%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fgay-browne%2Fwhy-recharging-your-batte_b_10993064.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Why Recharging Your Batteries Is Important To Your Environmental Health  

Nantucket might sound pretty far for a California girl to travel to go to the beach but over twenty years it's become a family tradition and the place where I recharge my batteries. Having downtime to decompress, unplugging from technology and everyday demands are not only critical to ones overall mental and physical well-being, but it's also key to my personal environmental health.

The island has preserved its natural beauty with beautiful beaches, windmills, lighthouses and cobblestone streets. Just 47.8 square miles there is not much need for a car, so I rarely use one, preferring to use my bicycle to get around town. Nantucket's activities are so engaging that it is the perfect setting to turn off the cellphone and watch the sunset while enjoying a picnic dinner from Something Natural out on Great Point.

Nantucket is also filled with memories of my children growing up - another subtle reminder to slow down and be present.

I've been pregnant here, lying like a beached whale under an umbrella, wandering through Bartlett's Farms with toddlers hanging off my shopping cart, and sipping ice tea as if my life depended on it after a sleepless night.  My children all learned to ride bikes on the island. We've spent time at the library story hour, visited the Whaling Museum on rainy days, had family movie nights at the Dreamland Theater, attended lectures at The Atheneum and church services at the Union Chapel. We go fishing for bluefish and strippers at Just Do It Too and turtling in swamp water. Each season we try the new restaurants, and when our children were younger, we would bike to The Downyflake Donuts. There is a lot about Nantucket that makes it qualify as one of my happy places.

But beyond the bike rides to Sconset, tennis, and yoga and lazy afternoons in the shade reading a book, the best part for me of my Nantucket escape is the part that I can't see or touch. It's the feeling I get from allowing myself the luxury of letting my body recharge and indulge in serendipity instead of schedule, turning off not just the computer but also my brain so it can reset to its naturally creative self.

As an advocate for environmental health, I know that means more than being a conscious consumer and eliminating toxins from our food and air and water. It's also about purity in spirit which is something I find easy to access in Nantucket, dressing simply, wearing no make-up, spending time with friends singing at karaoke night or laughing while playing a board game and sitting on a porch at sunset and letting my mind detox and my soul refresh. Nantucket is a place where I can breathe fully and just be.

Each year when I leave on the ferry to Hyannis we throw an auspicious penny into the harbor in hopes we will return next summer. I remind myself that I don't have to wait until next summer to recharge my batteries. There are many things I can make a commitment to incorporate in my weekly routine that will improve my environmental health.

The research has shown that just twenty minutes a day being outside in nature can significantly boost vitality levels. A picnic in the park with friends or family, a hike, a walk or even sitting under a tree on a bench without the company of a cell phone can make a world of difference. A weekend without social media, cell phone free dinners and my self-imposed rule of no screen time after eight o'clock all help to restore that feeling I get while on Nantucket.

Whatever recharging your batteries means for you, I'm advocating you do it. Surrender your electronics for awhile, get out in nature and stretch your legs, breathe deeply and fully and let life flow in. Work and school and all the obligations of our human existence will always exist but taking extra time to just be, not just during the summer but all year round, will go a long way towards improving your personal environmental health.  

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Felizabeth-mcculley-gore%2Fget-smart-fast-climate-ch_b_10991812.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Get Smart Fast: Climate Change Policy After the CPP Stay  
Earlier this year in a surprise move, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the Clean Power Plan (CPP) while legal challenges play out. Opponents of the CPP and its goals had hoped this would dampen efforts to advance related policies. Yet the Administration is continuing to move forward with regulation and policy to further its climate change goals.

The EPA recently proposed the Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP), a voluntary initiative that would provide incentives to states for early investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The Administration is also targeting methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Last month EPA finalized rules governing methane emissions from new sources in the oil and gas industry and is taking the first steps toward regulating existing sources. In addition, the Department of the Interior has proposed regulations to limit venting and flaring on public lands by oil and gas companies.

The stay on the CPP has certainly slowed - but not stopped - the Obama Administration's efforts to tackle climate change. And while these regulations will not all be finalized before President Obama leaves office, they will lay the groundwork for ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gases if Hillary Clinton takes his place.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160714100208.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Terrified insect escapes a permanent tomb -- 50 million years ago  
Thousands of insects, plants and other life forms have been found trapped in ancient amber deposits, but a new discovery shows a rarity of a different type -- the one that got away. This insect literally was frightened out of its skin.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fchristiana-figueres%2Frestoring-hope_b_10974734.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Restoring Hope  

The United Nations was founded 70 years ago in the turmoil and trauma of World War II with the firm conviction that a better future was possible, and it was ours to create.

Much has been achieved in the intervening years that has certainly kept the world on a safer trajectory, but today, only 16 years into the new millennium, we seem beset on all sides by impossible problems. Terrorism, inequality, environmental degradation, financial crises, wars, forced migration. There is a growing sense that our problems have changed and become more complex but also that they have become too large for us to solve. As a result, we have become used to not really addressing the fundamental issues but lurching from one crisis to the next, just getting by.

People have lost trust that their lives can get better and that institutions are on their side. This in turn is leading to apathy, depression, despair and in some cases to the development of radical views.

This cycle must be stopped, before it consumes our collective future.

The truth is that the problems of today can only be addressed through working together, using multilateral dialogue to find common ground and take collective action. The last years have seen a discrediting of multilateralism as agreements on issues such as trade and the refugee crisis have proved elusive. These failures themselves further feed the narrative that our problems have grown beyond our control.

It does not have to be this way.

I joined the UN Climate Secretariat after the disaster of the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009 and left in 2016 on the back of the most ambitious climate agreement in history. The Paris Agreement was not an accident -- it was strategy and attitude. It was the culmination of six years of patient rebuilding of a broken system that had lost all trust and confidence, into one that was capable of entering an upward spiraling of commitment and ambition. It was the result of a shared commitment that arose from the collective realization that we would all be losers if we did not find a way to win together. It was the harvest of years of careful listening that enabled the elusive common ground to emerge.

Paris can be an anomaly or it can become the norm for multilateralism in the 21st century. We must ensure it is the latter, so that we can rebuild the world's confidence in the ability of the UN and its Member States to work together and solve the most difficult problems of our times.

As our world becomes more interdependent and more complex, the necessity to make genuine progress through dialogue, commitment and investment is further increased. This is because the interconnections are such that failure to address critical areas of concern means that they will quickly spread and become destabilizing.

Without stronger mechanisms for managing critical cross-border issues, including resource management, refugees, and migration, we will not build the shared security needed to support everyday practical cooperation. Without adequate restrictions on the proliferation and use of weapons, we will continue to see growing displacement and inequalities generated by conflict and violence. Without climate stability there will be no food or water security, reducing our ability to remain in our communities, towns and countries. Without securing women's rights to education, land ownership, and political participation, we will not see a rise in equitable economic development. Without building more resilience to natural disasters, we will not create the economic or political space to plan for long-term development. Without respect for human rights, citizen participation, and reduced corruption, we cannot build the conditions for a sustained peace.

The interconnectedness of these issues further underlines the essential role that the UN must play. Indeed, only the UN can provide the forum through which Member States can coordinate effectively to address the intricate and interconnected issues that affect our world. If this is not achieved, then we face a risk that the unstable parts of the world will continue to destabilize other parts. This is unacceptable.

We must embrace the tough challenges and refuse to believe that real solutions are beyond our ability to find. It is our best chance to improve the lives of people everywhere.

We need a UN that reclaims its standing as a beacon of hope; a reason for global optimism that calls us toward a compelling vision of the future, rekindling our confidence and inspiring each and every one of us to live up to our highest purpose. Impossible is not a fact, it is an attitude. That is my conviction and my experience. It is also my invitation; together we can restore hope.

It is for the opportunity to pursue this vision that I have accepted the nomination of Costa Rica for the position of UN Secretary-General.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post regarding the selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. A new Secretary-General will take office on January 1, 2017, and each of the declared candidates for the position was invited to participate in this blog series. The President of the General Assembly noted that, this year, the selection process will have more transparency than ever before. The declared candidates for the position are listed by the UN here. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Ftom-szaky%2Fthe-economics-of-organic_b_10971738.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
The Economics of Organic  
Consumer demand for organic food products led to $37 billion in sales last year, a significant 12% increase from 2014; halfway into 2016, the market's current worth is priced at a healthy $39 billion by some reports. Flourishing with real double-digit growth in most years since the 90s, even 2008's economic downturn didn't slow down organics, sales progression continuing to hold steady around 10%. In fact, the recession revealed a global consumer willingness to pay premiums for quality in a climate that called for more discretion with one's dollars, establishing consumer demand for organic foods as transcending the niche market segment.

Organic is the fastest-growing food and lifestyle consumer trend in modern history, yet less than 1% of the nation's farmland is certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With demand creating what Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calls "a powerful local and regional food movement," why have so few farmers joined up on this profitable market trend?

Farmers aiming to transition to organic are presented with prohibitive challenges that, like most institutional obstacles, boil down to be a matter of economics. The strict production and labeling requirements for any raw or processed agricultural product to be USDA certified organic mean that farms and businesses that aim to grow, handle or process organic products must wait 3 years to become eligible. The lack of a market for transitional crops (non-organic crops grown during a farms transition to organic practices) to offset the sharp increase in production costs causes many farmers to that begin the process to abandon their changeover. Most farmers never even consider a changeover.

Increasing acreage beyond the 1% requires financial and infrastructural support for farmers transitioning to organic. Certified Transitional, created by Quality Assurance International (QAI), an independent, USDA-accredited organic certifying body, is the first and only program recognizing and incentivizing farmers as they transition their land from conventional to organic growing methods. Because there are not enough crops in the U.S. transitioning, products that contain 51% of transitional content produced by these farmers can be Certified Transitional and bear the program's QAI trademark logo, which helps consumers identify and support companies working towards the USDA Organic seal, which requires 70% organically produced ingredients.

The first food product to be certified under the new Certified Transitional program is Kashi's Dark Cocoa Karma Shredded Wheat Biscuits cereal. As it stands currently, all Kashi products are Non-GMO Project Verified, and many of its bestselling products are USDA certified organic. Consumers that already patronize the Kashi's health food goods now have the opportunity to directly support transitional farmers and impact the food supply chain as do consumers advocating for increased nationwide acreage of organic farmland.

Bear Naked, a TerraCycle program sponsor and a Kashi sister brand, is a company that currently demonstrates its commitment to sustainability by lowering the economic boundaries that prevent its packaging from being recycled. Similarly, QAI's Certified Transitional program eases the uncertainty and economic boundaries preventing farmers from going organic in direct partnership with key brands.

So that more farmers have the financial security to go full-term organic, the goal of this initiative to have more companies and producers consider transitional crops when sourcing ingredients. Consumer product manufacturers like Kashi can command premium pricing for Certified Transitional items similarly to items that are USDA certified organic, which means farmers can be paid more for a higher market value crop.

Food manufacturers nationwide are in a position to support "organics-in-training" and ensure supply chain security by joining this protocol. With the demand of organic foods continuing to eclipse supply, companies can either continue to source their ingredients from the limited 1% acreage currently available, or make the economics of organic work for them. Identifying as Certified Transitional encourages the support of farmers in transition and allows companies to bring the consumer into the process of expanding access to organic farmland.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F07%2F14%2Fkayakers-explore-alaska-chitina-headwaters-gorge%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Kayakers Explore Alaska's Newly Revealed Class V Gorge  

Imagine being dropped off by a tiny bush plane into a remote wilderness, knowing you are about to brave the biggest challenge you have ever faced. Todd Wells did just that when he led an exploratory kayaking expedition into the heart of the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska. He and his team members were only able to get to their destination at the headwaters of the Chitina River by being dropped off one at a time, with their kayaks strapped to the bottom of the plane. “I had paddled Class V with each of these paddlers before, but this … was probably the biggest challenge that any of us had ever faced,” Wells says. “Our goal [was] just to make it down safely in one piece.”

The Chitina River in the WrangellSt. Elias National Park in Alaska originates right beneath the Logan Glacier. “Just a decade or two ago, the Logan Glacier used to cover this canyon,” Wells says. “Because of climate change and because of the recession of all these glaciers in Alaska, the Logan Glacier has retreated farther up into the mountains and opened up an entrance to the canyon that we've now been able to access.” Now there is a new, raging Class V+ gorge, which was previously concealed beneath the ice.

Wells put together a team of paddlers he trusts who have each spent at least 10 years paddling Class V rivers: friend Ben Mar, friend and photographer Eric Parker, Wells's brother Brandon, videographer Chris Korbulic, and local friend Matt Peters.

The headwaters canyon is about 12 miles (19 kilometers) long, and the team's goal was to paddle as much of the canyon as they could. “We knew that there were probably a couple portages that we would have to make, but as long as we were able to paddle the majority of the river and not have to portage the whole canyon, I was going to be satisfied,” Wells explains. They ended up only having to portage twice for about 500 yards (457 meters), which meant they faced a lot of white water.

“Sometimes when we're in a safer environment, we really push it hard and we try to run every single rapid and really, really push it. But out here on the Chitina, our goal [was] just to make it down safely in one piece and that's what we were able to do,” Wells says. “There are a couple rapids we portaged that potentially we could go back and try to run sometime, but they were really pretty scary and if we were to make a mistake on either one of those rapids, it could have been fatal.”

The team had to prepare carefully for other demanding conditions as well, such as camping in the cold and packing all of their equipment inside the back of their kayaks. “None of us have ever done anything quite like this,” Wells said. “It was a learning process figuring out where to set up camp where we [were] protected from the wind, how to portage and scout rapids safely. It was a difficult challenge for us all.”

The retreat of the Logan Glacier opened up the landscape relatively recently so there are dramatic rugged rocks and not a lot of vegetation. “Just being in the heart of the WrangellSt. Elias National Park was a really, really amazing experience. I'd never been anywhere that felt nearly as remote as the headwaters canyon and the Chitina River. We were seeing wildlife throughout the trip. There were bears and moose and just no human influence at all. It was a really special spot to be.”

This kind of remote exploration is what drives Wells as a kayaker. Doing a first descent down the Chitina canyon was a thrill. “I really feel that Alaska is the last frontier for a lot of explorations, a lot of kayaking expeditions. It's really unique to be able to be up there and explore these places that no one has ever been before.”

Todd Wells is a grantee of Nat Geo's Expeditions Council. Learn more about the science and exploration supported by the nonprofit National Geographic Society at natgeo.org/grants.

See more video from Todd Wells and the team at MountainMindCollective.com.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2097355-gorillas-may-have-evolved-a-way-to-beat-a-cheating-berry-plant%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Gorillas may have evolved a way to beat a cheating berry plant  
A "deceitful" West African plant makes super-sweet, but low-calorie berries to attract animals that disperse their seeds. Gorillas can see through the ploy at least, that's the theory  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg23130821-500-march-of-the-jellies%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Jellymageddon: Can we stop the rise of the jellyfish?  
Acoustic shocks, electrocution, and robot shredders extreme measures are being considered to tackle the increasing numbers of jellyfish in the oceans  
gaia  

%feed  
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354095589435405602/  
Atlantis fritillary  

Atlantis fritillary (Speyeria atlantis) collected in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: 04HBL003478; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=LCH478-04; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ABZ0596)

 
pin-gaia  

%feed  
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354095589435390207/  
Odorous ant (Tapinom  

Odorous ant (Tapinoma sp.) collected in Thousand Islands National Park, Ontario, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: BIOUG20790-C02; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=CNTIC5400-15; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACU3056)

 
pin-gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F143652439%40N08%2F27681700713%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
DSC_6913  

Fearless Photography_ posted a photo:

African Long-Snouted Crocodile at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, OR

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160713152143.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Tropical forests overexploited by unsustainable logging  
Widely hailed as a renewable natural resource, tropical timber from old-growth tropical forests is selectively logged worldwide at an unprecedented scale. A new study reveals that once prime tropical hardwoods -- such as Brazilian cedars, ipe (Brazilian walnut), and rosewood -- have been logged, they do not grow back to commercial levels and are at risk from disappearing altogether.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160713105850.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Analysis of ant colonies could improve network algorithms  
An analysis of ant colony behavior could yield better algorithms for network communication, say investigators. Biologists have long suspected that ants base their population-density estimates on the frequency with which they -- literally -- bump into other ants while randomly exploring their environments. That theory gets new support from a theoretical paper. The paper shows that observations from random exploration of the environment converge very quickly on an accurate estimate of population density. Indeed, they converge about as quickly as is theoretically possible.  
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Ftaylar%2F28011824260%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Tail O' Fish  

Ingrid Taylar posted a photo:

Least Tern juvenile (Sternula antillarum) eating a fish left by the parent. This was shot through a protective fence/barrier at Bolsa Chica, earlier in the afternoon than the other two images here, hence the lighting differences. (The terns were too far away for my lens, so this is heavily cropped.)
Olympus E-M1, mirrorless

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fron-barth%2Fthe-difference-between-gr_b_10967214.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
The Difference Between Green Furniture and Sustainable Furniture  
Many furniture companies claim their products are "green," a designation usually referring to material sourcing. Maybe their sofa frames are made out of dumpster-sourced scrap metal or their cushions are filled with used ticker tape. Responsible material sourcing is important, but it does not necessarily make something sustainable; that is, able to exist in perpetuity from an environmental and resource consumption standpoint.

To be sustainable, furniture should be high quality and support a lifestyle with reduced energy and resource needs. You can have a piece of furniture made of the most responsibly sourced materials out there, but if it falls apart in a short time and winds up in a landfill, or if it is designed in such a way that it can only fit into a carbon-spewing, resource-gobbling McMansion, it's not sustainable.



When it comes to sustainability, size does matter. Here's why:

• One of the best ways, if not the best way of reducing our carbon footprints and natural resource consumption is to reduce the physical footprints of our homes.
• 
  
• Smaller homes produce less operational carbon emissions, (e.g., heating and cooling) than larger homes and are less resource intensive to build.
• 
  
• Smaller homes tend to discourage excessive consumerism mitigating that behavior's attendant environmental impact.
• 
  
• Smaller homes typically support denser, more transit friendly communities, which, by their very nature, allow for a reduction in associated transit emissions.

Location, Location, Location

When thinking about sustainable housing, the name of the game is location, location, location. An EPA study found that an energy efficient single family suburban house plus a fuel efficient car can cut your carbon footprint by 34% as compared to a conventional, single family, suburban house and a car with average fuel economy. While this is a significant improvement over a standard single-family home, the same study found that living in an energy efficient multifamily house (i.e. housing with two or more units such as a townhouse or apartment) with access to public transportation reduces your carbon footprint by 62% ­- and that still assumes car ownership.

As one would expect, multifamily housing units are typically smaller than single-family houses. The median size of a new multifamily unit is 1,074 square feet, whereas the median size of a new single family home is 2,467 square feet. But with a smaller - albeit more environmentally-friendly - footprint can come some challenges regarding functionality, especially as a household grows or changes over time.

Let's face it, it's the desire for - or perceived need for - more space that frequently drives people out of central, transit-friendly locations in search of more square footage. Since housing in most urban cores is considerably more expensive than suburban housing on a per square foot basis, moving to a larger home in a central location can be cost-prohibitive.

This is where Resource Furniture comes in.



Increase Function, Not Footprints

All this is to say that furniture is only as sustainable as its setting. Space-maximizing furniture solutions from Resource Furniture can remove some of the reasons that people move further out in search of more space, by increasing functionality without increasing the physical footprint. Every product from Resource Furniture is not only manufactured using highly sustainable methods and materials, but also provide the same level of comfort and functionality as conventional furniture pieces and they are designed and built to last. Each of nine Resource Furniture showrooms offers a vast selection of multifunctional, space-saving furniture solutions that allow people to live comfortably and luxuriously in a truly sustainable setting.

By multiplying the function of a single space, combining rooms, making existing spaces work more efficiently, and utilizing high-quality multifunctional furniture, less square footage is required. Needing less space, one can live more centrally, drive less, walk more and consume fewer resources. In other words - live a sustainable life, not just a green one.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fthomas-p-kimbis%2Fconsumer-protection-is-so_b_10970932.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Consumer Protection is Solar's Top Priority  
In a recent Huffington Post blog, "Protecting Consumers: Making the Solar Industry a Safe and Fair Marketplace," former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard makes some important points on solar consumer protection that we can all agree with.

Unfortunately, he neglects a key piece of context. The solar revolution is sweeping America and bringing a choice of clean, reliable and affordable solar power to millions of Americans, the vast majority of whom are fully satisfied with their solar systems.

I agree whole-heartedly with Goddard's points that consumers deserve to be well-informed regarding their choices to go solar. They also shouldn't have to deal with the rare cases of misrepresentation of energy savings made by a few rogue solar providers, whom should be behind bars. Let's face it, every single industry in America has a few bad apples.

But that's no reason to condemn an entire industry. Especially one that employs more than 208,000 Americans and supplied more new power generation capacity to America in the first quarter of 2016 than all other fuel sources combined. In fact, this is why the FTC held its educational workshop and dubbed it "Something New Under the Sun": to learn more about competition and consumer protection in the new, fastest-growing source of electricity in America.

At SEIA, we want to see consumers and companies benefit by choosing solar. Consumers deserve accurate information and companies should have opportunities to grow using sound business practices. To that end, we proactively created a suite of consumer protection materials, working with states, consulting with the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission, and winning the accolades of the Better Business Bureau. The goal is to make sure consumers are fully informed.

Mr. Goddard states that SEIA's new Consumer Guide to Residential Solar, reviewed by dozens of consumer protection specialists and posted on state websites as a resource, is a "good place to start, but would be better with some enforcement mechanisms."

We're way ahead of him. Last year, SEIA's Board of Directors put into force the first national Code of Conduct for the solar industry, along with a complaint resolution and enforcement process by which every one of our 1,000 SEIA member companies must abide. Today, any American can easily submit a claim to SEIA for examination and enforcement. SEIA stands ready to work with state and federal regulators to ensure justice is served.

We also built and released disclosure forms - similar to HUD-1 statements for home purchases -to give consumers a snapshot of the key terms in a contract, as well as free standard lease and power purchase agreement templates to boost transparency. What's more, we're building out a full suite of educational programs for consumers, including hot topic alerts, a just-released community solar consumer protection guide, and Spanish language versions of key documents due out this summer to reach even more Americans. And all of these materials are available free of charge.

Placing consumer protection first is our industry's top priority. The residential solar industry depends on good consumer experiences because referrals are the number one source of new business. It's unfortunate that some critics focus myopically on the rare instances of poor behavior in an industry that's installing more than one hundred solar panels per minute across America for very satisfied consumers.

A larger danger to consumers is red tape from well-intentioned regulators based on knee-jerk reactions to guard consumers from new products without first checking the laws already on the books. Today, all fifty states have consumer protection, fraud and contract laws on the books that provide strong protections to consumers. Combined with federal consumer laws, these state policies prohibit misleading savings claims, bar unwanted phone calls, require leases to disclose payment schedules, and more.

In Arizona, for instance, instead of enforcing existing law, legislators enacted purported consumer protection legislation that killed residential solar in the state. The Arizona proposals crushed law-abiding small businesses, sent thousands of good jobs out of the state and eliminated solar as a consumer choice.

Putting consumers first is both a legal and business imperative for the solar industry. When a consumer looks to solar as a competitive source of electricity, SEIA is committed to ensuring that consumers have all the information they need to make a smart decision. Let's also make sure that the fear of progress doesn't lead government agencies to strip consumers of the power of choice.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fkarl-grossman%2Fsacrificing-green-for-gre_b_10960056.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Sacrificing Green for Green  
Sacrificing green for green. That's what cutting down woodland and using farmland to erect solar power systems is about.
Solar energy is great! We have solar panels on our more than century-old saltbox house in Sag Harbor on Long Island and it is marvelous seeing the utility meter going backwards as the panels generate plentiful electricity.
But on Long Island and elsewhere there is a push to clear forests and exploit agricultural land for solar systems--sacrificing green for green.
The forests that would be eliminated provide a home for many animal species and birds, they absorb carbon dioxide, provide aquifer protection and places for people, especially on crowded Long Island, to find peace and for recreation.
Using farmland--the most precious of all land--for solar facilities is outrageous.
An especially outrageous example of this in Long Island's Suffolk County involves the most historic farm in all the county--the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank--and a push by some county officials to erect a massive solar system on 25 acres of agricultural land at it.
The Suffolk County Farm is that beautiful farm one can see just to the south of the Long Island Expressway west of the William Floyd Parkway exit.
It is living testimony to what all of Long Island once was--and much of it still is. Suffolk, the eastern half of Long Island, remains one of the top counties in New York State in value of its agricultural produce. The county's pioneering Farmland Preservation Program, initiated in 1974 and since emulated around the United States, is emblematic of Suffolk's commitment to save farmland.
The farm was an adjunct to the county's almshouse or poorhouse that opened in 1872, land on which its indigent residents could grow their own food. Since 1974 it has been operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County as, notes the state's "I Love NY" website, "A model farm education facility and also a real working farm." It's a tourist attraction--and so important for youngsters in Suffolk, particularly those from its suburban communities, a place for them to visit and learn about cows and chickens and how food is grown on the earth.
The farm is not very large, a little over 200 acres in total. The solar system would go up on this earth, be run by a private company and send electricity to county offices in Yaphank.
Fortunately, the Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality, established in 1970 as the environmental watchdog of county government, tabled action last month on the bid to use the farm for a solar facility. The application will come back this month. Among the issues: the farmland on which the solar panels would be placed was specifically put in a category of protected farmland by the county in 2003.
The push to build the solar facility at the Suffolk County Farm comes amid other "utility-scale" solar schemes in Suffolk, among them, a 72-megawatt set-up for which 350 acres of coastal forest in Shoreham would be destroyed, and a 9.5 megawatt facility on 60 acres of a sod farm also in Shoreham. Meanwhile, in Long Island's Brookhaven and Riverhead Towns, laws have been enacted barring large-scale solar facilities on farmland.
Solar is a stupendous energy source. As Reuters recently reported: "Solar power is on pace for the first time this year to contribute more new electricity to the grid than will any other form of energy."
Inventor Thomas Edison is credited with saying nearly a century ago: "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!" And this was way before, in year after year in recent decades, the efficiency of solar panels (their ability to convert sunlight into electricity) has skyrocketed while their costs have plummeted. Solar is now totally economic. And the sun doesn't send bills.
There are hundreds of thousands of houses on Long Island the roofs of which could provide usable platforms for solar power. There are thousands of industrial buildings on top of which solar panels could be placed. There is an ocean of parking lots where solar panels can be installed. The solar panels at the parking lots at Suffolk government's Hauppauge and Riverhead centers point to that.
Solar panels are being placed on highway medians and along highway right-of-ways.
There are roads aplenty on Long Island.
Many "disturbed" locations on Long Island are suitable for solar. There are, indeed, many, many acceptable sites. Woodland and agricultural land must not be sacrificed.
As Edward Romaine, supervisor of Long Island's Brookhaven Town, has declared: "We must not trade green for green especially when one of those greens is money and not the environment."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Frf-hemphill%2Fthe-end-of-coal_b_10953256.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
The End of Coal  
Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton is not an energy expert. She probably has some such person on her campaign staff, but she didn't need them when she told the unfortunate truth to a West Virginia audience. She said, "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." This occurred at a round table forum in March in Kentucky, hosted by CNN. The statement was made in the context of proposing to replace these jobs with renewable energy jobs, and was not made as a policy prescription, more as a statement of fact.

Was she right? What is the future of coal in the US, and more broadly in the world?

It is not easy to make a case for the coal mining (and burning) industry. Coal mostly is used in electric power plants, and has been historically for a hundred and thirty-four years, since Thomas Edison built the first electric plant, the Pearl Street station in downtown Manhattan, in 1882.

Using coal as a fuel has advantages: the combustion technology is straight-forward, it is far easier to burn coal in large boilers and move the electricity around than it is to have coal deliveries to every home and business with a small furnace. It is plentiful; there is a huge reserve available in the US, and much in a number of other countries. There has never been an "OPEC of coal" because of this dispersion of the resource. But over time the disadvantages have begun to chip away at the market.

Let's start with production. Being a coal miner is a dirty, damp and dangerous occupation, particularly underground mining. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, mining is the second most dangerous occupation in America. And just to answer the obvious question, depending on how you calculate, either commercial fishermen or loggers hold the prize for most dangerous US job.

But concern for worker safety is not driving coals' decline--it's a combination of competitive economics and environmental concerns.

Burning coal in power plants has become more and more expensive as more environmental control hardware has been required over time. First it was electrostatic precipitators to take out the particulates n the exhaust, then scrubbers for the SO2 and now technologies to remove mercury and other trace metals. The final step, currently on hold due to litigation, is the Federal proposed requirement - the Clean Power Plan - to decrease the CO2 emitted from burning coal, given its impact on global warming. And since coal is almost all carbon, this is a real problem. It is even more challenging because no cheap or easy way exists to separate the CO2 from the other gasses going up the stack of a coal plant. The most recent effort to solve this challenge, the Kemper plant in Mississippi, has gone from an initial budget of $2.9 billion, to a current estimate of $6.7 billion. And it is neither finished nor working, two years after it was supposed to be on line.

But it may be natural gas and solar that really finishes off coal.

Plants powered by natural gas are cheaper to build and run, and produce far fewer traditional pollutants, and only about forty percent of the CO2 of coal. The fracking boom has driven gas prices below $5/mmbtu for the last five years, and frequently below $2.00. This has made gas a better economic choice in competitive markets. And recent solar prices in utility scale applications--even below 3 cents a kwh in Abu Dhabi a month ago--make electricity from new solar plants cheaper than just the operating cost of coal plants. The CEO of AES' largely coal US plants, Ken Zabgrebski, recently remarked at a recent energy conference in Arizona that the future was clearly solar.

And the rest of the world? China is the largest producer of coal anywhere, with production for 2009 estimated at three times that of the US. But even here, the pressure of unbreathable air in Beijing and other large Chinese cities, and the demands of climate change mitigation have resulted in a startling turn of events: in 2013, China added more renewable energy capacity to its grid than it did coal, and by a ratio of about four to three. And in Germany at 2 PM on Sunday May 15, solar and wind combined to supply "almost all" of Germany's power needs, 45.5 out of 45.8 Gigawatts. This happened in a power system that as recently as 2013 derived 45 percent of its electricity from burning coal.

It is not pleasant to watch wrenching change. It is less pleasant to be on the wrong side of it, especially when the impacts include joblessness for people who have made a decent living from mining coal. But technological advances, the working of markets and the requirements of the widespread consensus on environmental needs occurring simultaneously are difficult to withstand. Just ask any of the 28 US coal companies who have gone bankrupt in the last seven years, including Peabody, the world's largest coal company.

Merle Haggard sang, "It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mines." The same is now true in every coal company boardroom.

R.F. is the former CEO of AES and the author of Stories from the Middle Seat: The Four-Million-Mile Journey to Building a Billion Dollar International Business.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Frf-hemphill%2Fthe-end-of-coal_b_10953256.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
R.F. Hemphill: The End of Coal  
Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton is not an energy expert. She probably has some such person on her campaign staff, but she didn't need them when...

Read more: Coal, Alternative Energy, Environment, Sustainable Energy, Environmental Policy, Green News

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmary-ellen-harte%2Fclimate-change-this-week_b_10972108.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Climate Change This Week: Massive Worldwide Tree Die-Off, Selling Solar Surges, and More!  
Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.




Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, like this Amazon tree frog, is another reason to conserve carbon storing forests. Source www.theguardian.com

Forests: the cheapest way to store carbon




The Giants Nearby my home in California. I love them. Source www.resetsanfrancisco.org

OO California Redwoods: The Ultimate Carbon-Storing Forests in the World a new study finds.







Amazon Burning Credit Dado Galdieri at AP

OO El Niño, Climate Change Are Making The Amazon Dry And Flammable says researchers at NASA and the University of California, Irvine.

What were once considered once-in-a-century events are increasing as global warming takes hold.

Just in the past decade, the Amazon suffered from two record drought years (2005, 2010), and massive fires thought to have been mostly caused by humans.


Related Headline:

OO Dry Amazon Could See Record Fire Season forecast researchers.




OO 2015 Southeast Asian Fires Emitted Most Carbon Since 1997 - blanketing the area in thick haze and, producing emissions higher than in the whole of the European Union, say scientists.


OO Millions Massive Die-Off of Trees Worldwide Tied to Climate Change is occurring in California, the US Southwest and Europe, adding to further climate change as their decomposition releases climate-changing gases.

The link is from current extreme droughts of the sort expected under continued climate change.


When we harm forests, we harm ourselves.

*
*

HOT NEWS



Orange Areas average 28 degrees C. Source www.independent.co.uk

OO Humans Have Caused World's Warmest Seas To Surge In Temperature, scientists say, via greenhouse gas emissions that have created the giant 'Indo-Pacific Warm Pool', the largest area of warm water in the world that stretches 9,000 miles along the equator.

The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, where the water averages more than 28 degrees Celsius, has increased in size by about a third in 60 years.


*
*

SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS




The Fate Of Future US Babies? Zika infected pregnant women often give birth to tiny brained babies, whose lives are often short , and for their parents, tortuous. Source bn.thetodaypost.com

OO Zika In Florida: 10 New Cases Confirmed
Amid Concern Over US Sluggish Response - although all infections were acquired overseas, hundreds of infected people in Florida heighten the chances of creating an infected pool of mosquitoes.

This pool could then create an epidemic of zika in Florida that could spread further in the US.





OO Summer Of Fire: Drought Transforms Southern Sierra into a tinderbox of an estimated 66 million dead trees in the southern Sierra Nevada.


Related Headline:

OO Wildfires Engulfing The West Coast Are Fueled By Climate Change experts warn, and require new strategies.





Run: A new wildfire burning through bone-dry grass, shrub and timber has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a mountain community.

OO California Wildfire Prompts New Round Of Evacuations







Study in Toxic Green Source www.miamiherald.com

OO Florida Takes Economic Hit:
Toxic Algae Drives Away Tourists - the massive bloom smells like "death on a cracker"; the last time such a big bloom occurred, it took months for the estuaries to recover.

Both rising water temperatures and poorly regulated pollution guarantees more of these.





OO 1 In 10 People May Face Malnutrition As Fish Catches Decline around the world both from lack of protein and critical micronutrients like iron and zinc.

So declining fisheries pose major risks for global health, scientists warn.


*
*

HOUSTON, WE'VE GOT A WATER PROBLEM...




The Vital Monsoon: When Will It Come? Wikipedia

OO Climate Change Warming Asian Waters, Altering Monsoon - making it more erratic and unpredictable.

It's an ominous problem for 70% of India's 1+ billion citizens, who need reliable monsoon predictions
to decide when they will sow their seeds and harvest their crops.






The Not So Mighty Indus Wikipedia

OO Stressed Indus River Threatens Pakistan's Water Supplies - the river supports the lives of 300 million people, and supplies Pakistan with less water than it did 50 years ago, particularly in the spring and summer, researchers have found.

Meanwhile, demand for water is projected to rise sharply.


OO Murders, Violence On Rise As Parched India Battles For Water - Northern and central India continue to suffer thorough severe drought and oppressive heat.

Police in several regions are reporting a rise in violent - and often deadly - clashes over water.


*
*

MEATY PROBLEM




You Want To Eat ... ME??! Source TakePart

OO Meat: An Unhealthy Habit - accumulating evidence indicates that meat, particularly red meat, is just a disaster for the environment - and not so great for human beings, too.


OO This Is What Your Hot Dog And Burger Are Doing To The Planet When Americans fire up their grills on July 4th, they dump up to 882 million pounds of carbon pollution into the atmosphere--the equivalent of burning almost 2,200 railcars of coal.

Okay, I can hear it now - "What -- now you're attacking my hot dog?"

It does all add up - BUT what will really make a difference is whether you vote for leaders who will act on preventing further climate change.


*
*

GOOD IDEAS




Blowing Interference Credit Christian Steiness

OO Creating More Efficient Wind Farms -
Based on Schools of Fish - Takeaways:

• Large offshore turbines disrupt air flow
• 
  
• creating interfering wakes of slow moving air behind them;
• 
  
• Thus, turbines in rows behind them harvest less energy;
• 
  
• Large size forces turbines to be spaced widely, further reducing energy harvesting.

Fish School Us On Wind Power - a piscine school is a demonstration of animals adapted to maximizing their swimming efficiency. Courtesy Robert Whittlesey

• Fish in schools show staggered formation,
• 
  
• And use neighborly turbulence to swim more efficiently;

Staggering Counter Spinning Turbines ups efficiency. Credit John Dabiri and Matthias Kinzel

• Staggering smaller, shorter wind turbines
• 
  
• In pairs of opposing rotations,
• 
  
• Increases wind energy harvesting 10 times, researchers found.

OO Transport Emissions Are Rising - Time to Tighten Standards






Source renewableenergyideas.org


OO Apple, Patagonia, Google, and Others Are
Expanding Into Solar Power - not just through solar panels on their roofs, but through:

• Rooftop projects to massive plants (Google)
• 
  
• Giant solar plants and selling excess energy from their roofs (Apple)
• 
  
• Solar panel leasing on other rooftops (Patagonia)

Patagonia is also showing other companies how to expand into the solar power business.

Walmart, Macy's, Costo, and Ikea are some of the biggest users of solar power to power their businesses in the US - is it just a matter of time before they start selling solar electticity?


OO 'Tesla Solar' Wants to Be the Apple Store for Electricity - providing the solar rooftop systems, the batteries to store the solar power, and the electric cars that use those batteries. And offering it all in a convenient, economic way to customers.




Educating Bill Gates Source www.huffingtonpost.com

OO Let's Upgrade Bill Gates' Climate Reading List - Bill is under the delusion that we need clean energy "miracles," because he believes the flawed arguments of Vaclav Smil.

Luckily, Bill and Vaclav are wrong. It's time to update Bill.


OO Canada: Govt Think Tank Pushes Nation to Think Beyond Oil Dependence


*
*

THE "NEW COAL"
COULD CREATE A HOLE
IN ANY CLIMATE GOAL




Natural Gas: Not All That Clean Credit Tim Evanson at flickr

OO Leaking Coal Seam Gas Fields May Blow Hole In Emissions Goals - a growing chorus of voices from Australia and overseas is warning that any perceived benefits of burning natural gas for energy could easily be lost with just small leakages of the potent climate changing gas.


*
*

SPEAKING OUT




Stephen Hawking Source www.strangenotions.com

OO Stephen Hawking: Pollution And 'Stupidity'
Still Biggest Threats To Mankind - he notes: "Six years ago, I was warning about pollution and overcrowding, they have gotten worse since then. The population has grown by half a billion since our last interview, with no end in sight."




Credit Stephane Mahe at Reuters

"Greenhouse Gases Must Be Substantially Reduced." Major US scientific organizations told Congress.

OO Top U.S. Science Organizations Hammer Congress on Climate Change--Again
Scientists implore action and note rising bipartisan demands for action as heat waves and wildfires worsen.


Related Headline:

OO Science Organizations Again Urge Congress To Take Climate Change Seriously in a letter signed by many major US groups.

It pushes back against climate denial and calls for policy solutions to cut greenhouse gas emissions.


OO 31 Scientific Bodies Tell US Congress: Climate Change Is Real and to get real on climate change.

As many as 180 Congressional members are thought to be skeptical of human-caused climate change.





OO After 6 Years Of Working On Climate At Harvard,
I Implore It To Show The Courage To Divest




Source thomasnet.com

Clean It Up Fast for a smooth energy transition and stable economies, says Moody's.

OO Major Credit Giant Calls For Rapid Paris Climate Deal Approval

• The giant, Moody's has called on countries to speed ratification of the deal.
• 
  
• This will lower the risks of a damaging transition from fossil fuels -
• 
  
• And calm markets.

Moody's pledges to use the UN climate pact as benchmark for rating companies.


OO Canada: Court Overturns Major Pipeline Approval issued by the previous federal cabinet two years ago.


*
*

CLUELESS LEADERSHIP



"Men Argue; Nature Acts." Voltaire, 1769

OO The World Has The Right Climate Goals --
But The Wrong Ambition Levels To Achieve Them - pledges will not meet targets. Takeaways:

• 195 nations agreed to pledge to cut emissions to prevent a 1.5 C rise in world temperature.
• 
  
• this would prevent most of the gravest tipping points, e.g., the disappearance of the Arctic ice cap.*

• countries' actual pledges to cut their emissions just aren't ambitious enough to keep the world within the "safe" climate range that lies at the core of the Paris agreement, shows a new analysis.

"The window for limiting warming to below 1.5 °C with high probability and without temporarily exceeding that level already seems to have closed," the study notes.

*an important planetary thermal shield preventing even more heat from being absorbed by Earth. A 1.5 C rise would not prevent severe threats to coral reefs, or major melting in Antarctica.


OO What Would It Take To Achieve The Paris Temperature Targets? To keep the Earth from heating a further 2 C would require net zero emissions to be reached by 2085 and considerable amounts of negative emissions, researchers say.

That is, humans would need to remove significant amounts of emissions already in the atmosphere.





Credit Tom Tole at the Washington Post

OO Richest Nations Fail To Agree
On Deadline To Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies - campaigners say hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for fossil fuels are undermining efforts to tackle climate change.


*
*

GOOD CLEAN NEWS




OO India To Get Over $1 Billion From World Bank For Its Solar Goals


OO U.S. Hardens Royalty Rules On Fossil Fuel Production - Takeaways:

• Rules had not been updated since 1980s;
• 
  
• Old rules let companies pay 50+% lower royalties when selling to affiliates;
• 
  
• A significant percentage of companies did this;

• New rule: companies must pay royalties on sales to the first unaffiliated customer;
• 
  
• Royalty revenues to taxpayers should increase significantly.

OO Exxon Is Now Lobbying for a Carbon Tax to combat climate change, and has supported one since 2009.

It's also is lobbying the rest of the American industry, and Capitol Hill.

The 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed specifically at keeping most fossil fuel reserves in the ground, has prompted the company to increase its efforts recently to convince the rest of the industry to get on board.





OO Minnesota: A Wind Power Utility Makes Wind Power Reliable - Xcel Energy developed:

• a constantly updated, reliable forecasting system, and
• 
  
• smart technology that allows turbines to turn on and off automatically in response to changing forecasts.

• Resulting savings are passed on to its customers,
• 
  
• to date yielding about60 million in savings for an investment of3.8 million.

Its wind production displaces approximately 11.7 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, too.

Now that's good news!


*
*

NATURAL REPERCUSSIONS




Red Knots In A Bind Credit Greg Breese, US FWS

OO Rapid Climate-Driven Loss Of Breeding Habitat
For Arctic Migratory Birds - a study suggests 66-83% of Arctic shore bird species will lose the majority of their currently suitable habitat by 2070.

Rapid climate change in the High North strongly affects where species are able to breed and disrupts migratory connections globally, say the authors.




Credit roadrunner_876 at photobucket.com

As Long As The Zebras Are There lions' meals won't be disrupted. Credit roadrunner_876 at photobucket.com

OO Wild Meat Eaters Are Less Disrupted by Climate Change
Than Their Plant Eating Prey - says a new large study.

This makes sense: many plant eaters are not adapting well to shifting plant seasons.




OO Thanks To Climate Change, The Arctic Is Turning Green NASA scientists show with views from space especially as the northern regions rapidly warm. And then there's wildfires....


Related Headline:

OO Human-Induced Greening Of The Northern Land Surface is occurring a new study shows.


*
*

CLIMATE LEADERSHIP





Source www.huffingtonpost.com

OO Hillary Clinton's Ambitious Climate Change Plan Avoids Carbon Tax - But she:

• vows to produce a third of the nation's electricity from renewable sources by 2027;
• 
  
• will spend billions of dollars to transform the energy economy;
• 
  
• will install a half-billion solar panels by 2020, upping the current number 7x;

• will give 60 billion to states and cities to develop more climate-friendly infrastructure,
• 
  
• will put the US on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 % from 2005 levels by 2050.

And, she says, she could achieve all that without new legislation from Congress.



OO US Senate Panel Backs $500 Million For Global Climate Fund - in a rare show of bipartisanship. More shows, please!





Source Office of the Prime Minister, Canada

OO US, Canada, Mexico Agree Climate Partnership - the "three amigos" set targets to get half of electricity from clean sources and cut methane emissions 40-45% by 2025.


OO US, Canada and Mexico Pledge 50% of Power from Clean Energy by 2025


OO Obama's New Clean Energy Goal For North America: 50 % By 2025







OO Conservative To Fund Republicans Who Back Climate Change Action - with least $5 million through to back five Republican congressional candidates who have supported taking action on climate change.


*
*

FOSSIL FUEL FOLLIES




You Want Me to Drink... THAT? Source activistpost.com

OO California: Freshwater Formations Are Being Drilled, Fracked - as oil and gas development overlap with groundwater sources; monitoring is clearly needed. Let's consider some safeguards, say the authors.





OO US Coal Baron Promises Huge Layoffs --
Then Tells Workers To Vote Trump - problem is, coal mining jobs aren't coming back - even under President Trump.


OO Falling Gas Prices Are Driving Consumers Back to Bigger Vehicles





When They Go Away, Who Will Pay? Source www.businesstimes.com

OO Indonesia Faces Environmental Time Bomb After Coal Bust - thousands of mines are closing in Indonesia's tropical coal belt as prices languish and seams run dry.

But almost none of the companies have paid their share of billions of dollars owed to repair the badly scarred landscape they have left behind.


*
*

FIXING CLIMATE CHANGE



@@ A Simple And Smart Way To Fix Climate Change given by Dan Miller in 2014 at a Ted talk suggests a way to profit as we tackle climate change, by finally charging those who sell and use fossil fuels - and distributing the revenues back to all of us.

The strategy is sure to speed transition to clean renewable energy. What's not to like? Check it out!

*
*

ELECTION YEAR:




If You Don't Vote For Climate Action, You Can Forget The Rest - in a climate-changing world of famine, drought, rising seas, giant storms and heat waves, there will be no security in jobs, health, wealth, or national safety. There will be chaos ensuing from increasing crises and disasters. Vote.

OO Global Warming Policies We Set Today Will Determine The Next 10,000 Years - of global warming, a new study shows -- and whether our civilization survives or not: history shows that harmful climate change has destroyed civilizations before.

This time, it could be worldwide. Let's keep "The Hunger Games" in the realm of fiction.

*
*



If we do not grow sustainably,
Our children will die inhumanely.





@@ Myth vs Truth: The Huge Value of Contraception is an incisive, heartfelt recognition of the value of contraception by Sarah Brown, CEO, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy


Unintended Pregnancy Costs US Taxpayers:

Unintended Pregnancies Cost US Taxypayers Nearly $11 Billion Yearly
-the Guttmacher Institute

Teen Childbearing Alone Cost US Taxpayers $9+ Billion In 2010
And the costs of raising a child usually ensures decades, if not a life, of poverty for its mother.
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


WHAT YOU CAN DO

Help prevent unintended pregnancies in your community:
publicize where women can access affordable contraception.



They can go here to find locations:




And there are many more actions you can do, right here.

*
*
*

SOLAR KEEPS SAILING



OO Here Comes The Sun: US Solar Power Market Hits All-Time High after a rocky start.



@@ What Rooftop Solar Looks Like In Watts, Los Angeles, CA Women participating in a unique solar installation training program in Los Angeles's Watts neighborhood are bringing power to the people, and empowering themselves.





Check it out here, right now!

*
*
*



There is, of course, much more news on the consequences and solutions to climate change. To get it, check out this annotated resource list I've compiled, "Climate Change News Resources," at Wordpress.com here. For more information on the science of climate change, its consequences and solutions you can view my annotated list of online information resources here.

To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!

Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by these wildflowers I photographed one spring. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fsally-brown2%2Ffood-waste-on-the-farm_b_10971562.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Food Waste on the Farm  
Food waste doesn't just come from your plate or the back corners of your refrigerator. Food waste starts at the farm- whether that farm covers hundreds of acres or some space on your terrace. Growing and harvesting food is not a 100% efficient process. The fate of excess lettuce is one classic example. Lettuce is one of the first things you plant in the spring. It comes in lovely shapes and colors and you plant it at a time when the whole notion of gardening is fresh and full of promise. That often means that you plant too much. Round about July that excess lettuce starts thinking that perhaps the reason you haven't harvested it is that it was destined for greater things than simple salads. The lettuce starts to bolt- meaning a center stalk grows tall and the leaves get bitter. The lettuce is attempting to turn into a tree. Maybe the lettuce has heard about Christmas in July. This happens to commercial farmers as well as to amateurs. Some examples from friends and the neighborhood are below.





At the farm these 'trees' are typically just plowed back into the soil. That can happen in your garden as well. Adding organic matter back to the soil is a good thing. But it isn't the best thing to do with food that could be eaten. Realize that it takes a lot of energy and effort to produce food. The New York Times made this clear with a pictorial showing how much water is used to grow various crops in California:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/21/us/your-contribution-to-the-california-drought.html?_r=0. Lettuce trees do not grow by water alone. All plants also require nutrients- the big three being nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Those are the three numbers that you see on a bag of fertilizer.



Nitrogen is typically applied at between 100 and 200 pounds per acre. While gaseous nitrogen is plentiful in our air (atmosphere is 77% N2 gas) it takes a lot of energy to turn the gas into a form that plants can use. Most of our fertilizer N is produced using the Haber - Bosch process (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process) at a cost of about 4 pounds of CO2 for each pound of nitrogen. About half as much energy is used to produce the P and K. Phosphorus fertilizer comes from calcium phosphate rocks. We used to have large reserves in the US in Idaho and Florida. Now the biggest world reserves are in and around Morocco and China (http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnadw835.PDF) with Saudi Arabia also having significant quantities (http://www.mining-technology.com/features/featurea-kingdom-of-riches-saudi-arabia-looks-to-strike-it-rich-with-mining-sector-4382267/). Wasting the food means that you are also wasting the water and the nutrient it took to grow.

Soils are not so picky about the type of organic matter that they are fed. They are just as happy getting plant roots as edible leaves. They don't mind slime. The same can't be said for people. But even if you have excess romaine your neighbor may not. Feeding others with your bounty is one way to put the excess to optimal use and expand your social circle. On a commercial level this is much more difficult but can still be done. Excess from farmer's markets and fields can be donated to food banks or left for gleaning projects. Gleaning means going into a field after harvest and getting what the farmer did not. It was the subject of an 18th century painting by Jean Francois Millet and has been making a comeback in the US http://www.npr.org/2011/01/20/133059889/gleaning-a-harvest-for-the-needy-by-fighting-waste.



While you can give your extra lettuce to friends and neighbors before it bolts, this type of generosity is harder to justify for a farmer who needs to make a living from selling his/ her produce. Gleaning and donations are good for the world but not as good for the bottom line. Tax incentives to encourage gleaning and other rules that limit liability for farmers who allow gleaners on their land are ways to do that: http://modernfarmer.com/2015/12/gleaning/. So share your lettuce before it can think of turning into a tree. New rules and incentives will hopefully let farmers do so too.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmichael-brune%2Fa-hard-and-heartbreaking-week_b_10972410.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
A Hard and Heartbreaking Week  

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmary-ellen-harte%2Fclimate-change-this-week_b_10972108.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Mary Ellen Harte: Climate Change This Week: Massive Worldwide Tree Die-Off, Selling Solar Surges, and More!  
Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.




Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, like this Amazon tree frog, is another...

Read more: Climate Change, Environment, Drought, Extreme Weather, Global Warming, Sustainability, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Nature, Science, Technology, Technologie, Green Technology, Technology News, Climate Change Denial, Climate, Climate Science, Climate-Change, Obama, Green Energy, Clean Energy, Renewable Energy, Natural Gas, Wind Power, Solar Power, Fossil Fuels, Heat Waves, Congress, Voting, Weather, Business, Business News, Corporations, Economy, Climate Change Solutions, Greenhouse Gases, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Emissions, Food, Water, Coal, Fracking, Oil, Agriculture, Crops, Rising Sea Levels, Insurance, Pollution, Wildlife, Transportation, Transports, Transport, Cities, Deforestation, Jobs, Natural Disasters, Population, Population Growth, Overpopulation, Oceans, President Obama, Barack Obama, Epa, Nasa, Noaa, Department of Energy, Republicans, Gop, Democrats, Animals, Cute Animals, Fish, Birds, Activism, Political Activism, Humor, Alaska, California, Florida, Minnesota, United Nations, United Kingdom, England, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Europe, European Union, France, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Asia, Africa, Mexico, Children, Babies, Children'S Health, Kids, Human Health, Health, Education, Air Pollution, Seafood, Exxon Mobil, Hillary Clinton, Soil, Art, Cartoons, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, Apple, Patagonia, Google, Vegetarianism, Harvard, Green News

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmichael-brune%2Fa-hard-and-heartbreaking-week_b_10972410.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Michael Brune: How Environmental Issues Impact Communities Of Color  
I don't know anyone who didn't find last week both hard and heartbreaking. Two more incomprehensible fatal police shootings of African Americans f...

Read more: Climate Change, Black Lives Matter, Racism, Global Warming, Environment, Green News

 
gaia  

%feed  
http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjen-reeder%2Fthese-colorado-teens-help-pit-bulls-get-adopted_b_10929552.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
These Colorado Teens Help Pit Bulls Get Adopted  


One of the best things about being a pet writer is the chance to meet the amazing people who work in animal rescue, like two teens named Morgan Wells and Wyllow Hildner. They like to say, "You're never too young to change the world," and it's a concept they live by - they were just 10 and 11 years old when they met as volunteers at the La Plata County Humane Society in Durango, Colo.

"I have always loved dogs because they are such great companions and never judge you," Wells says. "They will protect you with their lives and always want to please you. They love you so much and it's only fair if we help them out of sticky situations."



One day the girls met Kaya, a "sweet" pit bull in the shelter's "Lonely Hearts Club," the name for animals who have gone 45 days without being adopted. They learned about the challenges facing Kaya and other pit bulls because of their fearsome reputation and decided to do something about it by founding Pit Bulls for People.



Wells and Hildner created a website at PitBulls4People.org that shares photos, videos and descriptions of "pitties" available for adoption at the shelter. They get to know the dogs' personalities on weekends and during summer vacations when they socialize and train the pups to help increase their adoption chances. Often they meet with potential adopters to introduce them to the dogs.

"Working with pit bulls is one of the best things I've ever done," Hildner, now 14, told me. "They give actual meaning to the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover.' They may look big and strong, but they are one of the sweetest breeds I've ever known. Just knowing that these dogs are being used for the wrong things makes me want to do something about it even more."



Since founding Pit Bulls for People in 2013, the girls have helped the shelter find homes for over 150 adult pit bulls - including Kaya - and raised more than $1,000 for the cause.

"I love working with pit bulls because they're smart, though they don't always catch on super quickly," Wells, now 13, says. "They are really funny to see when you praise them for doing something right. They always get so happy with their tails flying and their tongues trying to reach your face."

Chris Nelson, shelter director of the La Plata County Humane Society, finds the dedication of the girls inspiring.

"They work really hard for the pit bulls that we get in here, and they've been a big help to us," he says. "They're passionate."



Wells and Hildner are also active volunteers with Soul Dog Rescue, a Denver-based nonprofit that frequently hosts spay/neuter clinics on the Navajo Reservation, which covers over 27,000 square miles across three states. The girls help in whatever way needed, from caring for animals recovering from surgery to going out on rescue missions. In one memorable instance, they helped save a litter of puppies spotted by an old tire - they named the pups Hope, Faith, Joy and Peace.

"They were covered in dirt and ticks. We went back and washed them all off in the sink," Hildner says. "The feeling of holding the dog you just rescued is priceless."

Both Hildner and Wells plan to continue working in animal rescue as adults. They are committed to combatting breed specific legislation and educating the public that pit bulls - an umbrella term that includes American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and pit bull mixes - can be wonderful pets when treated right.



"Pit bulls are a very energetic breed. They need to have owners who love to exercise and can give a lot of attention to them," Hildner says. "If you spend time with them, keep them healthy, and give them love, they will be the best dogs ever. Regular socialization is also very important for any dog."



Wells and Hildner are quick to praise others, from their parents being supportive even when they ask for early morning rides on weekends, to La Plata County Humane Society making Pit Bulls for People "possible." They hope other young people will get involved in rescue and learn how to stop animal abuse and neglect.

"It's very important that kids grow up to respect the animals around us ... To dogs, the glass is always half full. And it doesn't matter how you look or who you are, they will always give you unconditional love no matter what," Hildner says. "I could talk for hours about how great dogs are."



For more information, visit http://www.pitbulls4people.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/PitBullsForPeople/.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
gaia