Blogs at Worldwatch
Each blog features regular contributions from Worldwatch researchers and outside experts on the global issues that the Institute tracks, from climate change negotiations to how to feed a growing population. We invite you to engage our bloggers in dialogue on the latest news and developments in their respective research areas.
|
This Land is Our Land, Your Land is Our LandMost of us are familiar with the term “carbon footprint,” which denotes the amount of carbon emitted by an activity or event. Personal carbon footprint calculators abound, and private and public enterprises continually seek new ways to lower their carbon footprints, thus demonstrating their commitments to a greener future. The concept of a carbon footprint [...] |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Having Trouble Reaching Rural Solar Customers? Just Text Them.Across the developing world, retailers are selling solar-powered portable lamps that can meet basic lighting demands, reduce dependence on expensive and inefficient kerosene lighting, and contribute to important development goals like energy access and improved literacy rates. Solar portable lamp companies must find innovative ways of restoring consumer confidence in... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Dismantling the Global Debt-based Ponzi SchemeRecently, Food & Water Watch organized a discussion on alternatives to pay-to-pollute, market-based environmental regimes and the spread of the market paradigm throughout our society. Monopoly 2.0 / EcoLabs / Creative Commons / Flickr (Click for a larger image) Lorenzo Fioramonti, author of Gross Domestic Problem, started the discussion by strongly criticizing the GDP, the... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Letting Nature Take Its Course?Happy Earth Day! I thought it worth re-posting this op-ed from IPS (Inter Press Service) that I wrote as it captures the key themes of the State of the World 2013. Letting Nature Take Its Course? Is sustainability still possible? Yes. Is it still probable? No. With bold action today, tomorrow, and in years to [...] |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Having Trouble Reaching Rural Solar Customers? Just Text Them.Across the developing world, retailers are selling solar-powered portable lamps that can meet basic lighting demands, reduce dependence on expensive and inefficient kerosene lighting, and contribute to important development goals like energy access and improved literacy rates. |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Curtailed Wind to Curtail Coal Heating in China: A Double Advantage?In March 2013, the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China issued a Notice to urge development of wind-to-heat projects in northern China. This practice aims to reduce the waste of wind power and cut emissions from the coal-fired central heating... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Transforming Transatlantic Power SystemsGermany has seen success with solar power, despite having about the equivalent solar resource of Alaska. The U.S. contains vast solar resources, but could use more federal policies to utilize this renewable resource. Trans-Atlantic collaboration could boost the transition to sustainable energy systems on both sides of the Pond. (Source: German-American Chambers of Commerce)... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Can China’s Emergence as a Carbon Market Boost the Certified Emissions Reduction Price?In the first two months of 2013, there were only 58 requests (according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC) to register Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in the world, compared to 280 requests in January and February 2012. CDM is one of the... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Global Food Prices Continue to RiseBy Sophie Wenzlau |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Aquaponics: An Interview with Sweet Water Organics’ Matt RayNourishing the Planet’s Kimberlee Davies spoke recently with Matt Ray, the principal farmer for Sweet Water Organics, an aquaponics training organization in Milwaukee, about his experience in the field of aquaponics. |
|
|
|
||
|
|
The Looming Threat of Water ScarcityBy Supriya Kumar |
|
|
|
||
|
|
World Water Day Infographic: Why Plumbers are HeroesCheck out this information-packed graphic about water scarcity, the dangers of unsafe water, and country-specific water usage. The infographic was created by the training firm ableskills on the occasion of World Water Day. |
|
|
|
||
|
|
This Land is Our Land, Your Land is Our LandMost of us are familiar with the term “carbon footprint,” which denotes the amount of carbon emitted by an activity or event. Personal carbon footprint calculators abound, and private and public enterprises continually seek new ways to lower their carbon footprints, thus demonstrating their commitments to a greener future. The concept of a carbon footprint has led to a number of other... |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Dismantling the Global Debt-based Ponzi SchemeRecently, Food & Water Watch organized a discussion on alternatives to pay-to-pollute, market-based environmental regimes and the spread of the market paradigm throughout our society. |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Letting Nature Take Its Course?Happy Earth Day! I thought it worth re-posting this op-ed from IPS (Inter Press Service) that I wrote as it captures the key themes of the State of the World 2013. |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
Launching State of the World 2013The buzzwords at last Tuesday’s book launch of State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? were those that you would expect from a room full of environmentalists worried about the planet’s future: climate change, sustainability, planetary boundaries. While it may seem that these words are used almost nonchalantly by many of the... |
 |
|
|
||