Analysis by country of fossil fuel burning-based Carbon Debt and Carbon Credit

January 25, 2012

Fossil fuel burning yielding the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major component of man-made global warming. In relation to carbon pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, Net Carbon Debt is equal to the Historical Carbon Debt (from fossil fuel burning since the start of the Industrial Revolution in circa 1750) minus the Carbon Credit (the residual carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning permitted between now and zero emissions in 2050). As outlined below and based on fossil fuel burning, Net Carbon Debt (Net Climate Debt) has been estimated for all Carbon Debtor countries and Net Carbon Credit (Net Climate Credit) has been estimated for all Carbon Creditor countries. This information is crucial for climate justice as the World faces a worsening climate crisis born of GHG profligacy and climate change inaction.

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David-Attenborough

David Attenborough asks corporations to protect wilderness from overpopulation

January 24, 2012

Regular readers of Climate & Capitalism know that David Attenborough, in addition to making nature films, is a patron of Optimum Population Trust, a British outfit that, using the name Population Matters, promotes birth control for poor people and immigration restrictions to keep those same people out of Britain.

Last year we reported a talk he gave to a posh gathering in London, chaired by no less a personage than Prince Phillip, in which he said only “flat earthers” disagree with his view that only population reduction can save the planet. Contraception, he said, “is the humane way, the powerful option which allows all of us to deal with the problem, if we collectively choose to do so.”

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nuclear-piranha

Nuclear Piranhas Eat Their Own

January 23, 2012

We already know that the nuclear industry is quite comfortable colluding with governments to deceive the public or spying on environmental groups so that senior executives are sent to jail or lying to regulators to cover up radioactive leaks that are contaminating groundwater.

So, it should come as very little surprise that the nuclear industry has the same ‘flexible’ view on ethics, legality and basic decency when dealing with its own people. In fact, not even the CEO of France’s nuclear giant, Areva, was safe: the Financial Times has recently revealed a catalogue of incompetence, espionage and massive financial failure (follow-up article) swirling around the French nuclear industry:

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Governments Spend $1.4 Billion Per Day to Destabilize Climate

Graph on world fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2010.
Graph on world fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2010.
January 20th, 2012
No Response

We distort reality when we omit the health and environmental costs associated with burning fossil fuels from their prices. When governments actually subsidize their use, they take the distortion even further. Worldwide, direct fossil fuel subsidies added up to roughly $500 billion in 2010. Of this, supports on the production side totaled some $100 billion. Supports for consumption exceeded $400 billion, with $193 billion for oil, $91 billion for natural gas, $3 billion for coal, and $122 billion spent subsidizing the use of fossil fuel-generated electricity. All together, governments are shelling out nearly $1.4 billion per day to further destabilize the earth’s climate.

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Obama Keystone statement bodes ill for future of climate

Photo by Flickr user transplanted mountaineer.
Photo by Flickr user transplanted mountaineer.
January 19th, 2012
No Response

If President Obama’s thoroughly embarrassing stumbling-block posture at Durban left any doubt about the softness of his conviction on climate change, the Keystone decision has just nailed the notion.

Yes, it’s great that the pipeline is dead, and everyone from Bill McKibben and 350.org to every single demonstrator who got this done by leading the charge against the project against all odds, deserves our sincerest and most heartfelt congratulations and gratitude. It really would have been game over for the climate had the pipeline gone through.

But as we get past the celebration and refocus on the hard work ahead to ensure that the game is won in the end, it’s crucial to note what the president’s Keystone statement says about our chances for victory. And it’s not one bit encouraging.

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US rejects controversial Keystone XL pipeline

Dozens of environmental activists protested in front of the White House against the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that would transport crude oil from western Canada down through the Midwestern region of the US. Photo Credit: Ben Powless.
January 19th, 2012
2 Responses

The US state department has denied a permit for the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline, that once constructed would transport dirty and climate killing tar sands from Canada to the US and other world markets. One of the world’s most prominent climate scientists, James Hansen has said that if the Canadian tar sands would be exploited as projected it would be “game over for the climate”.

But this rejection from the US state department is only a temporary setback for TransCanada, the developer, and not a definite “no” to the pipeline. Read the rest of this story »

Ecorotic Ratings Make Good Vibes’ Toys Unique

January 13th, 2012
1 Response

There are a range of green products in the market nowadays; if you think of a product, chances are, there is an eco-friendly version of it. Now the same can be said for San Francisco-based Good Vibrations, an adult store that has adopted “ecorotic” ratings, which inform consumers about how environmentally friendly an adult-themed product is.

Good Vibes uses leaves to represent how green an item is, and their products can receive up to six leaves. Each leaf represents a specific ratings factor: body safe, free of animal products, rechargeable, natural ingredients, recyclable materials, and U.S. made.

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Amazon loggers captured a young tribe girl and burned her alive

indigenous-girl
January 12th, 2012
No Response

Loggers in Brazil have reportedly burned a young tribe girl alive in an effort to scare the local indigenous population from its land. The girl, who the Telegraph report was around the age of eight, came from one of Amazon’s last uncontacted tribes. The gruesome murder is said to have happened in October or November last year.

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Green Video Games Teaching Kids

Screenshot from the game "Fate of the World."
Screenshot from the game "Fate of the World."
January 9th, 2012
3 Responses

It’s not always easy to get through to kids; engaging them in conversation about the environment can be tedious, especially if they are twitching from video game withdrawal and anxious to return to their XBOX. Luckily, there are games out there that appeal to kids while conveying important environmental messages. It may sound like a long shot, but experts agree that video games are a great medium for teaching kids and for conveying information that will stick in the long run.

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Conflict between Wildlife and Wind Farms

Seen here is the Royd Moor windfarm in the United Kingdom. Photo credit: Wendy North
December 18th, 2011
11 Responses

Wind power is a great form of energy; there’s no doubt about that. However, there have been recent threats to the wildlife population that have collided with these green efforts. This upcoming January 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will publish new guidelines for wind farms. Some of these guidelines will be aimed at wind-farm operators, advising them on how to protect wildlife in conjunction with the wind farm. The reason for these new suggestions is because more and more endangered species have been killed in wind turbine blades. Most recently, an endangered bat was killed on a wind farm in Pennsylvania.

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Hundreds of protesters called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies

Yesterday hundreds of demonstrators dressed in referee uniforms called the US Congress to end the huge tax breaks and other subsidies to Big Oil and the fossil fuel industry. Bill McKibben, founder of the +350.org movement and one of the …

Barack Obama hits "secretive oil billionaires" in first campaign ad

This is the first advertisement from Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. The ad targets “secretive oil billionaires”, which is a clear response to the Koch brothers recent $6 million attack ads (http://bit.ly/xrdzBH). The advertisement is also touting the rapidly growing …

Six reasons why the Keystone XL pipeline project should be rejected

Sally Kohn has a good opinion piece on Fox News, of all places, where she lists six important reasons why the Keystone XL pipeline was a bad deal all along: 1. The Keystone XL pipeline would not reduce foreign oil …

Meet Bill McKibben – the man who crushed the Keystone XL pipeline

The Boston Globe has an interesting article about “the man who crushed the Keystone XL pipeline”. If you’ve been paying attention to energy and environmental issues lately you probably already know which person they are talking about. +Bill McKibben is …

“Tearing apart wildlife habitat to make a profit and doing the same at a workplace are just considered the price of doing business. Clearcutting a forest and clearcutting a labor force are two sides of the same coin.”

Occupy Earth: Nature is the 99%, too

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