Categories: Knights' Hood
February 6 Roundup: Masdar city eco gold, waiting on business, and debunking climate folks
Think Progress
Peter Sinclair doesn't play around when you claim to "debunk" a proven fact. When climate chagne deniers started gaining momentum with their eco slandering, he went ahead and did something about it. Sinclair harnessed his tech cred as a blogger to create a video series called Climate Crocks, in which he debunks the so-called "debunkers." In his latest video, the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media hosted him to discuss the future of sea level rises. With him is Josh Willis, Jet Propulsion Lab climate scientist, who tells us why 2011 saw a small decline in sea level rise.
Marc Gunther
We might as well have Marc Gunther writing a weekly column for Corporate Knights, since we link to his work so often. Well, what can we say? He knows what sustainability is all about. This week, he questions whether working conditions have actually improved for developing countries, where most of our goods are made. The often poor working environment is no secret, thanks to widespread media attention: first there was Nike, then GAP, and now Apple. Gunther astutely points to the larger problem, and specifically the larger company: Foxconn, China’s largest manufacturing company and employer.
From the Middle East, with Love
Triple Pundit
Nick Aster attended the World Future Energy Summit last month. But his coolest post wasn’t about group discussions in a stuffy boardroom. That’s not how they run things over at the WFES. As part of the event he took a tour of Masdar City, quite possibly the most sustainable city ever built. It wasn’t Aster’s first time in the city, so he has a unique view on developments in the area. He put together a short video documentary piece on the tour of Masdar, just for you.
Triple Pundit
We figured that the last post may have left some of you scratching your heads and wondering “can Masdar really be called sustainable?” You aren’t the first one. This city is in one of the most environmentally unsustainable parts of the world, where oil is pumped out in black shiny loads. Leon Kaye makes the argument for why the giant eco-city matters, starting with its sheer size (6 square kilometers of development area to house 40,000 people, with more than 1,000 businesses and 50,000 workers who will commute here on a daily basis.) And the kicker: it relies on solar power, not hydrocarbons.
Universal Access Depends on Business
The Guardian
Business has the potential to give every person around the world access to energy, but it depends on their partnerships, ambitions, and processes. One billion people—or one person out of every seven of us—lacks access to adequate energy. The United Nations has even sanctioned 2012 as the “year of sustainable energy for all.” Businesses have the technology, people, and ideas that can deliver sustainable energy to even the most far-reaching parts of the world. The only thing standing in the way of companies is the challenge of finding commercial models that work.