This month no less than 140 countries signed a legally binding agreement to curb their mercury emissions. While mercury is no greenhouse gas, it is a serious problem for both the environment and human health. To the World Health Organization (WHO) : ” “The inhalation of mercury vapour can produce harmful effects on the nervous, …
Earlier this week, the World Bank published a new report called “Turn Down the Heat” with catastrophic figures, as to their projections, global temperatures could rise by 4°C by 2100. As this venerable institution notes, this would have catastrophic consequences for the world’s poorest as extreme weather, decreasing crops quantities, biodiversity loss, water scarcity and …
I have been committed since January 2007 to bring you each month a selection of the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change and the world energy sector. However, I don’t blog as much as I would like to and generally write around 25 posts per month. But many more news are …
As the official TED talks website notes on this absolute must-see and must-share video : ” Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change. “In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply …
I had written about this very topic last month. To the New York Times green blog : ” A new scientific paper suggests that the ocean is acidifying at a rate that is many times faster than at any time in the past 300 million years. “ ” The change is occurring so rapidly that it raises …
Ocean acidification at its highest in million years Read More »
I came across two news today that could revolutionize solar panels by drastically increasing their efficiency. Given the current potential of this energy source with today’s technology, tomorrow will be bright for solar ! To the MIT Technology Review :” Replacing flat panels with three dimensional structures (see left) can significantly change the economics of …
The French magazine Science & Vie [Fr] published this month a lengthy series of articles on thorium-based nuclear, and how it could solve the various issues encountered with uranium-based energy generation. Much more safer, without the need to be enriched, Thorium is also four times more abundant than Uranium. Molten salt reactors could also recycle …
To ABC News : ” It’s time to clean up Irene. The hurricane’s destructive path through 10 East Coast states left an estimated $7 billion to $13 billion of damage in its wake — without even accounting for economic losses.” Estimates could climb to $20 billion (14 billion euros) if economic lost were taken into …
One of my latest stride toward sustainability has been eating organic fruits. Indeed, after slashing my energy and water use and traveling as much as I could by train, I guess it was the natural next step. So when Grist publishes an article on how organic food is ” not really better for you or …
According to Climate Progress : ” In 2004, Princeton Profs Socolow and Pacala published a paper in Science, “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies.” ” (…) I spoke to Socolow today at length, and he stands behind every word of that — including the carefully-worded title. Indeed, …
