The Cycle of Conferences - Earth Stewardship & Geneva Accord

This economic panic is pushing the planet right back down the agenda

This economic panic is pushing the planet right back down the agenda.George Monbiot argues that oil-dependent countries are focused on growth at all costs, and the pale green political consensus looks unlikely to hold.

New study to force ministers to review climate change plan | Environment | The Guardian

New study to force ministers to review climate change plan. Britain and Europe will be forced to fundamentally rethink a central part of their environment strategy after a government report found that the rush to develop biofuels has played a "significant" role in the dramatic rise in global food prices, which has left 100 million more people without enough to eat.

The Era of Green Noise

The Era of Green Noise.Two years after “An Inconvenient Truth” helped unleash a new tide of environmental activism, green noise pulses through the collective consciousness from all directions...

An environmentally conscientious consumer is left to wonder: are low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs better than standard incandescents, even if they contain traces of mercury? Which salad is more earth-friendly, the one made with organic mixed greens trucked from thousands of miles away, or the one with lettuce raised on nearby industrial farms? Should they support nuclear power as a clean alternative to coal?

If even well-intentioned activists are feeling overwhelmed, the average S.U.V. driver must be tuning out. And some environmentalists fear that the public might begin to ignore their message before any meaningful change can be accomplished. For them, it’s a time to reassess strategies and streamline their campaigns before it’s too late.

Oil shortage a myth, says industry insider

Oil shortage a myth, says industry insider. There is more than twice as much oil in the ground as major producers say, according to a former industry adviser who claims there is widespread misunderstanding of the way proven reserves are calculated.

Nanosolar Price Barrier Breakthrough Makes Solar Electricity Cheaper Than Coal

Nanosolar Price Barrier Breakthrough Makes Solar Electricity Cheaper Than Coal. A new combination of nano and solar technology has made it possible for solar electric generation to be cheaper than burning coal. Nanosolar, Inc. has developed a way to produce a type of ink that absorbs solar radiation and converts into electric current.

Environment: what can we do?

Environment: what can we do?. Megan McArdle asks whether individual efforts to limit our carbon footprint are worthwhile.

G8 plus three agree to promote energy efficiency for stable market, climate

G8 plus three agree to promote energy efficiency for stable market, climate. Energy ministers from the G8 and the three Asian countries, which were invited to take part in broader discussion over energy-related issues, jointly issued a declaration on concluding their meeting in northeastern Japan's energy capital of Aomori, announcing the establishment of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, a new framework aimed at facilitating energy-saving measures and transfer of related technologies.

Food Summit, Overcoming Disputes, Calls for Boosting Farm Aid

Food Summit, Overcoming Disputes, Calls for Boosting Farm Aid. World leaders overcame disputes over biofuels and last-minute objections by Argentina, pledging to boost spending on agriculture in developing countries and ease trade restrictions to counter hunger and soaring food prices.

Delegates from 181 nations at a UN-sponsored Food Security Summit in Rome closed a three-day meeting late yesterday with promises to push the United Nations' 12-year-old pledge to halve the number of malnourished people, now 860 million, by 2015 and help farmers from developing countries produce for international markets.

UN officials called the meeting a success for focusing attention on food prices ahead of a meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight nations in Japan next month. Other participants were more skeptical, saying the discussions resulted in an essentially meaningless statement.

World Environment Day calls for end to CO2 addiction

World Environment Day calls for end to CO2 addiction. June 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations urged the world on Thursday to kick the habit of producing carbon dioxide, saying everyone must act to fight climate change. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said global warming was becoming the era's defining issue and would hurt rich and poor. "Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit," Ban said in a statement on World Environment Day, which was marked by events around the globe and hosted by the New Zealand city of Wellington.

Whales, lizards inspire hi-tech bio-mimicry

Whales, lizards inspire hi-tech bio-mimicry.
Whale hearts hold clues to making pacemakers and lizard skins are showing how to cut friction in electrical appliances as companies mimic nature to develop high-tech goods, a U.N.-backed report said on Wednesday.

"Biomimicry is a field whose time has come," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) in a statement issued to coincide with a May 19-30 U.N. conference on protecting the diversity of animals and plants in Bonn, Germany.