Environmental Justice

The Keystone XL proposal has made it through the House of Respresentatives, "as a result of a decidedly undemocratic collaboration between Big Oil and its favorite donees in the GOP."  This article pleads for an act from the public to stop Obama from making a rushed decision.  The White House comment lin

The international climate talks were extended over the weekend as countries attempted to save face and hammer out a deal before wrapping up here Durban.  After three all-night sessions, passionate exchanges, and even a last minute huddle to agree on the details, exhausted negotiators announced at 5am Sunday that they had finally reached a deal. 

Throughout the last two weeks I've been getting acquainted with the particular lexicon of UN climate change negotiations.  Below is a sampling.  Note the occassionally conflicting definitions. 

1.5C (n.) One type of emissions target being discussed at COP17.  Last year at COP16 in Cancun, it was agreed upon that if carbon emissions result in a global temperature rise that exceeds 1.5C, climate change will have irretrievable consequences. 

Beyond the concrete buildings of downtown Durban, suburbs give way to rural tree plantations. Orderly rows of even-aged eucalyptus and pine trees quilt the landscape. Many of these farmed forests supply a thriving paper industry. More and more are being planted to combat climate change.  Planting trees is one strategy among a suite of others under the climate change policy known as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries).