Solar power from Sahara a step c;oser
Solar power from Sahara a step closer
The German-led Desertec initiative believes it can deliver power to Europe as early as 2015
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- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 November 2009 14.20 GMT
- Article history
The technology is not new – it is the scale of the Desertec initiative which is a first
A $400bn (£240bn) plan to provide Europe with solar power from the Sahara moved a step closer to reality today with the formation of a consortium of 12 companies to carry out the work.
The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) aims to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean sea.
Climate change threatens lives of millions of children, says charity
Climate change threatens lives of millions of children, says charity
Save the Children urges world leaders at talks in Barcelona to prioritise effects of droughts, cyclones and floods on children
- guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 November 2009 12.01 GMT
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Desperate plight … A child waits at a food centre in southern Ethiopia. Up to 10 million people in drought-affected parts of the country now need food assistance. Photograph: Jose Cendon/AFP
A quarter of a million children could die next year due to the effects of climate change, Save the Children warned today.
The charity said the figure could rise to more than 400,000 per year by 2030.
CSIRO bid to gag emissions trading scheme po;icy attack
CSIRO bid to gag emissions trading scheme policy attack EXCLUSIVE: Nicola Berkovic | November 02, 2009 Article from: The Australian THE nation’s peak science agency has tried to gag the publication of a paper by one of its senior environmental economists attacking the Rudd government’s climate change policies. The paper, by the CSIRO’s Clive Continue Reading →
Atlantic Rising: planting mangroves to fortify coastlines
Atlantic Rising: planting mangroves to fortify coastlines
Tim Bromfield
27th October, 2009
The world’s largest ever mangrove planting project is underway in Senegal, providing work, habitat and coastal defence all in one
‘Become a superhero: plant your mangrove today’, declared the poster.
Eager to join the pantheon of mangrove superheroes we headed to the
Saloum Delta in Senegal where the world’s largest ever mangrove planting project is underway. Organised by local NGO, Oceanium, almost 30 million mangroves have been planted since June.
The mangrove itself is a hero among flora. It provides firewood for cooking and smoking fish, branches for tortoise-shaped village rooftops,
and breeding grounds for countless species of fish, including oysters
that cling stubbornly to the mangroves’ spider-like roots.
Abdoulaye Diouf, Chef de Zone in Sandicoly, tells us that the fishermen
had noticed a decline in the number of fish in recent years. This was
attributed to over-fishing and a decline in mangrove coverage caused by unseasonal heavy rains.
As well as replenishing depleted mangrove stocks, Jean Goepp, Oceanium’s Project Coordinator, says that the project teaches people to conserve their resources.
‘People must re-plant their common resources, not just their gardens,’ he says. Mr Diouf says the village is now aware that it must use all its resources sustainably – the sea, forest and mangroves.
The mangroves were chosen as the resource to launch this
behaviour-changing initiative because once planted they require no human input. Occupying the swampy inter-tidal zone they require no watering and are naturally protected from bush fires and hungry cattle.
80,000 people have been involved in the project, planting and collecting
seedlings from the flowering mangrove trees for which they are paid
1,000 CFA (about £1.50) per sack. Oceanium provides a financial
incentive to the community as well.
Planting is simple. You create a hole in the wet inter-tidal sand with
an extended index finger and plug it with a seedling. Superhero status
is easily attained, but well deserved.
In Sandicoly, the project has been accompanied by footballing success
and the village is through to the regional cup final. They will use the
mangrove money to take their supporters to the match. It will be ice
creams all round as the mangrove superheroes cheer on their footballing stars.
Useful links
Atlantic Rising project website
See also:
EU climate aid: The politicians are the only winners in this deal
EU climate aid: The politicians are the only winners in this deal
The laboured negotiations over the EU’s announcement on climate aid is a taste of what’s to come in Copenhagen
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- guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009 16.33 GMT
- Article history
Jose Manuel Barroso, the European commission, and Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, at a press conference announcing the proposal, which gives €50bn in public funds to poor nations. Photograph: Georges Gobet/AFP/Getty Images
Gordon Brown called it a significant breakthrough, yet the green groups label it as disappointing and fatally flawed – welcome to the opening exchanges of the world’s attempt to finalise a new global deal on climate change.
Government slashes insulation rebate
Government slashes insulation rebate
November 01, 2009
THE Federal Government has slashed its home ceiling insulation rebate by 25 per cent.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett on Sunday announced Labor would reduce the maximum subsidy for the $3.9 billion program from $1,600 to $1,200 from midnight (AEDT).
Mr Garrett said cutting the rebate would reduce the scheme’s overall budget by $250 million and improve competition in the sector.