NRDC: Top Community Sustainability Stories of 2012

The NRDC looked back on the year that was and honored some of the outstanding issues and accomplishments for community sustainability that came to light during the year. As explained in their preface to the article "In many cases, naming a particular item one of the best of 2012 may be a bit (not completely) arbitrary: by definition, sustainability is seldom a single “event” that occurs wholly within one calendar year."

Review of the Most Extreme U.S. Weather Events of 2012

Extreme weather is helping Americans to accept the veracity of climate science. Thousands were killed due to extreme weather in the U.S. in 2012 and the costs amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in property damage, diminished agricultural yields and lost productivity. In 2012, there were eleven extreme weather events in the U.S. which cost a billion dollars or more. With the exception of 2011, when there were fourteen such disasters, 2012 saw more extreme weather events than in any year in U.S. history.

Extreme weather is a serious problem and it will become much more serious if we continue with business as usual. At the opening of COP 18, the annual United Nations climate summit in Doha, Qatar, UN climate chief Christina Figueres, urged governments around the world to “do something about” extreme weather. “We have had severe climate and weather events all over the world and everyone is beginning to understand that is exactly the future we are going to be looking about if they don’t do something about it.”

The Green Market Oracle's Top 20 Stories of 2012: Education

Arguably education is the single most crucial issue in the advancement of sustainability. In 2012, the importance of a green education was in evidence in the curricula and course offerings of  a wide variety of educational institutions and online portals.

Sustainability, science and weather top The Green Market Oracle's list of the 20 leading stories of 2012.  The next series of top stories (7 - 11) is focused on environmental politics. The third installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories of 2012 (12 - 16) deals with environmental communications. The final installment (17 - 20) is focused on education and includes a diverse array of environmentally oriented programming, green school buildings and teaching resources.

The Green Market Oracle's Top 20 Stories of 2012: Environmental Communications

The urgency of the need for action on climate change requires that we become more sophisticated in our communications. On their own science based approaches are not moving us fast enough in the direction we need to go. In 2012 there were a number of new grassroots approaches that reach out directly to people using persuasive communications combined with digital technologies. This includes new environmental narratives, direct appeals to consumers, movies, and organizations with wide appeal like 350.org and Greenpeace.

The Green Market Oracle's top six stories of 2012 involve the subjects of Sustainability, science and weather. The next series of top stories (7 - 11) is focused on environmental politics. The third installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories (12 - 16) deal with environmental communications. The final installment (17 - 20) is focused on education.

Here are The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories of 2012 focused on Environmental Communications.

The Green Market Oracle's Top 20 Stories of 2012: Environmental Politics

In 2012 we saw a number of political stories that have significant repercussions for the environment. These stories cover the less than stellar outcome of COP 18, Republican anti-environmentalism, the US federal election, and the environmental efforts of President Obama and the Democrats. Another important environmental story involves the dismantling of environmental protections by Canada's ruling Conservatives.

The Green Market Oracle's top six stories of 2012 involve the subjects of Sustainability, science and weather. The next series of top stories (7 - 11) is focused on environmental politics. The third installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories (12 - 16) deal with environmental communications. The final installment (17 - 20) is focused on education.

Here is the second installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories of 2012.

The Green Market Oracle's Top 20 Stories of 2012: Sustainability, Science and Weather

Fueled by a plethora of new research and extreme weather, sustainability, cleantech and renewable energy continued to grow in 2012 and investors are increasingly demanding that environmental issues are part of the disclosure profiles of corporations.

The Green Market Oracle's top six stories of 2012 involve the subjects of Sustainability, science and weather. The next series of top stories (7 - 11) is focused on environmental politics. The third installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories (12 - 16) deal with environmental communications. The final installment (17 - 20) is focused on education.

Here is the first installment of The Green Market Oracle's top 20 stories of 2012.

Top Environmental Documentaries and Movies

Here is a list of some of the best documentaries and movies with an environmental theme. Many of these films deal with fossil fuels and they all deal with the environmental implications of human activity. Some of the older movies like "Baraka" and "Koyaanisqatsi" date back more than two decades while others like "Promised Land" and "Chasing Ice"  were released in 2012.

All films are linked to sites that offer a review and a trailer, some of the links go to the full length video. Here are 42 of the best movies and documentaries related to the environment:

The Most Important Green Business Stories of 2010

On December 21, Bloomberg Business published Harvard Review's most important stories affecting the greening of business in 2010. Here is a rough summary of the review.

US Politicians Fail to Pass Climate Legislation

The US Senate's failure to pass climate change legislation impedes global efforts to address climate change and undermines the competitiveness of American companies. The Republicans midterm election victory in the House of Representatives have definitively killed any hope of US climate legislation for at least two years. While the American legislature dithers, governments in the rest of the world are helping businesses to make the transition to a low carbon economy.

China

China has assumed a leadership role in renewable energy. China is now the world's largest solar producer and they now control almost half of the $45 billion global market for wind turbines. While China's support for its renewables companies may violate the WTO accord, there can be no doubt that China is investing massively in the low carbon economy through technology and innovation driven development that focuses on energy saving, environmental protection, and the low-carbon economy.

Declining Resource Availability

Climate change is impacting on countries around the world and this is directly effecting the availability of resources. Russia had the worst drought in 1,000 years and Pakistan was inundated by flooding. These weather events directly affect resource availability. The drought in Russia destroyed 40% of its wheat crop, pulling 1/6 of the world's trade in the crop off the global market, driving up wheat prices. The floods in Pakistan helped double the price of cotton. There is also evidence that rare earth metals, so vital to green technologies, may soon be in short supply.

The Growth of Electric Vehicles

A number of electric vehicles are now available in America and around the world. The Nissan LEAF and the Chevrolet Volt are amongst a plethora of electric vehicles that entered into the marketplace in 2010. An increasing number of companies are greening their fleets. This year GE announced that it would purchase 25,000 Electric vehicles including the Chevy Volt.

The Growth of Renewable Energy

The market for renewables is growing fast, in countries like Portugal almost half (45%) of the countries electricity comes from renewables. HSBC says the market for clean tech and climate change solutions will top $2.2 trillion by 2020.

The Growth of Sustainable Supply Chains

Despite the recession, there were numerous green supply chain announcements in 2010. These announcements include Wal-Mart which said it would eliminate 20 million metric tons of GHG emissions from its supply chain. We also saw major supply chain announcements from companies like IBM, Pepsi, Tropicana, P&G, and Kaiser Permanente.

Corporate Waste Reduction

Many corporations are working hard on waste reduction. GM announced that 62 of its plants now send zero waste to landfill, and UK retailer Marks & Spencer reached a 92% diversion rate on the way to its zero goals. Sony set a goal of zero environmental impact across its operations by 2050.

Sustainable Corporate Goals

Many large corporations are setting aggressive targets. Panasonic said it wanted its GHG emissions to peak by 2018 and it would greatly increase sales of eco-products. Unilever has announced that it would double sales by 2020 while halving its environmental impact the company has also announced other big goals.

The Greening of Small Business

Small companies are also seeing the value of going green. The fact that California's Bowman Design only has 10 employees and just 2,000 square feet of office space in Southern California has not prevented it from reducing the companies GHG emissions by 65% and saving $9,000 savings annually.


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