The Poverty Impacts of Climate Change : a Review of the Evidence

World Bank / by Emmanuel Skoufias, Mariano Rabassa, and Sergio Olivieri http://bit.ly/hR9rQG [Abstract] Climate change is believed to represent a serious challenge to poverty reduction efforts around the globe. This paper conducts an up-to-date review of three main strands of the literature analyzing the poverty impacts of climate change : (i) economy-wide growth models incorporating [...]

Agriculture and the Clean Development Mechanism

World Bank / by Donald F. Larson, Ariel Dinar, and J. Aapris Frisbie http://bit.ly/gAN7hM [Abstract] Many experts believe that low-cost mitigation opportunities in agriculture are abundant and comparable in scale to those found in the energy sector. They are mostly located in developing countries and have to do with how land is used. By investing [...]

How Economic Growth and Rational Decisions Can Make Disaster Losses Grow Faster Than Wealth

World Bank / by Stephane Hallegatte http://bit.ly/ecrbOE [Abstract] Assuming that capital productivity is higher in areas at risk from natural hazards (such as coastal zones or flood plains), this paper shows that rapid development in these areas — and the resulting increase in disaster losses — may be the consequence of a rational and well-informed [...]

Temporal Increase in Organic Mercury in an Endangered Pelagic Seabird Assessed by Century-old Museum Specimens

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Published online before print April 18, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1013865108 PNAS April 18, 2011 ) / by Anh-Thu E. Voa, Michael S. Bank, James P. Shinec and Scott V. Edwards (open access article) http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/04/14/1013865108.abstract [From Abstract] Methylmercury cycling in the Pacific Ocean has garnered significant attention in recent years, [...]

London 2012 Sustainability Report: A Blueprint for Change

London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games http://bit.ly/gRDAFC This is the first of three London 2012 Sustainability Reports designed to chart delivery against the London 2012 Sustainability Plan. The next two reports will be released in the spring of 2012 and the winter of 2012/13.

SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) – Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011

US Bureau of Reclamation http://www.usbr.gov/climate/ [Yale Environment 360] A new U.S. government report on water in the American West in the 21st century forecasts that temperatures in the region will soar by 5 to 7 degrees F., major rivers such as the Rio Grande and Colorado could see reductions in flow of up to 20 [...]

Climate Shift: a Clear Vision for the Next Decade of Public Debate

School of Communication, American University / by Matthew Nisbet http://bit.ly/eb0ys7 [From Dot Earth]  The report, “Climate Shift,” was written by Matthew Nisbet, a communications professor at American University. In nearly 100 pages, he explores who had the biggest advantage — in money and media spin — in the fight over a cap-and-trade climate bill, along [...]

An Analysis of the Effects of Residential Photovoltaic Energy Systems on Home Sales Prices in California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for DOE, NREL and the Clean States Energy Alliance / by Ben Hoen, Ryan Wiser and Peter Cappers http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-4476e.pdf [From Abstract] An increasing number of homes with existing photovoltaic (PV) energy systems have sold in the U.S., yet relatively little research exists that estimates the marginal impacts of those PV systems [...]

WRI Submission to Senate Committee in Response to its White Paper on a Clean Energy Standard

World Resources Institute (Submission to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) / by Kevin Kennedy with John Larsen, James Bradbury, Sarah Forbes, Jenna Goodward and Lutz Weischer http://pdf.wri.org/wri_response_clean_energy_standard.pdf WRI’s response to the Bingaman-Murkowski White Paper on the design of a clean energy standard in the United States. WRI has submitted a response [...]

Pay Now, Pay Later: A State-by-state Assessment of the Costs of Climate Change

American Security Project http://www.secureamericanfuture.org/pay-now-pay-later/ Outlines the economic costs to individual states of climate change under a no-action-taken scenario. Click on a state in the map to access projections and reports. [H/T: Climate Wire]