Environment Portal

In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in their Fourth Assessment Report that human actions are “very likely” (i.e. with 90% or greater probability) the cause of global warming, indicated by an increase of 0.75 degrees in average global temperatures over the last 100 years. This statement is the result of very tough discussions on a worldwide scale between thousands of climate researchers whether human activity is the main cause of global warming. The results of this discussion were presented to the public in many publications, for instance in Martin Durkin´s documentary “The Great Global Warming Swindle”, presented in March 2007 at UK´s Channel 4. The main message of this production was that man-made global warming is “a lie” and “the biggest scam of modern times.” Martin Durkin and coworkers argue that the scientific consensus on climate change is the product of “a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry, created by fanatically anti-industrial environmentalists, supported by scientists peddling scare stories to chase funding and propped up by complicit politicians and the media”. The documentary showcases scientists, politicians, economists, writers, and others who are sceptical of the scientific consensus on anthropogenic (or man-made) global warming. Some of the scientists, opposing the main stream of greenhouse gas theories, simply argue that it has not yet been ascertained whether humans are the primary cause of global warming or if there are other natural variations responsible for this phenomenon like increased solar activity, cosmic rays or variations in natural climatic cycles. There is also a series of scientists questioning the temperature records used in the databases as temperature differences attributed to the greenhouse effect are reasonable small (fractions of a ºC). The so-called “urban heat island” effect leads to a local warming in more populated areas, showing slightly higher temperatures due to to increased heat generated by cities, rather than a global temperature rise. Anyhow, this argument was confuted by the IPPC, indicating that the effect of the urban heat island on the global temperature trend is no more than 0.05 °C (0.09 °F) degrees through 1990.

Imagine the power of knowing what the weather will be like when you are at a client meet, beforehand? You would always be prepared no matter how inclement the weather. That means more sales and more happy customers. This is the power that the SmartServices Solution Suite provides you.

Instant mobile weather alerts

With the SmartServices blackberry weather feature, you can receive instantaneous alerts on the weather condition for a specific date and time. You can also choose to get weekly or daily mobile weather alerts at the mere click of a button! You can get access to both current as well as 7 day extended mobile weather forecast for your Blackberry phone. The best feature about the revolutionary SmartServices Solution Suite is that it is accessible across 58000 cities all across the globe. This makes it a truly unique weather forecast software service, whereby geographical constraints cease to be redundant.

Staying ahead of the competition got easier

Now you never need to let the weather play spoilsport on your business plans ever again. For those all-important customer visits, you can now plan and schedule your itinerary as per the weather forecasted. With the amazing new SmartServices blackberry weather features you can get access to all weather conditions forecasted, at your fingertips, in a few seconds. You can now stay ahead of the tough competition by having access to critical weather information. No matter what the weather predicted, with this fascinating mobile weather service, you can plan for a customer trip beforehand. This is a strategic advantage that you can now have over your direct competitors.

Information transfer from PC or phone

The effects of climate change on the environment have been well documented over the last few years, with global warming being the most publicised. The latest news on climate change however offers a more random warning from some of the best chefs and sommeliers from France.

They are claiming that global warming will have such an impact on the weather in France that the country’s vineyards will degrade to such a level that they won’t be able to produce quality wines. The group have claimed that if climate change is left unchecked the best wines in the world will one day come from Scotland such is the severity of the impact of global warming.

Vineyards in France have already suffered this year as a result of climate change, with freak weather conditions and new diseases affecting the plants.

Some of the leading names in French gastronomy wrote a letter to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, claiming that climate change is one of the most important environmental issues of our time and if left unchecked the future of the French wine industry is at stake.

According to some predictions, global warming could lead to the south of England being too hot to grow vineyards in by 2080 unless the problem is addressed.Some of the leading names in French gastronomy wrote a letter to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, claiming that climate change is one of the most important environmental issues of our time and if left unchecked the future of the French wine industry is at stake.

According to some predictions, global warming could lead to the south of England being too hot to grow vineyards in by 2080 unless the problem is addressed.

Copyright (c) 2008 Daniel Lafleche

Today’s journals of trade and popular culture are all but awash in the buzzwords ‘sustainable’ and ‘sustainability’. Here, we are obliged to raise the red flag and warn of lurking danger. These diverse and many advocates do a great disservice in more ways than they know.

For in this great sea of ‘sustainability’, which spans business strategies and regimens of weight loss, one all too easily loses sight of the real battle. We know that over-use of a term can have an unintended blunting effect. But the word is so much in vogue, and its employment so overzealous, that it has in many instances become obscured entirely. So, you ask, what is sustainable development? Who are its proponents and antagonists? And, oh yes, why exactly is it to be so desired after all?

Ours is an age in which we have come under the twin pressures of burgeoning population growth and an accompanying intensification of economic development. This development is necessary for the provision of the surging population’s needs and wants. Though rates of population growth show signs of slowing, the number of earth’s inhabitants will continue to expand massively in the foreseeable future. With the added variable of impending climate change, there is a sudden and new awareness of the potentially destructive nature of the human project.

These realities have given immense weight to calls for an oversight which explicitly takes account of the fate of future generations. Many nuanced definitions have been devised, but the most commonly evoked is that sustainable development “meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” General consensus holds that the sustainability project spans three interactive domains; these are (1) environmental sustainability, (2) economic sustainability, and (3) social-political sustainability.

In the past few months, Newt Gingrich and William Kristol have weighed in publicly with advice for John McCain. It’s all about what sort of presidential campaign he should run or what sort of candidate he should be.

Gingrich and Kristol are foursquare behind the idea that the Arizonan should run as a reformer, a conservative reformer.

The advice has plenty of merit. Voters want change and the nation needs it. And it would most certainly be advantageous for the country if Senator McCain were to grab the conservative reform banner and run with it.

But the Arizonan, famous for his independent streak, and with more than a quarter of a century of political experience under his belt, isn’t likely to campaign as a banner-waving reformer. He’s likely to be just what he is: a seasoned politician who will take the most practical routes to winning the presidency.

That doesn’t make him a crass opportunist. Nor does it mean that his candidacy is a principle-free zone. It simply means that as a practitioner of the fine art of electoral politics, Senator McCain is going to find ways of successfully negotiating the nation’s broad and tangled political landscape to gain victory.

His recipe will probably call for a little reform, a little populism and some stand-patism. In fact, that’s already the case. He’s calling for an optional simpler tax system while bashing Wall Street. His trade proposals are conventionally Republican. As the campaign unfolds, he may well change the mix of ingredients or the portions to better reflect swings in the electorate. That’s part of the fine art as well: flexibility.

Where does that leave conservative reform?