to Einstein's theories, nothing travels faster than light

After three years of testing, physicists say that they have recorded neutrinos breaking what was believed to be the fastest speed possible. If confirmed, the results would significantly contradict Einstein's theories.

 

On Thursday evening, a team of international physicists said they had recorded the movement of neutrinos, a sub-atomic particle, moving faster than light. If the result proves to be correct, this finding could fundamentally contradict one of Einstein's prime theories, which stipulates that nothing in the universe can travel faster than light. 

In a series of experiments conducted over three years between the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), in Switzerland, and another physics lab in Italy, scientists fired neutrinos the 730 kilometers (450 miles) between the two facilities. The team found that the neutrinos travelled 300,006 kilometers per second, which is about six kilometers per second faster than the speed of light. 

According to the AFP news agency, Antonio Ereditato, the team's spokesperson, said that his colleagues had spent half a year "checking, testing, controlling and rechecking everything."

"We have high confidence in our results," Ereditato, who is also a professor of physics at the University of Bern in Switzerland, in an interview with Reuters.

"We have checked and rechecked for anything that could have distorted our measurements but we found nothing," he noted. "We now want colleagues to check them independently." Read More

(Source : Deutsche Welle)

German upper house rejects disputed carbon capture law

Germany's upper house of parliament has rejected a controversial law on carbon capture and storage technology. Proponents say it could help curb greenhouse emissions. But critics argue it's too risky.

 

Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has struck down a law for testing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology amid strong resistance from some politicians.

The legislation, which is the German implementation of a European Union regulation, was meant to test the technology until 2017.

CCS refers to capturing carbon dioxide from fumes emitted by coal-fired factories and industrial plants before it escapes into the atmosphere, liquefying the pollutant and pumping it into underground storage sites.

The decision by the Bundesrat, which represents the interests of Germany's 16 states, could also throw into doubt the construction of a 250-megawatt testing plant by Swedish utility giant Vattenfall in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

CCS is seen as a promising technology by several German politicians and researchers who say it could help cut greenhouse gas emissions, fight climate change and help Germany meet ambitious climate protection goals.  

The International Energy Agency estimates that the technology, if implemented successfully, could contribute nearly 20 percent to the reductions in CO2 emissions aimed for by 2050. Many companies also hope CCS technology will free them from having to buy expensive emissions certificates. Read More

(Source : Deutsche Welle)

New Zealand Rises Water Pollution Level

New Zealand's clean and green reputation is under threat from rising water pollution levels at a time when water pollution in other developed nations is falling.

A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) described New Zealand's water quality as "good" compared with most OECD countries, but said it was deteriorating, according to an OECD official.

The deterioration was largely due to pollution from agriculture, Dr Kevin Parris, of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate in Paris, told the 15th International Conference of the International Water Association Diffuse Pollution Specialist Group (DIPCON) conference, in Rotorua Friday.

New Zealand's agriculture, a vital part of the country's economy, was exerting more pressure on its environmental systems as it expanded, said Harris.

Agriculture contributed to water pollution through excess nutrients, pesticides and other pollutants.

Agricultural nutrients were a major pressure on river, lake and marine water quality, and the OECD assessed the pressure through nutrient balances, said Parris, the plenary speaker at the conference.

"We look at all the nitrogen and phosphorus going into the system, mainly from livestock manure and fertilizers and calculate how much nutrients are used to grow crops and pasture," said Parris.

"In most situations there is a surplus of nutrients to crop and pasture requirements, which places stress on the environment (soils, water and the air). In 2000, the average for New Zealand was around 35 kg of nitrogen per hectare. By 2008 it was about 45 kg per hectare. In 10 years it has gone up 10 kg."

In 2000, the average for the 34 OECD countries was 80 kg per hectare, but in 2008 it had dropped to 65 kg per hectare. Read More

(Source : China Radio International)

Climate migrants have no place to go

(Photo : ANP)

Radio Netherlands, 22 September 2011, Climate change: rising sea levels, an increase in the number of cyclones, tsunamis and other natural disasters. Yes, we know all about that now, but scientists still cannot agree about climate change. Some people are already victims of climate change but they have nowhere to turn because legally they do not exist.

An example
There are nomads in Ethiopia and Somali who are forced to cross man-made borders in their search for food for their herds. They don't see climate change as their biggest problem; it's the governments who deny them access to food and water sources and markets for their produce.

Bangladeshi climate negotiator Muniruzzaman is calling for a legal framework to protect climate change victims: “If we don’t do anything, these people will be stateless; they’ll have no legal status and no country will be obliged to do anything for them if something happens.”

According to legal expert Wybe Douma, hundreds of millions of people could be forced to flee: “We can argue about the precise number of people affected by climate change forever, but there is a problem and a solution to that problem has to be found.” He adds that climate change victims are sent from pillar to post at the moment.

A second example
In Malawi, some villagers are forced to choose between the dangers of flooding and a shortage of drinking water: they have to flee from the rising water levels but are then forced to return because they have no access to clean drinking water. www.rnw.nl/africa/article/malawis-climate-change-refugees)

Cotton farmers in Mali watch their crops dry out because the rains have failed. No rain means no food.

According to the United Nations, refugees are people who have been forced to flee their countries due to political considerations. Climate changes are not mentioned. The UN refugee agency UNHCR is not in favour of any expansion of the definition of refugee; they don’t have the money and the situation for climate migrants is different.

Internally displaced
It is possible that existing regional and international guidelines governing aid to victims of natural disasters and the protection for people in emergency situations will be of use to this new type of refugee. Alex Flavell from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM): if the existing rules are properly applied, then that will go a long way.”

A third example
Bangladeshis forced by flooding ever closer to the Indian border? Experts predict about 20% of the country will be flooded if sea levels continue to rise. This will force between 30 and 35 million people to flee their homes.

The final communiqué issued by the Cancun climate conference in 2010 offered a tiny opening: countries were invited to increase cooperation in cases of 'climate change induced displacement, migration and planned relocation'. In July of this year, the UN Security Council acknowledged that climate change could 'lead to conflicts'.

But what is cause and what is effect? Water shortages and other climate problems frequently go hand-in-hand with conflict and migration. The IOM’s Alex Flavell: "It’s always far more complex than scarcity equals conflict equals migration.”

Small steps
In short, it’s very complicated problem. However, small steps towards solving this complicated issue are being taken. The UNHCR, but doesn’t want to be responsible for climate migrants, is working on guidelines for cross-border displacement caused by natural disasters.

Ingrid Boas, who is writing her dissertation on the issue, says a structural solution is necessary because it’s a structural problem:

“At the moment it’s all ad hoc; something happens and organisations respond. That’s why it would be good if there was a structural plan and people could work to prevent things getting out of hand. At the moment, there’s too much talking and too much arguing and not enough helping the victims. And that is absolutely not fair.”

(Source : Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

Fiji's FBC helps save turtle

The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation has been hailed for helping save a turtle in waters off Vatoa Island. 

At an awareness workshop on Vatoa Island, the environmental conservation organisation WWF heard that the turtle had been spared as a result of a radio show on Radio Fiji One and a message on the turtle's satellite tag.

The radio show had reported that the turtle had been satellite tagged in French Polynesia and was travelling towards Fiji.

The turtle was captured by villagers. However, they had heard the radio reports. This, combined with the message reading "Save me, don't eat me", prompted them to release the turtle and leave the tag in place.

 

(Source : Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)

Ideal Conditions For Solar

Cooler Planet, 21 September 2011, There is a lot of information circulating about the best location, climate and structure conditions for a solar panel system. Many people assume that a sunny location is all you need. If that’s true, why is Germany (with 9,785 MW of solar energy in 2010) the country with the most solar installations? And how come New Jersey (with 293 MW of solar energy in 2010) is one of the U.S. states with the highest number of solar arrays? Germany and New Jersey aren’t known for their sunny weather, showing that geographic location isn’t the most important factor when considering a solar system. What is important in determining the feasibility and efficiency of a system is the orientation of the roof, amount of sun exposure on the home, and amount of space available for the installation.

Even if you don’t live in sunny California, your home may be in a position that is perfect for PV panels. Listed below are the things you should consider when evaluating whether or not your home is a good candidate for a solar PV system.

Southern Facing Roof

The orientation of your roof is very important when considering the possibility of installing a solar PV system. A southern facing roof is ideal for a solar panel installation, however east and west facing roofs will also work. The southern facing portion will receive the most hours of direct sunlight throughout the day, making the system as efficient as possible. A pitched roof is optimal in order to receive southern facing exposure but a flat roof will also work. If the roof is flat, the installer will attach the panels to a frame that is tilted at the optimal angle. Read More

(Source : coolerplanet)

Bali boat sinks, 11 dead

An upturned boat. Eleven people have been killed in an Indonesian boating accident. [ABC]

Indonesian authorities say 11 people drowned, and 14 are missing, after a traditional boat sank off Bali.

Search and rescue saved 11 people from the boat, which sank on Tuesday, late in the afternoon.

The boat, which was carrying 36 passengers and crew members, left Nusa Lembongan Island and was bound for Nusa Penida Island, both southeast of Bali.

(Source : Radio Australia News)

Japanese flee as Typhoon Roke strikes

A man looks at a flooded street with submerged vehicles in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, in central Japan, as Typhoon Roke approached on September 20, 2011. [AFP]

Radio Australia News, 21 September 2011, Four people have been killed by Typhoon Roke after it made landfall in Hamamatsu in central Japan, before moving through the major island, Honshu.

Two more people are also missing, including a young boy who disappeared on his way home from school.

Authorities in Nagoya in central Japan have urged more than 1.3 million residents to leave their homes, fearing that heavy rain from Typhoon Roke will cause two rivers to burst their banks.

The typhoon is packing winds of more than 140-kilometres an hour, and it dumped a-metre of rain on one community on the southern island of Kyushu.

The storm has forced the suspension of train services in the capital and the grounding of hundreds of aircraft, with 45-thousand passengers left stranded.

The typhoon is expected to pass the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, with workers at the site rushing to cover shattered reactor buildings with tarpaulins.

There are fears heavy rainfall could inundate the crippled plant, contaminating flood water with radiation. Read More

(Source : Radio Australia News)

Typhoon Roke makes landfall in central Japan

NHK World, 21 September 2011, Typhoon Roke is moving northeast after making landfall on the Pacific coast of central Japan. The Meteorological Agency is calling for maximum caution against possible mudslides, floods, strong winds and high waves.

The agency says that after making landfall near Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, at around 2 PM, the typhoon was apparently near Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture at 6 PM, heading northeast at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour.

The storm has an atmospheric pressure of 955 hectopascals and is packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour.

Maximum instantaneous winds of up to 155 kilometers per hour were observed in Hachioji City, Tokyo, 151 kilometers per hour on Izu-oshima Island, south of Tokyo 125 kilometers in Yokohama City at about 4 PM.

Between 4 PM and 5 PM, 52 millimeters of rain fell in Gotenba City, Kanagawa Prefecture, 44 millimeters in Yamanakako Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, and 43 millimeters in Okunikko, Tochigi Prefecture and 31 millimeters in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. The meteorological agency says that 90 millimeters of rain apparently fell in Fujiyoyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

During the past 24 hours, more than 400 millimeters of rain has fallen in Tokai region and Yamanashi Prefecture and more than 200 millimeters of rain fell in northeastern Japan.

The typhoon has left 4 people dead and 3 others missing. 28 people have been injured across the country.

As of 3 PM on Wednesday, more than 1,000 homes in 30 prefectures have been inundated by heavy rain. More than 89,000 households in 13 prefectures have lost power.

Evacuation orders or advisories have been issued for about 177,000 households, or 450,000 people, mainly in western and central Japan.

The typhoon has also disrupted the country's air and shinkansen bullet train services.

(Source : NHK World English)

Wave energy swells in Spain

Deutsche Welle, 21 September 2011, The world's first commercial wave energy plant went online this summer and is supplying electricity to a town in northern Spain. Despite its high investment costs, it could serve as a model for other coastal regions.

Waves deliver power to a costal town in Spain

 

The small Spanish coastal town of Mutriku doesn't look like it would be home to a high-tech power plant. But 600 people in the Basque town, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from San Sebastian, began getting their electricity from the sea when a wave energy power plant went online this July.

"Mutriku will serve as a reference point when it comes to wave energy," says Basque Energy Agency engineer José Ignacio Hormaetxe. He says the plant is the first commercial operation to provide consumers with electricity from wave power.

The plant creates energy by harnessing the power of the waves that pounds against the town's harbor walls. The operators, Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE), dug 16 moles into the harbor's barriers. As waves drive water into them, air is pushed through a turbine to generate electricity. Read More

(Source : Deutsche Welle)

Four million without water in Nairobi

Most of Nairobi’s more than four million residents are going without a regular supply of water for days or even weeks. This dire shortage is caused by several factors that include drought and distribution. Listen from RFI

(Source : Radio France International)

Gothenburg archipelago: Workers battle weather to clean up oil spill

Workers have been battling bad weather all week in the Gothenburg archipelago as they try to clean up the oil that is in the water and washing ashore. Tor Haugen, who works for the community of Tjörn, is running the cleanup operation. He says they are finding more oil than they thought would be there.

The weather is cooperating on Wednesday so workers are back on the boats and on the rock cliffs cleaning up the thick fuel oil. But officials, who say it is the worst spill since 1987, still do not know where the oil came from.

Haugen says around 100 people are picking up oil from the coastline and waters. “So far we’ve collected 250 tons of oil and it’s quite difficult to get to it because it’s very thick and near the coastline so big vessels have no access to it,” he says.

In some places, because of the heavy seas and wind, the oil has washed ashore 25 to 50 meters inland.

“It’s a mess,” he says. “The smell is of heavy oil. If you are working in it you get headaches and become dizzy. This is an environmental disaster”.

Officials expect that people will find oil in the area for some time. Work is still underway to find the source of the spill.

(Source : Radio Sweden)

Hanoi, HCM City host exhibitions to combat wildlife trafficking

Voice of Vietnam, 21 September 2011 - Two exhibitions to raise public awareness on illegal wildlife trafficking will be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on September 23-24.

They are jointly held by the Education for Nature Vietnam and the US Agency for International Development, and are funded by Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) Programme.

On display will be videos on the wildlife situation in Vietnam and quizzes on wildlife farming and traditional medicine.

The exhibitions will also encourage people to join the cause against the trafficking of endangered wildlife by becoming a member of the National Wildlife Protection Volunteer Network which allows them to monitor and report wildlife trafficking crime.

(Source : Voice of Vietnam)

Remarks by Achim Steiner at the Environment for Europe Conference

A properly functioning economy is an environmentally friendly economy

Astana, 21 September 2011-Thank you for inviting me to address the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Environment for Europe with 56 participating countries, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and partner organizations and institutions.

And thank you to the Government of Khazakstan for hosting this important event.

Twenty years ago, in June 1991, the first Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference took place at the Dobris Castle near Prague where late Josef Vavrousek, Environment Minister of what was then Czechoslovakia initiated the "Environment for Europe" process. 

Your meeting comes at a time of extraordinary reflection, debate and discourse on sustainable development in terms of acceleration and scaling-up.

20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the world is again on the Road to Rio with the Rio+20 conference scheduled for June next year.

As in Europe, the world has passed through two decades of extraordinary transformation and change geopolitically but also economically, socially and environmentally.

The Astana conference, the last pan European ministerial meeting before the November 1 deadline for inputs to Rio+20, can shape and sharpen this region's contribution to the overall themes.

Your two themes - Sustainable management of water and water-related ecosystems; and Greening the economy: mainstreaming the environment into economic development - reflect the urgency to take sustainability seriously in a world where next month the seventh billion person will be born-two billion more than in 1992.

Your two conference themes also echo to those of Rio+20-a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and an institutional framework for sustainable development. Read More

(Source : United Nations Environment Programme)

Has the Problem of the Ozone Hole Been Solved?

Ninety seven per cent of all ozone depleting substances controlled by the global treaty known as the Montreal Protocol have been phased out

New UNEP documentary examines its status

Paris, 16 September 2011 - The ozone hole is back in the news. In August the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that signs of ozone depletion were again appearing over the Antarctic. A few months earlier, the Antarctic ozone hole was making headlines as scientists found that it was "creating rainfall in subtropical regions". 

The problem of the ozone hole was supposed to be solved, wasn't it? 

In fact, the closing of the hole in the world's stratospheric ozone layer is still many decades away and the effects and interactions of ozone depletion on climate change are just starting to be understood.

For these reasons, the OzonAction Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) decided to embark on an investigative journey through the history and science of the ozone layer, the actions taken to address this major environmental threat and the consequences both for the ozone layer and the Earth's climate system. 

The resulting documentary, The Antarctic Ozone Hole: From Discovery to Recovery, examines the current state of the ozone layer, the effects of ozone depletion on climate change and the potential impact on communities worldwide. 

Thid scientific journey, which had a worldwide screening today to mark the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, is not a portrait of a planet in crisis but rather has experts from NASA, the British Antarctic Survey, Colombia University and other leading ozone researchers who offer hope and solutions to reducing ozone depletion. Indeed, they show that the Montreal Protocol, which covers ozone depleting substances (ODS), can deliver immediate climate benefits. 

"The Montreal Protocol is a great example of what can be accomplished if nations, industry, technologists and scientists all combine to work on a problem," said Paul Newman from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

One hundred and ninety-six countries have signed the Montreal Protocol, making it the first treaty of any kind to achieve universal ratification. All the world's governments are now legally obligated to phase out ODS under the schedules defined by the Protocol.

"The Montreal Protocol started off with baby steps. The countries took a decision and based on science, they changed the decisions. There were many amendments and adjustments, which finally made it so successful. There may be a lesson in that for the climate negotiations and climate decisions, too," said A.R Ravishankara from NOAA.

The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer or ("Ozone Day"), is an official UN day commemorating the date in 1987 on when the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed. Screenings of the film include a launch in Nairobi where UNEP has its headquarters, and at the Biosphère Environment Museum in Montreal, the city where the Protocol was signed. The video is available in English and French at http://www.unep.org/ozonaction/antarctic

The international version will be provided to National Ozone Units for translation into local languages upon request. The narration of the French version is by Elisa Sednaoui, a young Franco-Italian actress and model. 

For more information, please contact:

Nick Nuttall, Acting Director Division of Communications and Public Information/UNEP Spokesperson, nick.nuttall@unep.org + 254 73 363 2755

Moira O'Brien-Malone, Head, Communications, UNEP Paris, moira.obrien-malone@unep.org, +33 1 44 37 76 12 or mobile +33 6 82 26 93 73.

Anne Fenner, Communications, OzonAction Branch, UNEP, Paris anne.fenner@unep.org, +33 1 44 37 14 54 or +33678787882

(Source : United Nations Environment Programme)

Staring down climate change in East Timor

OurWorld 2.0, 14 September, Abilio da Fonseca is a driven man. The Ph.D. candidate and Timor-Leste citizen wants one thing above anything else, and that is to contribute to helping the island nation and its one million plus population to prosper. But prosperity will never come unless the world’s youngest democracy can repel the newest threat to its shores. 

Raised in a fishing village where lives depend on the resources of the sea, Abilio is a young man fighting a new peril that is snapping at his nation — climate change.

Born in a small village in the sub-district of Tutuala, in eastern Timor-Leste Island, Abilio’s family of nine brothers and sisters survived by subsistence farming and fishing. A keen interest in marine life and passion for improving the lives of his people saw Abilio study at the Fisheries High School in Aquaculture in Indonesia before completing an undergraduate degree in fisheries and aquaculture at Hasanuddin University, Indonesia.

He returned to Timor-Leste to carry out fisheries research for the Government of Indonesia to increase the aquaculture “farming” opportunities of several sources of protein for his people, including sea cucumbers and gold fish.

But in 1999, while he was working as part of the local staff for the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste to help prepare his people for the independence referendum, Abilio’s life changed abruptly. The struggle for independence turned bloody in the lead up to voting. Abilio’s wife and son fled to Indonesia and he was forced to hide in the jungle for three months, laying low while order was gradually restored.

In 2002, the year Xanana Gusmao was sworn in as President, Abilio’s talents were acknowledged with a scholarship to study for a Master of Tropical Environmental Management at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in Darwin. Read More

(Source : OurWorld2.0)

China leads world in green energy investment

BBC, 15 September, 2011 by James Melik, Global investment in renewable energy jumped 32% in 2010 to a record $211bn (£130bn; 149bn euros), according to the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011 report.

Coal remains the prime energy source in China, accounting for 70% of the energy mix

Published jointly by the UN Environment Programme and the Frankfurt School of Finance, it shows that China has become the largest investor in renewable energy projects.

But the country still faces grave cases of pollution despite progress in cutting down on the number of new coal-burning power stations during the last five years.

According to Zhang Lijun, vice-minister of environmental protection, coal consumption increased by a billion tons between 2006 and 2010.

"And it is likely to see another one-billion-ton rise in the coming five years," he adds. Read More

(Source : BBC News)

Being creative to save the climate

This picture has been taken in Bangladesh, Rajshahi by Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin. Old man and his creative technique to save the energy: Md. Abul Hossain (age 70+), sitting on a bamboo made place with a 3-band radio receiver, listening the world. He used a rechargeable torchlight to supply the power for his receiver and his creative technique not only save the energy but also to save the climate, which is now very much essential to the world.

Al Gore’s climate ‘reality’ campaign kicks off

Stop Global Warming, Staff Writer (AFP) - September 15, 2011, An Internet campaign spearheaded by former US vice president Al Gore to raise awareness about climate change began airing its day-long broadcast around the world on Thursday.

The project, called “24 Hours of Reality,” features a multimedia presentation viewable online that showcases how extreme weather events like floods, fires and storms are linked to climate change.

By 1300 GMT, the live-streamed broadcasts delivered in 13 languages, viewable at climaterealityproject.org, had drawn more than three million views, organizers said.

The hourly broadcasts are scheduled in various locations around the world, including Beijing, New Delhi, Jakarta, London, Dubai, Istanbul, Seoul and Rio de Janeiro.

They also aim to reveal how money motivates those who deny that human-driven pollution is contributing to climate change.

“Around the world, we are still subjected to polluter-financed misinformation and propaganda designed to mislead people about the dangers we face from the unfolding climate crisis,” Gore said in a statement.

Celebrity actresses Renee Zellweger and Fran Drescher were added to the roster of appearances for Thursday beginning at 1600 GMT.

The campaign ends with the final presentation by Gore starting at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) in New York.

Gore won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on climate change.

A slideshow presented by Gore about the dangers of climate change was the basis of the popular 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which grossed 49 million dollars worldwide.

(Source : stopglobalwarming.org)

Typhoon Roke bringing heavy rain to Japan

NHK World, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 21:07 +0900 (JST) Japan's Meteorological Agency warns that heavy rain brought by an approaching typhoon may trigger landslides and floods in western and central Japan.

The agency says that as of 9 PM Tuesday, Typhoon Roke was travelling toward the main island of Honshu at 25 kilometers per hour over the sea south of the island of Shikoku. The strong typhoon was packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour near its center.

Areas in central and western Japan had hourly rainfall between 30 and 40 millimeters on Tuesday evening.

In parts of Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu, 400 millimeters of rain has fallen in one day.

Roke is gradually picking up speed. Weather officials say it will approach western and eastern Japan on Wednesday and may make landfall.

(Source : NHK World, Japan)

Welsh generosity helps Size of Wales rainforest drive

Elias Kimaru (WWF project executive) and Sururu Lagiza from the Kaya Muhaka group within the Kaya sacred forest, hold up the Size of Wales logo

BBC, 17 September 2011, People in Wales are doing their bit to help preserve rainforests in east Africa from deforestation.

Donations are funding a raft of projects in a wider campaign to save an area of forest equivalent to Wales - in a campaign called Size of Wales.

The campaign is driven by Cardiff-based charity The Waterloo Foundation.

Two representatives have visited projects started by WWF Cymru to defend trees from illegal logging and fight for land ownership rights for locals.

The WWF project area extends through Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, as well as some offshore islands.

The Size of Wales scheme is being funded via The Waterloo Foundation, which donates grants to organisations in the UK and worldwide, and runs a forests programme targeted at avoiding deforestation in tropical areas.

Steph Stares and Nia Sterling from the foundation have returned from visiting the area and WWF Cymru projects in the Kwale district in Kenya. Read More

(Source : BBC)

Times Atlas 'wrong' on Greenland ice

BBC News, 19 September 2011, Leading UK polar scientists say the Times Atlas of the World was wrong to assert that it has had to re-draw its map of Greenland due to climate change.

Publicity for the latest edition of the atlas, launched last week, said warming had turned 15% of Greenland's former ice-covered land "green and ice-free".

But scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute say the figures are wrong; the ice has not shrunk so much.

The Atlas costs £150 ($237) and claims to be the world's "most authoritative".

The 13th edition of the "comprehensive" version of the atlas included a number of revisions made for reasons of environmental change since the previous one, published in 2007.

The break-up of some Antarctic ice shelves due to climate change, the shrinking of inland waters such as the Dead and Aral Seas, and the drying up of rivers such as the Colorado River are all documented.

But the glossy publicity sheets begin with the contention that "for the first time, the new edition of the (atlas) has had to erase 15% of Greenland's once permanent ice cover - turning an area the size of the United Kingdom and Ireland 'green' and ice-free.

"This is concrete evidence of how climate change is altering the face of the planet forever - and doing so at an alarming and accelerating rate."

The Scott Polar group, which includes director Julian Dowdeswell, says the claim of a 15% loss in just 12 years is wrong. Read More 

(Source : BBC)

Oil clean-up hazardous to human health

Radio Sweden, Rescue teams have been working around the clock to clear up the giant oil spill at Tjörn in the Gothenburg archipelago, the worst in the area since 1987.

Coastguards on nine ships using brush skimmers to remove the heavy, sticky fuel oil from the sea fear strong winds on Monday afternoon will spread more oil out from the shore while those in protective suits cleaning up the fifty centimetre thick slick, ten to fifty metres up on the small islands, believe it could take until the start of next summer's tourist season before the area is safe for the public.

The oil was first spotted off the south part of the island of Tjörn last Thursday and later moved to Krykosund and Härön.

Over two hundred tonnes of oil has so far been removed. Pumps and skimmer equipment is being used to take up the oil which has spread in bad weather from the water while on land on places where pumping equipment cannot be used, 30 people wearing special protective  masks are digging up the oil with spades along the beaches. Rescue crews from Karlskrona and Vännersborg have also been drafted in.

An additional problem is high up on the shoreline where the oil has painted the rocks and must be scrubbed off manually.

Carl Ian Bissmark, Chief Fire Officer at Tjörn municipality told Radio Sweden that many islanders want to help out but it's too dangerous. Read More 

(Source : Radio Sweden)

Brazil's expanding palm oil industry

Living Planet, Deutsche Welle 15 September, 2011, Brazil hopes to become a major player in the global palm oil industry - despite evidence from Malaysia and Indonesia that palm oil cultivation can damage rain forests and wildlife habitats. 

 

As demand for biofuels continues to grow, oil palm could become a dominant crop in the Amazon - despite evidence that palm cultivation can be bad for the environment. Some estimate that 98 percent of the rain forests of Malaysia and Indonesia - the world’s largest producers of palm oil - will be gone by 2022 largely due to palm oil cultivation.

But palm oil cultivation is gathering support in Brazil, which hopes to be the third or fourth largest producer of palm oil in the world within the decade. 

It’s not even in the top ten right now. But Europe could play a role in Brazil's growing palm oil industry.

(Source : DW Living Planet)

Nasa satellite UARS nearing Earth 'could land anywhere'

BBC News, September 16, 2011, A five tonne, 20-year-old satellite has fallen out of orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on Earth on or around 24 September, according to Nasa.

The 'productive scientific life' of the UARS ended in 2005 when it ran out of fuel

Nasa says the risk to life from the UARS - Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite - is just 1 in 3,200.

It could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator - most of the populated world. 

However, most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth.

Scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the earth's atmosphere, and debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide.

Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere. Read More from BBC

(Source : BBC News)

The warming wine regions

BBC, UK, September 16, 2011, The culprit is the world’s warming climate, which could render 50% of the land currently used to grow pinot noir, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon grapes unsuitable. This troubling forecast is being echoed in wine regions worldwide.

As greenhouse gases turn up the heat on our planet, the world wine map is changing. High-value grapes are grown within a narrow climate window, Stanford earth scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said, making them more sensitive to temperature variations than standard crops.

In Tuscany, a Florence University study found that climate change will result in both increased temperatures and increased rain intensity, which could damage such wines as Chianti, Barolo, Brunello and Amarone. In Australia, drought attributed to climate change has already affected wine production in recent years. Read More from BBC Travel

(Source : BBC, UK)

An oil spill off the island of Tjörn in southwest Sweden is the worst in the area for 25 years

Radio Sweden, An oil spill off the island of Tjörn in southwest Sweden is the worst in the area for 25 years, according to the Swedish coastguard.

It is unclear how much oil is left in the water but 150 cubic meters has so far been taken up. The clean-up operation could take four weeks and there is a danger that the oil slick could spread to the protected wildlife area of Stigfjorden.  

Expressen newspaper reports that five ships, an aircraft and fifty coastguards are currently involved in the operation. The plane will be used this morning to get an overall picture of how far the oil slick has spread.

"It will take a long time to remove the oil," Gothenburg coastguard Birgitta Andersson told Göteborg Posten. 

It's thought the oil has come from a ship involved in a collision off the Danish west coast last week. Oil samples have been taken to see if there is a match.

Local birdlife has been affected. Tjörn is the sixth largest island in Sweden.

(Source : Radio Sweden)

Several dead after magnitude 6.8 quake in India

Reuters, September 18, 2011 - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit a remote area in northeastern India on Sunday evening, killing at least two people and damaging buildings and blocking roads, as well as killing four in neighbouring Nepal, officials said.

One child died in Sikkim state, the epicentre of the earthquake, and another person died in Bihar state as a result of a stampede sparked by the quake, CNN-IBN broadcaster said.

The Himalayan region is prone to landslides and many high-rise buildings have come up in Sikkim's mountain towns over the last few years of economic boom. There were concerns that the toll could rise as information arrived from remote areas.

In neighbouring Nepal, four people died.

"Four people were injured when a wall collapsed after the quake. All of them were rushed to hospital but 3 died during treatment," said Kedar Rijal, the chief of Kathmandu police.

Several buildings collapsed in Sikkim's capital Gangtok, and widespread power cuts were reported across the northeastern state, television channels said. Read More from Reuters

(Source : Reuters)

Two Dhaka buildings damaged in quake

Dhaka, Sep 18 (bdnews24.com)—Cracks have developed in at least two multi-story buildings in capital Dhaka in the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that shook Bangladesh and parts of India Sunday evening.

An 11-storey building at Jhigatala cracked, a Fire Service official said

Fire Service officials said they heard about the crack in Geneta Plaza, the building near Jhigatala, after the quake that jolted the country for about 10 to 15 seconds around 6:42pm BdST. The quake was initially measured 6.8 on the Richter scale before being revised upwards by the US Geological Survey.

Assistant commissioner of police Asaduzzaman told bdnews24.com that they had been informed that a part of a roof of a 16-storey under-construction building at Chamelibagh collapsed.

He, however, said no-one was injured.

Rumours spread that a five-storey building at Mohakhali had tilted as many gathered around the building.

But, owner Awaal Chowdhury told bdnews24.com that his building had not been damaged by the quake.

A 14-year-old girl was injured while the residents of a building at Lalbagh rushed out in the open for safety. The girl, 'Nasrin', was given first aid at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

bdnews24.com received phone calls that several buildings had tilted in Dhaka but there have been no reports of casualties so far.

The severe tremor that had its epicentre in Sikkim also panicked people out of their homes. Sudipta Das, an IT professional in Sylhet, said he felt it. "The water bucket was rocking in bathroom... I felt a little bit scared."

The epicentre was 495 kilometres away from Dhaka, 68 kilometres north-west of Gangtok, Sikkim, India, 119 km north north-west of Shiliguri, West Bengal, according to the US Geological Survey.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data. "This earthquake is located too far inland to generate a tsunami in the Indian Ocean."

"Cracks have developed in some buildings in Gangtok. Most phone lines are down and there is no electricity now. People have come out on the street," Gangtok resident Bobby Dahal told Reuters news agency.

"It is too early to ascertain any damage. We are trying to get in touch with the state government of Sikkim to know if they need any help from us," Sujata Saunail, joint secretary of he National Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters.

Prodip Chandra Roy, a resident of Shiliguri, told bdnews24.com that glasses of shops and houses in Matigra broke during the tremor. Power and telephone poles in some areas also fell down, he added.

Quoting one of his brothers living in Sikkim, bdnews24.com news editor Nirmal Anshu Ranjan from New Delhi said people in the Indian state ran out of their houses and stayed on streets or fields for long.

A journalist from Kolkata said no damages were reported. bdnews24.com blog editor Koushik Ahmed from Kanpur said the condition was normal.

Sikkim is India's least populous state, located in the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. 

(Source : bdnews24.com, Dhaka)

Scientists Discover 1 Planet Orbiting 2 Stars

Artist's conception of planet (dark circle) orbiting two suns   Photo: NASA

Voice of America, September 15, 2011, Astronomers say they have discovered a planet that orbits around a pair of stars.  It is the first time a so-called circumbinary system has been detected.

Movie fans might be familiar with the score of "Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope," the blockbuster movie from 1977.  Luke Skywalker stands on his stark home planet Tatooine.  As he gazes pensively into the distance toward a pinkish sky, an orange sun descends toward the horizon, with a smaller white sun following close behind.

Well, move over, Tatooine, says John Knoll of Industrial Light and Magic, which created the special effects for the "Star Wars" films.

"Again and again we see that the science is stranger and cooler than the fiction," Knoll said.

Make way for reality -- Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars.  That makes it a circumbinary planet.

A research team, led by scientist Laurance Doyle, used data from the Kepler space telescope to make the discovery. Read More from VOA

(Source : Voice of America, USA)

Czech Republic's Future of massive clean-up tender uncertain

Radio Prague, Czech Republic, September 14, 2011, The future of the Czech Republic’s largest public tender is uncertain after the Finance Ministry revealed that three firms had bid between 57 and 65 billion crowns to remove environmental damage inherited from the communist regime. Prime Minster Petr Nečas, as well as several other cabinet ministers are increasingly receptive to arguments by the project’s critics who warned the tender might become the country’s “largest single corrupt deal”.

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday opened the envelopes with bids by three firms competing for what might be the biggest tender ever handed out in the Czech Republic. 

The Czech government in 2008 announced the tender for removing environmental damage and threats which originated during the communist regime in more than 500 sites around the country. 

The lowest bid of 56.8 billion crowns, or nearly 3.2 billion US dollars came from the Czech branch of the Danish firm Marius Pedersen Engineering; the company Geosan Group asked for 57.8 billion crowns while Environmental Services, part of the Slovak financial group J&T asked for 65.5 billion. Read More from Radio Prague

(Source : Radio Prague, Czech Republic)

Siemens to quit nuclear industry

Deutsche Welle, Germany, 18 September 2011, The head of German engineering and industrial giant Siemens, Peter Löscher, has said in an interview that his company is to withdraw entirely from the nuclear industry.

 

In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Siemens Chief Executive Peter Löscher said his company is turning the page on nuclear energy.

"The chapter for us is closed," Löscher said, announcing that the firm will no longer build nuclear power stations. "We will no longer be involved in managing the building or financing of nuclear plants," he said.

A long-planned joint venture with Russian nuclear firm Rosatom would also be cancelled, although Löscher said he would still seek to work with their partner "in other fields." Read More from DW

(Source : Deutsche Welle, Germany)

Media Build Climate Awareness