http://www.rri.org/news/ en Copyright 2010 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:25:42 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Resource Renewal Institute previously designated the UK as a Green Plan nation. The UK recently released a progress report on its sustainability indicators on a regional basis around the country. The indicators highlight issues within the priority areas of Sustainable Consumption and Production, Natural Resources, and Sustainable Communities. For the full update go to this webpage (give it a few seconds to download) and scroll down to Local and Regional News: http://dmtrk.co.uk/A78-3RBU-1F135E23BD/cr.aspx http://www.rri.org/news/2010/03/uk_releases_sustainability_upd.html http://www.rri.org/news/2010/03/uk_releases_sustainability_upd.html Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:25:42 -0800 In a next step in developing its Green Plan, France issued a set of progress indicators for its National Sustainable Development Strategy. The strategy marks environmental and social progress in `the role of ecosystems` for general welfare. The French Green Plan was initiated in 2007 through a series of national dialogues that will allow for acceptance of initiatives for sustainable behavior. Forty-five indicators, within four broad themes, were developed to inform national and local government, business, NGOs, and citizens about environmental and economic pressures and progress. The indicators include sustainable management of biodiversity, changes to and/or loss of natural habitats, consumption and production, individual resource and energy use, recycling rates, waste generation per sector (household, agricultural, industrial), public health, social integration, governance and knowledge improvement. The indicators will assist the EU in preparing a comprehensive environmental index for use in conjunction with the more traditional GDP. One measure drawing some controversy will be of imported CO2 from foreign trade. http://www.rri.org/news/2010/01/frances_sustainability_baromet.html http://www.rri.org/news/2010/01/frances_sustainability_baromet.html Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:53:37 -0800 The French Constitutional Court annulled France`s carbon tax on the basis that it allowed exemptions for 93% of industrial emissions, including politically connected farmers and fishing operations. The exemptions were the result of compromises to maintain competitiveness, according to the government. President Sarkozy`s administration said it will resubmit a revised program. France is a Green Plan nation listed on Resource Renewal Institute`s Green Plans in Action page. http://www.rri.org/news/2010/01/french_carbon_tax_to_be_resubm.html http://www.rri.org/news/2010/01/french_carbon_tax_to_be_resubm.html Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:34:45 -0800 Netherlands, one of the first Green Plan nations, has enacted legislation to reduce auto emissions and reduce driving time and traffic jams by taxing mileage driven, at 3 cents/kilometer (1 km = .6 mile) beginning in 2012, rising to 6.7 cents by 2018. The tax will be higher during rush hour and for higher polluting vehicles. The transport ministry expects fatal accidents to decrease 7%, carbon emissions by 10%, and kilometers driven by 15%. Autos will be fitted with a GPS device that will send information to a central billing point. http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/netherlands_advances_mileage_f.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/netherlands_advances_mileage_f.html Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:57:47 -0800 The European Environment Agency and Microsoft have teamed up to allow interactive viewing of air and bathing water quality throughout Europe via Eye on Earth. The site`s user interface provides interactive information from Europe-wide to street level, based on data from air-quality measurement stations and citizens` input across Europe. It translates scientific data into easily understandable terms. The website is viewable at http://eyeonearth.cloudapp.net/ http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/eye_on_earth_europes_interacti.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/eye_on_earth_europes_interacti.html Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:49:28 -0800 The Columbia River salmon v. cheap hydropower battle went to court in late November on a long-standing case, at what Federal Judge James Redden called the most important hearing. This past fall the Obama Administration added additional terms to a biological opinion for managing the river prepared by the Bush Administration. The salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction. The fate of such indicator species tells us this important Northwest ecosystem that everyone depends on is failing. Previous biops during the Bush years were thrown out of court for violating the Endangered Species Act by using made-up science, among other missteps. The judge has praise for the current plan but has asked for more briefing. RRI’s report on the Columbia problem is on our home page, www.rri.org. http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/columbia_river_ecosystem_in_ju.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/columbia_river_ecosystem_in_ju.html Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:51:31 -0800 While I am out (have to eat sometime!), check out the blow-by-blow here.]]> http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/live_blogging_via_the_uks_guar.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/live_blogging_via_the_uks_guar.html Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:34:32 -0800 Click here to watch the climate talks live]]> http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/watch_copenhagen_climate_talks.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/watch_copenhagen_climate_talks.html Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:50:25 -0800 How much is 1 ton of C02? RRI's Elizabeth Baker is following the negotiations from inside the Bella Center in Copenhagen as part of the Green Belt Movement delegation. Follow along at www.GreenBeltMovement.org. America Elected Him but the World Needs Him One of the great transition points in modern history has Copenhagen cracking with excitement. President Obama is coming with other world leaders to COP15 and is armed with an exciting new potential power that can free him to act independently of the Senate opponents. Late Tuesday evening, Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kassie Siegel delivered a crisp assessment of the legal precedent for the President to use his executive authority to cap greenhouse gasses without congressional ratification. Following the US Environmental Protection Agency announcement of a final ruling that greenhouse gasses are harmful to human health, days before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and a week ahead of his landmark participation in COP15, President Obama's hands were untied. With her analysis of legal precedent dating to the 1987 Global Climate Protection Act, Ms. Siegel methodically outlined how President Obama could legally circumvent the two-thirds majority in Congress required to ratify a new piece of legislation. The Clean Air Act authorizes and requires the Environmental Protection Agency to act on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from sources as diverse as cars and large power plants. With this sound legal justification, President Obama could cap harmful greenhouse gasses at a level of his choosing through the use of an executive agreement. Such agreements have been the birth of nearly all international agreements including, notably, NAFTA. "The choice would only be political," said Ms. Siegel. "He has full legal authority to make a deal here in Copenhagen. When presidents have the political will to get things done, they don't wait for the Senate." The concurrent release of 'Yes, He Can' by Greenpeace is bound to fuel increasing displeasure among environmentalist who are still waiting for President Obama to deliver on his climate change campaign promises. With a previously little known avenue of action available to the President, bitter climate change realities mix with cautious optimism. This more direct route may have punishing political consequences in the US but as the new Nobel Peace laureate, President Obama's leadership will have an even greater arena in which to triumph. With so many nations waiting to act until the US expresses its carbon reduction targets, knowing Mr. Obama's hands are not legally tied may catalyze more intense negotiations. As it is, things in the Bella center won't get into high gear until next week, when the heads of state arrive to decide what the world needs to prevent catastrophic climate change. Like the northern winter sky as seen through the Bella Center's glass ceiling, a bright moment exists in which to act, but it is very, very short. ________________________ Elizabeth Baker is vice president of the Resource Renewal Institute and a delegate to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai's Greenbelt Movement]]> http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/rri_at_cop15.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/12/rri_at_cop15.html Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:03:45 -0800 The EU`s Sixth Environment Programme, running through 2012, has 4 main priorities: climate change, biodiversity, health, and resource use, and 7 thematic strategies to address them: Soil quality; Air quality; the Marine environment; the Sustainable use of resources; Waste prevention and recycling; Pesticides; and the Urban environment. France, a Green Plan nation, recently announced that it will rejoin discussions on the EU Directive on Soil, first issued in 2006. The overall objective is the protection and sustainable use of soil, based on the following guiding principles: preventing further degradation of soil and preserving its functions, by use and management patterns; reducing sources of emissions that soil receives as a sink; and restoring degraded soil to a level that enables at least its current or intended use. http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/france_softens_on_soil.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/france_softens_on_soil.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:12 -0800 Sustainable Jersey is specifically intended to take New Jersey beyond the single issue of curbing global warming. The program encompasses a broad range of issues including global warming, pollution, biodiversity, land use, air and water quality, equity, buying local, local living economies, sustainable agriculture, etc. Partners in the program include the New Jersey League of Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center at College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Board of Public Utilities and a coalition of nonprofits, state agencies, and consulting experts. Check out its Participating Communities at www.sustainablejersey.com/actionlist.php http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/check_out_njs_sustainability_m.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/check_out_njs_sustainability_m.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:18:42 -0800 The EU`s progress in achieving sustainability was boosted by fully adopting almost all proposals from the Netherlands, a pioneer in Green Plans. Dutch Environment Minister Cramer was `delighted.` The EU strategy calls for increased investments in research and development with sustainability as a central requirement. Improvements will be made in how environmental pollution is incorporated into product pricing, e.g., green tax incentives and internalizing external costs in international production chains. In addition, sustainable procurement and eco-innovation will increase demand for sustainable goods and services. NTH adopted its first National Environmental Policy Plan in 1989; for more information go to RRI's page http://www.rri.org/greenplans_netherlands.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/netherlands_praises_eu_sustain.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/netherlands_praises_eu_sustain.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:44:22 -0800 In a unique melding of two technologies, Singapore`s Environment and Water Industry Development Council is preparing to fund research projects on using biomimicry for natural desalination. https://rita.nrf.gov.sg/ewi/0902/default.aspx http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/biomimicry_in_desalination.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/biomimicry_in_desalination.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:22:30 -0800 New Zealand’s Environment Ministry released the results of the year-long streamlining of its Resource Management Act. According to the Ministry, the major changes reduce the time and cost of: appeals, the process for reviewing nationally significant proposals, preparing and changing policies, and review of applications; improves the efficiency of enforcement and compliance; and improves the overall workability of decision-making under the RMA. The full Ministry statement and report is available at: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/rma-amendment-act-factsheets-2009/factsheet-1.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/new_zealand_completes_streamli.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/11/new_zealand_completes_streamli.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:10:01 -0800 America's Best Leaders." A founder of 1% for the Planet, he uses strictly organic cotton, and is a proponent of developing national parks in Patagonia. Yvon barely has time to celebrate the environmental groups his company supports, never mind staying outdoors as much as possible. However, recently attending the 2009 Patagonia Tools for Activists conference, Yvon mentioned that "leading the examined life is a pain in the ass!" Indeed is is, and we love it! Congratulations, Yvon.]]> http://www.rri.org/news/2009/10/board_member_chouinard_is_one.html http://www.rri.org/news/2009/10/board_member_chouinard_is_one.html Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:17:46 -0800