June 16, 2007

 Flight ads should carry health warnings
Advertisements for flights, holidays and cars should carry tobacco-style health warnings about climate change, a think tank has said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) believes messages about carbon emissions could change public attitudes and behaviour.

It says adding warnings like “Flying causes climate change” could tackle “our addiction” to polluting transport.

The IPPR also wants higher air fares, including carbon offset charges. Any passengers unwilling to contribute should be forced to actively opt out, it adds.

Simon Retallack, the IPPR’s head of climate change, said the evidence of aviation’s negative environmental impact was “just as clear as the evidence that smoking kills.”

“We know that smokers notice health warnings on cigarettes, and we have to tackle our addiction to flying in the same way,” he said. “But if we are to change people’s behaviour, warnings must be accompanied by offering people alternatives to short-haul flights and by steps to make the cost of flying better reflect its impact on the environment.”

The report said revenues from higher aviation taxes should be spent on improving rail transport.

It also said car makers should be made to label new vehicles according to their green credentials and should advertise the contribution driving makes to climate change.

Harry Potter book goes green
Is Draco Malfoy green with envy, or is it just the paper he’s printed on? With only five weeks to go until the last Harry Potter book hits the shelves (on July 21) US publisher Scholastic has partnered with the Rainforest Alliance to green up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The 784-page book will have a first printing of 12 million copies in the US, and nearly two-thirds of the 16,700 tons of paper used will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from sustainable timber. It’s the largest-ever purchase of FSC-certified paper to be used in a single book printing. In addition, the books will contain at least 30 per cent recycled fibre, while the deluxe edition — with a first printing of a mere 100,000 copies — will be printed on 100 per cent recycled paper in a renewable-energy-powered factory. So OK, fewer trees will die ... but will Harry?

Savor flavours
More than 20 years ago Carlo Petrini, an Italian gastronome, and conservationist with several books to his name, observed the decline in food varieties and flavours.

Worried that the world would succumb to McDonald’s-isation, he created the Slow Food concept, which protects and publicises local delicacies around the world that are in danger of disappearing. With a new book Slow Food Nation out recently Petrini continues to wield influence in the culinary realm.

Rise in sea level could affect one in 10 people worldwide
If you are one of the 634 million people worldwide living in a coastal zone, be advised: you may be in deep trouble.

New research using population models and NASA satellite data estimates that one in 10 people in the world —some 75 per cent of them in Asia — live in coastal regions that will be at risk of being affected by flooding and intense storms brought on by global warming. The low-lying coastal areas, defined as less than 33 feet above sea level, are found in more than 180 countries and include some 70 per cent of the world’s large cities, notably New York City, Tokyo, Mumbai, India, and Shanghai, China.

Hungry grey whales breeding less
Researchers say the grey whales of the eastern Pacific are in deep trouble, and their fate could be an indicator of ocean health.

According to Earthwatch Institute, whales migrating from their feeding grounds north of Seattle to breeding grounds off the Mexican coast are arriving scrawny, malnourished, exhausted.

“They seem to spend their time looking around for food when they should be breeding,” says researcher William Megill.

Possible reasons for the trend include warming oceans due to climate change, dwindling food at the edge of the Arctic ice pack due to climate change, and an unsustainably high population.

Whatever the issue, scientists say more study is warranted. “It may be a lot more serious than just grey whales,” Megill says. “They may just be the early warning sign of changes for the whole Pacific, and we urgently need to know what’s going on.”