Can you imagine seas and oceans completely bereft of colourful fish? The possibility may not be all that far-fetched, thanks to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By the end of the century, CO2 concentrations in seas will interfere with fish's ability to hear, smell, turn and evade predators, says Phillip Munday, professor at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the James Cook University.

This article breaks down the new certification standard that has been created for cosmetic and personal  care products.

Hopefully this is a shift in the right direction!

by Greg Lavery, Ph.D.

Yesterday (17 May) the UK government committed to a 50% reduction on 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2025. This is very good for the development of the UK’s green economy and honours the recommendations of the Independent Committee on Climate Change. It represents another solid step towards the UK leading the third industrial revolution.

Few people are fooled by Nissan’s claim that the LEAF is a zero emissions vehicle.  Zero tailpipe emissions does not mean zero emissions.  “Electric vehicles just shift emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack,” many critics claim.  Both of these claims oversimplify the issue and do not accurately reflect the potential impact of electric vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions.

In reality, electric vehicles shift emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack, nuclear reactor, hydroelectric dam, wind farm and many other sources of electric power.  Ultimately, the impact of electric vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions is a function of the electric generation mix in a given region.  In the United States, the generation mix is nearly 50% coal and an additional 22% comes from natural gas and other fossil fuels (see image below, courtesy of MIT Electric Vehicle Team Blog).