Harvested News

U Thein Sein laid out a three-point framework that he said could stem the impact of climate change on the region. The plan begins by bolstering the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre (AHA), which he described as unable to adequately respond to natural disasters in its current form. The AHA headquarters in Jakarta opened in 2012 but it has relatively little capacity despite being in a…

According to David Wasdell, who leads on feedback dynamics in coupled complex global systems for the European Commission's Global System Dynamics and Policy (GSDP) network, "Every word and line of the text previously submitted by the scientific community was examined and amended until it could be endorsed unanimously by the political representatives." In a detailed paper critiquing the WG1 Summary for Policymakers, Wasdell revealed that…

Labour supported Arthur Scargill's determination to keep pits open. The party prevented Tony Blair from building any nuclear power stations, instead tipping subsidies into wind, which merely encouraged Britain's dependency on coal, now at 38% and rising. Global coal consumption is at its highest level since 2006, and mocks all attempts at emissions discipline. The past two decades of a "rush to renewables" remains a…

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III switched on the plant at an opening ceremony in San Carlos City on Thursday. In its first phase, the San Carlos City project features 13 MW of power capacity, which will be expanded to 22 MW in the coming months. Once complete, the plant will generate enough electricity in a year to power the equivalent of 13,000 local homes. Conergy…

Head of the ministry’s research and development agency, Achmad Poernomo, said the symposium was held in order to find the right way forward on the matter. Achmad added that the government is in the middle of preparing legal documentation so it can produce policies on blue carbon. “We need to be able to produce rules and regulations that will make sure we gain maximum benefit…

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/602622/4-major-rivers-to-undergo-major-watershed-rehab Source:  Philippine Daily Inquirer | 16 May 2014

Professor Judith Curry, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said it had the potential to do as much damage to climate science as the ‘climategate’ scandal, where the University of East Anglia was accused of manipulating data and attempting to suppress critics. In the past year the journal has also been criticised for promoting a paper which suggested that 97 per cent of climate change…

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/104158/asean-one-community-urged-on-climate-change Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer | 12 May 2014

It is the aim of the city's plan to treat solid waste in moving towards fulfilling the vision toward 2050, recently signed by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai. The new solid-waste treatment plants will be located in suburban areas, including Gia Lam District's Phu Dong Commune, Phu Xuyen District's Chau Can Commune, Thanh Oai District's Cao Duong Commune and My Duc District's My Thanh…

Eulita Dumpay, a 57-year-old resident of Dagami, shared her family’s struggle to make both ends meet when their only source of livelihood was destroyed. She worked as a farm laborer while her husband Paquito, 58, tended coconut trees owned by a landlord. She said work became scarce after the typhoon because even the landlords suffered great losses. “All the hard work and sacrifices were blown…

"The difference from a farmer who's not certified is that I can only use authorised substances and I also have to leave at least two weeks between the last treatment and the harvest," Tran says, as he inspects his plot. To meet demand from the emerging middle classes and the new big retailers, agriculture is starting to adopt minimal standards for environmental protection and public…

Amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders, are suffering greatly from climate change and other outside impacts. Invasive species, such as non-native fish being introduced in the American West's mountainous areas, are further impacting native amphibians. "Amphibians predominantly use mountainous areas' small, shallow ponds to breed and feed," said Maureen Ryan, one of the researchers, in a news release. "These kinds of wetlands are at the…

So what did they find? It turns out that butterflies emerged up to three weeks earlier and reached peak numbers sooner in southern Ohio than mid- and northern Ohio. Yet warmer temperatures aren't always a good thing. The scientists estimated heat from urbanization, calculating the percent of impervious surface within 1 kilometer of each monitoring site. When the heat was added to the already warmer…

As a result, the Government’s policy to increase renewable energy source by 8 per cent of total commercial power output by 2020 and 11 per cent by 2050. HCMC and provinces nationwide have cooperated with businesses to subsidise consumers with VND1 million a solar water heater. The country has around 42,000 heaters sold in the market every year with annual growth rate of 20 percent…

Sano, who following COP19 has become the unofficial face of the movement, describes it as "a spontaneous global phenomenon". "Since my original fast it has snowballed into #fastfortheclimate. The social media campaign is now moving into a new era of more organised collaboration among the participating organisations. This month we launched an online platform." Sano recognises that the campaign has yet to see concrete results…

The research indicates that the world is indeed getting warmer, but historical records show that it hasn't happened everywhere at the same rate. And that new information even took scientists by surprise. "Global warming was not as understood as we thought," said Zhaohua Wu, an assistant professor of meteorology at FSU. Wu led a team of climate researchers including Fei Ji, a visiting doctoral student…

Through both projects, PUB will conduct a test-bedding study on the cost-effectiveness, potential benefits and scale limitations of investing in solar power infrastructure. PUB said the 1 Megawatt peak (MWp) rooftop solar panel at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks will harness solar energy for the plant’s water treatment operations, while Tengeh Reservoir will house floating solar systems which double up as an energy catchment to channel…

The other eight cities are Johor Bahru on the straits of Johor separating Malaysia and Singapore; Tetouan in northern Morocco; Uberlandia in the state of Minas Gerais of Brazil; Hunchun in Jilin province of northeast China; Onitsha on the eastern bank of Niger River in Nigeria; Nampula, the third-largest city in Mozambique; Malmo, part of the Oresund region in the south of Sweden; and Santa…

“We hope the forest will help surpress the negative impacts of global warming in Batam, reduce air pollution and tackle the ground water problem,” Bank Mandiri president director Budi G. Sadikin said, adding the project was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), after the launch of the forest on Thursday. President director of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, Elvyn G Masassya, said the forest could serve…

Comos executive chairman Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said membership is required before one can rent the cars – either the Renault Zoe or the Nissan Leaf. “We will start accepting membership in July,” he said at the soft launch of the programme here yesterday by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. “We are still finalising the rental rate…