MVCAC September 2012

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1 participants
3 discussions

Famous Moms Support Clean Air Standards to Protect Kids’ Health « EcoWatch:
by Duane 17 Sep '12

17 Sep '12

http://ecowatch.org/2012/famous-moms-support-clean-air/ Famous Moms Support Clean Air Standards to Protect Kids’ Health Moms Clean Air Force This week, championship boxer and mother Laila Ali joined a host of other famous moms, including Julianne Moore, Jessica Capshaw, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph, by launching a new PSA for Moms Clean Air Force, calling on moms to unite in support of clean air standards and practices. Air pollution is among the leading causes of childhood asthma, which disproportionally affects African American children. Environmental factors and toxins also contribute to lead poisoning, childhood cancer and other chronic conditions, including intellectual disabilities and autism. Healthcare for these conditions costs the U.S. billions of dollars every year. “My life changed so much when I became a mother,” said Ali. “I speak out on air pollution because I feel like there are so many kids right now that are affected and it is really sad. You usually go to the schools now and so many kids in the classroom have asthma—way more than there were when I was a child. Air pollution is the chief culprit of childhood asthma. And it affects 10 percent of all children and 22 percent of African American children.” According to studies supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly two thirds of those suffering from asthma live in an area where at least one federal air-quality standard is not being met. Asthma prevalence is 35 percent higher in African Americans, and African American children have a 500 percent higher death rate from asthma compared to white children. Sixty-eight percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, the distance within which the maximum ill effects of the emissions from smokestacks occur, while only 56 percent of whites live within the most effected areas. Studies also show that increased levels of air pollution cause more frequent asthma symptoms and lower lung function in children, particularly in inner cities. Nitrogen dioxide, a common component in car emissions, is the leading asthma trigger. Visit EcoWatch’s CLEAN AIR ACT page for more related news on this topic. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

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MORGANTOWN MARKET PLACE
by Duane 13 Sep '12

13 Sep '12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: “Green Morning” Workshop Featured at Grand Opening of “Morgantown Market Place,”September 22 The Morgantown Municipal Green Team and Mountain Institute are pleased to present a special “Green Morning” Workshop from 9:30am to 10:30am at the Grand Opening of the new “Morgantown Market Place” on Saturday, September 22. The new shelter is located at the corner of Fayette and Spruce Streets. Local speakers will address the benefits of “Slow Food for Health, Quality, Savings, and the Environment.” This is a special event in a series of “Green Nights at the Library” for 2012. Several short presentations will address how local farmers and farmers’ markets provide consumers healthy food options and save money, while boosting the local economy and protecting the environment. Confirmed speakers include: · Cassie Peters of Downstream Strategies · Lesa Gay of the West Virginia Farmers’ Market Association and director of the South Morgantown Community Farmers’ Market · Marion Ohlinger of the Richwood Grill · Lauren Brennan of the West Virginia Community Development Hub In addition, a number of local producers from the farmers’ market and elsewhere will describe their local businesses including successes and challenges. Residents of all ages in the Morgantown area are welcome to attend the workshop. Parking is available in a nearby parking structure. Targeting the average citizen, Green Nights at the Library is a series of presentations, workshops, and resource nights on green topics that will continue monthly, usually at the downtown public library. The Morgantown Green Team is a group of citizens that advises the City of Morgantown on matters relating to sustainability in public policy, planning, education, departmental management, development, and evaluation of environmental and energy-related issues. For more information, please visit www.morgantowngreenteam.org. The Mountain Institute empowers mountain communities to implement solutions to challenges that threaten the cultural and environmental well-being of the mountain environments upon which we all depend. Visit the Mountain Institute online at http://www.mountain.org/. For more information on Green Nights at the Library, please contact Pamela S. Cubberly atPamela(a)Cubberly.net or Aaron Sutch at asutch(a)mountain.org.

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Expert Panel Urges Nations to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions « EcoWatch
by Duane 12 Sep '12

12 Sep '12

http://ecowatch.org/2012/panel-kyoto-protocol-cdm/ Expert Panel Urges Nations to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions CDM Policy Dialogue The independent high-level panel established to take stock of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has released its eagerly awaited recommendations by urging nations to intervene forcefully to address the crisis in the carbon market and substantially increase their level of ambition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The ability under the CDM to earn a saleable credit for each ton of GHG emissions reduced has spawned more than 4,500 projects in 75 developing countries, everything from wind energy and efficient cook-stove projects to land-fill gas and large industrial projects. The CDM, credited with creating the first global environmental currency, is now under threat due to the current low prices paid for credits, the result of low demand and uncertainty over the timing and level of future demand, which is tied to countries’ emission-reduction commitments. According to the high-level panel, if nations permit the CDM mechanism to disintegrate, the political consensus for truly global carbon markets may evaporate. Therefore, the panel calls on nations to increase their mitigation ambition by strengthening the pledges that have been made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and by adopting corresponding domestic policies and measures. “Nations must, as a high priority, restore faith in global carbon markets generally and in the CDM specifically,” said the panel’s chair, Valli Moosa. “Although the CDM has been the subject of extensive criticism, it has improved markedly in recent years and has helped combat climate change by mobilizing the private sector through markets.” The CDM was set up to do two things: give countries with a commitment under the Kyoto Protocol some flexibility in how they meet those commitments, and assist countries to achieve their sustainable development goals. The mechanism has been criticized by some stakeholders for being too stringent and slow, and by others for not being stringent enough in ensuring that the emission reductions produced are additional, and would not have happened anyway, even without the CDM. Other stakeholders have questioned projects’ contribution to sustainable development, responsibility for which is left up to host countries. To address shortcomings and improve the mechanism’s reputation and performance in the future, the panel recommends fundamental reforms of the CDM’s operating procedures. More specifically, the panel calls for: more systematic reporting, monitoring and verification of sustainable development impacts; greater access for under-represented regions through simplified procedures; revised criteria for the composition of the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) to reflect not only regional distribution, but also professional knowledge and experience; implementation of standardized methods, such as performance benchmarks and positive lists, for assessing additionality. In addition, the panel urges nations to take measures to enhance the CDM’s role so that it adapts to new political and market conditions. More specifically, the panel recommends that: new approaches, such as sectoral crediting or national REDD+ programs, be implemented; new projects that reduce HFC-23 or N2O from adipic acid plants be phased out; robust standards to enable linking and harmonization of current and emerging carbon markets be set; the rapid implementation of the Green Climate Fund be supported. The wide-ranging research program commissioned by the panel found that over the past decade, the CDM alone has helped nations mitigate approximately one billion tons of GHG emissions in a manner that realized US$3.6 billion in savings for developed countries. Over this same period the CDM has mobilized more than US$215 billion in investments in developing countries, thereby accelerating economic growth and poverty alleviation. “New market-based mechanisms will take years to design and make operational. For the balance of this decade the CDM is likely to remain the world’s foremost means of gaining the benefits of a truly global carbon market. The panel believes that a strong and robust CDM is necessary to support the political consensus and bring the benefits of carbon markets to developing countries,” said the vice-chair of the panel, Joan MacNaughton. To make the CDM fit for the future, the panel recommends 51 actions across 12 areas. Its recommendations cover issues such as the crisis of demand, mitigation impact, linking of carbon markets, sustainable development, regional distribution, governance structure, additionality, stakeholder and public engagement, as well as mechanisms for appeals and grievances. In formulating its recommendations, the high-level panel commissioned a wide-ranging research program addressing 22 topics across three main areas: the impact of the CDM to date; the governance and operations of the CDM; and the future context in which the CDM could operate. It also organized a stakeholder consultation program holding dozens of formal and informal meetings around the world. The panel, which officially presented its report at the sixty-ninth meeting of the CDM Executive Board in Bangkok, urges that its recommendations be implemented fully and without delay with a timetable agreed that will bring them into effect by the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for December 2013. Besides the chair Valli Moosa (South Africa) and the vice-chair Joan MacNaughton (UK), the other members of the high-level panel on the CDM policy dialogue are: Luciano Coutihno (Brazil), Maggie L. Fox (U.S.), Ross Garnaut (Australia), Prodipto Ghosh (India), Yolanda Kakabadse (Ecuador), Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe (Zimbabwe), Paul Simpson (UK), Nobuo Tanaka (Japan) and Changhua Wu (China).

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MVCAC September 2012