ApocaDocuments (6) for the "Resource Depletion" scenario from this week
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Sun, Aug 22, 2010
from Guardian:
We've gone into the ecological red
At the weekend, Saturday 21 August to be precise, the world as a whole went into "ecological debt".
That means in effect that from now until the end of the year, humanity will be consuming more natural resources and producing more waste than the forests, fields and fisheries of the world can replace and absorb. By doing so, the life-support systems that we all depend on are worn ever thinner. Farms become less productive, fish populations crash and climate regulating forests decline. All become less resilient in the face of extreme weather events.
The date is arrived at by comparing our annual environmental resource budget with our ecological footprint - the rate at which we spend it.
The more we overshoot the available budget, the earlier in the year we start to go into the ecological red. Collectively we started to live beyond our means in the 1980s. Since then the date has crept earlier and earlier in the year. Improved measurement and data bring the latest date forward by a whole month in comparison with last year's date. It now takes about 18 months for the planet to generate what we consume in just 12. ...
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I'm not worried -- I invested in ecology default swaps.
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Sun, Aug 22, 2010
from Guardian:
Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks
Speculation that government ministers are far more concerned about a future supply crunch than they have admitted has been fuelled by the revelation that they are canvassing views from industry and the scientific community about "peak oil".
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also refusing to hand over policy documents about "peak oil" - the point at which oil production reaches its maximum and then declines - under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, despite releasing others in which it admits "secrecy around the topic is probably not good".... a letter in response to the FoI request written by DECC officials and dated 31 July 2010 says it can only release some information on what is currently under policy discussion because they are "ongoing" and "high profile" in nature.
The letter adds: "We recognise the public interest arguments in favour of disclosing this information. In particular we recognise that greater transparency makes government more open and accountable and could help provide an insight into peak oil.
"However any public interest in the disclosure of such information must be balanced with the need to ensure that ministers and advisers can discuss policy in a manner which allows for frank exchanges of views and opinions about important and sensitive issues." ...
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Cheney-riffic!
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Sat, Aug 21, 2010
from Yale360:
Extent of Mangrove Forests Less Than Previous Estimates, Survey Shows
The first comprehensive survey of the world's mangrove forests using satellite imagery reveals that the vital ecosystems are 12 percent smaller than earlier estimates and are swiftly disappearing. ... The scientists, reporting their findings in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, estimated that more than half of the world's mangrove forests have disappeared, with a third being lost from 1980 to 2000. Mangrove forests, which grow in tropical and sub-tropical tidal zones, are among the most important ecosystems on the planet, providing habitat for marine life and preventing coastal erosion. But human activity, such as shrimp farming, as well as storms and rising seas, have taken a heavy toll on mangrove forests. The survey showed that 42 percent of mangrove forests are located in Asia, 21 percent in Africa, 15 percent in North and Central America, 12 percent in Oceania, and 11 percent in South America. Only 7 percent of remaining mangrove forests are currently protected by parks and reserves. ...
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Let's create womangroves, so they can reproduce faster!
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Wed, Aug 18, 2010
from AFP, via PhysOrg:
Vestas cuts 2010 forecasts, shares plunge
Shares in Vestas slumped on Wednesday after the Danish wind power group cut this year's earnings and sales targets following a second quarter loss. The company, the world leader in the wind turbine industry, a key component in efforts to combat carbon emissions, said 2010 sales would now come in at six billion euros (7.7 billion dollars), rather than seven billion euros.
The operating profit margin would be in a range of five to six percent, down from the 10-11 percent given previously, it said.
The news sent Vestas shares tumbling more than 17 percent in Copenhagen where the broader market was down nearly two percent. ...
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The smart money's on coal.
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Wed, Aug 18, 2010
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Mankind is using up global resources faster than ever
Think tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) look at how much food, fuel and other resources are consumed by humans every year. They then compare it to how much the world can provide without threatening the ability of important ecosystems like oceans and rainforests to recover.
This year the moment we start eating into nature's capital or 'Earth Overshoot Day' will fall on 21st August, a full month earlier than last year, when resources were used up by 23rd September.... He said people in developing countries like China are consuming more meat and demanding cars and other energy-intensive goods. Even with green developments and energy efficiency, rich countries are also consuming more as individuals demand the latest technology, food fad or car.... "The banking crisis taught us the danger of a system that goads us to live beyond our means financially," he said. "A greater danger comes from a consumer culture and economic policy that pushes us to live beyond our means ecologically." ...
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You're challenging consumer culture? But what about the economy?
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Tue, Aug 17, 2010
from Toronto Star:
A new issue percolates throughout India: How much to charge for water?
Every day that it's open for business, the local Coca-Cola bottling plant in this parched corner of India draws about 200,000 litres of underground water from four wells.
Coke's annual bill for 36 million litres? Zero.
Like many Indian states, Rajasthan doesn't charge for taking water from groundwater reservoirs because free water has been considered a fundamental right in India for decades.
Yet water conservation advocates say that principle needs to be rethought at a time when economic growth and population pressure are expected to double demand over the next 25 years. ...
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Zero? Why, that's the price that refreshes Coke's shareholders.
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