Chevron to pay $18 billion to Ecuador

To Reuters : ” An Ecuadorean appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chevron Corp should pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused the U.S. oil giant of polluting the Amazon jungle and damaging their health. “ ” A judge ordered Chevron to pay $8.6 billion in environmental damages last February, but […]

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The international year of sustainable energy for all

Here is why cleantech will be a buzzword all throughout 2012 : the United Nations declared this year will be the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. As Catherine Banet notes on her blog : ” (the) aim is twofold: increase awareness and find solutions on access to energy (with the objective of universal

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1,200 posts later, this blog turns five

Dear visitors, readers and subscribers. Today, January 2nd, this humble blog turns five. As this is the first 2012 post, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and sustainable year 2012 ! I have tried from day one to bring you a selection of the latest news and best

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Oil prices back up, averaged $111 in 2011

For my ultimate post of 2011, I would like to write about something that was little to not noticed at all, yet as crucial as the increased importance of extreme weather events : oil prices were at their highest average ever this year. According to some research carried out by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates

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2011 rewrote the record books on climate

Here is a rundown of all the extreme weather we witnessed in the past few months around the world  and the numerous calamities that struck all continents without exception… To The Guardian : ” The year 2011 was another ecologically tumultuous year with greenhouse gases rise to record levels, Arctic sea ice nearly equalling 2007’s

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Engineers discover self healing circuits

To Ecogeek : “ A team of engineers at the University of Illinois have figured out how to create self-healing circuits in electronics and batteries, a discovery that could lead to longer equipment life ” ” As electronics have become more complex, one small circuit failure can render a device useless, especially since it is hard or often impossible to

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Charlie Chaplin’s speech in The Dictator

For Christmas, our family reunion is generally the occasion to sing Christmas carols and read texts that are inspiring us. This year I intended to read one of the most inspirational texts of all time: Charlie Chaplin’s final one in The Dictator. Despite being over seventy years old, there is a lot of things we

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European Union unveils its Energy Roadmap 2050

Is Europe finally moving ? To the European Commission‘s official website : ” On 15 December 2011, the European Commission adopted the Communication “Energy Roadmap 2050. “ ” The EU is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050 in the context of necessary reductions by developed countries as a

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China to increase – again – its efforts

The situation is critical in the People’s Republic of China as everyday it is becoming more and more evident than business-as-usual scenario would doom the country, and the world. As the air pollution in Beijing is reaching truly horrifing levels the local government has called to ” reduce emissions of “major pollutants” by as much

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The too many little oil spills of Russia

Here is something we never heard about before. To the Associated Press : ” Environmentalists estimate at least 1 percent of Russia’s annual oil production, or 5 million tons, is spilled every year. That is equivalent to one Deepwater Horizon-scale leak about every two months. Crumbling infrastructure and a harsh climate combine to spell disaster

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