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Melanie Nakagawa's Blog

Recent Posts

Waxman Markey Bill Shows Strong Support for Exporting Clean Technology and Building Resilience in Developing Countries

April 3, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
adaptation, climatechangenegotiations, copenhagen, energyandclimate2009, globalwarming, technologytransfer, waxmanmarkey

The recently released draft of the Waxman Markey draft climate bill sets the 111th Congress off to a great start, but more importantly, has put together a set of tools that will help our climate negotiators on their way to...continued

How Doing Your "Business" Can Actually Be a Business

March 21, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment

Tags:
compost, drinkingwater, waterlesstoilet, worldwaterday

Did you know that in some parts of the world, the time a person spends taking care of their, ahem, "business", helps them earn money?Maybe you were like me and assumed this time was lost time in the world where...continued

In Deep Water

March 20, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment

Tags:
drinkingwater, india, worldwaterday

In light of World Water Day, Avinash Kar (Staff Attorney, Health and Environment) and Vrinda Manglik (Fellow, International) decided to take a look at a country with a unique array of water challenges -- India.  I want to share with...continued

Investing in Clean Water Brings Economic Benefits and So Much More

March 18, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Health and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
drinkingwater, simplesteps, worldwaterday, worldwaterforum

In the midst of this financial crisis, governments are trying to spend its resources to stimulate the economy.  To many people this has led to questions over how realistic it is to augment a budget for issues such as clean water. ...continued

The 5th World Water Forum: Bridging Divides for Water

March 16, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
cleanwater, drinkingwater, sanitation, simplesteps, worldwaterday, worldwaterforum

Greetings from the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey!  This is the world's largest water event in a city where water is not only the substance of the conference but also incorporated into its location.  This is because the...continued

Climate Science Says We CAN’T Move Towards More Tar Sands and Dirty Fuels

February 19, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
climatechange, dirtyfuels, oilsands, tarsands

  We've all been hearing the litany of problems with tar sands from the environmental impacts to the public health consequences.  However, how much more needs to happen for our decision makers to act now?  Scientists who have specialized in...continued

A Cause for Alarm in Community Downstream from Tar Sands

February 10, 2009

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Health and the Environment

Tags:
cancerstudy, dirtyfuels, fortchipewyan, oilsands, tarsands

The release of last week's Alberta Health cancer study in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada answered few questions but prompted many more.  Responding to requests by the community of Fort Chipewyan, the Alberta Government conducted a health study to investigate the...continued

Climate Talks Meet Canadian Tar Sands

December 11, 2008

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Solving Global Warming

Tags:
borealforest, canada, climatechange, climatechangenegotiations, poznan, tarsands, UNFCCC

This week the Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner will make his appearance at the United Nations climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland.  What will be important is how Canada frames their global warming pollution and how ambitious their target will be...continued

Time to Use Your Potty Mouth

November 19, 2008

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Health and the Environment

Tags:
drinkingwater, sanitation, watercrisis, worldtoiletday

It's time to talk toilets, and more importantly, to learn about the sanitation crisis that leaves 2.5 billion people without access to a toilet every day.  Today, November 19, is World Toilet Day.  This is a day dedicated to raising...continued

Water Blogged: Reporting on World Water Day

March 22, 2008

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Health and the Environment

Tags:
drinkingwater, simplesteps, stephencolbert, worldwaterday

Try imagining your day today if you did not have access to water or your toilet.  You wouldn’t be able to brush your teeth, flush the toilet, wash your hands, take a shower, or drink a glass of water. For...continued

Downstream from the Tar Sands: Community's Public Health Concerns Falling on Deaf Ears?

February 19, 2008

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa

Tags:
tarsands

As DC enjoyed weather peaking over 70 degrees the second week of February, it seems almost like a dream that I was experiencing -40 degree weather the first week of February on my trip to Alberta, Canada.  I spent...continued

Melanie’s Top 10 Differences between COP 12 and COP 13

December 9, 2007

Posted by Melanie Nakagawa in Solving Global Warming

Tags:
bali, climatenegotiations

With the first week of the international climate change negotiations (aka the “COP”, acronym for Conference of the Parties) over and the second and final week about to start, this is a good opportunity for me to reflect on the...continued