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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 30th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

  From:    unobserver at iom.int
Subject: International Organization for Migration: Press Briefing Notes 30 September 2008
Date:      September 30, 2008

ETHIOPIA – Skilled Expat Medics Arrive to Provide Medical Care, Training - A group 105 doctors and nurses, many of them members of the Ethiopian diaspora in North America, are this week travelling to Ethiopia to provide vital medical care in four hospitals in the capital, Addis Ababa. They will also share their knowledge with local health care professionals.

A group of 38 health care professionals, members of Operation Heart Beat, composed of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists and including members of the Friends of Ethiopia group, have already arrived in the country with state of the art medical equipment.

A second group of 67 medics, members of the Ethiopian North American Health Professionals Association (ENAHPA), will be travelling to Ethiopia later this week.

“These doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are participating in IOM’s Migration for Development in Ethiopia or MIDEth programme, a capacity building initiative aimed at strengthening the government’s institutional capacities to address some of this country’s acute human resources constraints,” explains Charles Kwenin, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Addis Ababa.

The medics will deliver specialized health services, including cardiac surgery, pacemaker implants, oral and maxillofacial and reconstructive surgery, neurosurgery, ENT surgery and tele-opthamology.

The mission will not only reach hundreds of Ethiopians with state-of-the-art medical services, but will also assist the country’s health sector professionals with hands-on training that will improve the standard of health care in major Ethiopian hospitals.

IOM’s MidEth programme also extends beyond the health sector. Later this month two professors will travel to Ethiopia to teach at Addis Ababa University.  One, a business professor, will remain in the country for three months. The other, an information technology specialist, will lead a one-month seminar for PhD students.

IT specialist Dr. Nega Gebreyesus, a senior manager at a US Government agency, says that he always wanted to take part in a knowledge transfer scheme between the Ethiopian diaspora and his country of origin. “The flexible and short-term nature of this programme works well with my work and family responsibilities.  These short-term trips can be complemented by remote technology-based engagements,” he says.


IOM is working with the Government of Ethiopia (the Expatriates Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Capacity Building and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development), with financial support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to provide travel and other assistance to the experts, who are all based in the USA and Canada.

Ethiopian Airlines is also supporting the initiative, providing discounted airfares and bigger baggage allowances to transport some of the medical equipment.

For more information please contact Charles Kwenin at IOM Addis Abba, Tel: +251.115511673. Email:   ckwenin at iom.int

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 29th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

Even though the bill grew from 3 pages to 110 pages, the Conservative Republicans wanted no part of it.

The bill was defeated 228 - 205 with 140 Democrats voting for it and 95 opposing.  You can say thus that the Democrats stuck their neck out and were afraid to be seen as those that derailed the President and brought on a calamity - and a clear calamity is in the making indeed. Money runs away from the stock market and into US treasuries that give now next to no returns at all. So, investors look for a safe haven and really do not care about not making gains. The best deal is now a 3 months treasury bill - and some may even think of bars of gold in the attic. The European Central Banks have stopped selling gold.

So, McCain came to Washington to help the President but his party failed him. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat Leader of the House of Representatives, in introducing the Bill, said the truth - it was the nearly eight years of Bush that destroyed the Clinton savings and caused the present situation - this made the Republicans so furious that they decided to bite their own hands and vote NO! That is what the Republicans want us to think now - as we said - they built a trap for the Democrats - A You Die if you-do-or if -you-don’t. The election for President is not the issue now - it is the election of the House members.

Those folks did not want to be accused of having agreed to the bailout and will now fight the Democrats on very skewed levels.

McCain has problems, and Palin is irrelevant to the process.

The President of the Ukraine got the lesson of his life - not everyday you can see a superpower in its nakedness.

———-

A vindicated Europe celebrates ‘civilised’ capitalism.
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and John Thornhill in Paris, The Financial Times,  September 29 2008.

As Peer Steinbrück pondered recent events on Wall Street, Germany’s hard-nosed finance minister could not help indulging in a bit of futurology. “When we look back 10 years from now,” he told journalists on Thursday, “we will see 2008 as a fundamental rupture.” The US, he said, would lose its role as a “finance superpower”.

Yet while US commentators may have interpreted such remarks as heralding a statist renaissance in Europe, there are few signs yet that the old continent is turning its back on the free market.

Yes, there is anger in Berlin and Paris at Washington’s refusal - up until after the outbreak of the subprime crisis - to heed European calls for more regulated markets. The proposals Berlin had made during its presidency of the Group of Eight industrial nations last year “elicited mockery at best or were seen as a typical example of Germans’ penchant for over-regulation”, Mr Steinbrück said.

Crisis management alone would not rebuild the lost confidence, he added. “We must civilise financial markets, and not just through moral appeals against excess and speculation.”

***

In a speech in Toulon on Thursday, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the world would have to learn the lessons of the financial crisis and rethink the values and practices of globalisation. This would mean shifting the emphasis from speculation to entrepreneurship and restoring a proper balance between the market and the state.

“The market economy is a regulated market, a market that is at the service of development, at the service of society, at the service of all. It is not the law of the jungle,” he said, predicting the end of laisser faire capitalism.

***

Officials in Berlin point to calls by Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, to curb excessive bonuses as evidence that a new consensus is emerging in Europe that could bridge the old divide between Britain and the continent.

No doubt the Europeans will now find new vigour in defending those areas that remain untouched by liberalisation. Mr Steinbrück said the country’s three-pillar banking system, with state, co-operative and commercial banks, had proven more robust than its two-tier US counterpart.

The crisis also presents Europe with an opportunity to push for more international co-operation, as it has done before in areas ranging from international security to climate change. Mr Sarkozy has supported the expansion of the G8 to include big emerging economies such as China and India, as well as calling for reform of the International Monetary Fund. “We cannot continue to manage the economy of the 21st century with the instruments of the 20th century economy,” he said.

Yet it would be wrong to read such statements as precursors of a general retreat of liberalism on the continent. In his speech, Mr Sarkozy defended the essence of capitalism that had permitted the “extraordinary surge of western civilisation over the past seven centuries”. He also said it would be a “historic error” to return to the collectivism of the past that had been responsible for so many disasters. In Germany, the world’s largest exporter of goods, politicians are all too conscious of how much their country has benefited from trade liberalisation.

Meanwhile, the last thing Ms Merkel and Mr Steinbrück want is for the radical Left party, a coalition of defectors from the Social Democratic party and former East German Communists, to turn the crisis into ammunition for next year’s general election. In June, Ms Merkel told the FT she was worried that attempts to discredit free-market liberalism would play into the left’s hands.

As Mr Steinbrück put it before German legislators: “Neither calls for more state nor naive beliefs in market forces will help us in our task of shaping the economy in a way that will allow all to benefit from stable, crisis-free growth.”

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 25th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

From:    cgay at servidor.unam.mx
Subject: Post doctoral positions
Date: September 24, 2008

The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)  announces:

POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT THE CENTRO DE CIENCIAS DE LA ATMOSFERA (Campus Mexico City)
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEPTION OF APPLICATIONS OCTOBER 24, 2008
www.atmosfera.unam.mx

The Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera (CCA) belonging to the  National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), in Mexico City, is offering a one year postdoctoral position, with the possibility of renewal,  for carrying out research in Mexico related to the main themes of Atmospheric Sciences.

Fellowships include a monthly stipend ($ 2,000  Dlls.) and a medical insurance.
Interested applicants should already have a Ph.D. degree or equivalent obtained within the last three years and to be 35 year old or younger by October 24, 2008. This position is open to Mexican citizens and foreigners living in and outside Mexico.

Knowledge of Spanish is an advantage although not indispensable.

The main research themes are:

1) Aerobiology
2) Atmospheric Aerosols
3) Atmospheric Chemistry
4) Atmospheric Physico-chemistry
5) Bioclimatology
6) Climatic Change
7) Climatic Models
8) Cloud Physics
9) Environmental Cytogenetics
10) Environmental Mutagenesis
11) Environmental pollution
12) Tropical  Meteorology
13) Mathematical Modeling of Atmospheric Processes
14) Micro and Mesoscale Interactions
15) Physical Climatology
16) Urban Meteorology

More detailed information on the current specific research themes can be found at www.atmosfera.unam.mx.

For information about fellowships you may contact:
Dr. Amparo Martínez-Arroyo
 seac at atmosfera.unam.mx
+52 55 5622-4059

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 17th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

The Importance of Military Organizations in Protecting the Climate: 2008.

 http://www.igsd.org/docs/Workshop%20Anno…

Paris, France, November 3-5, 2008.

Organized and Sponsored by the EC Defence Environmental Network (DEFNET), the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Defense, the United Nations Environment Program, the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), Ministries of Environment and Defence Ministries of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom and others (invited and to be confirmed).

Join in Paris this November to learn how militaries worldwide are responding to threats of climate change and acting now reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

This workshop is scheduled to complement the EU Member States DEFence Environmental Network (DEFNET) meeting, which will be held on the 6 and 7 November.  This workshop will:

* Provide a forum for leadership announcements and updates.
* Apply lessons from ozone layer protection to climate protection.
* Highlight challenges and progress made by developed and developing countries.
* Summarize emerging and available climate protection technologies suitable for military and civilian applications.
* Focus on military-unique problems not solved by technology developed for civilian applications.
* Present case studies of military and commercial leadership to protect the climate.

*****

***Conference Outcomes***

A conference report will be published with consensus findings, including proven strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving military effectiveness. The outcomes of this conference will:

* Document the importance of military leadership in technology, operations, and knowledge sharing.
* Build networks of military and civilian experts who share common goals and challenges.
* Draft a meeting consensus summary that becomes the basis for military briefings to national and regional ozone and policy makers worldwide.

*****

***Who Should Attend?***

This workshop is likely to attract a large and influential audience and capable presentations.  Those who should attend include:

* High-ranking military officials
* Environmental policy makers
* Energy security officials and experts
* Military contractors
* Military personnel responsible for managing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
* Suppliers of technology that satisfies all performance criteria with significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions
* Owners, operators and regulators of electric utility systems that support military operations

***Location and Registration Information***

The meeting will be held at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center, located at 17, Boulevard Saint Jacques. To register for the event:
 http://www.igsd.org//conferences/Paris20…

***Conference Organizers***

Kristen Taddonio, US Environmental Protection Agency,  Taddonio.kristen at epa.gov
Stephen O. Andersen, US Environmental Protection Agency,  Andersen.stephen at epa.gov
E. Thomas Morehouse, Institute for Defense Analyses,  Tom.morehouse at verizon.net

For more information on registration, please contact Veronique Millon, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development,   Permalink | Printer Friendly Printer Friendly | Email This Article Email This Article
Posted in Policy Lessons from Mad Cow Disease, Reporting From the UN Headquarters in New York, Reporting from Washington DC, Global Warming issues, Real World's News, Future Meetings, Green is Possible, European Union, Job Offers, France, United Kingdom, Futurism, Africa, Islands & SIDS, The New Climate, Brussels

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 17th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

 From:    123lisa at gmail.com
Subject: Sustainable Development Law & Policy: Call for Papers
Date: September 16, 2008

 A Call for Papers from Sustainable Development Law & Policy for its upcoming Fall 2008 issue on the global food industry. 
Sustainable Development Law and Policy (“SDLP”) is currently accepting submissions for its Fall 2008 issue that will focus on an array of legal and policy implications of current affairs in the global food industry. If you would like to submit an article for consideration, please send your paper or a summary of your topic to  sdlp at wcl.american.edu ASAP. The deadline for submission of final papers will be by September 30, 2008.

SDLP’s Food issue hopes to provide a forum for practitioners to discuss the legal, social, and political implications of the current global food crisis. We are hoping to evaluate issues such as, but not limited to, bioengineering, food labeling, food aid, climate change and food, intellectual property and food, and the Farm Bill. SDLP aims to represent a range of viewpoints, including those from academia, the private sector, public sector, multilateral organizations, and others. Please view our recent issues at http://www.wcl.american.edu/org/sustaina….

Requirements for Submissions:

• Articles or abstracts should be submitted to  sdlp at wcl.american.edu.

• Articles must be no longer than 15 pages (double spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman print).

• Articles should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word or a Word-compatible software program.

• All articles should attempt to follow the format presented in previous issues of SDLP. This includes an introduction, which outlines the rest of the article, and a conclusion. Please refer recent issues for examples.

• Please provide complete citations to every fact, opinion, statement, and quote that is not your original idea. Complete citations include: the name and author of the cited document, title of publication or publisher, date of publication, relevant page numbers, and specific website address.

• We encourage the submission of photographs and graphics to accompany your article. Please send proof of permission to use others’ images.

• Please include a 3-4 sentence biography of yourself and indicate whether you would like your email address included with the published article.

We reserve the right to reject submissions and hold all submissions on file for later publication. We also reserve the right to revise your submission and/or cut text. You will have the opportunity to accept or reject any revisions. SDLP accepts submission of timely articles that have already been published elsewhere, so long as permission of the previous publisher is received.

SDLP is available online at LexisNexis, Westlaw, VLex and Hein Online and is widely distributed throughout the Washington, DC community, law and graduate schools, and to representatives of international organizations worldwide. You can also view the pdf versions of recent SDLP issues at http://www.wcl.american.edu/org/sustaina….

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on September 16th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

From:    lorenz.martin at oeschger.unibe.ch
Subject: 8th International NCCR Climate Summer School 2009
Date: September 16, 2008

8th International NCCR Climate Summer School with participation of
IGBP-PAGES

“Climate variability, forcings, feedbacks and responses: the long-term
perspective”

30 August - 4 September 2009, Grindelwald, Switzerland

The NCCR Climate, Switzerland’s Centre of Excellence in Climate and
Climate Impact Research, invites young scientists to join leading
climate researchers in a scenic Swiss Alpine setting for keynote
lectures, workshops and poster sessions on the occasion of the 8th NCCR
Climate Summer School 2009.

The topics covered at the NCCR Climate Summer School 2009 will include:
* climate variability: the long-term perspective
* reconstruction techniques, past climate modelling and data assimilation
* forcings, feedbacks and responses of the climate system
* impacts of climate change: the hydrological cycle

The Summer School invites young researchers from all fields of climate
research. The courses cover a broad spectrum of climate and climate
impact research issues and foster cross-disciplinary links. Each topic
includes keynote plenary lectures and workshops with in-depth discussion
in smaller groups. All Summer School participants present a poster of
their research and there will be ample opportunity for discussion.

Lecturers for keynotes and workshops (confirmed):
International speakers: E. Cook (LDEO, USA); N. Graham (Scripps SIO,
USA); G. Hegerl (U Edinburgh, UK); B. Otto-Bliesner (NCAR, USA); Swiss
speakers: J. Beer (EAWAG); N. Buchmann (ETH Zürich); J. Esper (WSL); J.
Luterbacher (U Bern); F. Joos (U Bern); C. Schär (ETH Zürich); M.
Schwikowski (PSI); T.F. Stocker (U Bern); W. Tinner (U Bern); H. Wanner
(U Bern) and others.

The Summer School is open to young researchers (PhD students and
Post-Docs) worldwide. Participation is highly competitive and will be
limited to a maximum of 70. The registration fee (1′200 CHF) includes
half board accommodation, excursion and teaching material. A small
number of grants will be available for students from developing countries.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 20 DECEMBER 2008
Successful applicants will be notified in February 2009.

On-line information and the application form are available at
<http://www.nccr-climate.unibe.ch/summer_school/2009/>

Contact:
University of Bern, NCCR Climate Management Centre, Zähringerstrasse 25,
CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland, <mailto:nccr-climate@oeschger.unibe.ch>,
Telephone +41

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on August 27th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

From:    Jeremy.Houssin at erm.com
Subject: CASCADe - Call for projects (CDM & Voluntary Carbon Market) for Senegal - Technical support and training co-finaced by the UNEP - Dakar from the 8th to the 12th of september
Date: August 27, 2008

ERM and UNEP organise a training workshop in Dakar, Senegal, from the 8th to 12th of September 2008, to help African project sponsors. You will find below and attached to the mail a call for CDM projects and projects in the Voluntary Market.

 CASCADe Workshops in SENEGAL – From the 8th to 12th of September 2008

A Call for CDM projects and projects in the Voluntary Carbon Market for project sponsors in Senegal who want to participate in a Capacity Building workshop.

Types of projects eligible:
The workshop is open to project sponsors who work on Agro forestry, reforestation, avoided deforestation, and bioenergy (e.g., cogeneration, renewable energy linked to agriculture and reforestation).

The workshops
The workshops are composed of three training days focusing on CDM (Clean Development Mechanism in Kyoto protocol) and the Voluntary Carbon Market; followed by two days devoted to face to face discussion with experts to provide technical support.

Workshop financing:
The workshop is financed by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).

Registration:
As a result of a limited number of spaces available for project sponsors, registration is to be done by sending a file introducing the project, to:
Jeremy Houssin:  Jeremy.Houssin at erm.com
or
to the Senegalese Designated National Authority of (DNA) : Miss Madeleine Diouf Sarr -  mad1 at sentoo.sn

For the project sponsors who are already registered by the UNEP for the Africa Carbon Forum, please indicate your UNEP registration number.

Programme objectives:
CASCADe primarily aims at enhancing expertise to generate African carbon credits in LULUCF as well as bioenergy activities. The programme will provide institutional support, training workshops, and both regional and international knowledge transfer.

Pilot projects and case studies in asset classes such as plantation forestry, agro forestry, and bio fuels will open up opportunities for African participation in the CDM and the voluntary carbon markets. In addition, the project will facilitate the establishment of a stakeholder network for technical cooperation and linkages between carbon buyers and sellers. The programme’s findings will also serve to contribute to the policy debate towards a post-2012 climate regime, casting light on key issues such as eligibility of avoided deforestation and land degradation projects in CDM-type initiatives.

CASCADe Project in Senegal and Benin:
As far as Senegal and Benin are concerned, the CASCADe project is managed by ERM France and in particular by its Energy and Climate Change team leader, Robert Vergnes supported by his teams in France, Senegal, and Benin. In the sixteen months that follow, ERM France and UNEP, working in partnership with local governments, NGOs, and industry will organise training modules, workshops and provide technical support to help local actors to develop PDDs (CDM and Voluntary Projects in AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses), Energy and Bioenergy).

For more information :
>> http://www.unep.fr/energy
>> http://www.uneprisoe.org
>> http://www.cd4cdm.org

Houssin Jérémy
Energy and Climate Change consultant

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on August 22nd, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

 From:    cseipt at agu.org
Subject: CLARIFICATION: Eligibility for participation in the African Climate Change Fellowship Program
Date: August 22, 2008


“Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It has come to the attention of the Executive Committee of the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) that Moroccan citizens have been excluded from Program participation via the requirement that eligible applicants be citizens of member states of the African Union. We apologize for this oversight and assure you that the exclusion was unintentional.

We would like to amend this requirement so that our intentions are clear:

Participation in the African Climate Change Fellowship Program is open to citizens of all African nations.

It is important to note that the citizenship requirement is one of four general requirements that all applicants must meet to be eligible for a Fellowship award. In addition to being a citizen of an African nation, all applicants must also meet the following general eligibility criteria:

Applicant must be age 40 years or less as of 31 September 2008;

The proposed Fellowship project and activities must be clearly related to and likely to advance climate change adaptation in Africa; and
Applications must be complete and received on or before 17 September 2008.
Applicants are also required to meet a number of eligibility criteria that are specific to the type of Fellowship for which they apply (i.e., Policy, Doctoral Research, Post-Doctoral, or Teaching Fellowship). For more information about Fellowship-specific criteria, please refer to the ACCFP 2008 Call for Applications. The Call for Applications and other important application materials can be accessed on the Pan-African START Secretariat’s website at: http://accfp.pass-africa.org.

The ACCFP aims to support African professionals, researchers and graduate students to undertake activities that will enhance their capacities for advancing and applying knowledge for climate change adaptation in Africa. The Program is jointly administered by the global change SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training (START), the Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA) of the University of Dar es Salaam and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), with financial support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). If you have questions about the Program, please contact the Pan-African START Secretariat at  pass at ira.udsm.ac.tz.

We thank you for your continued interest in the ACCFP and for your understanding in this matter. Again, we apologize for this oversight and any confusion that it has caused. Please help us to spread the word about this exciting opportunity to other colleagues and friends. Forward this email to qualified individuals that might be interested to apply!

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Best,

Clark Seipt
On behalf of START, IRA-UDSM, and AAS”

###

Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on July 9th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)

From Carbon Finance - http://env-finance.msgfocus.com/q/12ix9u…

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