If you don’t read everything Andrew Sims writes, you should. Andrew Simms is chief analyst at Global Witness, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, and the author of Ecological Debt, Tescopoly and Eminent Corporations. What he does is make us think. This article is must reading. We keep moaning about population, but ignore … Continue reading There are some things we should not ignore – but we do
Category: Sustainable development
China taking more action to address air pollution
Keith Bradsher reports in the New York Times that the Chinese cabinet recently approved new measures to tackle the increasing problem of air pollution. China Sets New Rules Aimed at Curbing Air Pollution China’s cabinet has adopted 10 measures to improve air quality in the latest move aimed at responding to the dense smog … Continue reading China taking more action to address air pollution
New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published report on the benefits that can be achieved by cities taking a “green” approach. Cities can generate growth and jobs while becoming greener – this is the message of the OECD’s new Green Growth in Cities report. Drawing on case studies of Paris, Chicago, … Continue reading New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth
The idea of a value-based economic structure
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a Sufi teacher and author, writes in the Guardian about an alternative view of economic growth and sustainability. The author argues that corporate visions of sustainability focus on material prosperity – but leaders must respect the soul as well as the soil. Eco-spirituality: towards a values-based economic structure As our world stumbles … Continue reading The idea of a value-based economic structure
New report on moving to a low-carbon Canada
The Trottier Energy Futures Project has come out with an important new report on Canada moving to a low-carbon economy. An Inventory of Low-Carbon Energy for Canada shows that Canada’s supplies of solar, wind, hydroelectric and biomass energy are much larger than the current or forecast demand for fuel and electricity, and technology costs have … Continue reading New report on moving to a low-carbon Canada
Impact of air pollution in the UK
John Vidal writes in the Guardian about air quality in UK cities, although primarily London, and what it is doing to health. One monitoring station in London shows the fourth highest levels of NO2 of over 2,000 monitoring stations in Europe. Cities are missing targets set under EU laws, but questions arise as to who … Continue reading Impact of air pollution in the UK
Thought for the week
We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy -- sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and … Continue reading Thought for the week
New report on private green investments
The year 2013 promises long strides away from the fossil-fueled Industrial Era as illuminated by the Ethical Markets Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) which tracks private investments growing the green economy worldwide since 2007, finding $4.1 trillion invested or committed as of Q4 2012. The year 2012 was an inflection point for the green transition worldwide. … Continue reading New report on private green investments
Two important new reports
Estimating potential additional energy savings from upcoming revisions to existing regulations under the ecodesign and energy labelling directives, by CLASP and eceee In the new discussion paper, CLASP has identified an additional 40-70 TWh per annum by 2030 from eleven existing ecodesign and energy labelling regulations covering seven product groups. All eleven regulations are scheduled … Continue reading Two important new reports
Chinese eco-cities
Clare Pennington and Sue Lin Wong write for the Green Environment blog in the New York Times on the difficulties in China for developing eco-cities. Steep Challenges for a Chinese Eco-City Fifty years ago, during a time of food shortages, China's young socialist government singled out a few farm villages as role models for the … Continue reading Chinese eco-cities
