Hi - I, like many of us eco-conscious parents would love to have a fuel efficient vehicle to carry 7 passengers but are stuck with mini-vans or SUVs if we want to carry a larger group. The only fuel efficient 7 seat car on the market is a Tesla, starting at $70,000, this vehicle is out of the range of many. Imagine my delight when I found that the Toyota Prius V offers a 7 seat option - a 40 mpg 7 seat car! And then I found this model is offered world-wide but not in the Americas. First, the excuse that the batteries were different - the US model used a cheaper larger Ni -metal hydride battery which did not allow the space for the third row seat. This changed with the 2016 models - all Prius V's now use the smaller lithium ion battery - When I heard of this upgrade I waited anxiously for the new release of the 2016 model. Surely we could now have the 7 seat option? But no! Toyota still does not offer this package even as an option - and when I have inquired from corporate sources they claim it is because "Americans don't want a small 7 seat car." Interestingly, I hear the opposite from nearly every parent I mention this to. The response I get is "Wow! I would get that in a minute!" Even a floor salesperson at our local Toyota exclaimed "if there was a 7 seat Prius, we couldn't keep it on the lot!" I believe that Toyota is trying to force consumers into more expensive, less fuel efficient cars to improve their bottom line - now that the batteries are the same there is simply no reason the 7 seat model could not be offered as an option...except it might decrease their sales of Highlanders and mini-vans. (This is the option the company gave me in emails and phone calls) Toyota needs to be called out on this. Imagine the improvement there would be in emissions if just a percentage of families switched out of their 7 seat SUVS into a eco-friendly hybrid car.... -ps - as for the argument I have occasionally read that the reason Toyota does not release the 7 seat Prius in the US "is because American safety laws are too stringent for a 7th row." Poppycock! When the V was released with 5 seats and no 7 seat option in the US markets, spokespeople never used different safety requirements as a reason - what is sited in numerous articles was the higher cost to use the smaller battery or lack of space for "Americas typically larger build." Further EU and Australian safety standards are hardly lax.

Plastics that we use and fail to recycle end up in the landfills, and often times into our oceans where they congregate into gyres which the Gyre Cleanup Project describes as a “naturally occurring vortex of wind and currents that rotate in a clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and [counterclockwise] in the southern hemisphere.” These gyres attract the plastics to the center of the gyre and, over the years, have created what we call the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Once reaching the center, and even before, the plastics begin to break down into microplastics that enter the ecosystems and end up concentrating in the top of the food chain through biomagnification this can cause the animals to starve or can kill them through lead poisoning. The best way to fix this problem is through preventing the plastics from ever reaching the oceans, and reducing our overall use of plastics. This is easiest in cases like Panda Express where their plastic products are easily replaced by less harmful alternatives, like cardboard boxes and reusable containers.

Since its formation in 1988, South Yorkshire Pensions Authority has worked hard on behalf of its nearly 140,000 members to provide them with a safe and secure future in retirement. Yet while ever it invests in unethical companies or industries, including fossil fuels and tobacco, the Authority is putting these achievements at great risk, by undermining long-term commitments to maximise pension fund investments and to provide good service to fund members. (The over 300 employers contributing to the Authority's schemes are also at risk, as it is they who will ultimately meet any shortfall in the cost of providing scheme benefits to retired members.) The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (SYPA) which manages the Local Government Pension Scheme has £259m invested in companies with fossil fuel and fracking connections such as Shell, BP and Glencore, 4.25% of its £6.1bn holdings (as at Mar 2016). It also holds investments in companies which fail to balance their focus on profit with the social and environmental responsibilities expected in the modern day. We believe it is morally indefensible to invest in companies that destroy our climate and so leave to our children a world where life as we know it is unsustainable. And that it is financially irresponsible to invest in such a high risk sector where the experts agree that the assets are currently wildly overstated and where share prices are certain to plummet.

Last week, as the European Games begin in Baku, I was detained in Azerbaijan for speaking out against the fossil fuel funded Azeri regime. I was lucky, I was released. There are over 100 people facing years in Azeri jails - activists, journalists, filmmakers, academics and lawyers - anyone who criticises the regime. People like Rasul Jafarov. Rasul is a young, charismatic activist who founded the Sport for Rights campaign. He planned highlight the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan during the Games, however a few weeks after starting the campaign Rasul himself became a political prisoner. The Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline will keep the repressive Aliyev regime in power by ensuring that fossil fuel revenues keep flowing to the country's ruling elite. The EBRD's loan to Lukoil will further entrench the Aliyev regime, buying them influence and money and making it making it even harder for those organising for democracy in Azerbaijan. The Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline is also a disaster for the climate. It will lock Europe into fossil fuels for the next fifty years and pump over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. If Europe is to avert the worst impacts of climate change, both at home and elsewhere, we must stop this pipeline. On 22 July the EBRD needs to say no to funding the Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline and send a signal to the growing resistance along the route of the pipeline that the era of fossil fuels is coming to an end.

De onde vem e para onde vai a água utilizada na exploração do gás de xisto? Essas questões geram frequentes polêmicas e debates, uma vez que produtos químicos são utilizados nesse tipo de extração. De acordo com o conselheiro da Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC), o pesquisador Jailson de Andrade, ainda faltam estudos criteriosos sobre o assunto. Andrade alerta, sobretudo, para a carência de informações que identifiquem onde as jazidas de gás natural estão localizadas e se estão perto de aquíferos importantes. “Os estudos realizados até agora são contestados. Não se sabe para onde vai a água contaminada por produtos químicos utilizados na exploração do gás. Ainda não há uma experiência no Brasil que possa se tomar como base. Falta informação”, diz. Apesar de os dados ainda serem imprecisos, existem companhias ansiosas por entrarem em processos licitatórios de exploração do gás de xisto no Brasil, e outras vislumbrando lucros para despoluir a água e as áreas porventura afetadas pela sua extração. O pesquisador observa, no entanto, que não há tecnologia para despoluir os aquíferos, caso eles sejam atingidos. Para Andrade, esse é um dos pontos cruciais a serem resolvidos. “A exploração do gás de xisto sem critério afetará a água sob nosso solo, já que a rocha a ser fraturada (o folhelho Irati) encontra-se a algumas centenas de metros abaixo do aquífero Guarani, na bacia geológica do Paraná”, detalhou. O Guarani é uma das maiores reservas subterrâneas de água doce do mundo. Tem a capacidade de abastecer, de forma sustentável, muitos milhões de habitantes, com trilhões de metros cúbicos de água doce por ano. No Brasil, está no subsolo dos estados de São Paulo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. Na visão de parlamentares, estudiosos e pesquisadores, essa riqueza pode estar ameaçada por uma enorme pressão econômica, a exemplo do que já ocorre nos Estados Unidos. A exploração de xisto utiliza o método de fraturação hidráulica, chamado em inglês de “fracking”. Trata-se de injeção de toneladas de água, sob altíssima pressão, misturada com areia e produtos químicos, com o objetivo de quebrar a rocha e liberar o gás nela aprisionado. Nos EUA, 90% dos poços de gás de xisto são perfurados com a utilização dessa técnica. Esse tipo de extração utiliza vinte vezes mais recursos hídricos do que as técnicas convencionais. Com isso, as pequenas cidades norte-americanas nos arredores dos poços de gás de xisto enfrentaram problemas de falta d’água para consumo e agricultura, além da contaminação dos aquíferos subterrâneos e das reservas de água potável. Mas a falta de água não é o único problema. Destacam-se ainda, a excessiva circulação de caminhões, a injeção de fluidos que provocam pequenos abalos sísmicos, a ausência de regulamentação, a presença na água de pequenas quantidades de produtos químicos e metais pesados cancerígenos, bem como a acumulação de metano, que pode provocar explosões. “Há um estudo da National Academy of Science, nos Estados Unidos, que mostra que, em 141 poços de água potável na Pensilvânia, quanto mais próximo de áreas de exploração de gás não convencional, maior a quantidade de metano (tóxico e inflamável) na água”, informou Jailson. “A controvérsia na literatura é se isso já existia antes ou se é resultado da perfuração para obtenção de gás”, observou Andrade. Nomenclatura equivocada – Há uma longa e equivocada tradição brasileira de se chamar o folhelho (shale) de xisto (schist). Apesar disso, os especialistas esclarecem que é incorreto chamar o gás de folhelho de gás de xisto: “O xisto é uma rocha metamórfica que sofreu grandes transformações geológicas, não possibilitando a geração de gás; o folhelho, por sua vez, é uma rocha sedimentar com grande quantidade de matéria orgânica que dá origem ao gás”, explica Jailson Andrade. O gás de folhelho, encontrado em áreas de permeabilidade relativa e também chamado de “gás de xisto”, é um dos três tipos de gases não convencionais cuja ocorrência não está associada a bolsões de gás armazenados a partir das camadas de petróleo. Estas produzem o gás fóssil convencional, encontrado na plataforma continental e em outras regiões do Brasil. Os demais gases não convencionais são o confinado (tight gas), com ocorrência em rochas impermeáveis ou de baixa permeabilidade, e o metano associado a camadas de carvão. Camila Cotta, especial para o Jornal da Ciência/SBPC EcoDebate, 14/08/2014

President Tong’s country, the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, is one of the first places to confront sea level rise and other devastating real-life consequences of climate change. President Tong is worthy of the Nobel Peace prize because he plays a significant and constructive role in meeting the challenges of climate change by taking every opportunity to help create a new understanding of global warming in industrialised nations. President Tong has joined with other leaders of Small Island States to lobby for the United Nations to address Climate Change as a threat to the security of the world’s people. He has shown himself a builder of peace and reconciliation by continually striving to strengthen co-operation between nations and encouraging dialogue at international forums. He promotes protection of the environment as a means of advancing peace and harmony among nations. From the assemblies of the United Nations to meetings of world leaders he has provided an inspirational example of principled non-violent leadership. After the failure of Copenhagen in 2009, President Tong organized the Tarawa Climate Change Conference which brought together small islands states and large polluting nations to find common agreement, now enshrined in the Ambo Declaration of 2010. In addition, under his leadership Kiribati has designated and is working towards the establishment of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). It will be among the world’s largest environmentally protected areas. Both the Ambo Declaration and the PIPA demonstrate his leadership in showing that small nations can lead the world in taking effective action on climate change. More recently, President Tong’s leadership in setting up the Coalition of Atoll Nations, bringing the frontline most vulnerable states together, is evidence that President Tong is a catalyst the world needs now in the lead up to the climate conference in Paris in December 2015.

Those we have elected are failing the Australian people and they are failing the natural world. They are allowing the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of sea creatures and the ruin of undersea habitats. We demand our Governments manage natural resources and the global commons solely in the best interests of present and future citizens. Our oceans should not be exploited by individual nations or corporations but held in trust for the benefit of all and for future generations.

We value our state and want to maintain our beautiful towns, nature, and liberties. This pipeline is contrary to these ideals.

West Virginia recently adopted new education standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed to provide comprehensive, research-based science education that includes climate change -- but not before sneaking in some shocking alterations. The new standards, altered last minute at Board member Wade Linger’s request, cast doubt on climate change as a settled science. If the Board goes through with the new standards, West Virginia kids will get a dose of climate denial in their classrooms -- all because one Board member doesn’t believe in human-induced climate change. All West Virginia kids deserve an accurate, 21st-century education, and they shouldn’t have to learn false science based on standards that contain blatant errors and misrepresent the scientific consensus on climate change. There’s still time for the Board of Education to fix its errors, because the new standards won’t go into effect until next year. Sign this petition to tell the Board to correct all information related to climate change in the new standards for K-12 students in West Virginia -- and give kids the education they deserve. For more info: Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Huffington Post: http://buff.ly/1x4Zsph Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Salon: http://buff.ly/1x4ZkpN

Coal generates 70 percent of electricity in Ohio -- while polluting the air, harming human health, and contributing to climate change. It's time to phase out dirty, outdated power plants that run on coal. But Ohio’s largest electric utilities — AEP, Duke, and FirstEnergy — want to lock in this dirty source of energy for years to come. In pending cases before the Public Utilities Commission, they’re trying raise customers’ electric bills to pay for coal plants that are no longer competitive in today’s market. Earlier this year, AEP alone requested to charge Ohio citizens $117 million to keep two coal plants built in the early fifties up and running. Now, AEP has upped its request to cover six coal plants. Duke Energy is asking for a similar amount, but for an even longer period of time. Meanwhile, FirstEnergy is trying to force customers to pay for all generation and maintenance costs of its 55-year old Sammis coal-burning power plant and the Davis-Besse nuclear plant (guilty of numerous accidents and violations over its 35-year lifespan), just to name a couple. The proposal covers 15 years. At the same time, FirstEnergy is also cutting its customer energy efficiency programs. It’s wrong to ask people in Ohio to pay more for dirty energy they don’t want, especially when it harms public health and the climate. If the Public Utilities Commission approves these requests, it would block progress on clean, renewable energy sources by forcing them to compete in a market skewed toward propping up outdated, dirty energy. It would lock in dirty coal in Ohio for years to come, when the state should be transitioning to clean, renewable sources of energy. Now is an especially important time to speak up, because some of these decisions are expected by the end of 2014. If you live in Ohio, sign this petition to urge state leaders to stand strong against dirty coal and defend our rights to a clean, safe, and livable future.

BP is an official partner of this year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games. For a small contribution, BP paint themselves as generous, socially responsible and "green" - when nothing could be further from the truth. - BP will 'donate a tree' for each participant in its carbon offsetting scheme, but the amount of CO2 they will absorb is almost nothing when compared to BP's emissions worldwide. - BP have set up a 'Young Leaders' scheme but it is young people who will have to deal with their legacy of runaway climate change and oil spills. - The US has brought in sanctions against the Russian-owned oil company, Rosneft, but BP have clung to its 19.75% share in the company. - BP have nestled its brand alongside our elite athletes in order to keep their toxic legacy in the Gulf of Mexico and attempts to drill in the Arctic out of people's minds. It's time to stop the greenwash and deny BP the role of 'corporate partner' at all future sporting events!

Our electric utility, SDG&E, plans to replace the shut down San Onofre nuclear power plant with massive amounts of new gas power – through an insider deal that doesn’t allow clean energy options to compete. This rush for more fossil power would come at a major cost to energy customers, public health and our climate. Help us urge state regulators to reject this reckless plan and send a clear message to all the utilities that California is committed to clean energy. We can meet California’s energy needs reliably and affordably with clean energy, yet SDG&E is pushing a proposal that would lock in huge amounts of unnecessary, expensive and polluting fossil power for years to come. This natural gas bonanza carries a big price tag for our climate. We've already seen an increase in climate pollution from natural gas generation in the wake of San Onofre closing. Permanently increasing our dependence on fossil power would put California even father behind on our carbon reduction and clean energy targets. Sign the petition to stop this dirty energy proposal in its tracks, and send a clear message to all California utilities that energy consumers demand clean affordable energy options.