Living Planet: Environmental Matters Around the Globe:
Climate-friendly living could fail to meet emissions goals, counting carbon around the world and getting up close and personal with one of humanity's most endangered relatives.You can download the show or subscribe to Living Planet as a podcast. Click on the links below for the individual reports.UN carbon emissions goal beyond reach of most GermansReducing CO2 emissions by 80 to 90 percent as the United Nations has recommended is going to take a lot more than just retooling industries and switching to green energy.Representatives from some 180 nations are meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from September 28 to October 9 for the penultimate round of UN-sponsored negotiations in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference at the end of the year. The biggest item on the agenda is carbon emissions.
When most people think of CO2, they conjure up images of giant factories or power plants pumping poisonous gasses into the air. But experts say that in order to reach any carbon reduction goals, people are going to have to take action as individuals as well. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called for CO2 emissions to be reduced to two tons per person per year.
To put that into perspective, the average German is currently responsible for 10 tons a year while the average American pumps out twice that much. So how do we get it down to two tons and is eco-living going to be enough?
Report: Barbara Mohr / Clare Atkinson EcoQuest: Counting carbonIn Living Planet's EcoQuest series we answer listeners' questions about the environment, sustainability, renewable resources and other eco-matters.As government representatives wrap up meetings in Bangkok, Thailand in preparation for the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December there is a lot of talk about carbon emissions. CO2 has no color and no odor, so many people are wondering how, exactly, carbon is measured, and who is responsible for reporting the numbers? That's the question we tackle in this week's edition of EcoQuest.
Report: Ellice MolUp close with Uganda's great apesThere are only 720 mountain gorillas still alive on the planet, and half of them live in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. It's a vital sanctuary for the world's largest primate.Deep in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest lives a very rare creature. He weighs in at 225 kilograms, sports a catchy silver cape on his back and giant fangs in his mouth, and he wants to be your friend – at least on Facebook. The Ugandan Wildlife Authority has launched the website www.friendagorilla.org, and is giving people all over the world the chance to learn about the endangered mountain gorilla and help save them from extinction.
Visitors can access videos, photos and rangers' blogs through sites like Facebook and Twitter that detail the daily lives of one of the just 720 remaining mountain gorillas in the world. Organizers hope the campaign will raise $350,000 (237,000 euros) in the first year. Half of the entire gorilla population lives in Bwindi, so it is the front line for gorilla protection.
While most people will only ever have access to these creatures in zoos or through the internet, videos and pictures, some are lucky enough to actually see them live and in person in their natural habitat.
Report: Barbara Gruber
|
13.9 mbs
|
