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Archive for March, 2013
Indonesia uses Aceh peat swamps as learning grounds for forest governance
Posted by CIFOR: Olivia Rondonuwu on March 22nd, 2013
CIFOR: Indonesia plans to use Rawa Tripa in its westernmost province of Aceh, where the country had a recent victory in peatlands protection, as learning grounds to improve forests governance and legal enforcement through license review.
Rawa Tripa captured headlines early this year when local environmental NGOs reported a suspected breach of a ban to convert deep peat areas by setting fires in its swamps. The Indonesian task force that coordinates efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Indonesia uses Aceh peat swamps as learning grounds for forest governance‘Zero Illegal Deforestation’ Target Set on First World Forests Day
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on March 22nd, 2013
Environment News Service: On the first International Day of Forests, celebrated Thursday by the United Nations, Jose Graziano da Silva proposed that all countries support a Zero Illegal Deforestation target.
FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva, second right, announces a zero illegal deforestation target, (Photo by Alessia Pierdomenico ©FAO)
As director-general of the UN`s Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, Graziano da Silva linked illegal deforestation and hunger at a ceremony marking the UN`s newest International...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Zero Illegal Deforestation’ Target Set on First World Forests DayGlobal Study of Monsoons Finds Ocean Variations Have Driven Recent Shifts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 22nd, 2013
New York Times: The seasonal rains called monsoons matter enormously to human affairs, from the Indian subcontinent to the American Southwest. Getting a better understanding of the forces that will shape these features of the climate system in coming decades is a big research priority, but also a very tough challenge given the many factors in play. A group of people hold onto a rope to help them cross a street as a monsoon hits Bombay, India.Associated Press A group of people hold onto a rope to help them cross...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global Study of Monsoons Finds Ocean Variations Have Driven Recent ShiftsDozens Arrested as Keystone XL Protests Erupt Across the U.S
Posted by EcoWatch: Tar Sands Blockade on March 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: One month after the largest climate rally in U.S. history urging President Obama to deny the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline’s northern segment, protesters in dozens of cities throughout the U.S. are confronting Keystone XL`s corporate backers directly.
Thirty-seven have been arrested over the last 10 days for disrupting business as usual at TransCanada and their investors’ offices, with more actions planned over the next couple of days.
The March 16-23 Week of Action to Stop Tar Sands...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Dozens Arrested as Keystone XL Protests Erupt Across the U.SNavigating the “Vast Sea of Unknowns” of Water Risk
Posted by World Resources Institute: None Given on March 22nd, 2013
World Resources Institute: We know less about one of world's most pressing challenges today than we did 10 years ago. It's no secret that water - or the lack thereof - will be one of the defining issues of the 21st century. And yet, the United Nations World Water Report, in 2009, stated that when it comes to water, "less is known with each passing decade."
The World Economic Forum recently named the water supply crises as one of the top risks facing the planet - edging out issues like terrorism and systemic financial failure....
World Water Day: 10 Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Water … But Should
Posted by EcoWatch: Ma Tianjie, Greenpeace East Asia on March 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: We live on a wet planet, and without that water we would not be able to survive. But in places like China where I live, industries such as textile facilities are pumping a nasty cocktail of toxic chemicals into our water.
At Greenpeace, we’re campaigning to detox our water: exposing brands that are sourcing from polluting facilities and highlighting the disastrous effects of hazardous chemicals in our waterways. So for this World Water Day we thought we would share with you ten facts about water...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World Water Day: 10 Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Water … But ShouldWill the U.S. Senate Stand Up for Our Future and Derail the Keystone XL?
Posted by EcoWatch: Robert Redford on March 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: Rumor has it the U.S. Senate will consider a budget bill provision to approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Here`s what they need to share with their constituents:
1) It`s great for Big Oil. Bad for America. And really bad for climate change, producing three times more global warming pollution than conventional crude production, and using vast amounts of energy and water, causing significant pollution to both air and water.
2) Canadian citizens are against tar sands pipelines too, fighting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Will the U.S. Senate Stand Up for Our Future and Derail the Keystone XL?In the Face of Growing Risks, Every Day Is a World Water Day
Posted by World Resources Institute: Betsy Otto on March 22nd, 2013
World Resources Institute: Today marks the 20th anniversary of the first World Water Day, an international celebration designed to draw attention to the importance of freshwater resources. However, for a large and growing proportion of the world’s population, every day is a World Water Day. Difficult, complex water challenges including drought, groundwater depletion, pollution, and clean drinking water availability are growing in urgency and seriousness all around the world. Some even argue that we should boycott World Water...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In the Face of Growing Risks, Every Day Is a World Water DayWhistleblower Bill Would Criminalize Exposing Wrongdoing at Factory Farms and Fracking Sites in PA
Posted by EcoWatch: Natasha Khan on March 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: Chickens crammed into wire cages next to the rotting carcasses of other chickens. The floor of a barn coated with flies. Hens with their heads jammed between cages and feeding machines.
The Humane Society conducted an undercover investigation in 2012 at Kreider Farms in Manheim, Pa. Kreider cages about seven million egg-laying hens at its four Pennsylvania facilities. Photo by The Humane Society of the U.S.
The Humane Society of the U.S. released a video last year depicting those conditions...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Whistleblower Bill Would Criminalize Exposing Wrongdoing at Factory Farms and Fracking Sites in PAFord puts the brakes on water use with 8.5 per cent cut
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on March 22nd, 2013
BusinessGreen: Ford slashed the amount of water it uses to make each vehicle by 8.5 per cent last year, moving the car maker more than halfway towards its target of using just four cubic metres per vehicle globally by 2015.
The company has decreased its global water consumption from 64 million cubic metres to 24 million cubic metres since 2000, mainly due to new methods for monitoring and managing water use at its facilities.
For example, its Cologne engine plant halved water use per engine through the use...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ford puts the brakes on water use with 8.5 per cent cut