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Maldives has vast tracts of land at elevations less than two meters above sea level leaves residents here in a precarious position. Maldives has experienced depletion of freshwater aquifers as supply is utilized and saltwater incursions continue to transgress inland.

Maldives now has an ambitious plan to be carbon-neutral in about a decade, by 2020. Solar and wind power are slated to replace widespread reliance on fossil fuels. Maldives has a per-diem type green tax to levy on tourists. We think the tax is a good idea but it should have been heavily-weighted as an entry-exit tax as opposed to a daily tax to encourage longer stays and less-frequent flying in-and-out. Such a scheme would act more resolutely to reduce emissions whilst hopefully increasing gross income.

Tuvalu's goal is for a wholesale transition from dirty diesel-fuelled turbines to instead invoke solar and wind power for the entire electric grid by 2020.

Tuvalu is in big trouble due to threat of submergence of their coral atolls which have pretty meager elevation relative to current sea level, mostly less than one meter. Saltwater ingress is already degrading the land. There is no point more than five meters above sea level in either Kiribati or Tuvalu. So Kiribati is also in big danger from global rise of sea level and, as a corollary, having their lagoon latrines flushed for them by the incursion of saltwater. The authorities of Kiribati are currently looking for some kind of escape hatch for their people and we can fully understand that viewpoint.

The submergence risk meter is also reading perilously-high in the long term view for Tonga, Marshall Islands, Nauru and low elevation coral atoll islands of the Federated States of Micronesia and northern Cook Islands. Due partly to their small size, its easier to lead a relatively fast changeover from dependence on fossil fuels. For example, Tonga is targeting that 50% of their energy come from renewable sources before 2013. Cook Islands have a traditional economy based on fishing, agriculture and handicrafts that is heavily-reliant on fossil fuels for their very modest use of energy.

Only about 1% of home heat derives from fossil fuel sources but transportation is more of a challenge. Many Icelanders' have lifestyles that squander huge amounts of energy, for example, driving gas pigs and boating using marine fuel oil. Iceland's outsize aluminum industry relative to their population base pumps high levels of noxious, heat-trapping perfluorocarbons into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, once there, carbon tetrafluoride persists in the atmosphere for some 50,000 years.

So we think Icelanders still need to increase conservation and efficiency efforts. We realize the authorities have been actively-engaged for many years in transforming Iceland to be a carbon-neutral country. Their long-term outlook was to eliminate fossil fuel use completely by 2050 and to transition sooner rather than later to electric, hybrid and fuel-cell powered vehicles. Being 50% below 1990 levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 is their current officially-stated goal. 

Iceland had the first hydrogen fueling station and is pushing use of hydrogen, fuel cell and electric vehicles. It's somewhat dubious to use renewable energy-generated electric power to produce hydrogen then to convert the hydrogen back to electricity to power electric vehicles and charge batteries. Iceland is developing a significant eco-tourism industry including geyser, fish and whale watching. Some of their whale watching boats run on hydrogen.

Scandinavian countries historically have had problems with acid rain affecting their forests, lakes and rivers to the point that terrestrial habitat has been lost and fish have disappeared. There has been significant water pollution emanating directly from industrial waste and pesticides. Air pollution has billowed into Scandinavia from external sources, in particular, from regions of northwestern Russia and also from passing ships.

Sweden has a modest ecological footprint relative to its advanced state of industrialization and high standard of living. Forestry is a big industry that has apparently been well-managed for sustainability. Sweden harnesses biomass energy and repurposes waste like no other place we know of. In some cities including Stockholm and Malmo, organic waste is vacuum-pumped into a network of pipelines then fermented in enormous fermentation tanks. Biogas is later siphoned off and used to fuel vehicles. Process heat is also salvaged.

Sweden has miniscule reliance on fossil fuels for electric power, less than 5% overall. Nuclear energy and hydropower each now provide more than one-third of their electric generating capacity. Sweden currently has about 40% renewable energy overall and is targeting 50% by 2020. Sweden already has significant offshore wind power in place and it plans to add considerably wind capacity. They also plan to replace existing nuclear reactors with new ones. Public transit uses a lot of biogas.

Spain expects to reach nearly one-quarter of energy overall from renewable sources by 2020 including one-quarter of its electrical load from renewable energy before 2011. Half of the latter will come from wind installations. Spain has been a leader in implementing both wind and solar power generation and is still the number three wind power overall but will likely drop to 4th place by 2011 due to the emergence of China. Spain is one of the top three leading solar power producers in Europe. Spain has at least 50 concentrated solar power projects slated to be up-and-running by 2015 making it the world leading nation in solar thermal energy production. Solar photovoltaic power is anticipated to reach grid parity with legacy fossil fuels in Spain over the short to intermediate term. One-sixth of electric power is from nuclear fission but that will diminish as renewable sources escalate. As the grid becomes more high-tech and sophisticated at handling intermittent sources, the need for continuous base-load power contributions can safely and reliably be scaled down.

Spain has also achieved a net gain of more than five million hectares of forest land over the past generation. This in a world where deforestation globally has become in its collective impact an unmitigated ecological disaster for us all.

Paraguay exports huge amounts of electric power. Paraguay has imposed a moratorium to slow its rapid rate of deforestation. The vast majority of illegal logging has already been curtailed. Uruguay has had problems from over application of various agricultural chemicals.

In Bolivia, there is skepticism and uncertainty regarding state economic development plans in the Amazon Basin and elsewhere. But, for now, their environmental record appears to be good enough with respect to the ability of Bolivia's natural areas to remain vital despite various human activities. However, we wonder and worry that as the government gets increasingly involved mucking around in more and more segments, gray days are very possibly in the future for Bolivia. Better to let private enterprises operate and have regulators, government and police monitor and ride herd on them to ensure they perform and do not unduly degrade the environment in the course of doing business there. For example, in the development of lithium carbonate resources, processing of it could potentially lead to unacceptable emissions of noxious chemicals like sulphur dioxide. Bolivia also has significant untapped gas reserves. These reserves may be needed because the outlook for hydropower is not so rosey. So far, much of that natural gas has been exported and the locals have been burning murkier, heavier blends of gasoline and "gas oil". Bolivia already has big water scarcity problems arising from disappearance of more than three-quarters of key glaciers. Vast glaciers and snowpack areas in existence since before the last Ice Age over 10,000 years ago have melted away including the well-known Chacaltaya glacier. An estimated half of glacier-volume in Bolivia has disappeared over the past three generations.

Mauritius and Solomon Islands have many degraded coral reefs or ones that have already met their demise. On the sunny side of life, Solomon Islands now have domestically-produced coconut biodiesel as a transportation fuel or blend with traditional, junky fossil diesel. By 2025, Mauritius is aiming for nearly two-thirds of electric power to be supplied by renewable sources including wind, solar, hydro and biomass, up from about one-fifth now.

Solar water heating is widespread in Barbados now. Unfortunately, Barbados are already in a challenging situation regarding their supply of fresh water.

St. Kitts and Nevis have plans to construct partially-collapsible wind farms that can withstand hurricanes. Wind energy is to power 40% of their electrical grid. This should dramatically-cut overall use of dirty diesel fuel. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has hydropower for about one-third of electricity generation but more can be done to lessen fossil fuel dependence.

Dominica is very vulnerable to flash floods and hurricanes. However, they do have significant highland areas where people can put into effect a minimalist solution to storm surges by seeking refuge there if need be. Nevertheless, some of its islands are expected to disappear some time this century in the wake of the anticipated rise of global sea level.

Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic: These settings are generally vulnerable to extreme weather events. Historically there has been excessive deforestation and erosion in Central America arising from stripping, clearing, hacking, slashing, burning, plundering and/or mismanagement of natural resources and protective ecosystems. Happily, these countries have placed significant areas under protection, more than one-quarter the total land area. Conservation area in Guatemala and Costa Rica is approaching one-third, and for Belize it covers nearly half the country. These measures hopefully will instill in the general population an ethic of conservation and living within the bounds imposed by the natural world. Also, marine conservation areas have shown potential to regenerate fish stocks, prevent further endangerment of coral reefs and keep tourists coming. 

In Guatemala, hydroelectricity has supplied about half of their grid power. Problem is, old man coal also still drives about one-third of electrical generating requirements which needs to be ratcheted back in favor of renewable sources such as wind and solar power. 

Belize, Costa Rica and Panama have challenges resulting from more rapid development and tourism. Too many critically-important mangrove forests, wetlands, subsea meadows and coral reefs have already been lost or severely compromised. As naturally-protective coastal ecosystems are degraded or disappear, erosion increases. The extra sediment load also ends up on coral reefs, reducing sunlight, oxygen and nutrients. Belize and Costa Rica still have some coral reefs that are not badly degraded yet. However, perhaps half the reefs are considered to be endangered so valiant remedial efforts are required here. Panama has undergone rapid land use changes due to various industrial, commercial and residential developments along the coast. The Panama Canal area also endures the onslaught of sulfate aerosols and other noxious particulates associated with heavy ship traffic burning bunker fuel.

San Jose has serious air pollution including ozone, particulates and even the potential neurotoxin, manganese. We think the key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions here is to motivate Costa Ricans to use bicycles, hybrid electric bikes, mass transportation and fuel efficient vehicles. We understand Costa Ricans have grandiose plans to become carbon-neutral by 2021. To help become a zero net emitter of carbon, they have a scheme for a solar-powered mass transit system. Hydropower accounts for some 80% of electricity generation and all renewable energy sources for about 95% of it. Further development of mega-hydroelectric facilities and possibly geothermal energy from hot volcanic sources is planned. Costa Ricans have also been spreading biodigesters around the country which produce low-grade methane fuel and organic fertilizer from various dung. 

Costa Rica has been a pioneer in recognizing the monetary value of ecosystem services and instituting a pollution tax of sorts. For a relatively small country, there are lots of tourists jetting in and out which is problematic for emissions totals attributable to Costa Rica. Costa Ricans do have mechanisms for incoming tourists to reduce their guilt by paying for preservation of their rainforests about $5 per ton of estimated carbon emissions generated from travelling.

Overly rapid real estate and plantation development in Costa Rica is said to have created conditions that led to elimination of about one half the monkeys in the country. They still need to dissuade many poachers and encroachers.  Widespread application of agricultural chemicals also needs to be curtailed. Eerily, their entire east coast appears to be eaten away by the Caribbean Sea; the coastline is as smooth and regular as the crescent of our Moon. We recognize that people in Costa Rica plant millions of plants, shrubs and trees every year and incentivize protection of forests. About one-quarter of the country is protected as national parks. Biodiversity of species is well-preserved in general.

Nicaragua's electric grid is to be driven almost-entirely by hydroelectric and wind-spun turbines by 2017. They are already more than one-third of the way along in achieving this noble goal which is heady stuff. On the down side, Nicaragua's water quality has been suspect, for example, in Lake Managua. Drinking any such water untreated carries considerable risk that the person will contract malaria, dengue fever or some sort of diarrheal disease.

Pollution in the major Yague River of Dominican Republic has reached gross levels. Its been used somewhat like an open sewer. Dominican Republic may be representative of countries where coral reefs are deteriorating rapidly in the Caribbean. Along with that goes the vitality of every industry that depends on the reef ecosystem such as the commercial fishery, beachfront retail and real estate and tourism generally. Agricultural productivity could be impaired up to 25% according to one local source. Of course, coral reefs are like mangrove swamps in providing a natural barrier to protect the coast from the full brunt of tidal surges or the storm surges and gale force winds associated with hurricanes. Dominican Republic is also prone to cross-border raids from Haiti by people trying to stay afloat economically by cutting down trees to produce charcoal.

France is a significant market for both wind and solar power now, too. They aim for nearly one-quarter reliance on renewable sources of energy by 2020. At this juncture, we do not know how to fully-assess their reliance on nuclear energy. In France, nuclear plants account for about three-quarters of contributions to the power grid, hydropower for about 15%. Certainly, the nuclear waste problem has not gone away nor have the particular risks associated with nuclear power plants, fuel processing, reprocessing and enrichment, use of prodigious amounts of coolants and the potential for contamination and radiation. As time passes, the nuclear power share is expected to steadily decline.

Belgium, Finland, Monaco, Andorra: The situation here has similarities to France due to outsize reliance on nuclear power. In Belgium, their grid is driven about-half by nuclear energy. In Finland, about one-fifth of electric power comes from hydro sources and about 40% from fossil fuels. One-third of power comes from nuclear plants. However, going forward Finland is likely to displace nuclear and fossil energy with biomass and biofuels and other renewable sources of energy. Finland was an early leader in developing technology and processes to convert waste from forest, plant, food and other sources into biofuels. Finland was also among the very first countries to impose a carbon tax on transportation fuels. It also has ones affecting use of electricity and space heating. Degradation of peat lands has been extensive for a country this size resulting in excessive greenhouse gas emissions per capita. However, in spite of this apparent handicap, they still aim to reduce emissions by a very commendable 80% with respect to 1990 levels before 2050.

Monaco imports its electricity from France and Andorra from France and Spain so we also include them here. We acknowledge their claim of being on a path to become carbon-neutral one day. However, being 60% below their 1990 levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 isn't going to get them all the way there.

Cameroon: Cameroon's forest and wooded savanna areas still cover a lot of territory. However, Cameroon has lost nearly one-seventh, some five million hectares, of all its forests over the past generation, an average rate approaching 1% of remaining forest each year. There are other factors including overgrazing, soil erosion, poaching, loss of mangroves and wetlands, energy and food inflation, changes in rainfall and flood patterns and reduced flow and carrying capacity of rivers that contribute to shortages of fish catches, grains and other food for many people. As budgets for fuel and food are reduced, reforestation efforts tend to be put off. Cameroon still managed to plant about two million trees in 2008 and three million are to be planted in 2009 so hope is alive. Moreover, before 2020, nearly one third of the country will become protected conservation areas. Also, more development of solar and hydropower is planned.

Albania, Montenegro: Here is another situation, all else being equal, where lagging behind in economic development of the smokestack variety works in favor of transitioning to a green, clean future. Fewer status quo old economy types to get in the way of change. Both countries have relied on hydropower for the lion's share of electricity production. Adding more capacity is anticipated.

Albania has suffered from energy shortages. Recently, they have fired up a new thermal facility which compromises their environmental picture somewhat.

Montenegro has relatively high per capita energy use due to its dominant aluminum industry. However, about one-quarter of their economy is based on tourism and they have significant green ecotourism potential. Their environmental problems have remained quite benign partly due to their legal codification that Morocco is an "ecological state".

Lesotho, Swaziland: Drought has affected Lesotho and Swaziland. In recent times, broad swathes of these countries have been characterized by parched grazing land and lower productivity cropland. Where there is a shortage of useable water, a food shortage may soon follow. Lesotho also has a developing problem of wetlands degradation and soil erosion. Too much sediment is building-up in downstream areas causing a reduction in water flow rates and hydropower capacity and increasing the risk of flooding. Do they have a grip on to what extent acid mine drainage affects their watersheds including water, soil, vegetation, fish and wildlife?

Carbon intensity in Swaziland is near zero per capita and Lesotho's is very modest indeed. So if they can straighten out their water, power and land-use issues, the future brightens. Plant trees and bushes everywhere to help hold water in soil instead of allowing further cutting down of vegetation thence being vulnerable to dessication and drying out of landscapes as the specter of global warming plays out. Lesotho's well-funded plans for renewable power generation, including mostly high-elevation wind and hydropower projects, should position them for that brighter, clean, green future. 

Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe: Angola and Equatorial Guinea are new oil powers that have historically depended on natural resources like minerals and timber to drive their economies. Development of significant liquefied natural gas facilities is also possible. There has been much conflict and corruption in the past but they have much more money now than ever before. So they are now in the enviable position of having the means to enable them to get into position to prevail in the endless struggle to prevent potential catastrophic and incremental degradation of the natural environment. Compared to many countries, it appears within their grasp to solve many infrastructure, wanton pollution, water quality and availability and socioeconomic issues such as better education, equal opportunity and more equitable income distribution. For example, there should not be cholera outbreaks that recur again and again, or that are not remediated even though the threat of flooding episodes may be always with them especially in precariously-situated places such as Luanda. It should be high priority for most people to have access to toilets and potable water. Deforestation should be contained, rolled back and reforestation commenced. Watch closely what resource extracting companies are doing. Make laws, rules and regulations such that it is not more feasible for any entity or person to pollute than to prevent or treat the waste streams they generate. If it is impossible to stop environmental degradation of some kind, make them pay for that externality they are responsible for in their profiteering. Therefore, the full cost of addressing the problem can be bankrolled and attended to later perhaps when a new environmental or health facility, technology or power source is funded and put in place.

Sao Tome and Principe has had few resources but the possibility of sudden change for the better is very real due to its position in Gulf of Guinea vis-a-vis offshore oil prospects. Assuming they are not manhandled by the rough and tumble oil business, they have a chance to develop nicely similar to Angola and Equatorial Guinea but lagging them in time.

Italy: Italy has had a modest amount of geothermal power for a long time. Less than 5% of grid-power comes from geothermal energy and about one-fifth from hydroelectricity. They are also  developing significant wind and biomass sources of renewable energy. Domestic biodiesel produced from rapeseed, palm and other sources is complemented by significant bioethanol output. Wind power capacity rose by nearly one-third during 2009 year-over-year. Solar energy capacity in Italy has ramped-up faster than virtually every other country spurred on by government subsidies and feed-in tariffs that encourage solar power production. Italy is among the biggest solar power producers in Europe. By about 2015, Italy is a prime candidate to have solar power reach grid parity with fossil fuels including gas. Gas is widely used now for electric power generation. Parity is likely to happen first where sunshine is most frequent and intense and where solar power storage is possible for a few hours after sunset (as can be done with concentrating solar thermal energy).

All these promising initiatives should speed the decline not expansion of carbon-intensive fuels. Ditto for nuclear power capacity which Italy does not plan for anymore. Italy's one-time plan to increase coal reliance to about one-third of the country's needs is also a non-starter today.

In Milan and Rome, deadly micrometer-sized particulate matter has escalated to concentrations that are very high by EU standards. Turin also has poor air quality. Global warming and rising sea level threatens Italy with serious eco-risks. Coping with flood water is an ongoing duel with nature in Venice. Unfortunately, water pressure is intensifying as time goes by. The onus will be on adaptive mechanisms such as sea walls and other engineering structures to ensure the citizenry win every one of those duels.

Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein: Switzerland and Austria have predominant service sectors that generate relatively few pollutants. Nearly two-thirds of electric power derives from hydro sources in both these countries. Reliance on hydropower is apt to decrease as glacier melt water volume decreases over time with climate change, as other renewable sources of energy are ramped up further and as nuclear power is phased out in Switzerland over the medium term. It is not clear to what extent increased rainfall and catchment could make up for the shortfall in hydraulic force attributable to dwindling glacier-fed waterways. The amount of multi-year ice and snowpack has been trending down. The negative impact on winter tourism revenue is apt to be substantial over time. Switzerland's per capita carbon footprint remains too luxurious and reducing same by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 is inadequate. Ditto for Liechtenstein, though we understand they may up this goal to 30% depending on what others do. There are too many vehicles in use. Transportation and space heating emissions are too high in these localities. Perhaps there are too many log fireplaces burning. Austria's well-developed use of high-heat wood gasification installations is a non-starter with us. Austria also still has too many coal and oil-fuelled power plants and industrial complexes. There are an overabundance of piggish trucks on the roads heading to this or that country in Europe. We do think Austrians have the mindset to become very eco-conscious. Renewable energy including significant hydropower should account for about one third of total energy by about 2020. We anticipate they will further reduce conspicuous consumption, the demands on their country's ecosystems, and cut back on waste being generated. Liechtenstein is a story similar to Austria and Switzerland and their emissions have been heading down. Having per capita vehicle ownership second highest in the world tells us they should start slimming down. Another burden is recognition of the effect of substantial imports to these countries. Allowance for trade adds about one-quarter more to their domestic per capita emissions totals assuming you split the eco-tab equally between the importer and exporter.

Morocco: Except for a small amount of hydropower, Morocco is still almost-entirely dependent on fossil fuels for energy. However, Morocco has a sizeable fund to support renewable energy projects, in particular, vast expansion of solar thermal power. They have commenced solar thermal projects and may move headlong into solar photovoltaic-driven ones, too with external assistance from European countries. By 2020, solar power may constitute a third or more of Morocco's grid power and wind-driven turbines could supply one-sixth of their connected power generation capacity. If these projects come to be, ecological survivability will be greatly enhanced. The population is naturally eco-conscious and tourism is big business so we believe progress to live sustainably in harmony with nature could happen fast.

Norway has clearly been a worldwide leader on the environmental front especially in slowing deforestation and forest ecosystem degradation. Norway has funded and helped several countries develop plans for a greener future and they expend effort to have same act faster which is always refreshing to hear. Some 99% of their domestic energy for electricity comes from hydro power. Norway plans on developing significant wind power mostly for export. Norwegian industry are pioneering various demonstration efforts such as wind power being used to produce hydrogen so fuel cell energy can be tapped when the wind dies. Norway has a hydrogen highway, too. People from this country are also responsible for the first mostly fuel cell-powered ship at sea.

Norway did succeed in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2.2% in 2008 which is good performance. The goal of the government is to have greenhouse gas emissions below their 1990 levels by 30%, and contingently by 40%, by 2020. They also aim to have zero net carbon releases by 2030. However, these objectives rely on utilizing carbon markets to purchase carbon credits. Norway was at one point considering banning new purely-gasoline-powered automobiles starting in 2015.

In Denmark, carbon dioxide emissions declined by 6.2% during 2007 and greenhouse gases in aggregate were lessened by about 8% during 2008 which is promising. Copenhagen is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2025. However, Denmark's ongoing use of fossil fuels remains high on a per capita basis. Fossil fuels still account for about three-quarters of power generation requirements including nearly a 50% contribution from old-man coal. Coal could well still be at 40% of the electric power generation mix come 2020 but we trust and hope it will be shown the doorway in an accelerated timeframe thereafter. Enough is enough. If Denmark cannot achieve this how can we expect China or India to ditch coal and fast?! We need pervasive absolute cutbacks in carbon-intensive fuel use around the world in the short run. No excuses from anywhere. No amount of evasive marketing, political spin or carbon-offsetting gimmickry is going to save our planet. Gray fuels, banks and technologies have to marginalized to make way for a rapid ramp-up of their green counterparts.

Netherlands: In Netherlands, per capita greenhouse gas emissions levels have been among the worst. Getting off the coal dole, including exports, will help us all. Fiscally, there has been a lack of efficacious mechanisms. Netherlands now has a plan to go from less than 5% renewable sources of energy to 20% by 2020, including the powering of about one-third of the electric grid by then. Both wind and solar energy utilization is moving up and up. The country's land area is about one-quarter below sea level already affecting most of the population so its likely citizens including those who live in the vulnerable port metropolis of Randstad will force "greening". Rotterdam has poor air quality and won't fare well on the coast as global sea level ratchets ever-up. The Netherlands is implementing a far-reaching road tax in 2012 to augment carbon taxes consumers already pay. Taking such aggressive action to contain climate change cannot happen too soon because we're sure this country does not want to continue paying hundreds of millions of Euros to reclaim tiny strips of shore area from the encroaching sea for an unknown length of time. The emphasis worldwide should be on mitigation efforts, not blowing too many resources on dubious adaptation measures when we have not solved the cause of the problem yet. Cut burning and venting of industrial waste, residential garbage and rural biomass using our collective oxygen tank. Incinerating to get rid of stuff or for the entertainment value reveals our caveman mentality, the very thing our education system should have had us overcome by now. 

If UK can design, implement and promote a carbon tax whose magnitude adjusts according to the market price of carbon to effectively create a minimum price below which carbon cannot trade, then we are getting somewhere. We see great potential there because you build in a whip-free hand-ride type of mechanism to reduce any tendency towards gaming in carbon markets. You thereby "force the tempo of play" with a serious carbon price to accelerate transitioning away from fossil fuels, and you achieve that at least semi-automatically via markets which makes it harder for commercial interests to grouse. The concept of a carbon market price floor, or soft floor price of a minimum of 30 Euros per tonne is a way to lead change as opposed to waiting for change which has been happening too slowly to keep this Earth healthy and happy for everyone.

UK currently relies on fossil fuels to drive about three-quarters of their electrical grid. Two-thirds of that is gas-fired but there is still an abundance of dirty coal being burned, too. The advent of electric cars in Britain, to the extent it occurs, won't move the needle back on climate disruption much so long as we have something like that going on. Renewable energy sources in UK are being developed historically from a very low 2% to 3% percentage level of total electric power production and energy use which they have tripled already to 9%. They are targeting renewable energy, especially from wind power, to provide at least 15% of demand by 2020 including driving nearly one-quarter of all electricity generation capacity. Nuclear plants are likely to provide less than 10% of grid power come 2020.

The people of UK seem to understand the jam we are in collectively concerning our environment and the future of the Earth better than populations as-a-whole just about anywhere else. Many citizens of UK have been participating in a voluntary grassroots campaign to reduce their own carbon emissions. They also have foisted energy efficiency improvements and conservation efforts into the purview of commercial interests to get them competing with others in a kind of green race where the losers must pay up to compensate society for their relative largesse. We like this game; we wish there was a global version of it to invigorate people and get them moving and thinking about things at large not just focusing on what's happening in their own little world. We think its very true what the UN says about us getting beyond self-interest or even national interest. We say retain credibility by saying no to back-pedaling on policies that green the pall-of-gray. No tax breaks to reward heavy polluters, quite the contrary, make them pay the full price for their activities! If one corporate, heavy industry chief or another threatens to relocate, let them go! Good-bye...we'll catch up them later when they try to export back, etc. In the new millennium, they often are not nearly as essential to health, wellness and prosperity of the people as they represent themselves to be to various politicians, bureaucrats and others.

UK has been meeting its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and its greenhouse gas emissions fell by 9% in 2009 and, at that juncture, were more than one-quarter below their 1990 levels. Scotland is expected before 2012 to have about one-third of electricity generation come from renewable sources, especially wind turbines and hydropower. UK is the first country to legally commit to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 relative to 1990 levels, including their fair share of emissions arising from flying and shipping in and out of UK. Furthermore, they now have their own legal and budgetary obligation to slice carbon emissions by half relative to 1990 levels before 2025, and by 60% before 2030.

UK has already surpassed Denmark in offshore wind power to be world leader in that category. And UK has plans for much more of it in coming years, for example, in the North Sea. Also, significant wave, tidal and biomass power projects are in the works. Fuel cell micro-generation of heat and electricity near or within the locality of use, including in homes, should be another big positive development. UK has crafted an incentive system of subsidies and tariffs to encourage adoption of apparatus and technology including various-sized geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, biomass boilers and wind turbines. Biomass projects should need to involve green chemistry and/or clean physics such as anaerobic burning in order to qualify. Halting the acts of lighting matches to ignite firewood, fields and waste around the world is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, black carbon and other pollutants. Merely dumping a pile of wood bundles, pellets or waste into a wood boiler and effecting a phase change from solid to liquid to gas is not generating clean energy either. So please say goodbye to schemes like that; same are not newfangled nor high-tech nor part of the answers required. Similarly, sad as it is, the romance associated with a wood-burning fireplace is over.

Britain still consumes too many goods and resources and through time is said to be the most profligate generator of greenhouse gas emissions on a per person basis. Recycling discipline is not engrained yet. We are not in favor of pelletizing recyclable materials and waste and incinerating pellets, chips and dust to produce power. It may be renewable energy but it's not clean energy. Too much pollution results in the process unless it is done anaerobicly, via pyrolysis. The advent of green chemistry in a big way is another vital challenge facing us all and it must be met in an abbreviated time frame in UK as well. This should encompass physical and organic chemistry processes and production of  pharmaceuticals.

Water quality in almost one-quarter of waterways are said to be substandard. Any recourse to dirty fuels including petrochemical-based diesel will certainly have negative consequences for the environment and their ability to reach stated climate-altering emissions-reduction goals. UK still has a problem limiting the concentration of nitrogen oxides, particulates, including very fine-grained ones, ozone, smog and other pollutants, too to safe thresholds in the air of many cities. In particular, this includes congested areas of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester. Nitrogen dioxide...yughhh. Furthermore, if old buildings containing foam insulation are demolished haphazardly, large quantities of ozone-depleting, heat-trapping gases, dust and other aerosols are released into the atmosphere, thereby adding yet-more to greenhouse gas emission totals.

UK firms are world-leaders in green building design and they are pushing their efficiency and effectiveness agenda in many countries which is refreshing and revitalizing. Carbon neutrality is a way station for these folks as they head for zero emissions nirvana. Unsurprisingly, UK has definitive plans for systematically increasing the energy efficiency of homes, buildings and transportation. All new commercial buildings and industrial facilities must be carbon-neutral by the end of 2019. New housing structures must be net-zero carbon emitters before 2017. Incentives and investments are in-place to get locomotives off dirty diesel fuel and onto drawing electric power to propel trains.

Given that it takes up to 1000 mass units of water to produce one mass unit of food, can more hunger be that far removed for the people of these countries? There has not been enough rainfall or water available across the Sahel belt region, in particular, to the east. Chad is experiencing its worst drought in two generations. Niger is also under great pressure.

Flood-prone Sudan has significant and expanding desertification and water shortages from decades of less rainfall supporting more and more people. Over the last generation, they have lost an estimated 10 million hectares of net forest area. Ancient wood-fuelled brick-making practices make a bad situation that much worse as woodlands are progressively stripped. There is significant burning of savannah and other areas to make way for crops. Brown clouds of pollution form in the atmosphere as a consequence of so much mindless burning activity. Development of hydropower is expected to help with their woes as clean electricity becomes available for the benefit of more people, smoke is reduced and more control over water releases and irrigation help stem uncertainty in a warming world for a still-largely rain-fed agricultural sector.

Physiography in the Sahel region is characterized by dryness. Sandstorms and dust abound. In Mauritania, deforestation presents one of the grimmest settings in all of Africa. Sandstorms, high winds and drought episodes are often acute, driving people in desperation to cut down more trees, exacerbating the situation. Trouble is, many more trees, shrubs and grasses are needed to defend against the advance of sand dunes, to stop it. Water-stressed people often have no remaining option other than to migrate in search of it.

In Zimbabwe, there has been surprising, happy success in regenerating parched areas using a disciplined approach we call "3:300". The Zimbabwean who has pioneered and tested this approach has really been doing some excellent work here: Herd ungulates are kept tightly-bunched together on a parcel of land for 3 days then all moved to another parcel to do the same thing, not to return again to the first parcel in the rotation for 300 days or so. Natural hoofing and shuffling action aerates the soil while the animals leave behind droppings that provide nutrients. Rain that does fall on the disheveled plot thereafter has an increased tendency to soak into the subsurface and contribute to soil moisture content and groundwater supply. In the process, erosion of precious topsoil is lessened and rejuvenation of the soil occurs. This increased capacity is vital as climate change and global warming is associated with more erratic, heavy rainfalls. Water, soil and also possibly seeds, plants and fertilizer is exactly what people don't want to lose in a destructive flash flood runoff of some kind. We'd very much like to see the burnt orange haze of a dusty Sahel sandstorm sunset return to being a clear, light yellow sunset.

The fertility rate in both Niger and Mali is apparently over seven, the highest rates on Earth for countries. With all this happening, you can hardly expect to add a 3% plus per year population growth rate in many of these areas and come away with any conclusion other than that some new macro-scale crisis will emerge before long. Contaminated water, foul air and dust often adds to the daily challenges of preserving public health and well being in places like Bamako, Mali; N'Djamena, Chad; Nouakchott, Mauritania and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

An estimated two billion or more people worldwide are not able to use water for personal hygiene. The people of these countries are among about three-quarters of a billion in more than 40 countries worldwide who suffer from inadequate sanitation, a public health problem whose solution is often compounded by shortages of fresh water. As time goes by and global climate disruption contributes to increased deforestation, drought, desertification, soil erosion and salt content on land and in water, all else being equal, water management shortcomings and human health afflictions in this region are expected to worsen. In general in these nation states, much water is contaminated through lack of latrines and introduction of raw sewage into the waterways eventually causing transmission of numerous water-borne diseases. Many major cities here are among the most unsanitary locations on Earth. The vast majority of diseases including cholera, typhoid fever and diarrhea-related ones arise due to poor sanitation. Life expectancy is reduced and infant and child mortality and morbidity are very prevalent especially in Niger and Sierra Leone. Try surviving in Niamey or Freetown. These countries are among the least developed ones on Earth. To add another dollop of ecological risk, Nouakchott and Freetown are two more West African cities teetering on the brink of inundation when they face their next extreme weather event and storm surge. Furthermore, if the ocean is transgressing as it has been observed to be, the aforementioned ecological risks are increasing over time.

Hope is on the up-and-up for many people of Sierra Leone as they obtain access to electricity for the first time. Plus there is ongoing the ramp-up of a variety of off-grid solar power set-ups that beneficially impact quality of life and opportunity.

The Great Green Wall project across the Sahel belt is a noble effort to try to stop further desertification. The hope and plan is for it to be extended across the continent and be a corridor about 15 kilometers wide. This sounds to us like the "lead-off hitter", as part of a grand scheme to naturally protect and facilitate restoration of vast areas of depleted agricultural land in Africa. Its a great example of what should receive funding or qualify for help via carbon credits given its incremental afforestation with a crucial objective that could conceivably pay off in spades one day.

The squeeze play is not limited to encroaching desert, it also involves encroaching ocean: the Senegal coastline loses on average about one meter per year of land to erosion and rising sea level. Unfortunately, Dakar is really in a precarious position vis-a-vis the ocean. Senegal has historically been heavily dependent on oil-driven power generation. However, there are plans and hopes to move to solar power. Solar stoves, cookers and water heaters are starting to replace other dirty, indoor-polluting energy sources such as wood. Micro-sized lead smelting activities undertaken out of desperation for money should be stopped; children have been dying from exposure to fumes and dust from this grimy, grubstake activity.

Ghana has lost a lot of valuable habitat such that about one-third of tropical forest lands remain which is still better preserved than a lot of places. Vast regions of Ghana's Volta Delta are vulnerable to marine incursion as the ocean rises by about two centimeters each year. Tap water, or lack thereof, has even become a big issue even in Accra. Many Ghanaians are having to travel further to fetch it or to relocate based on where water is available. From gold mining and processing activity that has run amok, there now exists too great concentration of cyanide and heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead in aquifers and many streams and rivers. It gets there through dumping, leaking, leaching and erosion from concentrated areas such as uneconomic mining rock, tailings ponds and heap leach pads. Additionally, places like Ghana and Ivory Coast have become electronic waste dumps, places where youth rub mercury in their hands to ready some electronic junk for burning to extract a fleck of gold. They have unhealthy exposure to cadmium, lead, flame retardants and other noxious chemicals, metals and airborne combustion by-products only to gain a little copper or iron for sale. Worse, very high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls have been found offshore of several West African countries possibly originating from old sunken ships or other toxic trash dumped there illegally by outlaws, pirates, buccaneers, hucksters, rangatangs and other types of cheaters, criminals and oafs.

In Cote d'Ivoire, the hacking, slashing, cutting and burning of vegetation and clearing of land for agricultural purposes historically has left only some miserable fraction, less than one-fifth, of the forest cover and plant kingdom that once existed. Deforestation, loss of water sentries (namely trees, shrubs, plants and grasses), erosion, drought and drying-out of landscape have displaced increasing numbers of people to the big cities, in particular, Abidjan. Urban areas grow uncontrollably and can become immiserating centers where many people are enduring a poor and wretched time, have nowhere else to go and not all that much to do except take action to ensure survival. Let's hope that next we don't have river blindness spreading anew in Ivory Coast.

Burkina Faso appears to have too-high birth rates, more than double mere replacement levels, pressuring the prospects for ecological survivability. Air pollution is evident, especially in overburdened metro areas such as Ouagadougou. The people of Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Togo and Liberia consume very little energy so contribute negligibly to global warming. Cape Verde suffers from prolonged drought episodes, seasonal dust storms, soil erosion and deforestation.  

In The Gambia, a riparian society, water-borne diseases and ailments have been especially prevalent. In Guinea-Bissau, people watch out for the water contact disease, schistosomiasis among others. The Gambia, mostly a flood plain of the Gambia River, and Guinea-Bissau, a coastal plain area where the lowlands stretch far inland, have more than just deforestation, overfishing and overgrazing to worry about. The most ominous situation they face may well be the Atlantic Ocean submergence threat that lingers. Your address is only as valuable now as the height above global sea level you are perched at in cities like Banjul, The Gambia; Bissau, Guinea-Bissau; Monrovia, Liberia and Cotonou, Benin which are already prone to erosion and flooding. Incidences of flash flooding affect sanitation and agricultural productivity directly and lead to spreading of various diseases. Anecdotal evidence indicates encroachment by the sea affecting parts of the Liberian coast has progressed at a rate of about one kilometer per generation. Guinea is likewise in the crosshairs of the formidable phenomenon of global warming and other climate disruption. Its low-lying coastal plain includes the major city, Conakry, right on the coast. Lome is also very vulnerable. Unhappily, Conakry, Guinea; Lome, Togo and Monrovia, Liberia already have formidable water quality and quantity issues. The extra salt coming their way as the ocean transgresses coastal areas is not going to help improve their deficit of potable water. In Liberia, only about one quarter of the population has access to water fit to drink or cook with. The vast majority of people here still lack access to basic washroom facilities or attempt to share a public toilet with literally thousands of other people. Moreover, their numbers are going up and up. Population pressure compounds their challenges and ability to keep expanding the infrastructure and public services they now have. Liberia still has more than half of its primeval forest cover left so hope is alive here especially if they replenish it more and more. Togo needs to stop cutting trees down, their primary natural guardians of water.

Joyfully, Benin is moving ahead by setting-up of off-grid solar panels in rural areas.

You drink water here at your peril; tap water is generally not potable. Unfortunately, in this interior region we have too-high incidence of various afflictions including schistosomiasis, diarrhea, typhoid fever, hepatitis, sleeping sickness, malaria and plague. Often, the vectors of sickness can be traced to poor water quality or insects. Animals and bush meat also act as agents for transmission of disease to human beings. Unlike most other places, rabies is still not just a freakish-possibility. Air pollution and water quality problems add to the challenge of preserving public health and well being, especially in overburdened metro areas such as Bangui and Kinshasa. These two countries also appear to have too-high birth rates, about double mere replacement levels, pressuring the prospects for ecological survivability.

Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi: Rwanda, Malawi and Burundi have basic agricultural subsistence economies that rely on hydro power to a large extent, so fossil fuel use and carbon emissions from electricity generation, industry or transportation are insignificant. They do not consume or pollute much which is propitious because these tropical countries have limited scope for ecological survivability relative to the prevailing state of physical, chemical and biological parameters, conditions and systems. The majority of Burundi's population cannot feed themselves enough now so it is time to cut back on population growth. Deforestation has been nearly wholesale in Burundi and has been devastating for Rwanda, too. Rwanda staged a turnaround, and is now on the net reforestation comeback trail. That's precisely what their long-term ecological survivability depends on - having their historic canopy of trees for all-time.

In Lilongwe, Malawi, enterprising people are pioneering use of a newfangled, natural, composting pit toilet. We think it could have big upside potential, to be somewhat of a breakthrough in sanitation and personal hygiene. Attach some rough-and-ready stand-alone solar LED lighting to the existing modest, economical and robust structure to complete its attractiveness and eco-friendly modus operandi. For premium service, arrange for a truck-crew with a high-pressure preferably-hot water hose to make the rounds to these facilities and spray them down perhaps with some dilute disinfectant added to the gray-grade cleaning water. About-all that's missing then are a few entrepreneurs to launch the system into the vast, largely-untapped global marketplace that exists for this kind of environmental service business.

About one quarter of Rwanda's people do not have access to water that is safe to drink, however, programs are apparently in place to help most of the population solve this dilemma by 2012. Rwanda appears to be on the up and up in the low carbon world of tomorrow we need now. Rwanda has a plan to restore their lost forests by 2035. There is cause for a little excitement here; we think they can pull this off. Projects and options being considered for implementation range from biodiesel and biogas to reforestation to geothermal to solar power plants and expanded extraction of methane gas from Lake Kivu (careful!). All this is far preferable to continued reliance on noxious petroleum-based diesel fuel power generation for about half of primary electricity production plus standby power.

Let's set aside our tendency to cut down the next tree for wood as fuel. Instead, we encourage these countries to seriously-entertain widespread use of sun-dried banana briquettes made from compressed banana peels, banana leaves, banana stems and sawdust. This banana-based fuel apparently burns cleanly, slowly and evenly so it's suitable for cooking and space heating. Producing biodiesel from jatropha, palm, soya, rapeseed, animal fats or other sources should also be pursued and optimized to the extent arable land needed for food is not sacrificed.

Timor-Leste has a slash-and-burn mentality that persists. Papua New Guinea has troubles with deforestation of tropical rainforest: an estimated one-quarter has been removed or degraded already and half could be gone by 2020. Intentional burning of peatlands and rainforests remains too-widespread in Papua New Guinea. Dealing with the "morning after" implications of free-for-all mining activity in this frontier country has brought much pollution-related grief for its people.

As the Earth and its inhabitants grapple with the very real possibility of one day having more than 10 billion people, the population arcs ever-upwards in Papua New Guinea. Within a time span of two generations the population could about-double.

Both these countries are underdeveloped. We think a future with Congolese-type sustainable forest ecosystems should be pursued whereby natural resource extractors and harvesters are held in abeyance to a significant extent in exchange for an external stream of payments and inducements. The focus should be on further development of cottage industries and ecotourism.

All these countries have problems arising from deforestation, erosion, lack of latrines especially in rural areas, and shortages of water suitable for drinking. Despite setting up conservation areas, Myanmar has been clearing forested areas at the net rate of about 10 million hectares of forest in a generation of time. Half the mangroves on Irrawaddy Delta disappeared during a generation of military rule in Myanmar. Tragically, the clearing of mangrove forests and swampland contributed to the mighty impact of the cyclone and incursion of saltwater striking Myanmar in 2008. Surges during this catastrophe reached as high as six meters above means sea level. Through sheer human agony triggered by cyclone Nargis, the Irrawaddy Delta and Irrawaddy River area demonstrates again the vulnerability of people, homes and cropland that are near sea level. Cambodia and parts of Myanmar are low-lying countries geographically which means they have ongoing significant risk of being afflicted by flooding events and transgressions of the ocean. Phnom Penh is very vulnerable to ecological risks. As significant coral bleaching unfolds offshore, besides the creeping biological breakdown at sea, mechanical buffering and physical protection of the coastline deteriorates further.

Diseases, air, wind-blown soil and water pollution are not stopping at border crossings. Water-borne illness and arsenic poisoning is widespread. Apparently, solid arsenic contained in the sediment load that reacts with iron in oxygen-reduced environments near the surface in the presence of certain bacteria results in alteration of the arsenic such that it is easily dissolved in water. Highland erosion of arsenic from rocks thereby ends up percolating into groundwater, aquifers and wells. Many people living in proximity to the Mekong and Bassac Rivers in Cambodia have become very sick and disfigured from the concentration of arsenic they have ingested over time.

Erosion in Cambodia is often associated with unchecked strip mining and cutting down trees to make charcoal or burn the wood as a source of energy. Charcoal is also later combusted as a fuel creating a dreadful carbonaceous soot for people to breathe. One intriguing development in the early stages for Cambodia has been production of char including char contained in the form of briquettes concocted from biomass such as cassava and coconut husks, residues and chaff. 

In recent years, Laos has not prevented unwholesome deforestation sometimes in conjunction with the monolithic plantations game. Massive amounts of wood chips and pellets are being channeled into the Chinese and other markets. Logs are being diverted through Vietnam. So some logging activity and land-use changes are becoming quite controversial because it is known that native forest land is a far superior carbon sink than clear-cuts or plantations, even those with more than one type of tree. This situation resembles plantation style monocultures of palm or eucalyptus trees to produce biodiesel or wood products. We have land use change emissions, loss of biodiversity and loss of food growing potential. So while the intent is noble, in practice it turns out, on balance, not to be a good idea to enhance ecological survivability. All-in emissions levels from the life-cycle for aerobic wood-burning biomass power generation have already proven to be unacceptably high, perhaps as ugly as that arising from combustion of coal or heavy crude oil. 

Japan produces little fossil fuels and places a hearty tax on use of fossil fuel even though they remain approximately 60% dependent on fossil fuels for electric power. They still import lots of horrible coal and have huge capacity to refine junky, heavy grades of crude oil. Happily, no petroleum diesel-burning vehicles are allowed in Tokyo, period.

Japan has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% versus 1990 levels by 2020, 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. We also like how Japan are quantifying industrial pollution targets for various sectors but we need teeth in implementation. Merely relying on corporate volunteering or intensity-based emissions targets to solve global climate disruption and decline in ecological survivability is woefully inadequate and apt to end badly if pursued as policy.

Being situated along the Pacific Rim of Fire, Japan has more than 100 active volcanoes. Belatedly, various Japanese entities are beginning to become serious about developing Japan's geothermal power sources. Japan currently generates about 10% of its electricity needs from renewable sources, 90% of that being from hydropower. The aim is for a minimum 20% share of grid energy to come from renewable sources by 2029 at the latest, and hopefully, a full 20% by 2020. Japan now has a solar energy feed-in tariff scheme to promote small-scale returns of power to the electrical grid. We understand Japan is aiming to have some 30 gigawatts of solar power in operation by 2020. Japan placed fourth in the world in terms of capacity of solar photovoltaic panels installed in 2010.

Japanese people are, born of experiences, wisdom, natural disasters and industrial tragedies, an eco-conscious people likely to lead in forging global solutions to our collective pollution quandary and the salvaging of a green, not a gray, Earth for our progeny. Of course, Japan is known around the world for its pioneering hybrid gas-electric and fuel cell automobiles. There already are some hydrogen highways in Japan so fuel cell cars are on the road there. Pressure is on to ramp up the number of hydrogen filling stations before 2015 in anticipation of many more fuel cell vehicles being on the roads in Japan, particularly in Tokyo. We also already have millions of e-bikes on the streets of Japan. There is widespread buy-in of plastics recycling by society, however, merely burning plastic does not qualify as recycling. Furthermore, it is anticipated that by 2049 one-quarter of residences will obtain their heat and most electric power from a cogeneration fuel cell on-site. This is big, important stuff, and we hope this trend spreads fast into commercial and industrial facilities, too.