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Showing posts with the label Global Warming

The Arctic – Emerging opportunities beneath the ice

With global warming gradually melting away polar ice caps, new opportunities are slowly, but surprisingly, emerging for trade, tourism and natural resource extraction in the Arctic Circle. But is developing such opportunities at odds with environmental sustainability? Arctic sea ice sank to yet another record annual low in September 2012, at 44% below the 1981-2010 average. The Arctic Ocean is projected to be almost ice-free by the end of this century; with the ice melting at an accelerating rate, quicker than predicted by any climate model. A decade ago, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” drew world attention to the moral consequences of global warming. These included the destruction of farming, the flooding of coastal land displacing millions of people and the spread of tropical diseases to new parts of the global population. Though the consequences of global warming on the Arctic are inherently detrimental, the shrinking icecaps herald new opportunities for trade, tour

Will China’s quest for clean air affect the economy?

China emits about a third of global greenhouse gases. It is also home to 16 of the most polluted cities in the world. China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth dropped from 7.7% in 2013 to 7.4% in 2014. Will China fulfill its quest for clean air and sustain its economy? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. It is not hard to see why China is so keen to implement counter measures to deal with air pollution. Only 8 out of 74 major cities in 2014 met the prescribed health air quality criteria. Moreover, 20 million cars were sold in 2013 – making China the world’s largest car market and adding to its toxic emission woes. Perera noted that the causes of pollution include rapid urbanization and industrialization. Furthermore, the nation burns coal on a large scale – an average of 2 million tons is consumed yearly to meet growing energy demand. The government’s five-year action plan will monitor