Green Options

Many thousands of Kenyans are enduring a severe drought, caused in part, it is believed, by cutting down ancient forests.

Oceans cover close to 70 percent of the earth’s surface. They divide continents and peoples. They are dangerous, swallowing unwary explorers in their great depths. But the danger of the unknown ocean hasn’t stopped sailors in all ages from exploring the treasures that await across the vast blue expanse. With compass in hand and constellation above as guides, brave seamen would embark, never knowing if they would return alive.

For the first time, the World Trade Organization (WTO) teamed up with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to release a report outlining the relationship between trade and climate change. The report describes the multitude of ways in which climate change and trade intersect.

Today is UN World Environment Day and they are running a unique campaign on Twitter. I always like to see non profits use social media effectively and this is a great campaign being driven by the always active green group on Twitter. We previewed this campaign in the middle of May and now the day is here to help them reach their goal of 10,000 followers.

A new report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) predicts that alternative energy technologies will create millions of new jobs over the next twenty years, including 11 million in the biofuels industry alone.

The UNEP has recommended that fossil fuel subsidies should be scrapped, and that in doing so could not only decrease the amount of greenhouse gases, but also give a “not insignificant boost to the global economy.”

[UPDATE: After posting this, I was introduced to a wonderful piece on the same topic written by A Siegel for his blog Energy Smart. Please be sure to check out his post, too--it contains lots of great information.]

We’ve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We’ve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that’s all we’ve got

Okay, so maybe the above David Bowie lyric was about alien invasion and the impending end of humankind as we know it, but it’s been playing on a loop inside my head ever since Wednesday, when we “celebrated” the fifth anniversary of our war in Iraq.

Five years. My brain definitely hurts a lot.

While the current administration will have us believe that the surge is working and that stability has returned to once volatile regions, the truth is probably closer to a “whack-a-mole” strategy that shows no signs of leading to a peaceful resolution for this ongoing nightmare.

A majority of Americans now say this war was a mistake, and we continue to hear reports—be it from the peripheries—of civilian lives lost, soldiers’ lives lost, soldiers injured, vets suffering from PTSD, tax dollars spent, etc. Still, perhaps one of the greatest casualties of this war gets very little mention.

I’m speaking, of course, of the environment.