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The National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund25/4/2012 from National GeographicAbout the Program Building on our legacy of supporting groundbreaking research and vital conservation worldwide for more than a century, National Geographic has established The National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund. This grant program supports the field research of Chinese scientists who are exploring innovative solutions to water and air quality issues. Funding will be given to on-the-ground projects in China at the cutting edge of research, technology, and conservation that require seed capital, including those that investigate risky or unproven approaches. Funded projects will include, but not be limited to, scientific research, community conservation programs, technological innovation, and communication endeavors that directly bear on novel solutions in air and water conservation. Priority will be given to projects with potential for being replicable and scalable for a global audience. Alibaba Group is a founding partner of The National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund. Pres. Obama Issues Green Schools Proclamation4/20/12 from Earthday Pres. Obama Issues Green Schools Proclamation; Earth Day Network Calls upon Congress and the Administration to Fund Environmental Education Earth Day Network applauds President Barack Obama's decision to issue a Presidential Proclamation for the 42nd anniversary of Earth Daylauding the Department of Education's new Green Ribbon Schools program. We believe, as does the Administration, that green schools provide a solid educational and environmental foundation for our nation's schoolchildren. For more than seven years, Earth Day Network has been a national leader in the burgeoning movement to green America's schools and played an instrumental role in creating the Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools program. This initiative is not only the first comprehensive green schools program at the federal level, it is a galvanizing force for schools seeking to save money, improve student and staff health, and reduce pollution. Only a few weeks ago, President Obama's budget proposal to Congress recommended eliminating nearly $40 million for environmental education programs at the EPA, NOAA and NSF. These proposed cuts-the equivalent to one-fourth of the cost of one F-22 fighter jet-would cripple local and national environmental education programs across the country. Though the Administration also deserves praise for announcing a new federal task force on environmental education at the first ever White House Summit on Environmental Education, these cuts have the potential to seriously hinder support for environmental education and green schools nationwide. It's no secret that America's students deserve the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in today's competitive world. That's why we believe that environmental education and green schools are so important, since they play a critical role in advancing America's competitiveness in an increasingly complex and challenging world. As a result, Earth Day Network asks YOU to tell the Administration and Congress to FULLY fund environmental education at the federal level. To learn more about this critical issue, check out PRI's Living on Earth interview today with our Education Director, Sean S. Miller, which is playing on public radio stations nationwide this weekend. Texas Tornadoes Toss Trailers, Flatten Homes
A trailer flies through the air as a tornado sweeps through the area of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday in a still image taken from a video. The National Weather Service estimates that between 6 and 13 twisters may have touched down in northern Texas yesterday, CNN reported. CNN meteorologist Sean Morris estimated that the tornadoes were F1 or F2 on the Fujita scale, which ranks tornadoes based on wind speed and damage potential. "This is fairly weak in terms of tornadoes, but we saw the awesome power of the twisters as they lifted the trailers several hundred feet in the air," he said on CNN's website. An empty trailer weighs 14,000 pounds (63,500 kilograms), while a full one weighs about 46,000 pounds (208,650 kilograms), according to the news agency. Authorities have not yet reported any deaths from the Texas tornadoes, which destroyed at least 150 homes. (Also see "Alabama Tornado Pictures: Mile-Wide 'Monster' Slams Towns [2011].")
Strong sandstorm hits Asia march 21 2012 (Picture from NASA) People in Mumbai and Gujarat suffered from a strong sandstorm, which has been attributed to a giant dust plume that stretched across the Arabian Sea from the coast of Oman to India. Several meteorologists had characterized the late March dust activity in this region as a "super sandstorm" with effects reaching as far as Southeast Asia.
UNEP Disaster Risk Reduction - A closer look As well as producing environmental risk assessments, UNEP: Seeks to strengthen the hand of Member States for environmental management through developing responsive strategies, building capacity and implementing pilot projects to reduce identified risks, thereby contributing to long-term disaster risk reduction. Contributes to global policy development by producing policy toolkits and training modules that demonstrate good practices and lessons learned in reducing risks. Provides environmental data and expertise on sustainable management of shared natural resources. As an effective means to disseminate policies into practice, UNEP coordinates thePartnership on Environment for Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR), a global level forum and a Platform of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), which seeks to advance an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, ecosystem management and livelihoods. Some of the partners include:IUCN,WWF,SEI,GFMC, and ADP. UNEP¡¯s Disaster Risk Reduction is currently engaged in the following two areas of work: RiVamp:Integrating Ecosystem and Climate Change factors in disaster risk assessment Developing capacity for coastal zone managers
Closure of Workshop: The Physics of Weather and Climate Models Friday 23/3/2012. The workshop is co-hosted by the JPL Center for Climate Sciences (CCS) and the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS), co-Sponsored by CCS, KISS, the World Climate Research Programme, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US National Science Foundation and the World Weather Research Programme and co-organized by the JPL Center for Climate Sciences; the Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology; and the Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, a working group of the World Climate Research Programme and the World Meteorological Organization's Commission for Atmospheric Sciences. The workshop focuses on key problems in the representation of physical processes in weather and climate models. The goal of the workshop is to further the development of scientific and programmatic strategies for solutions to these key problems. The workshop is organized by Dr. Joao Teixeira (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology), Dr. Christian Jakob (Monash University), and Dr. A. Pier Siebesma (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute).
UNEP Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA)
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2012 @ California Institute of Technology |
PROVIA is an exciting new global initiative which aims to provide direction and coherence at the international level for research on vulnerability, impacts and adaptation (VIA). It is a joint collaboration between UNEP, WMO and UNESCO. Launched with the support of leading scientists and decision-makers, PROVIA responds to the urgent call for a more cohesive and coordinated approach to harmonize, mobilize, and communicate the growing knowledge-base on VIA.