In The News

The 7,000-Km Journey That Links Amazon Destruction to Fast Food

John Vidal April 10, 2006
Greenpeace released a report detailing the illegal destruction of large portions of the Amazon rainforest by multinational food companies and commodity traders involved in the Brazilian soya bean industry. The process begins with farmers clearing vast tracts of virgin forest for soya, destined to become animal feed, and ends with consumption of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets throughout Europe....

Climate Change Sparks Scrap for Arctic Resources

Philip Bethge April 7, 2006
A bewildering dispute between Canada and Denmark over the ownership of Hans Island, a configuration of barren rock, could be the beginning of many struggles over territory within the Arctic Circle. Scientists warn of profound environmental changes to come with global warming - melting icecaps, rising floodwaters, species extinction and damage to traditional cultures. The massive Arctic ice sheet...

For People and Planet

Al Gore April 3, 2006
Current business practices take little account of environmental costs, and such neglect will impose huge costs and decreased standards of living for future generations. Too many businesses, investors and consumers continue to act as though natural resources – oil, minerals, clean water – are unlimited. Sustainable development could be the driving force of industrial and economic change over the...

A Carbon Cloud Hangs Over Green Fuel

Mark Clayton March 29, 2006
To save costs, some fuel refineries burn coal instead of using natural gas to turn corn into ethanol. The choice could nullify ethanol’s very purpose – to reduce environmental damage. According to David Hawkins, climate director for the National Resources Defense Council, if conversion plants unleash large amounts of CO2 into the air – the result of burning coal – that could erase the positive...

Big Water Companies Quit Poor Countries

John Vidal March 22, 2006
Multinational water companies are fleeing risks in developing nations that desperately need the services, reports the UN second world water development report. The report was released today with the close of the World Water Forum, which aims to raise awareness on water issues and influence policy at the global level. Companies complain about not making profits in the poor countries and...

Insurance Industry Feels the Heat of Global Warming

Derrick Z. Jackson March 22, 2006
Severe droughts and floods, fires and blizzards, batter properties worldwide along with the insurance industry. As a result, a task force for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners will assess the impacts of climate change on the American insurance industry. This follows up on discussions in Europe, where insurers have warned about “massive financial losses from storm patterns...

Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Melting Rapidly, New Study Warns Of Rising Sea Levels

Juliet Eilperin March 8, 2006
The Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass at a significant rate, which can be linked to global warming, reports the journal Science. At the same time, two other scientists from South Africa warn that climate change could seriously deplete the water supply in the southern and western regions of Africa by the year 2100. Satellites supplied data on the ice sheet and the global sea level, which is...