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October 2006, Volume 2, Number 10

Agriculture and climate change

October 12 - According to a new WRI policy note, farmers can benefit from participating in government efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. Agriculture and Climate Change: The Policy Context is the first in a series of policy notes that focus on the implications of climate change for the agricultural industry. Making a case that the agricultural industry can play a role in proposed climate change legislation, this first note tracks agriculture's role in current proposed and pending United States climate change legislation. (more)

www.wri.org redesign

September 28 - WRI's main website has a new design with features such as daily updates, streamlined navigation and RSS feeds. The new site aims to provide updated information about WRI while meeting the needs of those in developed and developing countries. Check out the new site here.

October 18 - WRI's EMBARQ program and the Center for Sustainable Transport (Mexico) hosted the Second International Sustainable Transport Congress in Mexico City and Queretaro, Mexico. Designed to bring together a diverse group to share experiences from integrated transport systems worldwide, the event featured expert lectures, paper presentations, workshops and roundtables, facilitating discussion about transport issues. WRI President Jonathan Lash and EMBARQ Director Nancy Kete were featured speakers at the conference. (more)

Oct. 16-20, Cozumel, Mexico: International Tropical Marine Ecosystem Symposium

Oct. 19, Mexico City, Mexico: Mexico BOP Circle Launch Event

Oct. 21-23, Yaoundé, Cameroon: Monitoring the Environmental Representative Performance of Legislative Institutions - The African Context (Workshop)

Oct. 22-25, Cleveland: Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Nov. 2-3, Mumbai, India: New Ventures India Investor Forum

Nov. 5, Jakarta, Indonesia: New Ventures Indonesia Investor Forum

Nov. 6-17, Nairobi, Kenya: Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-12)

Nov. 9-10, Paris, France: Triple Bottom Line Investing Conference

MTV Break the Addiction

September 28 - To raise awareness about global warming, MTV aired a 30-second public service announcement developed with WRI and other partners. The public service announcement featured musicians from several bands - including Blackalicious, Rusted Root, Death Cab for Cutie, Matisyahu and others - urging MTV's viewers to take immediate action to fight global warming. WRI staff helped educate the artists on the science of climate change during the Bonnaroo festival in July. (more) (Two-minute behind-the-scenes video of WRI at Bonnaroo with featured artists)

Nature on Massachusetts v. EPA*

Financial Times on Carbon Footprints*

Financial Times on Corporate Sustainability Courses in MBA Programs

New York Times on Eco-Conscious Travel

Inter Press Service on Boreal Forest Cover

United Press International on DuPont's Environmental Sustainability Goals

Grist.com on WRI’s SafeClimate Carbon Calculator

Hindustan Times (India) on Energy Consumption

Minneapolis Star Tribune on Norman Borlaug

The Hindu (India) on New Ventures

Ya Libnan (Lebanon) on the Lebanese Oil Spill

The News (Pakistan) on Emerging Technology Models

*subscription may be required to access

Africa: Climate Change and Food Security

September 29 - EarthTrends' September monthly update addresses recent funding initiatives to spur agricultural transformation in Africa. Can a Green Revolution Catalyze African Development? analyzes the idea of a second “Green Revolution” in a broader sustainable development context, focusing on the environmental and social challenges of the initiative. (more)

October - MBA student teams at major U.S. and Latin American universities are providing consulting services to New Ventures enterprises in China, Brazil and Mexico this fall. Opportunities with companies such as DryWash, Primar, Lightcom, Aires de Campo, Proteak, and Rio y Montana are giving students hands-on experience assisting entrepreneurs who are expanding environmental companies. For the past five years, WRI’s New Ventures mentoring program has matched over 500 business school students with environmental entrepreneurs in emerging economies. (more)

October 13 - Mohammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded share the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for "efforts to create economic and social development from below." Since 1976, Grameen Bank has provided microcredit loans to the impoverished in Bangladesh and inspired similar programs worldwide. WRI's Development through Enterprise program and Nextbillion.net study the connection between development and enterprise.

Nextbillion.net's coverage of the award
EarthTrends' coverage of the award

WRI Director of Special Projects and Innovation Allen Hammond addressed microfinance's relation to connectivity at a recent seminar in Pakistan. At "Improving Access to Financial Services: Mobile Money Transfer and Beyond," Hammond argued that access to technology coupled with microfinance opportunities hold great potential for business development. (more)

October 16 - WRI and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace are working together on a series of cooperative research and programming activities focusing on global energy security and climate change with an emphasis on engaging China. The partners hosted a seminar, "China's Challenge in Strengthening its Energy Security" that explored China's strategies for increasing energy security and their implications. (more)

WorldChanging

November 1 - A new book, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century, features WRI work and staff members. WRI will host a book launch event on November 17 at its Washington, DC office, where attendees will have a chance to meet WorldChanging authors and WRI staff as well as browse and purchase the critically-acclaimed book.
(more) (Event RSVP)


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