China and Germany race ahead of the U.S. in clean energy investments

by Jake Schmidt

Wind farm in Xinjiang, China

China invested $54.4 billion on clean energy in 2010, $20 billion more than the U.S.,according to the latest report from Pew Charitable Trusts and Bloomberg New Energy Finance released today. This is one-fifth of a global market that is growing at a record 30% pace. The competitive position of the U.S. has “deteriorated” so much that it slipped down to number three in private investment, as small-scale solar installations launched Germany into the number two spot. Pew and Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s take-away: policies matter as China and Germany had strong ones and US policies stagnated.

The report – Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2010 edition – is the second annual compilation of clean energy investments (which includes renewables and energy efficiency).Last year’s report (pdf) made big waves when it announced that China had taken over the lead from the U.S. Now, the gap has widened and the US is falling even lower down the rankings. Continued...

[ [1] 2 ] read more →

Earth Hour 2011

Earth Hour is today.  Turn off your lights at 8:30 PM (your time) for 60 minutes. Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries/territories officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday 26 March at 8.30PM (local time). This Earth Hour we want you to go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on think about what else you can do to make a difference. Together our actions add up.

More information: www.earthhour.org

Post Tsunami Video from Minamisanriku, Japan

Minamisanriku, Japan, following the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Approximately 10,000 people are missing, This report is by Alex Thomson, Channel 4 News, UK.

Link to more videos →

Paleoclimate Implications for Human-Made Climate Change

by James E. Hansen and Makiko Sato

Climate change is likely to be the predominant scientific, economic, political and moral issue of the 21st century. The fate of humanity and nature may depend upon early recognition and understanding of human-made effects on Earth's climate (Hansen, 2009).

Tools for assessing the expected climate effects of alternative levels of human-made changes of atmospheric composition include (1) Earth's paleoclimate history, showing how climate responded in the past to changes of boundary conditions including atmospheric composition, (2) modern observations of climate change, especially global satellite observations, coincident with rapidly changing human-made and natural climate forcings, and (3) climate models and theory, which aid interpretation of observations on all time scales and are useful for projecting future climate under alternative climate forcing scenarios. Continued...

[ [1] 2 ] read more →

Japan Tsunami: Pacific Rim Travel Times

Link:  North American Tsunami Arrival Times

Link to videos →