News

The U.S. Joint Forces Command published “The Joint Operating Environment” report which “seeks to provide the Joint Force an intellectual foundation upon which we will construct the concepts to guide our future force development.”
While many of the predictions may not be completely accurate, they are based on trends, challenges and current opportunities. The 74-page detailed report covers areas such as war in the 21st century, globalization, cyber, climate change and natural disasters to food, water and urbanization.

ENGINEERS: WATER CRISIS COULD THREATEN UK’S FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
The UK’s reliance on ‘virtual’ water, in imported food and other supplies, is exacerbating water shortages in other countries, engineering experts have said. They warn the UK’s future development could be threatened if we do not address the escalating global water crisis with urgency.

The Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE) has recently published a special issue on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). It provides insight into the life-cycle impacts of consumption on the environment. Studies from Switzerland, the UK and Australia discuss how income and lifestyle influence impacts of consumption. This work confirms earlier findings published in the JIE that 70 to 80 percent of environmental impacts are attributable to mobility, food, and the home (and related energy use).

A good positive approach by Lovelock, but perhaps he is right!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8594000/8594561.stm
At the age of 90, Prof Lovelock is resigned to his own fate and the fate of the planet. Whether the planet saves itself or not, he argues, all we can do is to "enjoy life while you can".

WWF-UK and The Co-operative have launched a report illustrating how the significant resources currently being poured into environmentally damaging tar sands by the big oil companies (estimated £254 billion) could instead be used to create green energy or to help meet global development goals. It explains how this money could instead be used to kick-start ambitious green energy plans in Europe, or to enable the world to hit half the UN’s Millennium Development Goals in the 49 least-developed countries, which would mean averting four million child deaths annually.

Worldwide, environmentalists are facing serious challenges in the fight against climate change skepticism. In response, Australian scientists struck back today with a report (pdf) that states simply, "Climate change is real."
http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/eiab/State-of-climate-2010.pdf

Britain's demand for imported goods is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions abroad than any other European country, according to a new study published in March. The report shows that 253m tonnes of carbon dioxide are released overseas each year in the manufacture of products bound for UK shores, the equivalent of 4.3 tonnes per person.

There are a number of barriers that can make it challenging for people and organisations to choose the right adaptation strategy in the face of climate change: market failures; behavioural barriers; adaptive capacity; and, natural capacity. These issues are explored in more detail in the first Defra Economics and Analysis Working Paper series, 'Adapting to climate change: Analysing the role of government'. This sets out how these barriers may affect adaptation decisions, provides a framework for considering the Government's role and identifies implications for policy design.

Ways to cut public spending and reduce support for a high carbon economy
The government could slash £12 billion off the national debt through a package of public spending cuts and the abolition of tax allowances that promote growth in carbon emissions, according to a new report published today by the think tank Green Alliance .
http://www.greenalliance.org.uk/uploadedFiles/Our_Work/Cutting%20back%20...
The report highlights that:

A leaked paper has set out the idea that palm oil plantations can be considered 'forests' – and the EU seems to be buying it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/18/palm-oil-biofuels-eu...