The Stream, September 11: Great Lakes Week and Reframing the Climate Debate

Great Lakes Week
Great Lakes Week 2012 kicked off yesterday and runs through Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio. The event is a series of seminars where stakeholders, from activist groups to governments, collaborate on the future restoration of the Great Lakes bodies. Watch live coverage online at the website, or follow on Facebook and Twitter @EPAGreatLakes, according to a release by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Re-framing the Climate Debate
Members of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities gathered in San Diego, California to discuss the best way to frame the issue of sea level rise and climate change to help citizens better understand the risks and solutions at hand. Experts agree that actions taken today to mitigate climate change can help future generations deal with the impacts of rising sea levels, reported Scientific American.

To capture the hearts and minds of those unconvinced about climate change, some experts suggest framing it as a health issue rather than as an environmental issue. Others disagree because there lacks a clear, causal link between climate change and public health risks, reported National Public Radio.

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus
To avoid conflict between water users, Asian countries like China and India are going to have to make tough decisions about water allocation between cities, industries, and farmers. Future water scarcity could make both food and energy production grind to a halt, reported Businessweek.

The European Union is drafting legislation to limit use of crop-based biofuels in response to fears of competition over crops during droughts without requisite emissions reductions. Plans are also to end all subsidies for crop-based biofuels by 2020 when present legislation expires, reported Reuters.

The EU announcement rides on the tail of a call from United Nations representatives for the US to temporarily suspend their corn-based ethanol fuel mandate, the National Geographic reported.

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