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Enviro News Wrap: Climate Change and National Security; Keeling Curve On the Brink of 400; Getting Beyond Politics Leads to Climate Action, and more…

The Latest Environmental News HeadlinesGlobalWarmingisReal contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up and comments on the climate and environmental news headlines for the past week:

Video Friday: Solar Impulse Sets Out Across America

Solar Impulse across AmericaWe recently posted about a press conference we recently attended at Moffett Field outside San Francisco, California for a close-up look at Solar Impulse, the world’s most advanced solar-powered airplane. The preparations for the Solar Impulse Across America adventure have now come to fruition and the graceful bird took off early this morning into clear Bay Area skies.  Solar Impulse will cross the US making 5 stops along the way, reaching its first stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport tomorrow, May 4th at about 1am, for an estimated flight time of 19 hours.

Subsequent stops include Dallas/Ft. Worth International  Airport; Lambert-St. Louis International Airport; Dulles International Airport and a final stop at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. At each stop Solar Impulse will be on display for the public to see the groundbreaking airplane as it kicks off the Clean Generation initiative to raise awareness of the potential of clean and renewable sources of energy.

Follow progress of Solar Impulse live and stay tuned as we track progress of the airplane as she makes her way across the country in the coming weeks.

Featured image credit: Dominique Favre

Dirty Digital Footprints: An Exposé of “Green” Websites

the digital footprint of many "green" online publications is no better - or worse - than print publicationsAlthough interest in sustainability is expanding to include a wide range of areas, an analysis of 40 leading “green” websites indicates that digital footprints are often overlooked. At the end of April, the World Wide Web celebrated its 20th anniversary, and while the Internet is often considered to be more environmentally friendly than traditional communications channels, this supposition is subject to a number of caveats.

Most people think the web is a green medium, but the average website has a carbon footprint that is similar to a book or a newspaper. Some web pages have a carbon footprint which exceeds that of a printed page, especially if the web page is left open for long periods of time.

According to a recent report in the New York Times, data centers use 30 billion watts of electricity per year globally, and the U.S. is responsible for one-third of that amount (10 billion watts). Most of that energy comes from sources that are neither renewable nor clean.

A 2011 analysis titled Carbon Footprinting the Internet, suggests that global IT is responsible for two to four percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

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EarthTalk: Biomass Energy – Hype or Solution?

Biomass can be a part of the effort to cut back on fossil fuels, but only if it is harvested and used in ways that reduce pollution, cut emissions and protect forests. Pictured: A biomass-burning power plant.

EarthTalk® is a weekly environmental column made available to our readers from the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: What is “biomass” and why is it controversial as a potential source of energy?    – Edward White, New Bedford, MA

Biomass is plant matter that is burned as a source of energy. Fallen or cut wood that is burned for heat is one primary form of biomass, but another includes plant or animal matter that is converted into biofuels.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which was formed during the oil shocks of the early 1970s to help ward off future energy shortages, biomass combustion is a carbon-neutral process because the carbon dioxide released at burning has previously been absorbed by the plants from the atmosphere.

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Obama Administration Issues First National Climate Adaptation Strategy

The Obama administration set forth a national climate adaptation strategy

Source: US Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy

Marking a milestone in US environmental and natural resource management policy, the Obama Administration on March 26 released a national strategy aimed at conserving, enhancing the resiliency, and making sustainable use of the nation’s natural resources in the face of climate change.

Drawing on input, resources, and expertise of federal, state, and tribal government agencies as well as non-profit sector organizations and the American public, the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants (NFWP) Climate Adaptation Strategy, “provides a unified approach – reflecting shared principles and science-based practices – for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural system upon which they depend.”
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