Tag: environment
Breaking News: The Russian / Ukraine Natural Gas Crisis
port1080.
Posted to Politics on Wed Jan 07, 2009 at 06:15:16 AM EST (promoted by wetkarma). RSS.
Russia and the Ukraine have been having an ongoing dispute about Russian natural gas sales to the Ukraine since the Ukrainian "Orange Revolution" of 2005. Russian had been providing gas at steep subsidies to the Ukraine, which it considered within its sphere of influence, but after the repudiation of its favored presidential candidate, Russia began to turn the screws and jack up natural gas prices to the Ukraine. Normally, such a dispute would be of local interest, but little more. The Russian / Ukraine dispute has one big catch, however - most of Russia's pipelines to the European Union (to whom Russia sells most of its gas) run through the Ukraine - and when Russia and the Ukraine have a dispute gas supplies to the rest of Europe are severely disrupted.
(12 comments, 471 words in story) Full Story
Breaking News: The Toxic Sludge Tsunami Of 2008
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed Dec 24, 2008 at 09:56:25 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
It being late December in Tennessee and with weather patterns being what they've been recently, you might expect a white Christmas this year. But for the residents in and around Harriman, Tennessee it's going to be anything but a white Christmas. Due to the breach of a retaining wall at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) slurry pond, neighbors within a couple hundred acres woke up two days before Christmas to find themselves coated in toxic sludge.
(7 comments, 430 words in story) Full Story
A Tree Grows Or Dies On Brooklyn.
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 12:44:45 PM EST (promoted by DEMachina). RSS.
I figure with a web site name like treesandthings, we should be able to get some discussion going on this issue. The issue being which is more important -- community development or the environment? That's essentially what's at stake out in Seattle. There is a neighborhood there that is looking forward to what some see as much-needed development. There is also a tree, an exceptional tree (pdf doc) if you will, which stands threatened by the perceived much-needed development. The issue is should the tree remain standing or should the changing face of the neighborhood not include the tree?
(5 comments, 483 words in story) Full Story
What's More Important - Bunches Of Birdies Or Frogs And Snakes?
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:09:10 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
It's almost a given that whenever there's human activity the environment will take a hit. You might think the placid setting of a golf course might be one place where man and nature can coexist without controversy, especially if the golf course has been in operation for close to 80 years. You would think wrong as evidenced by the case of a golf course in San Francisco which is threatened with being sued for killing off frogs and snakes.
(10 comments, 580 words in story) Full Story
What Happens When The Seas Gasp For Air?
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Mon Feb 18, 2008 at 07:21:31 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Large areas of the seas and oceans of the world are approaching a "tipping point" in the ability to support animal life. Within the past few years, low levels of oxygen have been reported in areas which used to teem with marine life. Now, when marine biologists take a dive to assess life at the bottom of the sea, sometimes right off continental coastlines, what they find are gigantic dead zones filled with dead animals which couldn't escape their habitats or areas bereft of fishes which could.
(19 comments, 483 words in story) Full Story
We've killed the air, now it's killing us.
shane.
Posted to Etcetera on Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 02:31:36 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Air pollution kills 2.4 million people each year.
(13 comments, 171 words in story) Full Story
Save The Coral.
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 06:38:45 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
There really isn't much in the way of good news for the world's corals.
(29 comments, 406 words in story) Full Story
We Have A Hole In The City Budget -- Let's Plug It With Water.
MayorBob.
Posted to Politics on Wed Aug 15, 2007 at 09:20:25 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
When you're working out in a gym, jogging around outside, or just need to wet your whistle at work, there's nothing like a nice, cool drink of water. Water - it's healthy, refreshing and thanks to the bottled water industry it can be there no matter what you're doing. But that healthy, refreshing and available bottle of water is about to have war declared on it by a Chicago politician. Because, "there's a cost associated with this behavior" Chicago Alderman George Cardenas is ready to apply that cost to each bottle of water sold in the Windy City. Cardenas' notion of what is right and fair regarding bottled water have a lot of people thinking he's all wet.
(3 comments, 545 words in story) Full Story
Carbon Footprint in Mouth: "Carbon Credits" Examined
profwhat.
Posted to SciTech on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 08:45:30 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
At the Academy Awards ceremony, Melissa Etheridge preformed her song in front of a slide show that urged viewers to reduce their "carbon footprint" (a measure of how much CO2 you put into the atmosphere) and Al Gore spoke twice about the importance of doing something to stop global warming. But soon after the awards, the media cycle picked up a new story: Al Gore's own lifestyle gives him a gigantic carbon footprint, filled with emissions from private jets and a heated pool house that burns $500 a month in natural gas. Hypocrisy? Not so fast.
(19 comments, 235 words in story) Full Story
The Road to Hell is Paved with Fair Trade Coffee Bricks
3fingerspointback.
Posted to Etcetera on Sat Dec 16, 2006 at 08:06:15 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
This week's Economist includes a special feature devoted to taking down a notch the three most popular movements for food activism: Organics, Fair Trade, and Local Food.
(16 comments, 430 words in story) Full Story
Global Warming - The Next Hot Class Action Topic?
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed Nov 01, 2006 at 10:19:00 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
When somebody suffers damage they generally try to find the cause of their damage and recover for their injuries. Occasionally, the targets of these attempts at restorative justice are large, multi-national companies. It's happened to big tobacco for giving us cancer and emphysema, gun manufacturers for giving us drive bys and schoolyard massacres, and even junk food producers for making us obese. Now, the next rallying cry for class action attorneys has emerged - "Global Warming." The targets of this new evolution in class action law are also coming into focus: Big Oil, auto makers, and energy producers around the world.
(16 comments, 765 words in story) Full Story
Lethal Locales And Polluted Places
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:43:16 AM EST. RSS.
The Blacksmith Institute is a US-based environmental organization which annually releases a report detailing the worst places on earth when it comes to pollution. This year's report (59 pg pdf doc) specifically names 35 sites around the world where pollution isn't merely a hazard - it's a way of life. While Chernobyl is a familiar name, it's likely few of us have ever heard of the other nine on the list.
(9 comments, 419 words in story) Full Story
