Fighting pollution with capitalism in China. The Chinese environmental agency is working with the banking authorities to identify and punish companies that fail pollution checks. Pan Yue, the deputy chief of SEPA, the State Environmental Protection Administration, said the country should use more economic muscle to fight air and water polluters as he listed some polluting companies that would be barred from borrowing money from banks. The credit blacklist was the most forceful measure the environment agency could impose to clean up rivers in China, Pan said in comments posted on the SEPA Web site. —International Herald Tribune

Dealing with climate change in the now. Until recently, most research and policy initiatives related to climate change have focused on ways in which societies can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the worst effects of global warming. Current scientific evidence shows, however, that some human-induced climate change is now inevitable and is in fact already occurring. The question of which regions and groups are most vulnerable to this predicted climate flux and how they might adapt to it has thus become an important area of research, funding, and policymaking. One of the critical insights of this new area of study, often referred to as “Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation,” is that the poor–particularly those living in developing countries–will bear the heaviest burdens of a changing climate. — EarthTrends

A hung-up jacket is a happy planet. “Off” is the latest from electrical-engineer-turned-designer Scott Amron’s Die Electric. We featured a handful of his other projects designed to cut back on energy use here, and think that the borderline subversive, tongue-in-cheek approach to mindful electricity consumption is great. “Off” is pretty much what it looks like: a fully-functioning, combination light switch/hook, and therein lies the dilemma. Do you hang up your jacket or turn on the light? — Treehugger

15 green chefs. Savour our list of eco-conscious chefs… — Grist