Category: RT Newswire

The following two press releases were sent from the Global Justice Ecology
Project office this week:

International Biochar Conference Uses False Claims to Promote
Dangerous Technology in the name of Climate Change Mitigation

Joint Press Release by Global Forest Coalition, Biofuelwatch (UK) and
Global Justice Ecology Project

Campaigners today warn that an international conference on biochar,
which will be held in Newcastle, UK from 8 to 10 September, will be
misleading governments and the public with claims that biochar – a
by-product of second generation agrofuel production – can curb
climate change and improve soil fertility.

The International Biochar Initiative (IBI), which is organising the
conference, promotes the idea that disastrous climate change can be
prevented of we use enormous amounts of biomass for bioenergy, obtain
charcoal as a byproduct and use that charcoal as a fertilizer. They
claim this is a “carbon negative” process, and that the charcoal
improves soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Unfortunately,
their claims are unfounded and they fail to account for the fact that vast
areas of land would have to be turned over to monoculture plantations to
produce enough biomass. [1]

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-roofs10-2008sep10,0,2976609.story
Los Angeles Times
September 10, 2008

To slow global warming, install white roofs
By Margot Roosevelt – Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Builders have known for decades that white roofs reflect the sun’s
rays and lower the cost of air conditioning. But now scientists say
they have quantified a new benefit: slowing global warming.

If the 100 biggest cities in the world installed white roofs and
changed their pavement to more reflective materials — say, concrete
instead of asphalt-based material — the global cooling effect would
be massive, according to data released Tuesday at California’s annual
Climate Change Research Conference in Sacramento.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2008 12:13 PM
CONTACT: MADRE
Diana Duarte, Media Coordinator
(212) 627-0444; media@madre.org

Haiti Slammed by Four Severe Storms; Women’s Organization Launches Emergency
Response With Local Groups

NEW YORK – September 8 – With the impact of Hurricane Ike over the weekend, Haiti
has been hit by four severe storms in less than four weeks. The most recent heavy
flooding has killed another 50 people, pushing the death toll over the past month
above 600 people.

In the town of Gonaives-much of which is now under water-200,000 people have been
stranded without food or drinking water for as many as four days. In total, nearly
one million people, including 300,000 children, have been affected by these storms.

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Published on Monday, September 8, 2008 by McClatchy Newspapers

Haiti Reeling, Cities Cut Off, As 4 Storms Deliver Devastation
by Jacqueline Charles

CABARET, Haiti – Frantz Samedi had searched for his 5-year-old for two hours,
trudging through heaps of storm debris and muddy water, calling her name, “Tamasha,
Tamasha!”

A Haitian observes a flooded street in Saint Marc City. Hurricane Ike raged across
Cuba with torrential rain and winds as Haiti struggled with a growing humanitarian
crisis after four hurricanes in four weeks. (AFP/Yuri Cortez)When he finally found
her, she seemed to be peacefully asleep, her body resting on the wet, mud-laden
concrete slab next to 11 other children, ages 1 to 8. The graying man pressed his way
through the crowd of survivors, carrying a pot of water. He knelt beside the lifeless body,
gently washing the mud off his little girl with a sponge. ”I can’t leave her in this
condition,” Samedi said, sobbing. ”I should have died in her place.” Tamasha and
the other children were torn from their families when Ike swept through this poor
oceanside town early Sunday. The tragedy here was but a microscopic glimpse of
widespread devastation across the country.

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