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#ForewordFriday: State of the World Edition

If you're the kind of person who eagerly awaits the annual State of the Union speech, we have just what you need to tide you over until next January. State of the World 2014: Governing for Sustainability marks the 40th anniversary of Worldwatch Institute, one of the leading environmental think tanks. This year's book analyzes government structures on every scale, how they are—or aren't—addressing sustainability issues, and how they can be improved.

Executive Orders for 2014: Christopher Johnson

Back in November of 2013, President Obama issued an executive order on climate preparedness. Because executive orders circumvent Congress within certain limits, they allow the president to implement action to address climate change and other issues. A few weeks ago I asked some of our authors to create their own executive orders to improve our handling of the environment.  
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#Foreword Friday: Foreclosure Edition

The World Bank Group proudly proclaims "our dream is a world without poverty." Supported by the U.S. and other rich industrialized nations, it lends more than $50 billion annually to developing countries-purportedly for projects and programs that help the poor while protecting the environment.
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No One Can Stop Leaking Oil

Katie Valentine and Ryan Koronowski of ThinkProgress uncover what oil companies (and snow) have been keeping secret. A Canadian oil company still hasn’t been able to stop a series leaks from underground wells at a tar sands operation in Cold Lake, Alberta. The first leak was reported on May 20, with three others following in the weeks after — making it at least 10 weeks that oil has been flowing unabated.
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When will America, world make sustainability a priority?

Twenty years ago, I took a week off from my job at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources and attended the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development as a private citizen. At this conference, also known as the Earth Summit, nations of the world, including the United States, endorsed a nonbinding plan for a new form of development: environmentally sustainable development.
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In the Case of Tar Sands Oil - Oils Well, Will Certainly Not End Well

Canada’s growing interest in exporting some of the dirtiest crude oil in the world is a threat to not only North America’s wildlife but also a rational energy policy and a stable atmosphere. NASA and climate scientist James Hansen called this project a climate game-changer because burning Alberta “tar sands” oil could raise CO2 levels in the atmosphere by 200 parts per million (ppm), pushing us dangerously away from the 350 ppm safety net that he and other scientists have recommend (we are currently at 390 ppm of CO2 and rising at about 1-2 ppm per year).

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