India cannot get enough fuel to run power plants, and the problem has contributed significantly to a second year of slowing economic growth in the country.
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India Struggles to Dig Up Enough Fuel to Power Growth
The Environmental Protection Agency will delay requirements for capturing air emissions from oil and gas wells until 2015, according to individuals who have been briefed on the regulations, though the agency will impose other limits in the interim. Read full article > >
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EPA will give oil companies more time to capture emissions from wells
WILL NATURAL GAS HINDER the fight against global warming? America’s abundant supplies of unconventional gas have the potential to be a rich economic and environmental blessing. New extraction techniques — hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” — make the country’s vast reserves accessible at low cost. The fact that burning natural gas produces about half the carbon emissions as coal means the fuel could be an attractive, affordable alternative, giving lower-carbon energy options more time to become less expensive. Read full article > >
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Editorial Board: Can natural gas help stop global warming?
Environment Minister Alex Attwood has said what appears to be a submarine or boat is identified submerged in Lough Foyle.
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Submarine ‘submerged in lough’
About 20,000 litres of fuel has now been removed from the stricken cargo ship off the north Wales coast, say environment officials.
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Fuel pumped off ship at low tide
The environment minister denies a tabloid claim he flouted the hosepipe ban by leaving water running in his garden.
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Water minister denies waste claim
The Supreme Court in Chile has approved a plan to build a hydroelectric complex in the Patagonian wilderness, dismissing concerns by environmentalists.
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Chile court gives dam green light
Chocolate is one of life's greatest pleasures, but for the children working in slavery conditions in cacao fields across West Africa's Ivory Coast, the reality behind it is anything but sweet. Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative . The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate. The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween – 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season. So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family's Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away? Opt for organic Gene Tanski, a supply chain expert and CEO of Demand Foresight says that the most basic way to ensure that you don't purchase chocolate that is made with slave labor is to insist on organic. “There are no organic growing techniques, capability, or much interest in West Africa or the Ivory Coast or Ghana. Most of the trees there were planted about 25 years ago and they're on the downside of their productive life,” Tanski says. “If you're buying organic chocolate or cocoa you're nearly ensured that there is no slave labor involved in the growing or production of that chocolate, and you can track the chain.” Consider the origin Tanski says to pay attention to where the chocolate is grown and produced. Because of measures like the Harkin-Engel Protocol or “Cocoa Protocol” which was enacted in 2001 to enlist companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor, as well as some of the components of free trade, consumers are starting to be able to track where cocoa comes from. “If it comes from Africa, there is most likely slave labor involved. If it comes from South America or Asia, chances are that there is not. That's not to say there aren't poor conditions, but it's not the slave labor that's highlighted in the CNN report. The tracking is getting better and better all the time,” he adds. Look at the label “You should be looking for chocolate that's a bargain for you, that's delicious for you, and that's good news for people who took part in the production,” Stop the Traffik founder Steve Chalke tells CNN's Richard Quest. He says to look for a Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance symbol on the packaging, because it shows that there was no slavery involved in the production of the bar. Later this year, chocolate consumers will be able to purchase a new version of Hershey's Bliss brand, which will be 100 percent made from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms mostly in Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to a press release from the company . Click to watch video “It'll still make you fat,” Chalke jokes, “But you'll be ethically fat.” Go straight to the source Kristen Hard, the owner of Cacao Atlanta , puts her money where her customers' mouths are and travels to farms in places like Brazil and Venezuela to deal directly with the growers. For her, it's a matter of quality control – both for her product and the lives of her producers. “Whatever you're purchasing is funding something; it's a choice that you're making every day,” she says. “Buying fair trade can benefit the environment and the social status of the farmers. Or, you can do the opposite and promote child labor.” While Hard believes that fair trade is better than the commodity system, with the recent rise in small-scale chocolate production, direct trade is a better solution, and pays off for customers in the form of a better product. She says, “We purchase beans from farmers at a much higher price than commodity, so they can value what they do, stay happy, and not just put food on the table. What we negotiate is quality and a schedule, and all of the things that should be important to a consumer.” Develop a taste Hard knows that people form a passionate bond with the flavor of chocolate early in life, and it's most often the inexpensive and widely available kind. Still, she believes, people will be willing to pay more once they taste the difference. “Once they taste the quality product, they'll understand,” she says. “A lot of times when people are farming a commodity, they'll cut corners because they want to make their money faster and it can can destroy the flavor. But, if this more premium chocolate is not what you're used to, the initial reaction can be, 'Oh, I don't like that.' It's like having fresh juice rather than sugar water. Whatever you grew up with programmed to like, your body is going to say, that's unfamiliar; I don't like it. Once you try it, you'll wonder where it's been your whole life.” More resources for buying ethically produced chocolate Stop the Traffik Slave Free Chocolate Fair Trade Finder App The CNN Freedom Project sent correspondent David McKenzie into the heart of the Ivory Coast – the world’s largest cocoa producer – to investigate what's happening to children working in the fields. Watch an excerpt of “Chocolate's Child Slaves” and see all Freedom Project coverage on the topic . Once you've gotten the goods, try these delicious recipes from iReport's Fair Trade Chocolate Challenge Take Our Poll
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The bitter truth behind the chocolate in your Easter basket
While browsing Twitter recently, I happened upon an interesting tweet by Reem Abdellatif, a self-described “Egyptian-American journalist based in Cairo”: #McDonald ‘s has set up trash bins in #Cairo , mainly in #Zamalek , in efforts to “keep Egypt clean,” as the red bins say in #Arabic . — Reem Abdellatif ريم (@Reem_Abdellatif) March 27, 2012 I spent about a month and a half in Cairo back in the summer of 2010—not a terribly long stay, but enough time to become well-acquainted with Cairo’s environmental struggles. In what seems to me to be a very conservative figure, the CIA World Factbook estimates that 10 million people call Cairo home. If the city’s sprawling suburbs are taken in to account, however, the number is probably closer to 20 million. With 14 million cars in the city, it doesn’t take much imagination to conceive of the devastating toll these numbers take on the environment. Here, for instance, is a picture I took in 2010. Can you spot the pyramids?
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Keeping Egypt Clean
The Midlands and the South West of England are at risk of slipping into drought status, the Environment Agency warns.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants Tuesday, but stopped short of imposing any restrictions on the nation’s existing coal-fired fleet. Read full article > >
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EPA imposes first greenhouse gas limits on new power plants
Ontario's top court has legalized brothels, saying Canadian prostitution laws unfairly discriminate against prostitutes and their ability to work in safe environments.
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Canadian province legalizes brothels
The environment secretary writes to the UK government voicing concerns over the removal of an emergency towing vessel from Stornoway.
Every few years, stormy surf grinds away at Ocean Beach, a 3.5-mile stretch on the Pacific Ocean, pulling huge amounts of sand out to sea.
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San Francisco Fights Erosion as Coastal Cities Watch Closely
While government requirements for recycling remain limited, pressure from environmentally minded consumers and the cost advantages of reusing materials are bringing change.
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Companies Pick Up Used Packaging, and Recycling’s Cost
EPA will give oil companies more time to capture emissions from wells
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012San Francisco Fights Erosion as Coastal Cities Watch Closely
Saturday, March 24th, 2012
