Environment

Siemens’ European Green City Index

Europe is often considered at the forefront of the environmental scene as the EU keeps working on energy efficiency, renewables, biodiversity and other related issues. However not all countries are equal and so are their capital cities. Siemens published a study – the European Green City Index – which “measures and rates the environmental performance […]

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A huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Isn’t life ironic ? A mere weeks after President Obama decided to embrace offshore drilling, the United States are facing one of the biggest – if not the biggest – oil spill in their history. After the explosion of  the BP drilling rig in the gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana the equivalent of hundred thousands

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Atlantic’s garbage patch

I previously wrote here that plastic may be a curse of our time because of the millions of tonnes of these materials polluting the Pacific Ocean. Now comes its equivalent in the North Atlantic Ocean. To the National Geographic : “The newly described garbage patch sits hundreds of miles off the North American coast. Although

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Desertification spreads faster and faster

One of the many worrying consequences of climate change and global warming is desertification. To an expert it is currently spreading like cancer in the Middle East and in NorthAfrica. Indeed, to data provided by The United Nations Development Programme’s 2009 Arab Human Development Report desertification is threatening 2.8 million square kilometers of land in

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The nine plagues threatening our oceans

The Huffington Post Green published on Monday an article on the 9 problems destroying our oceans. From overfishing and irresponsible fish farming and from offshore drilling to garbage and mercury pollution, they are overwhelming. Another important problem is acidification. Indeed, as our oceans absorb the carbon dioxide we emit every minute, their surface become more

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A great infographic on biodiversity loss

Biodiversity is a vital issue to us all as to the United Nations the disappearance of both fauna and floral species costs six percent of the world GDP, or more than $3,100 billion (2,000 billion euros) per year. The Mother Nature Network published recently a splendid infographic with the Top 20 countries with most endangered species.

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India planted over two billion trees since 2007

According to the United Nations’ Billion Tree Campaign, India planted two billion trees since 2007. This brings the amounts of trees planted globally to no less than ten billion. These are fantastic news ! At the beginning of this project, the UNEP wanted to plant a billion trees. This was at the time a very

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Putting deforestation in perspective

We have seen it throughout this blog, deforestation is a key environmental issue but it is sometimes hard to grab for people in developed nations as they aren’t directly concerned by this phenomenon. How much time would it take for Central Park or the Champs de Mars to be destroyed if deforestation were to occur

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Brazil and Indonesia committed to slow down deforestation

The year is beginning with many good news. After the huge wind energy plan in the UK, another good sign that climate change mitigation slowly but surely surfaces as a key preoccupation at a global scale. Indeed the Brazilian goverment signed a National Policy on Climate Change bill which is due to help the country

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2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity

The huge variety of all living species on our Planet is a key element to life as we know it. However, too many species – including a fourth of mammals – are at risk of extinction. This has to be changed and real protection has to increase. This is why ” The United Nations declared 2010

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