GlobalWarmingisReal contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up the climate and environmental news headlines for the past week:
- As the Arab world tries to embrace democracy, oil stands in the way.
- Through massive pressure from the environmental community over the past 40 years, global banking institutions like the World Bank provide funds for environmental projects and businesses in the developing world. Remember, however, that no matter how much good the World Bank or the IMF does they only do it due to outside pressure, and they are still earth’s largest funder of dirty energy projects.
- China is leading the wind market and they are not slowing down.
- A new PV Solar manufacturing plant will be built in Colorado in the next year.
- A scientist that had been a global warming skeptic decided to show the scientific community how wrong they are. Instead his labors ended up reinforcing existing data on global warming. Oops. So, this ends Climategate right? And since this scientist was partially backed by the Koch brothers, are they finally exposed as business owners bent on profiting off of the ruin of our environment, and thus our society?
- A UK report on climate change warns about human effects and supports pro-active action, if not only because it would cost less.
- Ricky Perry released his energy policy. It is basically just a silver platter for the dirty energy industry. That won’t fix our long term problems, or short term for that matter.
- Want to hear someone try to justify the Alberta Tar Sands? Mother Jones has the story.
- Despite growing concerns and evidence of significant health risks from fracking, here’s argument for not letting its “potential” hold us back from fracking ourselves into a corner from which we may need easily get out. Mark Ruffalo disagrees and makes his case for moving beyond dirty energy.
- Grist attacks the International Food and Information Council as a farce. One consisting of the unhealthy food industry attempting to convince people that it is ok to eat poison.
- The EPA has been thoroughly attacked by Republicans in the last couple of decades and EPA chief Lisa Jackson is hitting back with some of her own soundbites that certainly have some bite.
- The electric car market in the UK is weak, even while motorists pay nearly $10 for a gallon of gas at the pump. People already adjusted their life to driving less, so why get an expensive electric car?
- Paul Ehrlich is still warning about population growth. Since he wrote The Population Bomb the world’s population has doubled. Now, population growth is mainly occurring in the developing world.
- Europe has always been weary of GMO, not allowing GMO food into their markets. But, this is viewed as arrogant in the developing world, GMO foods can produce more food on the same land with better pest control.
- The US Forest Service has just been reprimanded in court for not doing enough to uphold the Endangered Species Act, this is a victory.
- One in four solar jobs are found in California. The cost of PV Solar is going down and the cost of dirty energy is going up. Soon PV Solar will cost the same as dirty energy without state and utility backed rebates. The more rebates the better though, and don’t think that dirty energy doesn’t get plenty of tax breaks and subsidies of their own.
- Farmers in Nebraska are rallying to oppose the Alberta Tar Sands Keystone XL pipeline.
- A victory in Bolivia for people and our environment, a giant road project is put back on the shelf.