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Higher Education
14. U.S. House Passes Higher Education Sustainability Act
15. Yale U Develops Sustainable Event Guidelines
16. Pomona C Buildings Receive LEED Gold
17. Middlebury switches to 100 percent PCW paper
18. Macalester U Holds Green Light Bulb Contest
19. Lewis & Clark College to Install Solar PanelsU.S. & International News
20. Brazil launches crackdown against Amazon’s illegal loggers
21. US ready for ‘binding’ reductions of greenhouse gases – official
22. Carbon tax focus of British Columbia budget
23. Despite their eco-rhetoric, some USCAP members are supporting efforts to undermine restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions.
24. New threat to our way of life: giant pythons
25. Groups challenge wolf delisting
26. China, India speed climate change: Australian report
27. UNEP calls for end to barriers on fast-growing “green economy” -
Without a doubt, emissions in China will have to be addressed if we are to solve climate change. China is currently adding two coal plants to its electricity grid every week. If this pace continues, global emissions will rise above any stabilization threshold, whether its James Hansen’s 450 ppm or the more conventional 550ppm.
However, what few people are pointing out today is what sectors China’s emissions are coming from. A recently released Tyndall Center report found that China’s net exports account for more than 23% of GHG emissions. These emissions are roughly equal to all of the UK. While the concept of exporting emissions isn’t a new topic, this is, as far as I know, the first time a number was estimated for China.
The Tyndall Report illustrates how the current GHG accounting process fails to fully account for western nations’ emissions and consumption. If US, UK, or Canadian products are produced in China, I don’t think we should be let off the hook for those emissions. If the US does implement legislation for reducing GHG emissions, in most scenarios, these exports will not be counted. Furthermore, if this is the case, will it not become an incentive to take more manufacturing jobs offshore? Perhaps this is good for development and growth in those countries, but shouldn’t the developing countries be allowed to increase emissions for their own economies but not for western nations’ consumption?
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An initiative in California to bring inner city kids from Oakland and LA to the Yosemite backcountry illuminates a growing concern within the environmental movement: lack of racial diversity. 92.7% of visitors to national parks in 2004 were white, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Shifting demographic trends indicate that, if this disparity continues, future generations of voters may not care about protecting open spaces.
Why are visitors to national parks so disproportionately white? It’s a complex question with a long history. In a survey by the National Park Service in 2003, African-Americans were much more likely to say they received poor service from park employees and felt uncomfortable visiting parks. Latinos were more concerned than other groups about making reservations far in advance and personal safety.
That’s a problem.
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