Green Activist

How to Save the Coral Reefs

2006-07-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the New Scientist (subscription) about methods used to save the coral reefs, which are dying from a variety of factors.

Intensive Care Heals Damaged Coral Reefs

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The Big Here

2006-07-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about where the water from your kitchen faucet comes from? Where your food comes from now? What did people eat where you live 500 years ago?

Here's an excellent set of questions for learning more about where you live, and your place in that place.

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ecology

Climate Change for Business People

2006-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Unsure about climate change? Confused by the PR spin?

Perhaps you should take a look at what is being said about global warming by people with a stake in the outcome.

If anyone stands to lose from climate change, it is the insurance industry. Read this interview with Evan Mills about what insurance companies are finding out about climate change and how they are preparing for it. (PDF format). Quote:

I would say that insurers are better equipped to understand and evaluate the science than most other industries, and they have no particular vested interest in propping up polluting industries. To the contrary, pollution liability is one of the emerging (often insured) risks that keep them up at night. They are also more vulnerable to the impacts; they can’t afford to overlook or be wrong about the science. Insurers who have looked at the climate-change issue closely see more burdensome economic costs from inaction than from prudent action, and, in fact, they are developing business opportunities associated with climate-change mitigation and adaptation solutions. They are also quick to recognize that investments in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions can be highly cost-effective in terms of reduced energy expenditures.

What do other business leaders say about global warming? You might want to read this Climate Change Primer, prepared by two MBA's from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Quote:

The question is no longer “Is there human-caused climate change?” Now the questions are: 1) “How intense will the impacts be?” and 2) “What are feasible and profitable solutions to the intensity of those impacts?”

You might also want to consider which businesses might lose out if fossil fuels are phased out. Keep that in mind as you read this report on ExxonMobil's efforts to spread doubt about global warming.

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globalwarming

Gay Sex Causes Global Warming

2006-07-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Why do we think terrorism is more important than global warming? According to this LA Times editorial, If Only Gay Sex Caused Global Warming: "First, global warming lacks a mustache."

Well, sort of. The reason is simple: our brains aren't built to deal with the type of threats that global warming poses.

It's an excellent editorial. Check it out.

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globalwarming

Yes, Global Warming Will Threaten Humans

2006-07-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ecology is a system, an interplay of forces. You can affect the whole system by changing one small part. Change a few parts, and you magnify the changes.

Many skeptics would like to believe that changes to the environment happen "out there" in the natural world, as if the natural world is separate from humans.

Doug Goodin, a geographer at Kansas State University, is studying the effects of changes to the natural world on humans.

According to Goodin, there is a confluence of change currently taking place across the globe. The world's population is steadily increasing, the global climate is changing and global ecology is being altered. All are thought to be related to the emergence of new diseases or re-emergence of old diseases, he said.According to Goodin, there is a confluence of change currently taking place across the globe. The world's population is steadily increasing, the global climate is changing and global ecology is being altered. All are thought to be related to the emergence of new diseases or re-emergence of old diseases, he said.

Goodin uses satellite imagery to study land use and land cover changes. Read this article for more information.

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