Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Corporate water risk tools
The term ‘water risk’ is new enough to draw a blank on Wikipedia search, though the concept of measuring and managing water-related risks dates back to antiquity. Egyptian priests in Pharaonic times used nilometers to predict flood or drought from the rise and fall of the Nile. Now, the recent rise of water risk tool launches suggest that the business community is waking up to the physical, reputational, regulatory, and litigation risks around freshwater availability in a warming world.
Has London 2012 been greenwashed?
The Olympic Games showcase exceptional athletic prowess under pressure. But to the chagrin of London 2012 organisers, a different sort of pressure has emerged: a clash between Olympic-style environmentalism and the corporate commercialism of the Games.
The Olympics have long been on a collision course between sustainability and hyper-commercialism. In a way, it’s green versus green, the green ideas of environmentalism versus the greenbacks of corporate capitalism. Right now, Olympics bigwigs are leaning toward greenbacks, placing us on a path toward greenwashing rather than real-deal sustainability. But there’s still time to shift course by terminating sponsorship deals with Dow Chemical and BP.
Missed renewable energy targets will cost UK dear, warns study
The UK is set to miss its renewable energy targets by a wide margin – a failure that could result in billions of pounds being added to energy bills as we rely increasingly on imported gas, according to a new study.
Only 3% of the UK’s energy currently comes from renewable sources, such as sun and wind, compared with a European average of 12%, despite a series of high-profile government policies aimed at increasing that percentage.
Britain is committed to producing 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 – but campaigners say that the government currently has no prospect of achieving that target.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
By: Alternative World Water Forum
"Final civil society declaration"
"Water is not a commodity; it is a common good that belongs to Humanity and all life"
All people, irrespective of where they live, are made of water, and depend on water to remain alive. In order to guarantee life, human dignity, the evolution of our civilisations and to maintain the precarious balance of ecosystems for generations to come, we wish to take collective responsibility for this unique, fragile, limited natural element that is the first symbol of life on earth.
Gathered together in Marseilles on the 9th and 10th of March 2012, in the framework of the Alternative World Water Forum, in the Citizen’s Days for “People, Planet and Water”, we shared our knowledge and experience, our concerns and our hopes, our proposals and our struggles to ensure that water, a vital non-commercial common good becomes a priority consideration for all.
"Final civil society declaration"
"Water is not a commodity; it is a common good that belongs to Humanity and all life"
All people, irrespective of where they live, are made of water, and depend on water to remain alive. In order to guarantee life, human dignity, the evolution of our civilisations and to maintain the precarious balance of ecosystems for generations to come, we wish to take collective responsibility for this unique, fragile, limited natural element that is the first symbol of life on earth.
Gathered together in Marseilles on the 9th and 10th of March 2012, in the framework of the Alternative World Water Forum, in the Citizen’s Days for “People, Planet and Water”, we shared our knowledge and experience, our concerns and our hopes, our proposals and our struggles to ensure that water, a vital non-commercial common good becomes a priority consideration for all.
Global campaign calling forth the universal acceptance of Rights of Nature
by Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature
The Rights of Mother Earth campaign aims to create a grassroots movement to bring about a global recognition and acceptance of Rights of Nature. An essential step for achieving this is to introduce a system of jurisprudence that sees and treats Nature as a fundamental, rights bearing entity and not as mere property to be exploited at will.
The Rights of Mother Earth campaign aims to create a grassroots movement to bring about a global recognition and acceptance of Rights of Nature. An essential step for achieving this is to introduce a system of jurisprudence that sees and treats Nature as a fundamental, rights bearing entity and not as mere property to be exploited at will.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Greening the Human Development Index: Accounting for all pillars of sustainability
Chuluun Togtokh, Science Secretary of Sustainable Development Institute at National University of Mongolia, Science Director of Green Development Policy Institute and Vice-Chair of Mongolia's Global Change National Committee
Economic growth is an engine for development. However, there are two key issues from sustainability point of view that need to be addressed; that of the equal distribution of wealth among populations within countries, and whether economic growth itself can be green. In order to address these issues, I am proposing a new sustainability index composed of wealth, equity and environment.
Economic growth is an engine for development. However, there are two key issues from sustainability point of view that need to be addressed; that of the equal distribution of wealth among populations within countries, and whether economic growth itself can be green. In order to address these issues, I am proposing a new sustainability index composed of wealth, equity and environment.
Earth Walk 2012
We have almost 10 weeks remaining for the one of biggest and
one of the most important summits in history of the United Nations. That's
Rio+20 - which is our summit, the summit to decide the the pathway of the
planet. This is the summit which will put the foundation of the future we want
to see and live.
