UK Government Calls for Food Labels to Show Carbon Footprint

Environmental Leader
Jan. 7, 2010

Supermarket food in the UK will be labeled to show its carbon footprint, country of origin and animal welfare standards as part of the government’s new food strategy for the next 20 years, reports the Telegraph. The voluntary “green” food labels will show how much carbon was produced in the manufacture and transportation of food, according to the article.

Companies such as Tesco, PepsiCo and other leading brands already display a “carbon reduction label” on certain products showing the amount of carbon dioxide produced in grams in growing the food, packaging and transportation, reports the Telegraph.

Now the UK government wants other brands to consider measuring the carbon footprint of goods along with including country of origin and compliance to animal welfare standards on the labels, reports the Telegraph.

But environmental groups said in the article that the government needs legislation rather than a voluntary labeling scheme to really transform food and farming.

A government-supported body, the Carbon Trust, is currently working with the food industry, including big brands like Boots and Innocent, to help manufacturers determine and display the carbon footprint of different items.

Quaker Oats and Quaker Simple, part of PepsiCo, was the first cereal brand to carry the Carbon Trust Carbon Reduction Label, according to Carbon Trust.

The government is also asking all retailers to join the Pigmeat Labeling Code of Practice, due to be published next month, which will show where the animals were born, reared and processed, reports the Telegraph.

Critics believe carbon labeling will do little to fight climate change unless more low carbon products become available, according to the article.

Other countries including Sweden also call for labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods, which is expected to cut the nation’s emissions from food production by 20 to 50 percent.

In Japan, about 30 companies said they would voluntarily start carrying carbon footprint labels on food packaging and other products beginning in April 2009. This was followed by Australia’s announcement to join the UK in using the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label.

82% of Firms Plan to Boost Green Marketing Spending

click to enlarge

Environmental Leader
January 7, 2010

Businesses increasingly are finding distinct additional marketing and advertising advantages in green messages, according to a new survey.

In fact, 82 percent of survey respondents said they planned to use more green messaging in their marketing, according to the report, “Green Marketing: What Works & What Doesn’t – A Marketing Study of Practitioners.”

More than 370 marketing and advertising executives responded to the survey, which was sponsored by Environmental Leader and marketing trade publications including MarketingCharts, MarketingVOX and MediaBuyerPlanner.

About 74 percent of respondents said they are conducting marketing of green messages on the Internet, which proved the most popular medium. About half are using print and another 40 percent are relying on direct mail, among other methods.

Marketers are finding that consumers will spend more on green products, and they are putting their marketing dollars behind the notion, said study co-authoer Jennifer Nastu.

“This was generally seen as a nice opportunity, as most firms perceived that they were – in reality – greener than their customers initially thought they were,” Nastu said.

In a sort of repudiation of the notion of greenwashing, marketing executives seemed to be cognizant of their company’s standing in relation to environmental stewardship. Respondents who noted that their firms were less green were less likely than others to use green marketing messages.

Another finding was that companies tend to make environmentally friendly operational changes before moving into green messaging in their marketing.

Still, 28 percent of respondents said they thought green marketing was more effective than other marketing messages, compared to just 6 percent who saw it as less effective.

The report offers detailed analysis of habits by firms with a range of marketing budgets, from less than $250,000 to in excess of $50 million.

The higher the budget, the more likely a firm was to use mobile phone advertising, a burgeoning trend in marketing. About 16 percent of firms spending more than $50 million used mobile advertising, compared to just 6 percent for all marketers, according to the report, which is available here.

In a recent example of consumer marketing, via the iPhone, an application from SAP and the Carbon Disclosure Project shows a visualized breakdown of a variety of corporate emissions data. It was released ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks as a means of communicating to world leaders and the public about climate change and corporate emissions.

T-Mobile has issued its own mobile application that promotes coupons for green products and services.

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The Best Climate Change Video (1958) to Forward to Your Grandparents

By Brian Merchant
Brooklyn, NY, USA | Wed Jan 6, 2010 08:00 AM ET

We all love our grandparents. But unfortunately, some think that global warming is a bunch of hooey made up to get Al Gore rich. Of course, not all grandparents fall into this category, and that characterization may be a tad unfair. Let me put it this way then--the demographic of those 65 and older is less likely to believe that there's solid evidence that climate change is occurring than the rest of the population.

According to a Pew Research poll done last October, only 50 percent of Americans ages 65 and up believe there's solid evidence that the earth is warming. Compare that with the 18-29 demographic, where 64 percent believe (which is still sadly low). And this may be why my job never comes up as a topic for discussion at family get-togethers.

To oversimplify the case, much of this may be rooted in an aversion to changing behavior--an implicit consequence in accepting the fact that the globe's temperatures are warming, and that we humans are causing it. When I'm seventy years old, and someone tells me that catastrophic consequences will greet the world unless we stop doing x--where 'x' is some action I've been doing or depending on all my life (driving cars, relying on coal-powered electricity, buying plastic goods, etc)--I'll be more disinclined to believe it, too. It's human nature.

But the fact is, there's more evidence than ever that greenhouse gases, emitted in abundance by humans, are slowly causing the climate to change. There is a huge scientific consensus that has determined that this is the case. And maybe a big part of the problem that older people resist the idea is that this seems like a sudden, new, and untrustworthy development. It's not. Scientific studies on how greenhouse gases are warming the earth began over a century ago, and those examining man's contribution commenced in the 1950s.

And so, I present to you perhaps the most forward-able video clip on climate change I've yet found. It's from a 1958 film produced by Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life)--about global warming. It's proof that scientists have been working toward the same conclusion--that our irresponsible emitting of greenhouse gases is warming the earth--for over 50 years. This is not a scheme dreamed up by communist czars or Al Gore. It is a truth backed by 96% of climate scientists. And it has been studied for decades. Enjoy, and forward away!

Only North America Experienced Cooler than Average Temps in 2009

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 12. 8.09
Business & Politics, TreeHugger.com

It's rather unfortunate that a story like this requires reporting, but it's understandable: many fail to accept that global temperatures are rising on the grounds that last summer was cold where they live. Of course, that ignores data meticulously collected around the globe, but we humans are reactionary creatures--it's the way we're built. If we come out of an abnormally cool, rainy, summer, and then hear the likes of Beck or Limbaugh declaring global warming a hoax, we're going to be more apt to listen. So here's the hard truth: 2009 was an exceptionally hot year--maybe the 2nd hottest of the decade--for everywhere but North America.

Here are the details, via Climate Progress:

What makes these record temps especially impressive is that we're at "the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century," according to NASA. It's just hard to stop the march of anthropogenic global warming, well, other than by reducing GHG emissions, that is . . . Unfortunately, the warming isn't even across the globe:

Unfortunately, that is, because people are apt to be confused by conflicting accounts: what there bodies tell them, and what the vast consensus of science says:

This year above-normal temperatures were recorded in most parts of the continents. Only North America (United States and Canada) experienced conditions that were cooler than average. Given the current figures, large parts of southern Asia and central Africa are likely to have the warmest year on record. [Actually, NOAA says "The average annual temperature for the contiguous United States is projected to be above normal." It was the third coolest October for the contiguous 48 states.]

Finally, CP concludes, aptly:

That is no doubt one reason why Americans -- or at least conservative Americans -- have grown in skepticism this year: They have been bombarded with anti-scientific disinformation on "global cooling," while at the same time failing to personally experience a very warm year.

So here's a heads up to all those folks: the 00's were the hottest decade on record.

"The 00s" the Hottest Decade on Record

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 12. 8.09
Science & Technology, TreeHugger.com

One of the biggest problems with the years 2000-2009 is that there was no agreed-upon, easy-to-say decade name. No 'nineties' or 'twenties.' No, instead, some people argued for the 'aughts' or, occasionally, the 'zeroes' (lame), but we pretty much came up nil. But just eclipsing that--just barely though--is another one of the decade's biggest problems: it has been confirmed that it will have been hottest on record.

Here's the news, via Climate Progress and the New York Times:

it is official from the World Meteorological Organization, in their news release today "2000-2009, The Warmest Decade":

The decade of the 2000s (2000-2009) was warmer than the decade spanning the 1990s (1990-1999), which in turn was warmer than the 1980s (1980-1989).

The NYT story was based on the WMO release early today, but NOAA's National Climatic Data Center also reports today:

The 2000 - 2009 decade will be the warmest on record, with its average global surface temperature about 0.96 degree F above the 20th century average. This will easily surpass the 1990s value of 0.65 degree F.

As for data on 2009, turns out it's been a pretty exceptionally warm year as well:

As for 2009, it is on track to be the 5th warmest the way WMO calculates global temps, which figures in the Hadley/CRU data. But 2009 could easily be as high as the second warmest in the NASA dataset, which is almost certainly more accurate than the Hadley/CRU dataset

And let me reiterate that NONE OF THE NOAA DATA WAS COLLECTED BY THE CRU. The data supporting the charge that the 00s was the hottest decade on record was collected by two different, completely separate sources: the World Meteorological Organization, which figures in CRU data, and the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center--which is free from whatever perceived taint there might be by the 'climategate' non-controversy. And guess what? Both data sets arrive at the same conclusions.

I wish anthropogenic climate change weren't happening, I really do. But there's more evidence than ever that it is, and it's getting worse. It's time to stop the bickering and to start taking it seriously again.

In a Frenzied Copenhagen, Crucial Climate Talks Begin

by Guest on 12. 8.09
Business & Politics, TreeHugger.com

Editor's Note: This post, written by Jonathan Hiskes, originally appeared on Grist.org

COPENHAGEN—There was no calm before the storm. At least not over the last few days, not in Copenhagen. The climate change conference begins for real this Monday morning, but the deluge—of information, of people, of noise of all sorts—swept into the city days ago.

Downtown, the wide sidewalks are jammed. Visitors ascend to street level at the central train station, rolling suitcases and opening maps. In bars and restaurants—I noticed this more once a bartender pointed it out—foreigners stare blankly at the Danish coins in their hands and try to figure out how much they're paying.

Aside from the permanent medley of neon signs--this city might be quaint, but it's commercialized too—climate-related posters and banners are everywhere.

Most advertise Hopenhagen LIVE, a package of concerts, educational pavilions, and a giant illuminated globe in the City Hall Square (the event must have a serious advertising budget). There are posters too for climate-related rallies, concerts, expos, and art exhibits. And booklets, pamphlets, leaflets--whatever--stacked in abundance. The ubiquitous public climate-change art seems designed to provide inspiration or moral orientation. But there's so much of it that it sort of runs
together. 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, an outdoor photo exhibit at Kongens Nytorv square, is stunning, but I don't know how many delegates will take the time to visit installations such as this.

A completely separate event, the Klimaforum09/Peoples Climate Summit offers a 48-page guide to its sessions. The Summit, which skews toward the down-with-capitalism crowd, will unfold at a posh downtown sports venue. According to the U.K. Telegraph, Copenhagen "officials" hope that the venue's climbing wall, swimming pool, and bowling alley will keep the radicals engaged downtown so the grownups at the U.N. conference can stay focused. (One group has threatened to break into the main conference site and "take over" for a day.)

At that main conference site, Copenhagen's Bella Center on the edge of the city, still more crowds gathered. On Sunday afternoon, an unattended suitcase led police to close entry and exit points and call in a bomb squad. The situation proved harmless, but it kept a crowd of delegates, NGO representatives, and media members waiting in the cold for about an hour.

Around the same time, organizers announced that the center was running into "capacity constraints"—34,000 people want to attend and the space holds only 15,000. The announcement introduced a quota system for NGOs and the press; only 3,500 media members would be allowed. I'll find out Monday morning exactly how conference organizers plan to handle this and other last-minute issues. Like whether to merge the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP negotiating tracks.

I haven't mentioned the policy jargon. AWG-LCA stands for Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Acion; AWG-KP is the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex Parties Under the Kyoto Protocol. Then there's the MRV--measurement, reporting, and verification goals. You get the point—it's a busy, confusing place, even before the conference begins.

Anyone who signed up to negotiate, or lobby negotiators, or report on them, should know by now that the climate problem is fraught with complexity, and so is the conference convening to address it. Nobody said this would be simple. I can't help but wonder how folks will find a measure of clarity amid the noise.

Authors@Google: Jerome Glenn

re: sustainability, global climate change, water...

Gore cancels climate lecture in Copenhagen

(AP) – 3 Dec. 2009

COPENHAGEN — Climate campaigner Al Gore has canceled a lecture he was supposed to deliver in Copenhagen.

The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner had been scheduled to speak to more than 3,000 people at a Dec. 16 event hosted by the Berlingske Tidende newspaper group.

The group says Gore canceled the lecture Thursday, citing unforeseen changes in his schedule.

Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider says the decision was made because of "all the events going on with the summit." Dec. 16 is a key date for the meeting because that's when the ministerial segment starts.

Chief editor Lisbeth Knudsen says it's a "great disappointment" that Gore canceled and that all tickets will be refunded.

United Nations to probe climate e-mail leak

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
4 Dec. 2009

LONDON — The United Nations will conduct its own investigation into e-mails leaked from a leading British climate science center in addition to the probe by the University of East Anglia, a senior U.N. climate official said Friday.

E-mails stolen from the climate unit at the University of East Anglia appeared to show some of world's leading scientists discussing ways to shield data from public scrutiny and suppress others' work. Those who deny the influence of man-made climate change have seized on the correspondence to argue that scientists have been conspiring to hide evidence about global warming.

In an interview with BBC radio, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, said the issue raised by the e-mails was serious and said "we will look into it in detail,"

"We will certainly go into the whole lot and then we will take a position on it," he said. "We certainly don't want to brush anything under the carpet."

The University of East Anglia has defended the integrity of the science published by the climate unit and its researchers, but on Thursday said it would investigate whether some of the data had been fudged. Phil Jones, the director of the unit, stepped down earlier in the week pending the result of the investigation.

East Anglia said its review will examine the e-mails and other information "to determine whether there is any evidence of the manipulation or suppression of data which is at odds with acceptable scientific practice."

The theft of the e-mails and their publication online — only weeks before the U.N. summit on global warming — has been politically explosive, even if researchers say their content has no bearing on the principles of climate change itself.

Britain's Ed Miliband, the climate change secretary, acknowledged the revelations may have an impact on the Copenhagen talks on a new global emissions reduction pact, but dismissed as "flat Earth-ers" critics who claim the e-mails are proof the case for man-made climate change is exaggerated.

"We need maximum transparency including about all the data but it's also very, very important to say one chain of e-mails, potentially misrepresented, does not undo the global science," Miliband said Friday. "I think we want to send a very clear message to people about that."

"There will be people that want to use this to try and undermine the science and we're not going to let them," he said.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have grilled government scientists on the leaked e-mails in a hearing Wednesday in Washington, but the scientists countered that the e-mails don't change the fact that the earth is warming.

"The e-mails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus ... that tells us the earth is warming, that warming is largely a result of human activity," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

She said the e-mails don't address data from her agency or the U.S. space agency NASA, which both keep independent climate records that show dramatic global warming.

Associated Press Writer David Stringer in London contributed to this report

Record-attempting solar powered plane's first 'hop'

BBC News
4 December 2009

The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.

The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.

The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m, once more using on-board batteries.

The final version of the plane will attempt a solar-powered transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.


Record solar plane's first 'hop'
By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News

The Solar Impulse prototype plane, part of a planned solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe, has left the ground for the first time.

The maiden flight was dubbed a "flea hop" by project leaders, at 350m in length and a height of just one metre.

The plane will now be transported to a different airfield for a flight of a few hours in March.

The final version of the plane will attempt a transatlantic flight in 2012 prior to the round-the-world trip.

The prototype first ventured outside a hangar in November, with a range of on-the-ground tests and a run-up of the plane's motors.
Solar Impulse plane

Thursday's flight, with test pilot Markus Scherdel at the controls, was the first time the plane had been brought to takeoff speed.

"The airplane flew the way we have experienced it in the simulators," said Bertrand Piccard, a founder of Solar Impulse and the first person to carry out a round-the-world balloon flight.

"That's of course a very big comfort for all the engineers who've worked for six years to build this airplane."

The next flight, at the Payerne air force airfield in western Switzerland, will see the plane reach an altitude of nearly 9,000m.

Only after this flight will the plane make its first "solar flight" - that is, powered by the solar generators rather than the on-board batteries.

The team plans a flight of a full day and night in the summer of 2010, building up to a transatlantic flight in small steps as the crew ensure the plane's behaviour is well-understood.

"It's a completely new flight domain," said Dr Piccard.

"It's the first time in the history of aviation that an airplane so big and so light using so little energy gets in the air - basically everything is new."

Solar Impulse plane