Those gathering at the UN in New York on Wednesday for the biennial Investor Summit on Climate Risk are facing a new world and a new reality. The Paris global climate agreement, inked in December, has confirmed that every nation is now on an irreversible path to a low — perhaps even zero — carbon economy.
Month: January 2016
PFES and REDD+ in Vietnam – A two-pronged approach to forest conservation
HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam is no stranger to forest conservation payment schemes. Its national Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program offers incentives to communities who sustainably manage and protect their forests, by compensating them for their efforts. REDD+ is another performance-based scheme that aims to reward and compensate communities and governments for protecting forests and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Asia shivers, slips and slides in record low temperatures
Snow, sleet and icy winds across Asia caused deaths, flight cancellations and chaos over the weekend as areas used to basking in balmier climates struggled with record-low temperatures. Weather-related deaths were reported in Japan and Taiwan, with hundreds of flights cancelled across the region, tens of thousands of holidaymakers stranded in South Korea, and freezing conditions in sub-tropical Hong Kong causing mayhem on its tallest peak.
‘Citizen scientists’ use drones to map El Nino flooding
Forget about selfies. In California, residents are using smartphones and drones to document the coastline’s changing face. Starting this month, The Nature Conservancy is asking tech junkies to capture the flooding and coastal erosion that come with El Nino, a weather pattern that’s bringing California its wettest winter in years—and all in the name of science.
4 Foods That Age You Faster
Can what you eat determine how soon you succumb to wrinkles? Certain foods can do more that widen your waistline; they actually accelerate aging in your body. If you eat highly inflammatory foods on a regular basis, they can do real damage to your body’s regulatory functions, leading to disease, cellular degeneration and yes, wrinkles. Here are 4 foods to avoid that speed up aging on a cellular level.
The innovators: water mills a boon for green households
For entrepreneur Lauren Dickerson, water mills are an ancient form of renewable energy that can be brought into the 21st century. “As early as the year 1050 AD, there were an estimated 6,000 water mills in the UK. These water mills remained fundamentally important to the UK economy through [to] the end of the 19th century when they were overtaken by coal power as the dominant fuel source,” she says.
Concrete That Conducts Electricity Could Make Roads Safer During Winter
Outside the Peter Kiewit Institute in Omaha, there is a 200-square-foot slab of concrete that appears to be ordinary. Snowflakes begin to descend upon the Nebraskan city’s cold ground on a chilly afternoon.
Atlantic, Caribbean Storms Strengthen With Warming
Warming seas could produce more rainfall and far more destructive storm surges of water along the ocean shorelines in the next 50 to 100 years, said the study by U.S. scientists published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “It could affect the entire Atlantic coast,” said William Lau, a co-author and research associate at the University of Maryland’s Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center.
Bolivia’s Second Largest Lake Dries Up Because Of Global Warming
Not even local residents may recognize that the second largest lake in Bolivia used to flow where it did. In December 2015, Lake Poopó was officially declared as “dried up” because of global warming. Unfortunately, scientists say that recovery may no longer be possible.
The Namib Desert Beetle Can Teach Us A Thing Or Two About Dealing With Frost
In a study featured in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the Virginia Tech examined how insects known as Namib Desert beetles (Stenocara gracilipes), or fogstand beetles, are able to thrive in one of the hottest place on Earth by collecting airborne water.
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