Saudi Arabia will seek investors interested in a $109 billion plan to generate power from solar energy. The ambitious plan calls for a long term goal of generating an entire third of the nation’s electricity from solar power by the year 2032.

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The people of India have a deep connection with mangoes. Every person claims to have at least one favorite kind but the Alphonso mango is undoubtedly the king. Anyone who has eaten it will attest that its distinctive flavor is hard to forget. However, the last couple of years have spelled trouble for mango farmers in India.

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If there was a medal for fighting the climate war, Dr. Michael Mann should probably get one. In the last decade he has been at the front lines of the fight over climate change, most noticeably as the researcher who created one of the symbols of this war, the hockey stick graph, as well as one of the heroes of the Climategate scandal.

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To frack or not to frack–a question for a White House working group.

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Bill Gates is dedicating an increasing amount of time and resources in pursuit of clean energy solutions. His goal is to get the world’s emissions to zero within 75 years.

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OECD report sees 50% rise in GHG emissions by 2050 without global action.

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In 2008, Stephen Chu, then Director of the Berkley Lawrence National Lab, said, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe.” That was a very sane and rational statement for a scientist, who had been wrestling with the question of America’s energy future for some time, to make. It still is. America desperately needs to reduce her gasoline consumption for any number of reasons including the economy, our national security and the environment. We all know that our fossil fuel dependent economy is not sustainable for all those reasons. And there is no better way to reduce consumption then to increase prices. That has been proven every time prices have gone up. People start driving less and when they go shopping for a car, they actually pay attention to the gas mileage.

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Funds came from GM’s foundation, not GM the car company itself. This distinction is important, since in the interests of good governance, Mr Akerson is not permitted to sit on the board of the foundation as well as being CEO of General Motors. The point he wished to convey: GM itself is not culpable in funding climate change denial.

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Unless governments work actively to build a brighter future for humanity, climate change, poverty and loss of biodiversity will worsen and continue to exacerbate existing global problems, top scientists warned ministers attending the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) governing council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.

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Across the digital universe, brands are asking consumers to click for the good of the planet. Many social media-driven initiatives are naturally intended to build greater awareness of the brand’s own social responsibility positioning. But in asking consumers to create, vote, like, pledge and share online, can these tactics actually foster a change in attitude or even behaviour? Can social media help build a more sustainable society, one campaign at a time?

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Most efforts to slow the impact of global warming have focused on reducing carbon emissions, because it is the largest component and, according to the EPA, the most dominant and the fastest growing greenhouse gas. But CO2 is only one of several greenhouse gases. A team of scientists suggest that an easier and possibly more effective approach, at least in the short term, would be to focus on methane and soot.

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The folks at Skeptical Science have put together a review of various scientific investigations into the causes of global warming, in hope sof coming up with a definitive answer. This seems like a good time to do this, in the midst of Republican primary season, as the various candidates try to one-up each other on bashing the science in lieu of what their supporters would prefer to hear.

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Reaching a 30% by 2020 EU emissions reduction target would be less than originally estimated, according to an EC study that also includes a plan that not only spreads the costs more equitably, but could benefit weaker member countries financially.

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As promised by the EPA, the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions are now mapped for all to see, and it’s not a pretty sight. The online emissions database displays 2010 GHG emissions data from more than 6,700 large facilities and suppliers. The data includes public information from facilities in nine industry groups that directly emit large [...]

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3p is proud to partner with the Presidio Graduate School’s Managerial Marketing course on a blogging series about “sustainable marketing.” This post is part of that series. To follow along, please click here. By Griff Foxley In part 1 of this post, I explored some of the forces at play today that are creating a [...]

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Without a doubt, the year 2011 has been a remarkable year in the journey to a sustainable future. There have been some exhilarating highs and some devastating lows. While a steady drumbeat of warnings about climate destabilization persists, growing ever louder, the response seems to finally be an awakening of consciousness of the need to [...]

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The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By Ryan Wilday As an industrial designer, and design strategist, I am a prolific user of paper. Whether [...]

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It went into overtime and ended in three days of intense, non-stop negotiations, but UNFCCC delegates to the Durban climate conference agreed on the three pivotal agenda items: making commitments to extend the Kyoto Protocol, setting up the organizational structure and funding mechanisms for the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund, and setting out a roadmap to a global greenhouse gas emissions reduction treaty that’s slated to go into effect in 2020.

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The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By Corine Prothero Effective sustainability conversations need to be heard everywhere. Select students, communities, grassroots movements, businesses, and [...]

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A sense of optimism pervaded the atmosphere in Durban on the penultimate day and final morning of the UNFCCC’s 17th annual climate change treaty talks, according to one solar industry observer. Rumor was that an agreement to commit to the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol and also extend it beyond its 2020 expiration date were within reach.

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As the Durban climate talks heat up, new research shows with near certainty that the global rise in temperatures over the last 60 years has been caused primarily by humans. Good news on the forest conservation front was announced by Sierra Leone and Great Britain. The former is establishing the Gola Rainforest National Park, while the UK government is putting around $16 million into efforts to stop illegal logging in Brazil’s Cerrado.

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Unseasonal torrential rain buffeted Durban, SA on the eve of UN climate change talks beginning. The International Chamber of Shipping, Oxfam and the WWF have proposed a carbon tax that could raise $25 billion a year to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.

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The United Nations recently released a Human Development Report that brings to light the global challenges of sustainability and equity. The report points out that although living standards in most countries have been rising, from now on if environmental deterioration and social inequalities continue to intensify, the least developed nations will show a downward growth by 2050. [...]

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There was some pretty grim news on the carbon emissions front last week. According to the US Dept. of Energy, emissions for the year 2010 jumped considerably over the previous year, and that is in spite of the economic downturn. The 564 million ton jump, the largest ever, put more carbon into than atmosphere than [...]

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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the Los Angeles Green Festival entitled, “My brother-in-law is a global warming denier,” attempting to answer that very question.

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Apple Skin Skies examines the idea that our atmosphere is thin relative to the size of the planet and the number of humans on its surface. A connection is drawn between the thickness of an apple skin relative to its diameter and how with this simple mental exercise it becomes more clear how human activity could bring about global warming.

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The South African government will enact an emissions cap and new energy industry regulations in an effort to spur development of alternative, clean and renewable energy and mitigate climate change. The new regulations will penalize heavy polluters that don’t comply with greenhouse gas emission limits with fines.

The new plan was adopted by the South African cabinet of President Jacob Zuma Tuesday in advance of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change representatives from around the world converging on the South African coastal city of Durban later this year in what’s set to be the most important round of UN efforts to hammer out a successor or alternative to the 1992 Kyoto Protocol since the UNFCCC’s 2009 Conference of Parties gathering in Copenhagen in 2009.

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The environmental movement is, and has been, well aware of the fact that it needs to work on increasing ethnic, age, and income diversity. Mark Tercek, the CEO of The Nature Conservancy, contemplates in his April 7th Huffington Post Green article a study in which EPA officials challenge the movement to become more racially diverse.

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Australia is poised to pass a historic national carbon tax. Narrowly passed in the Australian government’s lower house, the carbon tax bill is now due up for vote in the Senate. Conservation and climate science groups, along with labor unions and the Greens Party, are urging the Senate to pass the legislation quickly, while Australia’s big business interests continue to oppose its passage.

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The latest victim of climate change could well be something we all take for granted. It is delicious, ubiquitous, and most people cannot think of dessert without it. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) recently released a report that states that chocolate will soon become a luxury item that few can afford. Various reports [...]

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