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In Delhi, Leaders Call for Sustainable Action Today, Not Promises for Tomorrow

Frances Beinecke – President of NRDC: Posted February 7, 2012 in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: brundtland, climatechange, delhi, DSDS, energyefficiency, halonen, hyderabad, india, mumbai, pachauri, SEWA, singh, sustainability, sustainabledevelopment, TERI

As I traveled through Mumbai and Delhi over the past few days, I’ve been awed by the rapid growth taking place in Indian cities. Statistics about urbanization abound, but experiencing the dynamic, jammed-packed streets firsthand is much more revealing. Walking...continued→ | comments (1)

Arctic Oil Drilling Threatens Polar Bear Birthing Grounds

Rocky Kistner – Communications Associate: Posted February 8, 2012 in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:: arctic, arctic,, bear,, bears,, biogem,, drilling, national, oil, oilpollution,, polar, refuge, wildlife

Up in the frozen arctic, where polar bear rule over a biogem world, massive oil drilling plans threaten the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Shell, the oil behemoth that made $4.8 billion in profits last quarter, intends to boost those numbers by drilling in the Beaufort and...continued→ | comments

Twilight for Wasting Energy: DOE Combats the Vampire in Your Microwave with New Efficiency Standards

Meg Waltner – Energy Efficiency Advocate: Posted February 8, 2012 in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:: appliances, appliancestandards, energyefficiency, microwaves, standbyenergy

Thanks to new energy efficiency standards proposed last week, DOE Secretary Steven Chu has a new credential on top of his Nobel Prize: he’s a vampire slayer – one that specializes in eliminating “vampire” energy waste while saving consumers billions...continued→ | comments

The Air You Breathe: Families Thank President Obama and the EPA for Cleaner Air

Pete Altman – Climate and Clean Air Campaign Director: Posted February 8, 2012 in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment

Tags:: airpollution, cleanair, cleanair4kids, epa, mercury, obama, pnp, toxic

// If you appreciate the air you breathe, you have an all new reason to be thankful. Every day, tens of millions of Americans benefit from the efforts...continued→ | comments

Mexico: you can't lead in wetland protection if you're losing ground

Carolina Herrera – Latin America Advocate: Posted February 8, 2012 in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:: baja, biogems, cabocortes, cabopulmo, latinamerica, marineprotectedareas, mexico, wetlands

Mexico marked 2012’s World Wetlands Day by announcing four new Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. Yet meanwhile, Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park – a key Ramsar and World Heritage site– remains under threat. The addition of the four new...continued→ | comments

A new Native American village based on tradition helps a Tribe reclaim its sustainable roots

Kaid Benfield – Director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, DC: Posted February 8, 2012 in Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Health and the Environment

Tags:: affordablehousing, nativeamerican, newmexico, ohkayowingeh, pueblo, smartgrowth, sustainablecommunities, tsigobugeh

The Ohkay Owingeh Tribe and Pueblo in New Mexico has returned to its roots with an award-winning, mixed-income housing project based on traditional Native forms. It's an exciting and inspiring project. Built by the Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority explicitly...continued→ | comments

Canada Uses Dangerous Sonar in Waters Protected by U.S.

Michael Jasny – Senior Policy Analyst: Posted February 8, 2012 in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:: biogems, canada, killerwhales, midfrequencysonar, navysonar

On Monday morning, a Canadian Navy frigate ran a sonar exercise in the waters of Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Incredibly, a good portion of that exercise took place on the U.S. side of...continued→ | comments

China Environmental News Alert

Greenlaw from NRDC China – NRDC China Program: Posted February 8, 2012 in Greening China

Tags:: beijing,, beijingbuses,, cadmium,, dams,, gasolineprices,, liquidnaturalgas,, naturalgas, oilprices,, oiltankers,, shalegas,

NRDC has been working in China for over fifteen years on such issues as energy efficiency, green buildings, clean energy technologies, environmental governance and public participation, and green supply chain issues. This China Environmental News Alert is a weekly compilation...continued→ | comments

Weekend in the Woods: Tracking Wolverines

Whitney Angell Leonard – Wildlife Advocate: Posted February 7, 2012

Tags:: citizenscience, lynx, Montana, rarecarnivores, tracking, wolverines

I think I might be hooked on wolverines. Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to join a group of volunteers tracking wolverines and lynx in western Montana, and now I can’t stop searching for Google images of these...continued→ | comments (1)

BEE Raising the Bar: Increased Appliance Efficiency Standards Rolled Out Across India

Anjali Jaiswal – Senior Attorney: Posted February 7, 2012 in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:: AirConditioners, BEE, BureauofEnergyEfficiency, EnergyEfficiency, EnergyEfficiencyGuidelines, EnergyEfficiencyStandards, Hyderabad, India, IndiaInitiative

It may be blizzarding in Europe but here in India, including Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, cars, office buildings, and hotels are blasting their air conditioners. Last week, NRDC’s president, Frances Beinecke, Radhika Khosla and I toured the building boom in High...continued→ | comments

The California renewables market is robust and competitive

Peter Miller – Senior Scientist: Posted February 7, 2012 in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: california, climatechange, cpuc, renewableenergy, RPS

The market for renewable electricity is robust and competitive according to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In a report on the state’s 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) released yesterday, the CPUC provided a snapshot on the impressive progress that has...continued→ | comments

Help Protect Polar Bears from Oil Drilling Disaster in the Arctic, and Get Us on Track to a Clean Energy Future

Leila Monroe – Staff Attorney, Oceans Program: Posted February 7, 2012 in Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: arctic, beaufort, chuckchi, climatechange, oceanprotection, oceans, oil, oildrilling, polarbears

Credit: The Toronto Zoo A cuddly ball of white fur is rolling around the Toronto Zoo this week, as zoo keepers introduced their new polar bear cub to the public on Friday. The cub—which was born prematurely and rejected...continued→ | comments

Who is Sen. DeMint Working for?

Christina Angelides – Federal Policy Advocate, Air & Energy Program: Posted February 7, 2012 in Solving Global Warming

Tags:: cleancars, cleaneconomy, cleanenergy, cleantech, demint, energyefficiency, GE, jobs, manufacturing, renewableenergy, southcarolina

Just who is South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint working for? Last week, the Republican senator introduced legislation (S. 2064) that would terminate existing incentives for clean energy technologies. You’d think South Carolina’s senator would want to protect his state’s interests,...continued→ | comments

Creating Jobs in Homebuilding: What It Will Take

David Goldstein – Energy Program Co-Director: Posted February 7, 2012 in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:: economicrecovery, housing, housingconstruction, jobcreation, jobs, lendingpolicy, locationefficientmortgage, mortgages, regulations, regulatoryreform

Paul Krugman wrote on February 6th that January’s favorable jobs report may be a harbinger of economic recovery. But he lists a precondition: that housing must recover. “The main thing standing in the way of a housing bounce-back is a...continued→ | comments

'The power of the post-industrial city'

Kaid Benfield – Director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, DC: Posted February 7, 2012 in Living Sustainably

Tags:: doncarter, pittsburgh, population, rustbelt, shrinkingcities, smartercities, smartgrowth, sustainablecommunities, water

In this illuminating TED talk, Don Carter of Carnegie Mellon University places the future of Pittsburgh and other post-industrial cities in the context of global environmental trends and concerns. He makes the point that, like many so-called “shrinking cities,”...continued→ | comments (1)

Myths and Facts about California's Bay-Delta Estuary

Doug Obegi – Staff Attorney, Western Water Project: Posted February 6, 2012 in Living Sustainably

Tags:: baydelta, california, californiawater, endangered, fish, salmon, water, waterprogram

We all know that our water comes out of the tap, but do we know how it got there? Many of us who work on California’s water issues weren’t surprised to learn that recent polling data released last week showed that...continued→ | comments (1)

Paving the Road to Rio+20 with Meaningful Dialogue at DSDS 2012 - Anjali Jaiswal (February 6, 2012)
The Southern California Trend Toward Reduced Reliance on the Delta - Price Matters - Barry Nelson (February 6, 2012)
Notes from Hyderabad: Making India's High-Tech Capital More Energy Efficient - Frances Beinecke (February 6, 2012)
Fracking With a Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On - Rocky Kistner (February 6, 2012)
Climate Change is Impacting Winter Sports - Theo Spencer (February 6, 2012)
What does the new economy mean for the shape of communities? - Kaid Benfield (February 6, 2012)
It's all about the framing: How polls and the media misrepresent the Keystone XL [tar sands][oil] pipeline - Liz Barratt-Brown (February 4, 2012)
Latin America Climate, Energy and Environment News: 1/30 - 2/3/2012 - Amanda Maxwell (February 3, 2012)
Backlash Builds Against the House Transportation Bill - Rob Perks (February 3, 2012)
Hundreds of Leaders Agree: Kill the House Transportation Bill - Deron Lovaas (February 3, 2012)
New Cuban Crisis Threatens Florida's Coasts - Adrianna Quintero (February 3, 2012)
Southern California's New Wave of Local Water Supplies - Barry Nelson (February 3, 2012)
Bait and Switch: House GOP Offers Drilling Bill Masquerading as a Transportation Bill - Peter Lehner (February 3, 2012)
How to start transforming sprawl with shared personal vehicles - Kaid Benfield (February 3, 2012)
Toxic Trio Attacks EPA's Carbon Pollution Safeguards - David Doniger (February 3, 2012)
Priceless Elevator Conversation - David Doniger (February 2, 2012)
Editorial Extremism at the Wall Street Journal - Peter Lehner (February 2, 2012)
Worst Transportation Bill Ever (Video Version) - Deron Lovaas (February 2, 2012)
Getting the Straight Poop About Industrial Livestock Production - Jon Devine (February 2, 2012)
Friends Don't Let Friends Drill and Drive - Rob Perks (February 2, 2012)

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Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.

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