http://www.earth-policy.org/ ktaylor@earth-policy.org Copyright 2010 2010-08-31T14:45:34+00:00 August 31, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch05_ss4 The heat in the upper six miles of the earth’s crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as found in all the world’s oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this abundance, only 10,700 megawatts of geothermal electricity generating capacity have been harnessed worldwide. For full report visit the EPI website. August 24, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch05_ss1 As fossil fuel prices rise, as oil insecurity deepens, and as concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging. The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced by one powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. Despite the global economic crisis, this energy transition is moving at a pace and on a scale that we could not have imagined even two years ago. And it is a worldwide phenomenon. For full report visit the EPI website. August 12, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/press_room/C68/2010_pressrelease1/ August 10, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2010/update89 Around midnight on Wednesday, August 11th, a group of commodity analysts will gather at a meeting site in the massive South Building of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Once they are assembled, the door will be locked. Cell phones will be collected. Phone and Internet lines will be disconnected. Short of a medical emergency, no one will be permitted to leave before 8:30 am. USDA produces an estimate of world grain production, consumption, and trade by the 12th of each month. The gathered analysts will consult reports from a worldwide network of agricultural attachés, satellite images of crop vegetation, and the latest weather reports. The widely respected World Agricultural Outlook Board’s report, though little known to the public, is of incalculable value to commodity traders, agribusinesses, and farmers—some of whom stand to gain or lose fortunes on the data it contains. For full report, please visit the EPI website. July 29, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch04_ss3 There are enormous opportunities to use energy more efficiently. Investing in energy efficiency is often far cheaper than expanding the energy supply to meet growing demand. Efficiency investments typically yield a high rate of return, saving consumers money, and can help fight climate change by avoiding carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning additional fossil fuels. Just as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) offer great electricity savings over incandescent light bulbs, a similar range of efficiencies is available for many household appliances, such as refrigerators and home electronics. For full report visit the EPI website. July 20, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/indicators/C52/carbon_emissions_2010 {indicator_summary} July 14, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch01_ss3 A dangerous geopolitics of food scarcity is emerging in which individual countries, acting in their narrowly defined self-interest, reinforce the trends causing global food security to deteriorate. This began in late 2007 when wheat-exporting countries, like Russia and Argentina, attempted to counter domestic food price rises by limiting or banning exports. Viet Nam banned rice exports for several months, and several other minor exporters also restricted exports. While these moves reassured those living in the exporting countries, they created panic in the scores of countries that import grain. For full report visit the EPI website. July 06, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch06_ss4 The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car. Bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land paved over. Six bicycles can typically fit into the road space used by one car. For parking, the advantage is even greater, with 20 bicycles occupying the space required to park a car. For full report visit the EPI website. June 29, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch07_ss1 The 21st century began on an inspiring note: the United Nations set a goal of reducing the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by half by 2015. By early 2007 the world looked to be on track to meet this goal, but as the economic crisis unfolds and the outlook darkens, the world will have to intensify its poverty reduction effort. For full report visit the EPI website. June 22, 2010 http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch09_ss3 With water shortages constraining food production growth, the world needs an effort to raise water productivity similar to the one that nearly tripled land productivity over the last half-century. Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of grain, it is not surprising that 70 percent of world water use is devoted to irrigation. Thus, raising irrigation efficiency is central to raising water productivity overall. For full report visit the EPI website.