Not Getting High..

The construction of one of Europe's largest onshore wind farms has been refused by the Scottish Government today.
The 181 turbines on the Western Isles did not obey with the European law protecting sensitive environments. Scottish ministers decided the project would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, protecting birds and onshore habitat.
"Sadly all of this has been lost because of the government decision which, we believe, represents a huge missed opportunity," in a statement for LWP.
The Lewis Wind Power company believes that the turbines will not only bring cheap, reusable energy to the neighboring towns but also a significant amount of jobs. The project was backed by local authorities and business but brought in a report 11,000 objections to the idea.
Energy Minister Jim Mather said the government was committed to helping the renewable energy sector in the Western Isles. "I strongly believe the vast renewables potential needs to be exploited to ensure that the opportunities and benefits of new development can be shared across the country in an equitable fashion." Source.

Are UN for the Climate Change Conference?

The United Nations is scheduled to hold their annual Climate Change Conference in Bali today. This conference is focusing on devising a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the present Kyoto Protocol objectives expire in 2012.
The two week seminar will also discuss how to help fund poor countries manage with warmer weather since they are the regions that will be mostly effected with climate change.
"..The near-term vulnerabilities are not concentrated in lower Manhattan and London, but in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh and drought-prone parts of sub-Saharan Africa," said lead author Kevin Watkins of the UN Development Programme's annual Human Development Report.
However, there lies one difficulty that may set the conference back from developing a Kyoto II plan.
US President George Bush favors voluntary rather than mandatory emission goals. While the European Union is for the latter stating that the 27-nation bloc has already committed itself to cut emissions 20% by 2020. The disagreement between the economically-dominating countries is said to keep the conference from focusing on its main objectives.
Rachmat Witoelar, the Indonesian environment minister was named president of the conference, states, "Climate protection must form an integral part of sustainable economic development, and it is critical that we act and we act now."
I am hoping that the conflict surrounding this issue about whether or not there should be a fixed global emissions standard, (that I am all for), does not prevent this conference from coming up with a basic plan to aid the countries most affected by climate change.
I guess we'll all know by the end of the week. Source.

Can Countries Cooperate for Conservation?

Representatives of Europe gathered together in Prague on Monday to discuss if a "nuclear energy renaissance" is possible in order to cut the European Unions dependence on exported energy. France, Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Italy and the Baltic countries were all called upon to support the "nuclear energy renaissance."
Partakers assembled at the European Energy Forum to discuss a common energy proposal and come up with a plan on ideas for 2020 as well as commercial cooperation with Russia. But the main concern?
"It is all a question of knowing if European countries truly want to cooperate," French foreign ministry representative Patrice Allard said.
World Peace in the form of energy conservation; I love it. The conference ended last night after 30 energy experts from various countries around Europe presented and debated a list of growing issues. There is no word yet on how the overall result of the conference went. I'll be sure to post as soon as I discover. Source.
Do you know how it all went down? Kady@SaveTheWorldorElse.com

The Future Looks Promising -For The Rich.

Oxfam, a UK aid charity (both aid & charity necessary? Or should it be charity aid?) warn that Europe's demand for 10% of all transport fuels to come from plants by the year 2020 could harm the worlds poorest people. Oxfam warns that poor farmers have a risk of being forced off of their land to make room for industrial farmers.
The European Commission says it is working to make sure its bio fuel policy does not backfire. ".. It is unacceptable that poor people in developing countries should bear the cost of questionable attempts to cut emissions in Europe," advices Robert Bailey, a policy advisor at Oxfam. Source.