China and India have formally agreed to join the Copenhagen Accord. The Accord is an international agreement that limits global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, among other things. Since China and India are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, their participation in the non-binding agreement is significant. The Accord was the product of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit hosted by the United Nations and attended by 192 nations. The goal was to set up a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Learn more: New York Times

Iceland’s Icesave Debt

A referendum was held to determine the fate of Iceland’s financial obligations. In 2008, Icesave, Iceland’s Internet savings bank, declared bankruptcy and the government inherited a 4 billion euro debt to Great Britain and The Netherlands. In one night, the entire financial system disintegrated. Iceland has been trying to recover ever since. Now 93 percent of the population voted down the government’s proposal to pay back the debt plus the interest demanded by the two countries. Negotiations are being held to try and get a better deal for Iceland.

Learn more: Dutch News

New England Fishermen’s Dilemma

Allegations that New England’s fish stock are undercounted have come to light. Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, has made statements about the necessity for new technology to count the fish along the coast. The current system uses sample fishing to determine the population. However, fishermen argue that sonar or acoustic technology would give a more accurate count of how many fish are out there. Fishermen are inextricably tied to a healthy, bountiful marine environment and have no interest in overfishing simply maintaining a balance.

Learn more: Boston Globe

This week, Alexandra Cousteau and the crew with Expedition Blue Planet finish their tale about the impact that the loss of wetlands has had on local communities.

New Orleans is sinking because the wetlands that naturally would form new land have been destroyed for the construction of navigation channels along the Mississippi River. But this is what many coastal areas will look like in 50 to 100 years if global climate change continues at its current rate: abandoned, hopeless, under water.

The controversial documentary, “The Cove,” won best feature documentary last night at the Oscars. The documentary depicts the Japanese hunt for dolphins in a gruesome light. The films’ director hopes that the new award will help them gain access to a Japanese audience. The film was not well received in Japan. Dolphins are part of their food culture and deeply entrenched in tradition and history.

Learn more: Wall Street Journal

Solar Energy from Peas

A professor at Tel Aviv University discovered a membrane in the common pea plant that could shed light on how to produce efficient renewable energy. The complex membrane is the part of the plant that turns sunlight into fuel. Professor Nathan Nelson believes it could be replicated and used for battery and solar technology.

Learn more: Israel National News

Arctic Methane

There has been a lot of press surrounding Arctic methane escaping from holes in the seafloor. Some believe the methane leaks to be a possible accelerant for catastrophic climate change. However, New York Times climate columnist, Andrew Revkin, has another theory. Revkin argues that the seeping methane could be an occurrence that has merely gone unseen and unnoticed. Many scientists believe this to be true. What all scientists agree on is that monitoring methane leaks from the ground is vital.

Learn more: New York Times

An Icelandic scientist found a fossilized polar bear jawbone on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean. Using genetic analysis scientists were able to determine the birth of the polar bear was 150,000 years ago. Scientists previously believed them to be only 90,000 years old. The finding also confirms that polar bears evolved from brown bears and after 20,000 years all of the common polar bear traits including size and diet were in place. This suggests that their adaptation was considerably shorter than previously believed. The full report can be found on Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Learn more: Wired Science
Declining Key Arctic Species Populations

Antarctica is home to thousands of marine species found nowhere else in the world. Ongoing biodiversity studies conducted by the British Antarctic Survey have revealed “hot-spots” where levels of biodiversity are unparalleled. However, the latest findings suggest that sea-ice reduction is affecting krill populations, which are a vital food source for key species like penguins and whales. Such changes can severely damage the biodiversity of even the heartiest ecosystem. Reduced sea ice cover combined with warmer temperatures has allowed more invasive species to thrive, thereby shifting the balance of the regions food web and further threatening the survival of key species populations.

Source: ENN, British Antarctic Survey

An inspection by the Food and Drug Administration has uncovered salmonella contamination in Basic Food Flavor’s processing equipment. The F.D.A. inspected the company after a consumer reported the contamination. Basic Food Flavor has recalled all products containing hydrolyzed vegetable protein from September 17, 2009, to present. The protein is in virtually every type of processed food products. Fortunately, no one has come forward with an illness attributed to the scare since most products require additional cooking, which kills the salmonella.

The F.D.A. is using this food scare to exemplify the need for new food laws to prevent this sort of contamination. Congress may write legislation that gives the F.D.A more power and money to enforce it.

Learn more: New York Times

Methane Frozen in Arctic Seafloor Escaping

Researchers have discovered a hole in which methane is leaking into the atmosphere in the Arctic Ocean seafloor. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It has long been feared that methane trapped in permafrost and frozen areas would escape and accelerate global warming and the speed of climate change. Now scientists have proof that this is indeed already happening under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. The full report was published in today’s edition of the journal Science.

Learn more: Science Daily

E.U. to Allow Sale of Genetically Modified Foods

For the first time in twelve years, the European Union has approved the cultivation of genetically modified foods. A potato and three types of corn will now be allowed to grow in Europe. Many are opposed to this decision and accuse the E.U. of bowing to corporate interests. However, the E.U. responds that there is no scientific evidence to support claims that health risks are at stake. The strongest opposition comes from the UK, France, Greece, Italy, Austria, and Hungary.

Learn more: The Guardian

Oyster farmers and a marine biologist in Tasmania have identified toxins in local water reserves. They claim that toxins from a nearby Eucalyptus plantation have led to cancer and high oyster mortality. A study says the toxin is not from pesticide runoff but from the trees lending new support for the regulation of monocultures.

Learn more: ENN

Malaria Replacement Insecticide

Researchers of Malaria say they may have found a replacement for DDT.
The new substance, referred to as CS, may provide a new solution to malaria control in areas where mosquitoes are resistant to commonly used insecticides. DDT is being phased out in many parts of West Africa due to environmental concerns. The US banned the use of DDT in 1972.

Learn more: ENN

Mountaintop removal coal mining involves the blasting of mountains, the remnants of which are deposited in nearby streams and valleys. The process has effectively leveled hundreds of mountains in the central Appalachians and caused massive flooding, habitat destruction, and health problems in surrounding communities. In the latest effort to mitigate some of these effects, Kentucky lawmakers have passed nonbinding measures asking coal companies to plant native vegetation on land after they have finished mining. Currently, great swaths of nonnative grasses are planted to help reduce erosion and flooding. However, these grasses do not support the native ecosystem, ultimately hurting honeybee and insect populations.

Learn more: WV Gazette

House Moves to Block EPA from Emission Regulation

Two democrats in the House of Representatives have joined Senator Murkowski in filing a resolution to block the EPA from regulating emissions. If passed, the resolution would bind the EPA from threatening Congress with regulation. The EPA said it was still on track to phase-in carbon emission regulations on factories and coal-fired power plants.

Learn more: Reuters

Shocking news has come to light that traces of a highly toxic contaminant known as PCB could be in fish oil supplements. Fish oil supplements are widely used for their health benefits. They contain omega-3 fatty acids that can improve heart health. Research shows that other benefits include: less pain from inflammation; decrease in strokes and heart attacks; improvement in brain function; reduction in childhood disorders; reduction in breast, prostate, and colon cancer; and helps with depression.

Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation tested ten different kinds of fish oil and shark oil supplements and each one contained PCBs. A lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco against CVS, GNC, Now Health Group, Omega Protein, Rite Aid, Solgar, Twinlab and Phamavite. California law requires labeling to inform consumers if PCBs are present in products. However, the World Health Organization considers the levels of PCBs found in the fish oil supplements to be safe. Doctors also say that people with heart disease should consult with doctors before they stop taking the supplement altogether.

What are PCBs?

Polychlorinated Biphenyl or PCB is a man made organic chemical introduced in 1929. It was widely used in commercial and industrial uses like, paint, plastics, rubber, copy paper, electrical uses etc. Once it was proven to be a health risk to humans and the environment the chemical was banned in 1979.

Learn more: ABC News

Tibet Desertification and Glacial Melt

Officials say that China’s autonomous region of Tibet is experiencing the worst effects of climate change. They face glacial melt, desertification, and decreased snowfall. The China Daily reports that average temperatures have increased by .32 degrees centigrade. The local government considers this a top priority and is responding accordingly.

Learn more: China Daily

Earth Advantage Energy Performance Score

Oregon based Earth Advantage Institute has certified more than 11,000 homes with the Energy Performance Score. It is the only residential energy labeling system of its kind. It allows homeowners to know their energy consumption and carbon emissions and gives them a rating. So far it is voluntary and loved by homeowners because they are able to pinpoint the ways that they can improve energy efficiency in their homes.

Visit Earth Advantage for more information.

Senator Lindsey Graham said that any climate legislation would not include a cap and trade scheme. Cap and trade refers to the idea of limiting greenhouse gas emissions and allowing utilities, manufacturers, and other polluters to buy and sell permits to pollute. The former legislation would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and establish a regulated market. Critics say that cap and trade would raise prices for all Americans.

Learn more: Reuters

Mercury Sources in Fish

A new study published by Environmental Science and Technology is exploring the sources of mercury in ocean fish. Mercury naturally occurs in the environment, however an estimated 2,000 tons of it are generated from human related activities. The most toxic form is methylmercury. It builds up in fish and humans causing nervous and immune system damage.

Learn more: E Science

China Food Scare

Chinese officials are scrambling to figure out why trace amounts of a highly toxic pesticide are showing up in cowpeas across China.

The China Daily says the Ministry of Agriculture issued a nationwide warning after shipments of cowpeas were tainted with the pesticide isocarbophos. Cowpeas are a legume found on the tropical island of Hainan.

Officials have destroyed all known supplies tainted with the pesticide. Hainan’s regional government in 2004 legally banned it.

Learn more: New York Times

Offshore oil and gas drilling on the Oregon coast was shot down for another 10 years. Although, Oregon does not have any known oil resources offshore, environmental, tourism, and fishing groups vehemently opposed the thought of it. Oregon did not go as far as to ban it forever because supporters said that technology may lead to safe ways of extracting resources with a minimum impact on the environment.

Learn more: L.A. Times

NOAA Links Water Related Illnesses in Dolphins to Humans

NOAA scientists found evidence that suggests diseases in dolphins closely resemble those in humans. This could shed light on how humans are affected by contaminated water and seafood. Since dolphins can be exposed to contaminated water all day every day, scientists are studying them closely to determine what the impacts are on their health.

Learn more: NOAA

This week, Alexandra Cousteau and the crew with Expedition Blue Planet travel to Louisiana to investigate the impact that the loss of wetlands has had on the local communities.

New Orleans is sinking because the wetlands that naturally would form new land have been destroyed for the construction of navigation channels along the Mississippi River. But this is what many coastal areas will look like in 50 to 100 years if global climate change continues at its current rate: abandoned, hopeless, under water.

Al Gore recently wrote a response to the growing number of climate skeptics. It was published in the New York Times. Since, the science of climate change has been called into question recently, he wanted to respond to all of the criticism. Inaccuracies were found in reports published by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC.

The former vice president said, “I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion. But unfortunately, the reality of the danger we are courting has not been changed by the discovery of at least two mistakes in the thousands of pages of careful scientific work over the last 22 years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

Read the full response here.

Clean Water Act Enforcement Loophole

A major loophole was found that could hinder enforcement of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act, established in 1972, gave the Environmental Protection Agency the right to regulate toxic dumping in waterways. The Supreme Court recently called into question the term “navigable waters” paving the way for over 45 percent of major polluters to ignore dumping laws. This loophole could affect the drinking water of over 100 million Americans.

Learn more: New York Times

Large coffee plantations have cut down trees, something he says decreases precipitation.

Sustainable Harvest is a coffee importer that helps growers find markets for their coffee in a way that is good for the environment and society. Their goal is to find long-term solutions for farmers so they can have viable businesses.

Sustainable Harvest says the farmers it works with do not have to be organically certified but good environmental practices are encouraged.

Coffee is one of the few cash crops that can grow under trees. Sustainable Harvest works with growers to replant in areas that have been deforested, like the area outside Gombe National Park in Tanzania.

Valle says farmers who are organically certified or have good environmental practices can get higher prices for their coffee. That’s incentive for him to grow his coffee in an environmentally responsible way and he hopes more growers will do the same.

The U.S. has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to about 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. Climate envoy, Todd Stern, says the U.S. will uphold the Copenhagen Accord whether or not major developing countries such as China and India agree to so the same. Stern noted that greenhouse gas emissions could only be reduced by about 40% by 2050 without similar commitments from developing countries.

For more information: Van Ness Feldman

Oregon’s Department of Energy Status

Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 providing states with funding needed to support local projects including energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy initiatives. In the last three months of the 2009, the stimulus created up to 2.1 million jobs across the U.S. and lowered the unemployment rate by nearly 2.1% during that period. Since December 2009, the Oregon Department of Energy has awarded nearly $17 million in ARRA funding, which has supported hundreds projects statewide.

The Earth Advantage Institute, a Portland-based nonprofit that certifies green buildings, has released a list of the anticipated top ten green building trends for 2010. At the top of the list is the “smart grid and connected home,” which involves energy technology to report real-time energy consumption in the home. The list also includes the Energy Performance Score, an energy labeling system for homes and office buildings; the increased use of “building information modeling” or BIM software by contractors; and improved water conservation systems. For a complete list of Earth Advantage’s 2010 trends to watch for, go to: Jetson Green

Aviation and Recycling

The aviation industry generates approximately 7.5 million pounds of trash every day. This includes the trash waste created by travelers who are required to leave plastic bottles and other food containers behind at security checkpoints. The Natural Resources Defense Council asserts that only about 20 percent of the recyclable waste actually reaches recycling centers. While many airlines have begun taking steps to reduce and recycle waste, a solution to the problem may lie in the hands of individual airports, which must coordinate with municipalities, private waste companies, and security agencies. Several airports have initiated programs to reduce waste and facilitate the recycling process.

Source: New York TImes

What are scope 3 emissions?

Scope 3 emissions are activities within a company’s supply chain (manufacturing, transportation, etc.) which aren’t owned by the company. Scope 3 emissions include other impacts from a consumer using the product.

Why are scope 3 emissions vital to supply chain reporting?

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said in a 2008 report that two-thirds of U.S. industries would overlook 75 percent of GHG emissions if they neglect reporting on Scope 3 emissions.

WRI says that although many companies measure the emissions from their own operations and electricity use, the Scope 3 Standard will, for the first time, allow companies to look at the impact of their corporate value chains, including outsourced activities, supplier manufacturing, and the use of the products they sell. Road testers of the Product Standard will measure the climate change impact of products ranging from magazines, food and jeans to computers, wind turbines and steel. Scope 3 emissions allows a company to identify up and down stream cost saving opportunities and also helps the company decrease its risk exposure due to future spikes in the price of fossil fuels.

Who is participating in the testing?

Sixty corporations are now measuring the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their products and supply chains by testing a new global framework that is part of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative. Companies participating in the test drive represent 17 countries and more than 20 sectors, including Coca-Cola, Ford Motor, Kraft Foods, Lenovo and Levi Strauss.

How can you measure the life-cycle of a product?

Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the two new GHG Protocol standards, the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (PDF) and the Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard, provide methods to account for emissions associated with individual products across their life-cycles and of corporations across their value chains.

Why develop standards now?

The testing process is expected to provide real-world feedback to ensure the standards can be implemented by companies and organizations in a variety of sectors, sizes, and geographic areas around the world.

The draft standards were developed over the last year through a global, collaborative multi-stakeholder process, with participation from over 1,000 volunteer representatives from industry, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. The road testing process will provide real-world feedback to ensure the standards can be practically implemented by companies and organizations from a variety of sectors, sizes, and geographic areas around the world. The final standards are scheduled to be published in December 2010.

Are the companies themselves asking for regulatory standards?

Jonathan Lash, president of WRI, said, “We are encouraged by the overwhelming response from the private sector seeking to road test the new standards. There were more than 120 applications across a broad array of sectors and regions worldwide. The road testing will provide critical input in ensuring that the standards generate credible and meaningful data for business and government decision makers, while considering the practical challenges that businesses and programs will face during implementation.”

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, working with the consulting group AWS Truewind has released the first comprehensive state-by-state wind capacity estimates for the U.S.

Maps and data tables created for each state reveal that the U.S. has the capacity to generate nearly 37,000,000 gigawatt-hours in wind power annually, which is more than 9 times the current energy consumption. The estimated figures were taken of both gross capacity for wind power as well as estimates for “available” land for wind development. Areas with potential for wind development generally have annual average wind speeds of 6.5m/s or more at about 80 meters above the ground.

Source: Wind Powering America

Western Climate Action Plans

The leaders of several western states and the Canadian province of British Columbia met in Vancouver, BC to discuss two climate initiatives. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, and Premier Gordon Campbell agreed on two plans. The first of which will facilitate the development of clean energy, specifically through low-carbon energy resources and green transportation. The second action plan will address climate change with programs designed to help the region prepare for and adapt as necessary to the impacts of climate change.

A study by NASA says that transportation is the greatest net contributor to atmospheric warming. Cars, buses, and trucks release pollutants and greenhouse gases without the aerosols that counteract them. Aerosols have been an elusive subject for scientists in the past because they are both beneficial and harmful. In this case, NASA says that industrial and power sectors do release tons of greenhouse gases but also emit particles that have a cooling effect called aerosols. They reflect light and also alter cloud patterns. In essence, they have been helping to counteract the worst effects of climate change by reflecting light back into space. Some aerosols have a cooling effect and others exacerbate warming. But all aerosols threaten human health so many countries have been trying to reduce these emissions by industry. What the analysis offers is an effective way to tackle climate change by reducing emissions in the most damaging area, the transportation sector. The second largest contributor is burning household biofuels for heating and cooking. The third largest source is methane from livestock.

Learn more: Green Car Congress

IPCC Retracts Sea level Paper

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) science is under fire yet again. The first time was when it came to light that the melting glaciers in the Himalayas were exaggerated. The IPCC cited non-peer reviewed research provided by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

This time the research determining the projected sea level rise was retracted on Nature Geoscience. Two mistakes were found in the paper. This is the first paper retracted since Nature Geoscience was launched in 2007.

Learn more: Guardian