It's Friday again and the Linkfest is here. We have a week of environmental news developments to catch up with so let's start with the good news first. Good News
- Today is National Bike to Work Day in the US, so be sure to observe the occasion.
- Prius sales pass 1 million vehicles worldwide.
- Public transit ridership is surging across the US, with gas reaching $3.50 a gallon. I wonder what would happen if your gas prices ever came close to Europe's.
- A new report concludes that wind has the potential to provide 20% of US energy by 2030 if appropriate measures are taken, without relying on technology breakthroughs.
- eBay unveils its new solar roofs, San Jose's largest solar installation, covering 60,000 square feet of rooftops with solar panels. The panels are able to produce 650Kw of power and will supply 18% of the campus' power.
Bad News
- Climate change is already having a heavy tow on global ecology, according to an extensive study which blames 90% of shifts in wildlife behavior and populations on man-made global warming and 95% of environmental changes such as melting permafrosts and retreating glaciers.
- World species are dying out like flies, according to the Reuters headline and WWF. World biodiversity has declined by almost one third in the past 35 years due mainly to habitat loss and the wildlife trade
- And to make matters worse, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are the highest of the past 650,000 years, at 387 ppm. You might recall experts determined "relatively safe" concentrations of 350 ppm.
- After months of procrastination, the US Interior Department has proclaimed the status of polar bears as "threatened". However, the ruling is accompanied by an exemption to the Endangered Species Act that excludes protection from global warming pollution, the single biggest threat to the species. Basically, Arctic oil drilling is the only thing well protected by this ruling.
- Brazilian environment minister and long-term Amazon advocate Marina Silva resigns, grieving environmental groups. "Brazil is losing the only voice in the government that spoke out for the environment", according to Brazilian Greenpeace.
Cherrypicking from the interwebs
- The new cheesy acronym: YAWN -- Young and Wealthy but Normal. Favorite quote: "Second-hand stores are to Yawns what the Gap was to Yuppies".
- Grist's new series: "Smart(ish) cities", on unexpected urban growth.
- McCain outlines a climate change plan: blah blah blah cap-and-trade blah blah India and China blah blah blah blah nuclear power.
- A tribe of reindeer herders appeal against climate change.
And that's it for today's Linkfest. Next week we are back with more. See you then!
