Business & Politics

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) – A coalition of western U.S. states and Canadian provinces eyeing a regional carbon credit trading market picked up an eastern member on Friday when Quebec said it would join.

Premier Jean Charest said Quebec had joined the Western Climate Initiative while he was meeting at Yale University with U.S. governors who have bypassed the Bush administration to set tough emissions limits on greenhouse gases.

Early last year, the WCI set a group-wide greenhouse gas emissions target of 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

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It is no secret that Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich don’t always see eye to eye. The former and current Speakers of the House note that while they have their differences, they agree that the US must take action to address climate change. They note the immediate need for cleaner forms of energy and public policies that promote them.

The ad is the second in a series which began with Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Pat Robertson. As with the first ad, this one features Speakers Pelosi and Gingrich sitting on the WE couch together (this time in front of the Capitol), discussing the need to come together across partisan lines to solve the climate crisis.

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On the eve of the annual general meeting in Paris of Areva, the world’s largest nuclear company, Greenpeace called on governments and investors who may be contemplating building a nuclear reactor to think again, warning that new French reactors can seriously harm their energy sector and their financial situation. Areva is one of three companies hoping to win a contract to build reactors in Ontario.

“Areva’s new ‘Evolutionary Pressurized Reactor’ is turning out to be the same old nuclear nightmare,” said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, an energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. “Despite promises of cheap, safe, reliable electricity, Areva’s customers are getting an economic and safety nightmare. For Ontarians accustomed to the cost over-runs, delays and unreliability of CANDU technology, it’s déjà vu all over again,” he continued.

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What to do with your old electronics? Lots of people are asking themselves that question. Gathering dust in your basement, these electronics have no good use. Well that was true until now.

Sony Canada is tacking action on this case. They are putting in place a recycling program for all its end-of-life products at no cost to the consumer. No purchase is necessary. Just send in your old equipment.

Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, is a big problem these days generating 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste worldwide every year. And that’s expected to triple by 2010.

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After five months at sea, the Nisshin Maru arrives back in Japan having taken 551 whales from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, around half the original target but still 551 whales too many. The annual assault on the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is over for another year with a final tally of 551 whales dying for the sake of fake and discredited research.

Although the number of whales taken was just over half the number the whalers had hoped, it is still over 100 whales more than the whalers took just three years ago.

The whale hunt was disrupted for 15 days during the height of the southern summer when our ship the Esperanza chased the Nisshin Maru across 4,300 miles of the whale sanctuary, shutting down the whole whaling operation for the entirety of the epic chase.
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Beijing announces new measures for heavy polluters to improve air quality for the Olympics.

To offset concerns about the health implications for competitors, Beijing is taking drastic action to ensure the Games don’t stumble at the last hurdle.

Reuters reporter Darcy Lambton has more.

The Save the Redwoods League is ninety years old this year, and to celebrate, it’s giving the San Francisco Botanical Gardens ten grand to help protect a group of redwoods in Golden Gate Park. “Less than five percent of the ancient redwood forest remains today,” explained Save the Redwoods Executive Director Ruskin Hartley. “In fact, there are trees on private land that are in danger of being logged, so the redwoods continue to be threatened.”

In honor of the league’s birthday, Ruskin also helped plant a new tree, one with some interesting roots. “We’re going to call the tree Lunares,” Ruskin said. “It’s the offspring of a tree that went to the moon on Apollo 14.”

Via:YourTV20

If you think that wars have no impact on the environment, maybe you should start reading. The making of weapons and military equipment creates a huge amount CO2 gas with are the main cause of global warming.

This video from Onion News Network laughs at the war in Irak while suggesting ways to make this war more eco-friendly.