UPDATE: Arctic Ice Melt Tied To Heat Waves And Downpours In U.S., Europe And Elsewhere, Study Suggests. (Reuters) - A thaw of Arctic ice and snow is linked to worsening summer heatwaves and downpours thousands of miles south in Europe, the United States and other areas, underlying the scale of the threat posed by global warming, scientists said on Sunday. Their report, which was dismissed as inconclusive by some other experts, warned of increasingly extreme weather across "much of North America and Eurasia where billions of people will be affected". The study is part of a drive to work out how climate change affects the frequency of extreme weather, from droughts to floods. Governments want to know the trends to plan everything from water supplies to what crops to plant. But the science of a warming Arctic is far from settled. Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, experts in China and the United States said they could not conclusively say the Arctic thaw caused more extreme weather, or vice versa. But they said they had found evidence of a relationship between the two. Rising temperatures over thawing snow on land and sea ice in the Arctic were changing atmospheric pressure and winds, the report said. The changes slowed the eastward movement of vast meandering weather systems and meant more time for extreme weather to develop - such as a heatwave in Russia in 2010, droughts in the United States and China in 2011 and 2012, or heavy summer rains that caused floods in Britain in 2012, the paper added. "The study contributes to a growing body of evidence that ... the melting Arctic has wide-ranging implications for people living in the middle latitudes," lead author Qiuhong Tang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told Reuters.

Arctic Ice Melt Tied To Heat Waves And Downpours In U.S., Europe And Elsewhere, Study Suggests: "VANISHING ICE

Sea ice in the Arctic shrank to a record low in 2012 and the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists says it could almost vanish in summers by 2050 with rising greenhouse gas emissions. But some scientists said other factors, including the usual vagaries of weather or changing sea temperatures, may explain some recent extremes rather than changes in the Arctic."

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UPDATE: Ancient farming seen curbing extinctions of animals, plants | (Reuters) - Ancient farming practices, such as raising fish in rice paddies in China or Aboriginal Australian fire controls, will get a new lease of life under plans to slow extinctions of animals and plants, experts said on Monday. Turning to traditional farming is seen as a way of limiting what U.N. studies say is the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, driven by a rising human population that is wrecking natural habitats. A 115-nation group seeking to protect the diversity of wildlife, which underpins everything from food supplies to medicines, will look at ways to revive and promote indigenous peoples' practices at talks in Turkey from December 9-14. "Indigenous and local knowledge ... has played a key role in arresting biodiversity loss and conserving biodiversity," Zakri Abdul Hamid, founding chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told Reuters.

Ancient farming seen curbing extinctions of animals, plants | Reuters: "The idea is partly to compare traditional farming around the world and see if the practices can be used in other nations. Among ideas, raising fish in the waters of rice paddies, a practice used in south China for 1,200 years and in some other Asian nations, can reduce pests. Most modern rice paddies are not used to raise fish. Farming the two together "reduces by 68 percent the need for pesticides and by 24 percent the need for chemical fertilizer compared with monocultures", an IPBES report said. Pesticides often kill many more species than those targeted."

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RENEWABLE ENERGY UPDATE: Greenbriar Capital begins formal construction at 80 MW Blue Mountain Utah. A fully contracted 80 MW wind energy project holding a 20-year energy sales agreement with PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Mid-American Energy Holdings Company, itself 89% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Construction has been awarded to RMT, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin, a subsidiary of IEA Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, LLC of Chicago. RMT is a world leader in renewable power engineering, procurement and construction services having built over 5,000 MW of renewable energy facilities including 2 world-class projects owned by Greenbriar Capital management's previous company, Western Wind Energy Corp. This included the industry leading 120-MW Windstar Wind Project in Tehachapi, CA and the 10.5-MW Kingman combined wind-solar project, the first purpose built fully integrated wind-solar generating facility in the World. Construction at Blue Mountain began December 9th and will qualify the 80-MW Blue Mountain Wind P

Greenbriar Capital b"Greenbriar Capital Corp. is a leading developer of renewable energy and sustainable real estate projects. With long-term, high impact, contracted sales agreements in key project locations and led by a successful industry recognized operating and development team, Greenbriar targets deep value assets directed at adding significant accretive shareholder value.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"SIGNED"
Jeffrey J. Ciachurski
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

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Japan uses offsets to meet Kyoto emission goal - media | Reuters.Japan met its Kyoto Protocol obligations to lower greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees and buying carbon credits as actual emissions rose, media reported on Sunday, days after the country watered down targets for cutting them further by 2020.

Japan uses offsets to meet Kyoto emission goal - media | Reuters: "Japan, the world's fifth-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was obliged under Kyoto to cut emissions by 6 percent from 1990/91 levels to 1.186 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent a year on average over the five years to March 2013.

The Nikkei business daily said actual emissions rose by 1.4 percent to 1.279 billion tonnes, but Japan met its target with offsets for planting trees and through the government and companies purchasing carbon credits from abroad."

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"Football for Hope. Energy for Hope": Yingli Green Energy Supplies Solar Solutions for the 16th Football for Hope Centre in South Africa - WSJ.com. The sixteenth centre of FIFA's Football for Hope Program has been officially inaugurated in Alexandra, South Africa. In order to honor this occasion, Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr. Gert Oosthuizen, FIFA's General Secretary, Mr. Jerome Valcke, representatives of the non-profit organization Grassroot Soccer (GRS), the South African Football Association (SAFA) and Yingli Green Energy jointly addressed the media. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131113/CN16206 ) (Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2012/04/01/20120401160439160364.jpg ) The FIFA "20 Centres for 2010" campaign, which was called into life as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) official corporate social responsibility program "Football for Hope," is nearing completion. Alongside FIFA, Yingli Green Energy, an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup(TM) and the world's largest PV module manufacturer, utilized its expertise in renewable energy to provide solutions for this campaign to assist FIFA in improving the social environment for children in Africa with solar power. For the centre in Alexandra, Yingli Green Energy provided PV modules for the solar street lighting system.

"Football for Hope. Energy for Hope": Yingli Green Energy Supplies Solar Solutions for the 16th Football for Hope Centre in South Africa - WSJ.com: "Yingli Green Energy has equipped all centres with a total of 258 pieces of PV modules with a supply capacity of 23 kilowatt peak. Each centre was able to choose between a variety of photovoltaic systems such as a solar-powered lighting system for the playing field, a water pump including water reservoir or a photovoltaic power supply system. Since the launch of the campaign, 16 centres have been built across the African continent and four remaining centres pending by the end of the year or in 2014. FIFA has closely and constantly collaborated with the communities where the centres had been built, in order to ensure that the new infrastructure would meet the local needs. Each Football for Hope centre consists of a playing field for football and a building where educational projects take place and football is viewed as an instrument for promoting motivation and dialog within the community."

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BBC News - Aid agencies say typhoon shows need for action on climate change. The committee, comprising 14 aid agencies, said Typhoon Haiyan was a glimpse of the future for millions who will be at risk from extreme weather. It said the meeting in Warsaw should agree to rapidly cut carbon emissions. But negotiators say such action is unlikely as a global deal is not expected until 2015. The British agencies argue that extreme weather events such as Typhoon Haiyan follow a growing pattern of threat that points strongly towards climate change. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote We need to see a response from the delegates in Warsaw to match that of the overwhelming response of the public to this devastating tragedy” Neil Thorns Cafod In 2012, the Philippines was the country that suffered the most fatalities from extreme weather events and was ranked the second most affected from climatic disasters.

BBC News - Aid agencies say typhoon shows need for action on climate change: "Now Haiyan has struck and affected around 12 million people.

"This should be a wake-up call for negotiators who have been sleepwalking through a process fraught with delay and indecision," said Oxfam's Max Lawson.

"The images we have seen from the Philippines are a reminder that climate change is not about numbers and process, but a growing reality for poor people who desperately need support to protect themselves and build safer futures."

Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka, seemed to support this view, saying the "evidence appeared to be growing."

However, scientists point out that unequivocally linking a specific weather event such as Haiyan to climate change is impossible."

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Workout only a part of wellness at work. Companies that focus on wellness programs without changing their business culture to care about their employees’ overall well-being won’t have engaged workers. And that hinders productivity, causes higher turnover and puts people at higher health risks, said Rosie Ward, a health management services manager with Marsh & McLennan Agency in Minneapolis. She addressed dozens of business people Wednesday at a conference held as part of the city’s Live Well Sioux Falls initiative, now in its second year. | The Argus Leader | argusleader.com

Workout only a part of wellness at work | The Argus Leader | argusleader.com: "“We’re looking more at the emotional, the occupational, the spiritual, the financial, the environmental,” said Kandy Jamison, account executive for health and wellness at Howalt McDowell. “We’re trying to look at that total well-being.” As a result of the change from mostly an activity-based wellness program, more of the 90-plus employees are participating, she said. They’re realizing wellness doesn’t always mean losing 50 pounds and going to the gym daily.Howalt McDowell isn’t measuring the financial savings by having healthier employees just yet. But healthier, happier people are typically more productive, Jamison said.“I think if it’s the culture and the right thing to do and you do care about your employees … and if a value can be documented, then you’re a winner.”" CLICK LINK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

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