Politics

The election of 2012 offers the stark contrast between fossil fuels like coal and clean renewable energy. Obama Supports wind power while Romney supports energy derived from coal. Each candidate offers a different conception of America's energy future. Romney wants to see even more fossil fuel being burned while Obama wants to grow renewable sources of energy like windthat have no emissions. The President derided Romney's stance on wind power while Romney said Obama is waging a "war on coal." The Obama administration through the EPA has enacted regulations on new power plants that make it harder to build new...

The United Nations Global Compact Corporate Sustainability Forum saw more than 150 tangible commitments from the business community. Business leaders pledged sustainable policies and joined a call for world leaders to usher in "a green industrial revolution" to save the planet. The 1200 CEOs made voluntary commitments to greater energy efficiency, reforestation, a lower carbon footprint and other green policies. This is all part of their policy recommendations which will be presented to heads of state at the conference. According to a UN Global Compact release, these pledges are "time-bound, measurable commitments on which corporations are required to report annually."There...

The cooperation of G20 member states is the key to a sustainable recovery. Although the global financial crisis revealed the interconnectedness of the modern economy, it also underscored the importance of cooperation. The Toronto G20 meeting was billed as a final checkup to ensure agreements reached in Pittsburgh would be finalized at a November gathering in Korea, where leaders would then plan for a post-crisis world. "Our highest priority in Toronto must be to safeguard and strengthen the recovery," President Barack Obama wrote in a letter to his G20 colleagues. "We worked exceptionally hard to restore growth; we cannot let...

The green economy can provide a very real return for people and economies and the G20 can play a pivotal role in sustainable development. The Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, said that green spending offers "a very real return for people and economies, north and south...The G20 particularly has huge potential in energy, mobility, buildings, agriculture, forestry, water." Last year, ahead of the April, 2009 G20 summit, over 50 of the world's largest businesses joined forces to call for sustainable stimulus packages. An open letter to the British Prime Minister asked for a coordinated global recovery package with private...

Although the UN chief has voiced his support for the green economy, security concerns for the G20 meetings in Toronto have forced the cancellation of the "Greening the Supply Chain" event. More than 5,000 police officers will be on the streets of Toronto during the G20 summit meetings June 26-27. The security presence is not only to ensure that foreign terrorists cannot use the event to attack the world's economic leaders, it is also in place to protect against domestic militants whose tactics have earned them the name Black Bloc. The self-described anarchists have declared war against capitalism and they...

Although President Obama is seeking to move America away from fossil fuels, he was quick to accept responsibility for the oil spill in the Gulf and the incompetence of the Minerals Management Service (MMS). Many Americans do not approve of the President's efforts to manage the spill. A CBS News poll found that 45 percent disapproved and 20 percent were undecided. Only 35 percent of Americans surveyed approved of the Obama administration's handling of the oil spill. The Gulf oil spill adds fuel to those discontented about the 9.9 percent US jobless rate. With two wars, the recession of 2008...

Yesterday March 29, prior to welcoming the G8 foreign ministers for a meeting on global security, Lawrence Cannon, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs hosted a summit of five Arctic coastal countries (Canada, Russia, the U.S., Norway and Denmark). The talks addressed continental shelf delineation, resource development, national security, shipping routes and environmental protection. Technically, the Arctic is the area within the Arctic Circle, but we can also think of the Arctic as the area north of the treeline, where there is only tundra and the Arctic Ocean, or the area where the average temperature for the warmest month is below...

Tea Party supporters deny the existence of climate change and oppose any attempt to regulate emissions. Despite their distrust of science and resistance to civil debate, the Tea Party's crusade is gaining momentum. Republican organizers are hoping to channel Tea Party anger into electing a conservative Congress in 2010 and a conservative president in 2012. The Tea Party movement began about a year ago as a protest against government bailouts and health care legislation. Starting last Thursday and culminating this weekend, the first national Tea Party convention was fittingly held at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center. Tea Party...