By Yossi Sheffi Boston – In August, when US President Donald Trump proposed to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, environmentalists and their supporters were outraged. Now, the temperature of the debate has risen again, following a special report…
Tag: Think green
Keeping the woods lovely, dark and deep…
By S Gopikrishna Warrier India was the first country to develop a legislation for biodiversity. Yet, conserving this resource needs to be part of the national policy instead of it being seen as the goose which lays the golden eggs.…
Green activists demand cancellation of plots allotted for tanners
Dhaka – Green activists here on Saturday demanded immediate cancellation of the plots allocated for tanners as they failed to relocate their factories from Hazaribagh to Savar within the stipulated time, Unb news agency reported. They also demanded penalising the…
Green building’s LEED credit promotes sustainable forestry
The green building movement – from architects and builders to specifiers and planners – can now benefit from an expanded range of responsibly sourced timber and forest products eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Cities need more ‘living green’, concludes Int’l confce
The importance of ‘living green’ was brought to the attention of sixteen countries at an International Green City Conference this month. Becoming the greenest city in the world, using plants to manage stormwater threats, how to implement greening and change…
Science meets farming to reveal Africa’s best bean
Bruno Awio The second of our INASP/SciDev.Net data challenges features an agricultural project from Uganda. A team of scientists joined 358 farmers in two districts to test the best bean they were growing in terms of robustness, yield and marketability.…
People’s movements in India, Bangladesh join to save Sunderbans
In yet another major initiative strengthening people-to-people cooperation between South Asian nations, people’s movements in India joined hands with their Bangladesh counterparts to save the Sunderbans. This was declared in Delhi by a delegation of 11 senior activists who took…
Green buildings top in next episode of Construction Climate Talks series
In the second episode of the Construction Climate Talks series released today, European Commission Policy Adviser Josefina Lindblom, elaborates about the question ‘what is a green building?’ See the episode on link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9Di33ThP0
Prospects of organic farming in Bangladesh
Rasha Binte Mohiuddin With radically increased population rapid economic growth, expansion of urbanization and industrialization, mega cities of Bangladesh are facing a lot of challenges and food security is one of them. Bangladesh is one of the top 10 food…
Leonardo DiCaprio, the Oscars and climate change
S Gopikrishna Warrier Leonardo DiCaprio packs energy into his acting. Remember him as he runs to catch the Titanic, or as the ambitious young stockbroker Jordan Belfort in The wolf of Wall Street. When DiCaprio spoke after receiving his Oscar…
Green shops make more money
Vaidehi Shah A new study by the World Green Building Council shows retailers how to cash in on the clear link between sustainable store design and higher sales. Retail shop owners who include sustainable features such as natural light, greenery,…
Forest Deptt plans eco-restoration scheme in Northern Bangladesh
Dhaka – The Department of Social Forestry has planned a project with the prime objective of establishing plantation for biodiversity enhancement coupled with improving socio-economic condition in the country’s northwest zone. The scheme also intends to check desertification process through…
Green finance for sustainable development
Dr. Atiur Rahman In the evolution of sustainable development, three mutually reinforced pillars have been the key- people, planet and profit. In light of 2030 SDGs, 3P’s have been upgraded to 5P’s- People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. All countries…
The fourth estate society cannot do without
Mostafa Kamal Majumder A group of people of Bangladesh’s northernmost district of Gaibandha the other day protested the killing of a journalist by unidentified assailants. The journalist was kidnapped, remained missing for several days, and his body was found floating…
Climate action after Paris
Jim Yong Kim Washington, DC – At the United Nations climate conference in Paris, courageous and visionary leaders recognized that people rarely change the world when they work within the constraints of what they think is possible. The world hoped…
Bangladesh CSOs call: Reject draft Paris agreement
Paris:The Bangladeshi civil society organizations have organized a press conference in Le Bourget, Paris Climate Conference Place on Friday. They have rejected the latest draft agreement and call upon MVCs to reject it, they have also called to include historical…
Now urgency is to deliver on climate agreement – UN Foundation
Washington, D.C. Dec – At the COP21 United Nations conference in Paris today, officials from nearly 200 countries reached a new agreement to address the threat of global climate change. On behalf of the United Nations Foundation, Chair Ted Turner,…
The renewable energy revolution
by John A. Mathews Sydney – In the United States and Europe, the benefits of renewable energy are predominantly seen as environmental. Energy from the wind and sun can offset the need to burn fossil fuels, helping to mitigate climate…
The long march to Paris
by Rana Kapoor,Johan Rockström,Khalifa Ababacar Sall,Feike Sijbesma PARIS – Over the next few weeks, Paris will once again dominate global headlines. This time, however, the news is likely to be positive, as world leaders come together to forge a meaningful…
Pressuring the poachers
by Michael Meyer Nairobi – At one of Hanoi’s priciest restaurants, a group of Vietnamese businessmen meet their new American partners to celebrate their latest venture. “A toast!” someone exclaims. They raise their glasses, filled with the finest scotch, which…
Big polluters, pay up
by Stephen Leonard Jakarta – Earlier this year in Myanmar, torrential rain caused mudslides that wiped out hundreds of houses and caused large-scale crop destruction. More than 1.3 million people were affected, and over 100 died. In Vietnam, the same…
How safe substances become dangerous
Paloalto – Since the development of the science of toxicology in the sixteenth century, its guiding principle has been that “the dose makes the poison.” It is a rule that applies to the medicines used by patients worldwide many billions…
Cultivating equality in a changing climate
Danielle Nierenberg As food system leaders gather in Iowa for the Borlaug Dialogues and the World Food Prize, nearly 800 million people around the world continue to suffer from chronic hunger. More than 161 million children under the age of…
Securing a sustainable future
Gro Harlem Brundtland London – When Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote that “All that is solid melts into air,” they intended it as a metaphor for the disruptive transformations that the Industrial Revolution implied for established social norms. Today,…
Preserving plant biodiversity
Danielle Nierenberg Every day, plant species across the globe are disappearing. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that approximately 75 percent of the Earth’s plant genetic resources are now extinct, and another third of plant biodiversity is expected…
BB Governmor for Saarc nations to develop eco-friendly trade practices
Mumbai: Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, tuesday said the need of the hour is to develop socially inclusive, sustainable and environmental-friendly trade practices even as SAARC countries aim for financial integration in the region. In his special address…
Good fences make safe species
Christian Lambrechts NAIROBI – African countries are often criticized for failing to meet their environmental challenges. Observers often cite loss of habitat in the face of population growth, land degradation, and industrialization. And then there is the most frequent charge…
How safe substances become dangerous
Henry I. Miller Palo Alto – Since the development of the science of toxicology in the sixteenth century, its guiding principle has been that “the dose makes the poison.” It is a rule that applies to the medicines used by…
Overfishing and climate change, combined, intensify ocean threats
Millions of people and billions of dollars depend on healthy oceans, but human actions create complex interactions that endanger oceans Washington, DC—The combination of overfishing and climate change may be putting the oceans’ health—and our own wellbeing—at risk. As State…
Campaign to reclaim future opposing the corporate “development” agenda
AID/WATCH, Australia has launched a campaign to oppose the corporate development agenda being promoted by multilateral agencies at the cost of peoples’ goals for sustainable development. A canpaign statement prepared by it has been circulatged worldwide for endorsement by people’s…