By Gavin Hudson •
April 5, 2008
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In case you missed them the first time around, here are the top 10 international environmental headlines that made news in the blogosphere for the week of March 31 - April 6.
1. Asia — United Nations Climate Change Talks: “Kyoto II” climate talks open in Bangkok
“The first formal talks in the long process of drawing up a replacement for the Kyoto climate change pact opened in Thailand on Monday with appeals to a common human purpose to defeat global warming.
‘The world is waiting for a solution that is long-term and economically viable,’ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said in a video address to the 1,000 delegates from 190 nations gathered in Bangkok.
By Mark Seall •
March 3, 2008
You may recall the opening scene in the James Bond Film, Goldeneye, where our hero sprints along the top of a dizzyingly high dam, bungee jumps to the bottom, and subsequently wreaks havoc on the top secret scientific installation within.
Some readers may be aware that the dam forming the backdrop to this daredevil scene, instead of being deep inside the former Soviet Union, is in fact located in the Val Verzasca in Southern Switzerland. Retaining over 100 million cubic meters of water, and generating 105 megawatts of electricity, the Verzasca dam is one of 527 hydro electric power plants which together provide more than 57% of the electricity consumed within Switzerland.
In the interest of bringing EcoWorldly readers first hand and up-close reporting on renewable energy I had originally planned to visit the dam this weekend in order to relate my experiences of bungee jumping off a 720 foot high hydro-electric energy installation. However, in the interests of meeting editorial deadlines I ultimately had to settle with a video from YouTube. It’s worth watching just to appreciate the sheer scale of this installation.
