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With their low-carbon profile, rich natural assets and promising policy initiatives, the world’s 48 least developed countries are well-positioned to jump start the transition to a green economy, according to a new UN report released today at the start of the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV).

UN Report: Why a Green Economy Matters for the Least Developed CountriesUN Report: Why a Green Economy Matters for the Least Developed CountriesWith their low-carbon profile, rich natural assets and promising policy initiatives, the world’s 48 least developed countries are well-positioned to jump start the transition to a green economy, according to a new UN report released today at the start of the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV).

Close to 80 percent of the world‘s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if backed by the right enabling public policies a new report shows.

The technical potential of

renewable energy technologies

exceeds the current global energy demand

by a considerable amount.

 

Close to 80 percent of the world‘s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if backed by the right enabling public policies a new report shows.  

 

Rising global temperatures will not significantly affect wind energy production in the United States concludes a new study.

Climate models predict stable wind energy patterns over the United States: New research shows wind patterns across the United States are not expected to change significantly over the next 50 years, making wind power a distinct possibility in some areas of the country.

A conservation area covering a mere 23.5 hectares has become a refuge for a unique and endangered animal species in the northeastern Peruvian region of San Martín: the Andean titi monkey.

 

Precipitation and predators key in ecological regulation of infectious disease: Researchers show that just three ecological factors--rainfall, predator diversity and island size and shape--can account for nearly all the differences in infection rates between the eight Channel Islands off the southern coast of California.

Mouse populations on the Channel Islands harbor high levels of a hantavirus: Sin Nombre virus.

Thousands of hectares of tropical dry forests in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais are now safe from logging, thanks to scientists affiliated with a project called Tropi-Dry.

Dry forest islands in a sea of Brazilian savanna, called cerrado, unique to Brazil.

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)  now provides the online search tool, "Navigator," in 20 official EU languages.

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)  now provides the online search tool, "Navigator," in 20 official EU languages. The Navigator is an interactive tool that helps manufacturers, importers, downstream users, distributors of chemical substances and producers or importers of articles to work out their obligations under REACH.

Under REACH, each actor in the supply chain has specific obligations.

Small-scale farmers can double food production in a decade by using simple ecological methods, according to the findings of a new United Nations study released on March 8, 2011, which calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a poverty alleviation measure.

"If food prices are not kept under control and populations are unable to feed themselves...we will have increasingly states being disrupted and failed states developing," De Schutter said.

The Research Support Facility (RSF), the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory's newest sustainable green building is a model for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

The Research Support Facility (RSF) is NREL's newest sustainable green building and was completed in June 2010.

The Research Support Facility (RSF), the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory's newest sustainable green building is a model for energ

For the first time, scientists have mapped the genome--the genetic code--of orangutans. This new tool may be used to support efforts to maintain the genetic diversity of captive and wild orangutans.

For the first time, scientists have mapped the genome--the genetic code--of orangutans. This new tool may be used to support efforts to maintain the genetic diversity of captive and wild orangutans. The new map of the orangutan genome may also be used to help improve our understanding of the evolution of primates, including humans.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized six landfill methane capture projects and partners for their innovation in generating renewable energy and protecting the climate and people’s health by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

 

Conservation paleobiologists--scientists who use the fossil record to understand the evolutionary and ecological responses of present-day species to changes in their environment--are putting the dead to work.

This map shows how North America appeared just over 12,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene, repeated glaciations occurred.

The EPA on January 13, 2011 announced that it will use its authority under the Clean Water Act to halt the proposed disposal of mining waste in streams at the Mingo-Logan Coal Company’s Spruce No. 1 coal mine.

 

January is National Radon Action Month and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and eight other federal agencies are announcing a new effort to strengthen the fight against radon exposure.

January is National Radon Action Month and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and eight other federal agencies are announcing a new effort to strengthen the fight against radon exposure. Radon exposure is the leading cause of non-smoking lung cancer. Senior leaders from the federal agencies are pledging to work together to create a national risk reduction plan for radon that will help save lives and create safer, healthier homes for all Americans.

Clues to future climate may be found in the way an ordinary drinking glass shatters. Results of a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences find that microscopic particles of dust can break apart in patterns that are similar to the fragment patterns of broken glass and other brittle objects.

The comparative sizes of dust particles in the atmosphere. The photo is a satellite image of a 1992 dust storm over the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of NCAR

Clues to future climate may be found in the way an ordinary drinking glass shatters.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is cutting emissions from gold ore processing and production facilities with a new standard that will reduce annual mercury emissions by more than 75 percent from 2007 levels.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is cutting emissions from gold ore processing and production facilities with a new standard that will reduce annual mercury emissions by more than 75 percent from 2007 levels.  This action is one of several steps EPA is taking to reduce mercury levels in our environment, which can damage children’s developing brains and nervous systems even before they are born.

 

New UNFCCC decision on REDD+, part of a comprehensive set of decisions to move forward on addressing climate change, represents a positive step forward in conserving and sustainably managing the world's forests to combat climate change.

Immediate action on REDD+ can catalyze accelerated national development in addition to curbing carbon emissions. Healthy forests sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring clean water, productive soils, and protection against floods and droughts- helping countries adapt to climate change, food security and generally improving the wellbeing of people.

As global populations increase, a growing demand for food can be achieved through sustainable production and use of fertilizers which if not managed correctly will impact food security as well as water quality and availability, fisheries and biodiversity, says a report.

 

The SEED Awards recognize inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs whose businesses can help meet sustainable development challenges.

 

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