Why Russia should ally with China & India on Carbon Rules

By Olga Dobrovidova

Russia, China and India, the world’s top three net carbon exporters, should unite and start putting pressure on the UN climate talks to adopt rules for sharing the burden of emissions associated with international trade in a more equitable way, Russian economists suggest.

Today, a country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions are counted as the sum of all carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides and other gases being emitted into the atmosphere from sources within the country’s territory, regardless of whether goods and services produced in the process are later consumed locally or exported.

This is known as production-based carbon accounting, and it means that some (read: developed) countries can “outsource” their carbon to others, while these other (again, read: developing) countries are held responsible for emissions that are not truly “theirs”.

The Guardian’s Andrew Simms once compared this system to “a pub where you could drink your fill and leave the hangover with the landlord”. more>>

Courtesy: http://www.rtcc.org

World's Largest Floating Solar Plant

If you’ve ever been out in a boat on a hot summer day, you know that open water gathers a lot of sun and heat. Engineers in Japan are hoping to harness that power with the construction of what will be the planet’s largest floating solar power installation.

2014 Renewable Energy Recap: Oil Down, Solar Up

Japan’s Kyocera Corporation has already leveraged the power of open water with shoreline solar installations like the fixed Kagoshima Nanatsujima plant, pictured above. The new project, however, will be built around 50,000 solar collection modules actually afloat on the Yakamura Dam reservoir.

The modules will cover a water surface area of around 180,000 square meters. Engineers estimate the plant will generate more than 15.6 megawatt hours (MWh) per year. That’s enough to power approximately 4,700 average households.

More numbers: According to the company’s projections, the floating power plant will gather enough solar power from the surface of the dam to offset about 7,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The facility will also include an education center adjacent to the plant, to provide classes for local students on environmental issues.

Floating Nuclear Plant Would Ride Out Tsunamis

“When we first started R&D for solar energy in the mid 1970’s, the technology was only viable for small applications such as street lamps, traffic signs and telecommunication stations in mountainous areas,” said Nobuo Kitamura, Kyocera senior executive officer, in press materials for the project.

“Since then, we have been working to make solar energy use more ubiquitous in society. We are excited to work with our partners on this project, taking another step forward by utilizing untapped bodies of water as solar power generation sites.”

via Inhabitat
Credit: Kyocera

Courtesy: news.discovery.com/

Give Priority to Environment

By Ajay Vaishnav

Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh's decision to impose a blanket ban on mining in 'no-go' areas is welcome. It makes sense to push for a complete ban in mining in 'no-go' areas, which is just 35% of the forests under purview. A skewed mining policy allows states vast discretionary powers in allocation of contracts, which has led to rampant illegal mining and blatant encroachments in reserved forests. The reluctance of many states in implementing much-touted safeguards like monitoring and compensatory afforestation is obvious. Cases like the illegal mining reported in Karnataka expose the hollowness of eco-friendly rhetoric by state governments. In that context, it's a relief that someone's there to crack the whip.
It is unfortunate that some view Ramesh's pro-environment stance through the grid of development alone. Such an opposition fails to recognise the urgent need to arrest environmental degradation, which is frequently irreversible. If corporations indulge in unabashed loot and state governments play footsie with them, it's incumbent on the Union ministry of environment and forests to lay down a line in the sand by declaring environmentally sensitive zones to be no-go areas. Corporations and state governments cannot be trusted to clean up afterwards, once you let them in. It's all very well to talk about a golden mean, but let the message sink in first that environmental destruction must be prevented at all costs.
And even if mining companies go into ecologically sensitive zones with the best of intentions, sometimes the damage done to the environment and bio-diversity is irreversible. Not to mention that burning the coal which gets mined will further pollute the air and add to the greenhouse gases that are causing the planet to warm up. More expensive coal will spur the search for greener energy sources.
Courtesy: The Times of India

Taj Mahal Threatened by Pollution

AGRA, INDIA: The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is one of the world's great sights, but it is in danger of being irreparably damaged by air and water pollution.
Twelve years ago the government started a programme to save the monument, with Bill Clinton saying that pollution had done "what 350 years of wars, invasions and natural disasters have failed to do."

In 1998, when the white marble of the famous monument began to turn yellow, warning bells went off. India's Supreme Court ordered that more than £90 million be spent on restoring the country's most famous monument. Conservationists have taken a number of steps to curb pollution in Agra which is a growing manufacturing centre. Cars have been banned from within 500 metres of the monument. An LED display gives a running tally on air pollution. Diesel-run rickshaws have been replaced by cleaner vehicles, a road by-pass has been created and there has been heavy investment in a refinery to reduce emissions.
But despite these actions, a new report has found that pollution levels have increased dramatically; so much so that emissions of nitrogen oxide have reached higher levels than those of twelve years ago. more>>
Courtesy: treehugger.com

EPA Reports Reduced Toxics in 2009 in New England

BOSTON, US: Fewer toxics were released into the environment in New England last year than in 2008 and the weak economy may have been one reason. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says about 21.9 million pounds of chemicals were released in the six states in 2009, the most recent year available. That's down by about 2.4 million pounds from 2008.
In the U.S., 3.37 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released, down 12 percent from 2008. EPA spokesman David Deegan in Boston says the reasons may include a fall in business activity due to the recession and tougher environmental standards.
The EPA says chemicals released into the air, land and water include ammonia, sulfuric and hydrochloric acid and copper compounds used in manufacturing, mining, electric utilities and in commercial hazardous waste.
Courtesy: The Associated Press

Sweden's King Focuses on Environment

The King's speech began his speech, as always, with the words 'Dear Swedes, at home and abroad' and continued by looking at the environment, where he compared the Earth to an apple with a thin and brittle skin.
'If the Earth was an apple, so life on Earth for humans, animals and plants is as fragile as the dew on the apple peel that can be so easily wiped away with a sleeve" the King explained to the Swedish people. There was no mention of the recently published biography which goes into lurid detail about the King's numerous affairs with younger women including Camilla Henemark, the singer from the pop group Army Of Lovers.
According to a survey published today 63% of Swedes said they would like to see the King make way for his 33-year-old daughter, Victoria, within the next 10 years. Only 30% said he should reign until his death, while the remaining seven percent did not offer an opinion.
COurtesy: http://www.thelocal.se/31068/20101225/

Petition Seeks to Declare National Green Tribunal Act Unconstitutional

CHENNAI, INDIA: A student of the School of Excellence in Law has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking to declare the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act 2010 as unconstitutional.
In his public interest litigation petition, M. Naveen Kumar, studying B.A., B.L. (Hons) course here, said that the Act received Presidential assent on June 2 this year. The legislation provided for constitution of the Tribunal for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources and giving relief and compensation for damage. By virtue of this law, the National Environmental Tribunal Act and the National Environment Appellate Authority Act were repealed. The cases pending before the two forums stood transferred to the NGT. The petitioner said in cases where substantial questions relating to environment was involved, the High Courts were exercising their writ jurisdiction to provide remedy to the affected people. The blanket ban imposed under the new Act on the jurisdiction of civil courts expressly and the High Courts impliedly would be impermissible in law. Right to judicial review before the High Court had been recognised as part of the basic structure of the Constitution. more>>
Courtesy: The Hindu

Researchers Develop Reactor to Make Fuel From Sunlight

A simple reactor that mimics plants by turning sunlight into fuel has been demonstrated in the laboratory, boosting hopes for a large-scale renewable source of liquid fuel.
"We have a big energy problem and we have to think big," said Prof Sossina Haile, at the California Institute of Technology, who led the research.
Haile estimates that a rooftop reactor could produce about three gallons of fuel a day. She thinks transport fuels would be the first application of the reactor, if it goes on to commercial use. But she said an equally important use for the renewable fuels would be to store solar energy so it is available at times of peak demand, and overnight. She says the first improvements that will be made to the existing reactor will be to improve the insulation to help stop heat loss, a simple move that she expects to treble the current efficiency.
The key component is made from the metal cerium, which is almost as abundant as copper, unlike other rare and expensive metals frequently used as catalysts, such as platinum. Therefore, said Haile, availability would not limit the use of the device. "There is nothing cost prohibitive in our set-up," she said. "And there is plenty of cerium for this technology to make a major contribution to global gasoline supplies."
The fossil fuels used by vehicles, ships and aeroplanes pose the biggest challenge in the search for low-carbon energy, as they are highly energy-dense and portable, unlike alternatives such as batteries or nuclear reactors. An efficient, large-scale way of converting solar energy into a renewable liquid fuel could play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. more>>
Courtesy: guardian.co.uk

Rise in Green Energy Consumption in Scotland

More than a quarter of Scotland's electricity now comes from renewable energy sources, according to official statistics. The amount of energy generated by wind, wave and solar power increased by a fifth last year and now accounts for 27% of the nation's energy consumption.
Energy efficiency drives are also thought to have accounted for a four per cent drop in the amount of power consumed.
Climate change minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "Scotland is blessed with abundant natural energy sources, particularly in our seas, and these figures follow a steady trend towards Scotland's energy becoming greener and cleaner. "As consumption here fell by four per cent in 2009, exports to the rest of the UK are rising, with nearly a quarter of all our electricity produced going south, contributing further to sustainable economic growth. more>>
Courtesy: lythamstannesexpress.co.uk

China Moves to Defuse Trade Row With US Over Green Technology

China tried to defuse a trade row with the United States over wind technology on Thursday, as bilateral rivalries threatened to dash global hopes for green energy co-operation.
Officials in Beijing said they were willing to discuss incentives for turbine manufacturers, which the Obama administration described as "illegal subsidies" in a request for talks on the subject at the World Trade Organisation.

The US claims China has given an unfair advantage to domestic firms by channelling hundreds of millions of dollars to them through a special fund established in 2008.
The United Steelworkers union (USW) is frustrated that this weakens the competitiveness of US firms such as General Electric in a Chinese market that has doubled in size almost every year since 2005 and is now the biggest in the world in terms of generating capacity. more>>
Courtesy: guardian.co.uk

Kerala Cricket Association Gets Notice for Felling Mangroves

By Pankaj Sharma

NEW DELHI: Weeks after they celebrated the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nod to the Kochi Indian Premeire League (IPL) team, a bad news awaits cricket fans in the Indian state of Kerala. The ministry of environment and forest (MOEF) issued show cause notice to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) on Tuesday for allegedly felling mangroves to construct an international cricket stadium.
The ministry cited a report by its Bangalore regional office that accused KCA of violating environmental rules by destroying mangroves in the Coastal Regulation Zone-I (CRZ-I) at Parambimoola near Edakochi of Ernakulam district, for construction of the stadium.
According to the report, the site has backwater systems and till September 3, 2010, there were mangroves which were allegedly removed by September 22.
In its notice, the Union environment ministry asked the KCA chairman to take “appropriate action” in accordance with the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, under the powers delegated to the Kerala coastal zone management authority (KCZMA) for violation of the CRZ Notification, 1991, by KCA. The association has been asked to submit the report within 15 days.
Courtesy: DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com)