Environment Information
As human population numbers increase and as humans continue to evolve, human activity modifies the natural environment at a rapidly increasing rate, producing what is referred to as the built environment. The potential of the natural environment to sustain these anthropogenic changes while continuing to function as an ecosystem is an issue of major worldwide concern. Key environmental areas of interest include climate change, water supply and waste water, air pollution, waste management and hazardous waste, and land use issues such as deforestation, desertification, and urban sprawl.
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Selected article
A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any motor vehicle that can be recharged from any external source of electricity, such as wall sockets, and the electricity stored in the rechargeable battery packs drives or contributes to drive the wheels. PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes all-electric or battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles, (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.Examples of mass production PEVs available in the several markets as of early 2011 include the Tesla Roadster, i MiEV, Th!nk City, REVAi, the hybrid converted Prius+, the BYD F3DM, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and several neighborhood electric vehicles. There are also several demonstration vehicles undergoing trial programs including the Mini E, Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid, BYD e6, Smart ED and Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid.
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Did you know...
- ...that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) can cause ozone depletion, and the ozone hole needs to take more than a decade to recover?
- ... that the first National Park was the Yellowstone National Park in the United States?
- ... that methane has 25 times the impact of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas?
- ...that the United Nations Environment Programme (or UNEP), which coordinates United Nations environmental activities, was founded in 1972?
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Current events
- October 27, 2011 – Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, a book by Amory B. Lovins, analyzes the possibility of converting the United States to almost total reliance on renewable energy sources. (NYT)
- September 29, 2011 – Renewable energy in the UK hits record high reaching 9.6% of electricity production. (The Guardian)
- September 29, 2011 – The Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil halted after ruling that it risked damaging fish stocks. (The Guardian)
- May 30, 2011 -- In 2010 the energy-related CO2 emissions were highest in the history 30.6 Gt. According to IEA, the global energy CO2 -emissions should be equal or less than 32 Gt in 2020 to fulfil the agreed 450 Scenario. (IEA)
- April 10, 2011 -- The Japan Atomic Energy Agency raises the severity of the Fukushima I nuclear accidents to level 7, the highest on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
- March 16, 2011 -- Explosions and a fire at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant have resulted in dangerous levels of radiation, sparking a stock market collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets. (SBS)
- March 11, 2011 -- Communities around the Pacific ocean, from Hawaii to Easter Island, scramble to safety after the Japanese Sendai earthquake and tsunami. (Guardian)
- March 8, 2011 -- First foundations are laid for the London Array, a planned 1,000 megawatt offshore wind farm under construction in the Thames Estuary in the UK. (Kent Online)
Selected biography
Francisco Alves Mendes Filho (December 15, 1944 – December 22, 1988), also known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist. He fought to stop the logging of the Amazon Rainforest to clear land for cattle ranching, and founded a national union of rubber tappers in an attempt to preserve their profession and the rainforest that it relied upon. He was murdered in 1988 by ranchers opposed to his activism.| “ | At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realise I am fighting for humanity. | ” |
On 22 December 1988, Mendes was assassinated by gunshot at his Xapuri home. In December, 1990 rancher Darcy Alves Pereira and his son Darli Alves were sentenced to 19 years in prison for their part in Mendes' assassination.
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Selected organization
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), two organizations of the United Nations. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore.
One of the main activities of the IPCC is to publish special reports on topics where it supports the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is essentially the document behind the Kyoto Protocol. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific literature. The IPCC is only open to member states of the WMO and UNEP.
The stated aims of the IPCC are to assess scientific information relevant to:
- Human-induced climate change,
- The impacts of human-induced climate change,
- Options for adaptation and mitigation.
The IPCC does not carry out research, nor does it monitor climate or related phenomena. A main activity of the IPCC is publishing special reports on topics relevant to the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty that acknowledges the possibility of harmful climate change; implementation of the UNFCCC led eventually to the Kyoto Protocol. The IPCC bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific literature. The IPCC is only open to member states of the WMO and UNEP.
IPCC reports are widely cited in almost any debate related to climate change. National and international responses to climate change generally regard the UN climate panel as authoritative. The summary reports (i.e. Summary for Policymakers), which draw the most media attention, include review by participating governments in addition to scientific review.
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Selected quote
| Cars don't cause pollution, trees do. — Ronald Reagan |
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Main topics
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