Thursday, 28 Sep 2006

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson's declaration last week that he'll steer $3 billion into clean-energy technology shook up not just climate circles but the philanthropy world as well. His announcement -- following closely the news that Google.org will use a for-profit model to address climate change and other problems -- signals a powerful new way that do-gooders are doing their good. Muckraker looks into what it all might mean for the environment.

Quick, Hide the Mung Beans

Unexpected levels of human-caused methane could mean trouble

A rise in human-caused methane emissions -- a phrase that certainly does not make us giggle -- has been masked by a decline in natural methane releases, says a new report in Nature. Atmospheric concentrations of methane, less abundant than carbon dioxide but 20 times greenhouse-gassier, have remained relatively stable since 1999. But data from tracking stations around the world show that the human-caused variety, which decreased during the 1990s (likely thanks to the fall of the Soviet Union), has increased since 1999 (likely thanks to the boom in Asia). The uptick was hidden by a 5 percent decline in methane-producing swampland, caused partly by drought. But scientists fear that the wetter weather predicted over the next three to five years could reactivate some wetlands, adding over 11,000 tons of methane a year to the atmosphere. The research comes too late to include in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has reduced its earlier estimate of methane's impact. That stinks.


As a black woman, Majora Carter already stands outside the stereotype of a typical environmentalist. And she admits she's not a tree-hugger. But there's no denying her green impact: as founder of Sustainable South Bronx, Carter has worked tirelessly to block polluting projects, create "green-collar" jobs, and clean up a community saddled with the highest asthma rates in the nation. Amanda Griscom Little talks with this MacArthur "genius grant" recipient about coloring outside the lines of environmental activism.

Can't See the Forest for the Bling

Northern forests worth up to $250 billion a year, research says

You thought they were just standing there, but forests in Russia, Canada, and other northern nations provide services worth up to $250 billion a year, say Canadian researchers. Water filtration, erosion control, habitat provision, greenhouse-gas absorption, and tourist attraction are highly lucrative pursuits that should be valued by governments, says lead researcher Mark Anielski. The ecological economist calculates that the benefits provided by forests in Canada -- home to one-quarter of the world's forests -- would amount to about $83 billion, roughly 9 percent of the nation's annual gross domestic product. While logging, mining, and other industrial activities lead to short-term economic growth, the long-term risks and problems they pose often go unaccounted for. Anielski, who presented at the just-concluded National Forest Congress in Quebec, hopes his findings will "change the way decisions are made." Ah, everybody loves a dreamer.

The Amazing Technicolor Dream Cote

Ivory Coast scandal highlights illegal dumping of toxic waste

The recent dumping of toxic oil byproducts and subsequent deaths of eight citizens in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has highlighted the shady world of illegal toxic-waste disposal. The practice of unloading nasties on developing countries was addressed by the U.N.'s Basel Convention in 1989 (you remember that one), but "[w]ith globalization, this has resurfaced, it is even on the increase," says Pierre Portas, deputy executive secretary of the Basel Convention Secretariat. Globalization indeed: the tanker that offloaded on the Ivory Coast -- which was impounded at an Estonian port yesterday -- was Korean-built, Greek-managed, Panamanian-flagged, and Dutch-chartered. And the Ivory Coast is far from alone. U.S. activists say 500 containers of computers were shipped to Lagos, Nigeria, every month last year, up to three-quarters of which were dumped and burned; a European watchdog said last year that nearly half of E.U. waste exports were illegal. But hey, at least that old monitor isn't taking up space in your garage anymore.