Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) is counting on revenue from oil and gas drilling off the mid-Atlantic coast, regions just unlocked by President Obama’s announcement, to help fix his state’s roads and fill budget shortfalls. Virginia expects up to $8 billion worth of investment in the state as oil and natural gas companies ramp up to begin exploratory drilling as early as next year. However, doubts remain about the future of the revenue-splitting proposal. Source: Clean Skies News
Mexico City launches a new cycle rental scheme as an antidote to clogged streets and high levels of air pollution. City leaders are also introducing dedicated bike paths to encourage cycling. Source: Reuters
The race to develop America’s promising reserves of shale gas has triggered a debate over how the drilling process will affect drinking water supplies. Source: Reuters
It looks like plastic, and feels like plastic, but is not the regular plastic that environmentalists love to hate. Cereplast products are made from organic resins and rely on far fewer petrochemicals than the real thing – what’s more, they are mostly biodegradable. Source: AFP
Cairo’s overflowing public garbage has long been a plague on the Egyptian capital, but one association helped by locals is trying to see waste as wealth. Guided by a US engineer, they are working to process the rubbish to create ‘biogas’, that is fuel for cooking and heating homes, as well as using solar energy for hot water. Source: AFP
The US, which depends on coal for more than half of its electricity production, is looking to so-called “clean coal technologies” to lower coal’s carbon footprint. But environmentalists and people living in the areas where coal is mined say that the fuel’s ecological and environmental impacts are devastating and will continue – regardless of whether the CO2 emitted by coal-fueled power stations is captured and stored. Source: AFP
On Saturday October 24th, people were out on the streets for the International Day of Climate Action. At events all over the country, from St. Louis’ iconic arch to a coal plant in Chicago, thousands of activists joined in warning of rising sea levels, demonstrated how coal is bad for communities as well as climate, and marched for climate leadership at iconic structures and government buildings. Source: Greenpeace
World Environment Day on 5th June sees the worldwide release of a movie billed by producers as “the greatest green event ever”, a high-budget documentary to save the planet from Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
In Cambodia, more than 300 villagers have filed complaints with the Kampot provincial governor to stop a private company from developing a coastal fishing area.
