Archivo etiqueta «Medio ambiente»
By Juliet Eilperin, the national environmental reporter for The Washington Post and the author of Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks (THE WASHINGTON POST, 05/08/11):
Ten years ago, it seemed as if the nation was living a real-life version of “Jaws,” in which every beach harbored a potential threat. It started on July 6, when 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast had his arm bitten off by a bull shark off Pensacola, Fla. The incident was both horrifying and dramatic: Arbogast’s uncle pulled the shark to shore, allowing emergency medical personnel to get the boy’s arm out of the … Seguir leyendo
By Heidi Cullen, a scientist at Climate Central, a journalism and research organization and the author of The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes From a Climate-Changed Planet (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 20/07/11):
Enjoying the heat wave?
The answer is probably no if you live in Abilene, Tex., where temperatures have been at or above 100 degrees for 40 days this summer. It’s been a little cooler in Savannah, Ga., where the mercury hit 90 or more for 56 days in a row. Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma are coping with their driest nine-month … Seguir leyendo
By David Rothbard, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow and Craig Rucker, CFACT’s executive director (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 28/06/11):
As the United Nations wrapped up its recent climate conference in Bonn, talks organizer Christiana Figueres proclaimed that climate change is the “the most important negotiation the world has ever faced.” Faced with real problems – financial meltdowns, unemployment, war and genuine human suffering – the world no longer agrees.
It’s a good thing human productivity doesn’t threaten the global thermostat the way the U.N. would have us believe. If it did, we’d be cooked. Countries rich … Seguir leyendo
By Thomas E. Lovejoy, professor of science and public policy at George Mason University and biodiversity chairman at the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/06/11):
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are pushing 400 parts per million (p.p.m.) — up from the natural pre-industrial level of 280 p.p.m. Emissions for last year were the highest ever. Rather than drift along until a calamity galvanizes the world, and especially the United States, into precipitous action, the time to act is now.
The biology of the planet indicates we are already … Seguir leyendo
Por Achim Steiner, Director Ejecutivo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente, Helen Clark, ex Primera Ministra de Nueva Zelanda y Administradora del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, y Kandeh Yumkella, Director General de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo Industrial. Traducido del inglés por Carlos Manzano (Project Syndicate, 09/05/11):
La energía renovable desencadena opiniones profundamente polarizadas. Para algunos, es un trasto inútil y costoso; para otros, es la salvadora de la Humanidad, que promete liberarnos a nosotros (y nuestro medio ambiente) de la “locura” de los combustibles … Seguir leyendo
By Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and the author of Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming (THE WASHINGTON POST, 20/04/11):
As the world’s factory floor, China is not an obvious environmental leader. It is beleaguered by severe pollution and generates more carbon emissions than any other nation. Yet many have trumpeted it as an emerging “green giant” for its non-carbon-based energy production and its aggressive promises to cut carbon emissions. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman described China’s “green leap forward” as “the most important thing to happen” at the end … Seguir leyendo
Por Lara Lázaro Touza, investigadora, Real Instituto Elcano (REAL INSTITUTO ELCANO, 21/03/11):
Tema: Las ciudades emiten entre el 60% y el 80% de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) a nivel mundial, y consumen aproximadamente esos mismos porcentajes de la energía mundial. Además, tienen un gran potencial de mitigación. Estas características hacen que la ciudad sea un espacio clave en la consecución de futuros compromisos climáticos.
Resumen: Este ARI estudia las características clave de las ciudades como principales emisores de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) y consumidores de energía. Además, hace un repaso de las fuentes y … Seguir leyendo
By Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, an independent organization focused on U.S.-Cuba relations and U.S. relations with Latin America (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 14/03/11):
Cuba and its foreign partners will begin exploring for oil this year in the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling will take place as close as 50 miles from Florida and in sites deeper than BP’s Macondo well, the source of last year’s disaster. About 5 billion barrels of oil and 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie beneath the gulf in land belonging to Cuba, according to the U.S. … Seguir leyendo
By Edward Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard University and the author of, most recently, Triumph of the City (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 28/02/11):
If per capita carbon emissions in China and India rose to car-happy U.S. levels, global emissions would increase by 127%, according to the International Energy Agency. If their emissions stopped at the levels found in hyper-dense Hong Kong, world emissions would go up less than 24%. As the Asian economies prosper, the United States should hope that they embrace the skyscraper more than the car, and we should reform our own policies that subsidize sprawl.… Seguir leyendo
Por Achim Steiner, Secretario General Adjunto de las Naciones Unidas y Director Ejecutivo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente. Traducido del inglés por Carlos Manzano (Project Syndicate, 05/01/11):
En los dos últimos años ha habido muchos altibajos respecto de la consecución de un nuevo tratado para luchar contra el cambio climático. Algunos incluso se desesperan, en el sentido de que está desapareciendo rápidamente la posibilidad de adoptar medidas.
Pero la de abandonar no es una opción aceptable. La última ronda de negociaciones sobre el clima, celebrada el mes pasado en Cancún (México), volvió a colocar … Seguir leyendo
By Frank Wolak,director of the programme on energy and sustainable development and the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the department of economics at Stanford University and Richard Morse, director of research on coal markets at the programme on energy and sustainable development at Stanford University (THE GUARDIAN, 31/12/10):
In a mostly dismal year for US and international climate policy, China’s coal imports are skyrocketing to record levels. The environmental community and policy pundits have rushed to decry this new development, arguing that China’s expanding imports undermine global climate efforts, and even that countries should … Seguir leyendo
By Judah Cohen, the director of seasonal forecasting at an atmospheric and environmental research firm (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 26/12/10):
The earth continues to get warmer, yet it’s feeling a lot colder outside. Over the past few weeks, subzero temperatures in Poland claimed 66 lives; snow arrived in Seattle well before the winter solstice, and fell heavily enough in Minneapolis to make the roof of the Metrodome collapse; and last week blizzards closed Europe’s busiest airports in London and Frankfurt for days, stranding holiday travelers. The snow and record cold have invaded the Eastern United States, with more bad … Seguir leyendo
Por Verónica Lipperheide, doctora en Biología por la Universidad del País Vasco (ABC, 23/12/10):
El pasado 11 de diciembre la última cumbre sobre el cambio climático celebrada en Cancún concluyó con una serie de consensos relevantes para seguir haciendo frente a esa amenaza medioambiental. Así, el multilateralismo, casi siempre necesario ante un problema global, se ha visto reforzado porque los más de 190 países participantes, con la única excepción de Bolivia, han pactado continuar protegiendo el clima. En Cancún se han formalizado las propuestas voluntarias de mitigación de emisiones adelantadas en Copenhague tanto de países desarrollados como en vías … Seguir leyendo
Par Martin Adahl, ancien senior economist de la Banque centrale de Suède et directeur de la fondation Fores. Il est l’auteur de l’ouvrage “Un Bretton Woods pour le Climat” (LE MONDE, 17/12/10):
Il est désormais admis que le sommet de Cancun s’est soldé par un échec, le second après celui de Copenhague. Des années de négociations intenses ont abouti en des instruments de mise en œuvre très faibles. Une part importante des négociations s’est embourbée dans des discussions sémantiques et des maquignonnages.
Une des explications les plus répandues à ces échecs est l’absence de volonté politique. Les dirigeants mondiaux, … Seguir leyendo
Par Jorge E. Viñuales, professeur à l’Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement de Genève (LE TEMPS, 16/12/10):
Il est devenu un rituel, presque de bon ton, de critiquer la manière dont les négociations internationales sur le changement climatique sont conduites, de même que tout éventuel résultat auquel elles pourraient parvenir.
En lisant dimanche dernier les décisions adoptées par la 16e conférence des parties de la Convention sur le changement climatique (COP-16), laquelle agit également en tant que sixième réunion des parties du Protocole de Kyoto (CMP-6), puis les commentaires hâtifs parus dans divers médias, j’ai eu l’impression … Seguir leyendo