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[newsdesk.org] News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 7, No. 32: Despite this conservationist trend, European Union nations are still major importers of illegal timber, according to ClimateChangeCorp, a London-based environmental news Web site for businesses.
[Climate Crisis Coalition - Daily News] Weekend Summary: Release by US Forest Service, August 11, 2008. “The US Forest Service has launched an online clearinghouse for information on climate change across the West”¦ .
[1read's Weblog] THE WORLD today!: willingness to take a partial loss on loan/s, an overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration, stronger regulations of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving them a permanent authority to increase home loans from $417.000 to $625.000, $15 Billion in housing-related tax incentives, including a refundable tax credit of up to $7.500 or 10% of the purchase price for first home owners on purchase of unoccupied housing to slow the fall of plunging home prices, an amount of $150 Million to expand counseling for borrowers to prevent foreclosure, establishing stricter disclosure rules and payment requirements for lenders, a Housing Trust Fund of $5 Billion to cover expenses related to the foreclosure rescue plan for three years to be used to create affordable rental housing, financial councelling and mortgage restructuring, and a $3,9 Billion emergency aid to stabilize hard-hit communities by purchasing vacant and foreclosed properties. The long-sought housing relief legislation, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, raising the national debt ceiling to $10,6 Trillion to accomodate rescue plan for the mortgage companies, existing already federal debt of $9,5 Trillion, made its final passage overwhelmingly through the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush early Wednesday. To stabilize troubled housing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a combined capital structure of about $83 Billion, debts of more than $1,5 Trillion, exposures of more than $5,3 Trillion and unprecedented losses of $11 Billion in the last nine months, expecting heavy new quarterly losses as foreclosures continue and housing crisis will last into 2009, suffering both firms increasingly under-capitalisation, the Treasury Department took two steps, which could cost over $25 Billion for the next two years, but according to the IMF upwards of $100 Billion, making plans to increase the amount they can borrow from the Government and enabling the Government to directly invest in the firms if conditions get worse, suggesting the creation of a new regulatory agency the Federal Housing Finance Agency, authorizing the Federal Reserve separately direct lending to the two companies if necessary, - important emergency measures forming now an essential part of the new housing rescue law. Meanwhile home loan rates approached their highest levels in 5 years, reaching the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages 6,71%.
[Allen L Roland's Radio Weblog] CLIMATE COLLAPSE LIKELY / WHAT WOULD HAPPEN ?: Megadroughts afflict the U.S., especially in the southern states, along with winds that are 15% stronger on average than they are now, causing widespread dust storms and soil loss. The U.S. is better positioned to cope than most nations, however, thanks to its diverse growing climates, wealth, technology, and abundant resources.
[1read's Weblog] THE WORLD today!: Pope Benedict XVI said the world needed to care for the environment, but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind, attacking climate change prophets of doom, warning that .
[Political Animal] California Wildfires: ....Last week, we saw reports of more wildfires in California. Sure as night follows day, people will lay some of the blame on climate change.
[worldchanging] Can Cattle Save Us From Global Warming?: The Worldchanging comments are meant to be used for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in our posts. Please note that, while constructive disagreement is fine, insults and abuse are not, and will result in the comment being deleted and a likely ban from commenting.
[Asia Portal - In Focus] China’s involvement in climate change mitigation: China is involved in all of them, but is co-chair of the Cleaner Fossil Energy Task Force and the Power Generation and Transmission Task Force, quite in line with its energy priorities and general national development priorities. Examples of the projects of the latter task force include e.g., exhibitions, conferences and missions on the relevant topics, as well as best practice plans, transmission and distribution activities, risk evaluation, modernization and life extension and remaining life assessment of power plants.
[Eat more cookies] Birding community e-bulletin for August: The Boreal Forest in northern Ontario represents 43 percent of the province’s land mass, and is part of one of the world’s largest intact ecosystems. The Boreal Forest is home to millions of nesting birds, including songbirds such as Gray Jays, Boreal Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Tennessee Warblers, Swainson’s Thrushes, and White-throated Sparrows, along with a rich diversity of waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors.
[Orbitz Travel Blog] Travel green with these eco-friendly California cities: it is a green party ”” thanks, in large part, to Humboldt State University, which is located in town. Humboldt Redwoods State Park is, at 53,000 square acres, one of the largest redwood forests, with 17,000 square acres of the tallest, oldest trees.
[olyecology weblog] 375 - Earth's Tree News: 13) A BAE Systems Regional Aircraft regional jet is flying over Asia to improve understanding of how equatorial rain forests influence climate change. The BAe 146 atmospheric research aircraft (146ARA) is being used at Kota Kinabalu in .
[Diabetic Diet Blog] Diabetic dieting research papers: The battle at the WTO is seen by many as a test of how other global deals can be done, notably next year on climate change, given the shifting balance of power as new heavyweights such as India and China grow in confidence.Many ministers in Geneva will be seeking a lead from the United States on Tuesday when it will again come under pressure to say how far it will lower its ceiling on farm subsidies.I’m sure it will come tomorrow…Otherwise it will be difficult to move a bit forward, said European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.But U.S. trade chief Susan Schwab said Washington would not be rushing into playing its key card in the negotiations without signs that the big emerging economies were ready to move too.When we address the…domestic support issue, it will address our desire to invite others to also participate in a can do type of conversation, instead of a can’t do conversation, she told reporters.Latest WTO proposals would require the United States to cut trade-distorting farm subsidies to a range of $13 billion to $16.4 billion a year from a current ceiling of $48.2 billion.The range is above current U.S. spending on subsidies of about $7 billion although the handout figure is low because global foods prices are so high.The EU is under pressure to cut its farm tariffs and limit the number of sensitive products that would be shielded from the deepest tariff cuts.EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the EU’s offer on farm tariff cuts now represented an average cut of about 60 percent which represented a further iteration on a previous estimate of a reduction of 54 percent.(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer)
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