Saturday, February 23, 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

MIT Club lecture




Nous sommes heureux de vous inviter à un Dîner-Débat sur le thème "L'EXPEDITION SAGAX - CROISADE BLANCHE POUR UNE CAUSE VERTE" le mardi 18 mars à 20 heures dans les salons du Club Iéna.
Nous aurons l’occasion d’échanger en direct avec :

Luc HARDY
Fondateur et Président de SAGAX
Aventurier, Auteur, Explorateur, Philanthrope

Durant l’été 2007, Luc Hardy a mené, conjointement avec le GREA et Green Cross International, une expédition de neuf personnes, dont des scientifiques et des enfants, au Groenland. Leur mission: évaluer l’impact du réchauffement climatique sur la faune et la flore arctique. Pour cela ils ont effectué des prélèvements, balisé des oiseaux, observé des animaux, interviewé des populations locales...
Pour notre dîner-débat, Luc interviendra, photos à l'appui, sur les signes concrets de réchauffement climatique qu'il a pu observer directement lors de son expédition au Groenland l'été dernier. Il pourra nous parler aussi de l'impact du réchauffement sur la géopolitique de la région, et du rôle des ONGs elles aussi engagées dans ces processus.

Pour détails contacter: greenland@sagax.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Oil rush?



A 2-employee Las Vegas-based company claims to have legal rights to Arctic oil and gas. hummmm.... Market cap of the company: $288 million (yes!). Judge for yourself at: www.arcticoag.com

“Arctic Oil & Gas Corp. (Pink Sheets: AOAG) is an oil exploration venture company that has filed for the exclusive exploitation, development, marketing and extraction rights to the oil and gas resources of the seafloor and subsurface contained within the ”Arctic Claims“.

An Exclusive Rights Claim to the Hydrocarbon Resources of the Arctic Oceans Commons was formally lodged by the Company and its partners with the United Nations and the five Arctic countries on May 9th 2006....”

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Claims to the Arctic seabed?



Front page of today’s New York Times, more news and intrigue on what will become a dramatic geopolitical issue in the next few years. One that Green Cross International is addressing through various efforts, including a series of Arctic educational expeditions in the Arctic. More on this soon... Full article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/world/europe/...

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Biofuels INCREASE Greenhouse gases...



Contrary to popular belief..:

Published Online February 7, 2008
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1151861

Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change
Timothy Searchinger 1*, Ralph Heimlich 2, R. A. Houghton 3, Fengxia Dong 4, Amani Elobeid 4, Jacinto Fabiosa 4, Simla Tokgoz 4, Dermot Hayes 4, Tun-Hsiang Yu 4


* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Timothy Searchinger , E-mail: tsearchi@princeton.edu

Most prior studies have found that substituting biofuels for gasoline will reduce greenhouse gases because biofuels sequester carbon through the growth of the feedstock. These analyses have failed to count the carbon emissions that occur as farmers worldwide respond to higher prices and convert forest and grassland to new cropland to replace the grain (or cropland) diverted to biofuels. Using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years. Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions by 50%. This result raises concerns about large biofuel mandates and highlights the value of using waste products.

Friday, February 1, 2008