Insults and actions at the Pacific Island Forum, June was devastating for Amazon forest, and developing countries want to see money.
This is part of a series of short news updates beyond Greenpeace-specific news. World environmental events in a blurb:
Coal or Climate, Kevin?
When Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australia’s Prime Minister in December, 2007, his statements were promising as he signed the Kyoto Protocol and called climate change "the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time." His actions since however, have been hypocritical.
Timed with the Pacific Islands Forum, where a regional approach to climate change will be discussed, GP activists climbed the Abbot Point coal terminal in north Queensland to protest Australia's inaction to climate change.
"As Pacific Island leaders call for the 40-45 per cent emission cuts needed to save their homes, Kevin Rudd presides over a massive coal industry expansion while posing as a climate hero,'' said Fijian Greenpeace campaigner Lagi Toribau. "Australia's Prime Minister needs to back Pacific calls for concrete action, not try to bully their leaders into submission.''
Also at the Pacific Island Forum, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key showed how not to win the hearts and minds of young voters. Yesterday, he criticized New Zealand movie star Keisha Castle-Hughes and her involvement with Greenpeace. “My advice to Keisha is this: Stick to acting,” he told a gathering of business people.
Castle-Hughes has been the face for Greenpeace's Sign On campaign. In a response to Key's remark, Castle-Hughes said on national television that she knows more about climate change than Key might think and she would love to sit down with him to discuss climate change.
A month after the release of Greenpeace’s report “Slaughtering the Amazon”, bad news continues to come out of Brazil.
Agence France-Press reports that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in June was four times more devastating than in May. Satellite imagery from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research revealed yesterday that 578 sq km of Amazon woodland was burned or cut down.
Developing countries are saying no to climate talks unless money is on the table, AP reports. “No money, no deal,” said Alf Wills, a top South African environmental official to the Associated Press. South African officials said developing countries will not consider the next round of climate change talks successful, unless rich nations set aside money to help them address global warming. They said, one percent of global GDP should be set aside by rich nations to help developing countries conduct research, improve flood control, protect their coastlines, create seed banks and take other steps to cope with the severe storms and droughts linked to climate change.
Intel unveiled a software program that gives Facebook users the power to collectively change our world, Agence France Presse reports. The new software lets Facebook users devote spare computer processing power to research diseases or climate change. Intel teamed up with nonprofit group GridRepublic to create an application called “Progress Thru Processors.” Organizations such as Climateprediction.net can use the donated computing power to enhance understanding of climate change by predicting and testing weather models.
"Small contributions made by individuals can collectively have a far-reaching impact on our world," Intel vice president, Deborah Conrad told AFP.
German newspapers report that meteorologists are expecting an intensive warming of the Pacific Oceans this winter due to El Niño. Experts have found that in July, the temperature was already a degree above the normal value. Come October, the effects of El Niño will be noticeable in the southern hemisphere. Chile for example, otherwise very dry around that time of year, is expected to receive much rain, Peter Wick of MeteoNews said.
Energy companies Enel from Italy and EdF from France have formed a joint venture to develop nuclear energy in Italy, the companies said in a joint statement Monday. The companies called the venture "the first substantial step" toward establishing nuclear plants in Italy. Last month, Italian law welcomed a return to nuclear energy, more than two decades after voters shut down the country's reactors.
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Comments
allright, coal is bad for the environment,and my preferred method to heat the small cabin/yurd i live in with the following preferance
water turbine/electric
wind power/electric
lpg or natural gas.
geo thermal steam turbine
and lastly nuclear powered electric,i still don,t trust that one and never will.
Posted by: finn braaksma | August 9, 2009 12:31 AM