Group items tagged

Rising incomes and high demand for electric and electronic equipment (EEE) in East and South-East Asian countries have resulted in e-waste generation increasing by two thirds during 2010-2015, says a new study published by the United Nations University (UNU). The average increase in e-waste across 12 countries analysed - Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - was over 60 per cent during the five-year period totalling 12.3 million tonnes.

According to a recent United Nations University report, e-waste generation is growing fast in both total volume and per capita measures throughout East and South-East Asia between 2010 and 2015. Driven by rising incomes and high demand for new gadgets and appliances, the average increase in e-waste across all 12 countries and areas analysed was 63% in the five years ending in 2015 and totalled 12.3 million tonnes. China's more than doubled to 6.7 million tonnes, up 107%.

A hedge fund manager has downgraded Lumber Liquidators' stock over the company's alleged links to illegal logging in the Russian Far East Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1202-lumber-liquidators-stock-illegal-logging.html#0g9VRO8vX0tA1BP8.99

The governments of the East African Community hoping to ban imports of secondhand clothes. The logic is that by stopping the trade of used garments, the apparel industry will be revitalized, create jobs and exports, and bolster their economies. What impact would this ban have on the donating Western countries? If we could no longer offload our unwanted discarded clothing onto the poor, what would we do with those clothes?

Bordering Myanmar on the southeast and the Indian states of Tripura on the north and Mizoram on the east, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is one of these areas. Characterized by semi-evergreen forest that is considered part of the highly endangered Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, CHT is a refuge for at least 26 globally threatened species, making it a critical conservation priority. But conservation efforts in the region have historically been challenged by the very remoteness and political instability that have helped protect it from deforestation seen in other parts of Bangladesh. That protection is now disappearing with the influx of settlers from other regions who are increasingly clearing forests for agriculture, logging trees for timber and firewood, and hunting wildlife. In other words, time is running out for Bangladesh's last rainforest and its traditional tribes.

Coral reefs around the globe already are facing unprecedented damage due to warmer and more acidic oceans. If carbon dioxide emissions continue to fuel the rise in temperature, the widespread loss of coral reefs by 2050 could have devastating consequences, according to new research published in the scientific journal PLOS. "Some of the places that have the most to lose... are also among the biggest carbon emitters," Dr Pendleton said. "They really have it in their power to bring down the levels of carbon" they emit into the atmosphere. The researchers acknowledged that further study is needed to more fully understand what is happening to coral reefs around the globe and how that will affect humans.

According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, before 1900, the cheetah population numbered over 100,000 and its range included the majority of Africa through the Middle East and into Asia. Since then, however, the animal has gone extinct in more than 20 countries, with a mere 7,100 animals remaining globally

A changing climate means less rain and lower water supplies in regions where many people live and much of the planet's food is produced: the mid-latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, including the U.S. Southwest, southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, southern Africa, Australia and Chile. As WRI-Aqueduct's future scenarios for water supply show, diminished water supplies will be apparent in these areas by 2020 - less than four years away - and are expected to grow worse by 2030 and 2040.

Dell has helped developed an e-waste model for developing countries and opened East Africa's first large-scale e-waste recycling hub.

British Airways and biofuel producer Solena Fuels selected a site east of London for building the world's first plant for converting landfill waste to aviation biofuel. British Airways will purchase 50,000 metric tons of jet fuel per year from the facility when it comes online in 2017.

One year after Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, 20 major U.S. brands including Starbucks, Unilever and Mars, Inc. are calling for the White House to follow through on climate change preparedness efforts outlined in the Climate Action Plan announced by President Obama on June 25.

Amazon Web Services plans a wind farm in North Carolina that will help power Amazon data centers. The wind farm is expected to generate 670,000 megawatt-hours per year after it comes online at the end of 2016. Amazon's goal is to eventually power its operations using 100% renewable energy

Just as it was being called out for using the dirtiest mix of energy among Internet giants, Amazon Web Services  announced this week a deal to build an 80-megawatt solar farm to power its east coast data centers. It will invest $150 million towards construction of a solar farm in Virginia where the majority of its data centers exist - and where the incumbent utility Dominion Virginia relies on fossil fuels for all but 2 percent of its generation. 

Forest fires in Indonesia have resulted in a smoky haze that is blanketing the region and affecting neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.

Lawmakers in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont aim to introduce carbon pricing legislation, including carbon taxes and market-based carbon cap-and-trade measures,

As sea levels rise, high-tide flooding is becoming a growing problem in many parts of the globe, including cities on the U.S. East Coast. Now, new research shows that as these waters recede, they carry toxic pollutants and excess nutrients into rivers, bays, and oceans

Salesforce is now sourcing 100% renewable energy for two of its office towers - Salesforce East and Salesforce West - in San Francisco through the San Francisco Public Utility Commission's CleanPowerSF program. Salesforce is CleanPowerSF's largest commercial customer to date.