Needs Re-Assignment

Climate Change Drives Instability, U.N. Official Warns

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JOHN M. BRODER
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February 15, 2011,                                                             Christiana Figueres, in white blouse, met with children in Sehwan, Pakistan, who have been displaced by floods. 

In a speech to Spanish lawmakers and military leaders,

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Coal's hidden costs top $345 billion in U.S.: study

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Scott Malone
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BOSTON | Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:57am EST

 

 (Reuters) - The United States' reliance on coal to generate almost half of its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a study found. 

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Investments worth trillions at risk from climate change: study

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David Forgaty
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SINGAPORE | Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:33am EST

 Climate change could put trillions of investment dollars at risk over the next 20 years, a global study released on Wednesday said, calling for pension funds and other investors to overhaul how they allocate funds.

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Choke Point: China - Confronting Water Scarcity and Energy Demand in the World's Fastest Growing Industrial Economy

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By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
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Exploring an escalating confrontation over resources with global implications.

Water scarcity, rapid economic growth and soaring energy demand are forming a tightening noose that could choke off China's modernization.

Underlying China's new standing in the world, like a tectonic fault line, is an increasingly fierce competition between energy and water that threatens to upend China's progress. Simply put, say Chinese authorities and government reports, China's demand for energy, particularly for coal, is outpacing its freshwater supply.

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The World Can Be Powered By Alternative Energy, Using Today's Technology, In 20-40 Years, Says Stanford Researcher Mark Z. Jacob

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BY LOUIS BERGERON
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A new study – co-authored by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson and UC-Davis researcher Mark A. Delucchi – analyzing what is needed to convert the world's energy supplies to clean and sustainable sources says that it can be done with today's technology at costs roughly comparable to conventional energy. But converting will be a massive undertaking on the scale of the moon landings. What is needed most is the societal and political will to make it happen.

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World On The Edge: Quick Facts

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January 25, 2011

We are facing issues of near-overwhelming complexity and unprecedented urgency. Can we think systemically and fashion policies accordingly? Can we change direction before we go over the edge? Here are a few of the many facts from the book to consider:

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Scenario To Cap World Emissions By 2020 Is Fading Fast, Warns IEA Economist

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From his perch as chief economist for the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol is virtually shouting his global warming predictions from the Paris rooftops.

Unless the United States, Europe, China, India and the other emerging economies get on a crash course to slash greenhouse gases, Birol contends, world leaders can simply forget about one of their oft-talked-about goals: stabilizing the average global temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius.

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