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Archive for January, 2011
‘We need to stop this culture before it kills the planet’ – A conversation with Derrick Jensen
Posted by Food Freedom: None Given on January 25th, 2011
Food Freedom: As you begin reading this interview, take a look at the nearest clock. Now, dig this: Since yesterday at the same exact time, 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed, over 100 plant and animal species have gone extinct, 13 million tons of toxic chemicals were released across the globe, and 29,158 children under the age of five died from preventable causes. Worst of all, there`s nothing unique about the past 24 hours. It`s business as usual, a daily reality--and no amount of CFL bulbs, recycled...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on ‘We need to stop this culture before it kills the planet’ – A conversation with Derrick JensenTree species greatly at risk from climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2011
Asian News International: Scientists at Hebrew University of Jerusalem have indicated that many tree species might become extinct due to climate change if no action is taken in time.
Their study suggested that trees that disperse their seeds by wind, such as pines and maples, will be unable to spread at a pace that can cope with expected climate changes.
The research, which focused on the ecological consequences of expected changes in the climate and the environment on tree spread, was conducted by Prof. Ran Nathan...
Climate change report goes to Iowa legislature
Posted by Quad City Times: None Given on January 25th, 2011
Quad City Times: More frequent heavy rainfall is increasing flood damage and soil
erosion.
Warmer nighttime temperatures during the growing season are hurting corn yields.
More frequent catastrophic events are forcing the insurance industry to reassess its coverage and pricing to retain profitability.
These are three of the numerous and complex effects that climate change is having on Iowa, as described in a report forwarded earlier this month to the governor and Iowa legislature.
The 33-page report...
Youth forum calls for early education on environment
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2011
Jakarta Post: Young environmental activists exchanged ideas on how to preserve the environment at the 2011 Indonesian Youth Mini Conference on Saturday.
Muhammad Ridwan, presenting one of 10 selected papers at the conference, highlighted the environmental importance of the Giam Siak Kecil peatlands in Riau Province.
The peatland area, which includes a sustainable timber production industry and two wildlife reserves, is one of seven Indonesian biospheres internationally recognized by United Nations Educational,...
Atlantic Weather May Be Key Culprit In Fish Decline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2011
National Public Radio: The striped bass is in trouble again. During the 1980s, wildlife managers said these big, full-bodied fish "” favorites of anglers along the East Coast "” were overfished. So they laid down severe catch limits. The population recovered, and fishing resumed in what is considered one of conservation's great success stories. But now catches are down again, and some biologists say the problem may not be overfishing this time: It could be the weather. Brad Burns, who started fishing for striped bass...
Amnesty slams Shell over oil spills in Nigeria
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth Tuesday said they had filed an official complaint against Ango-Dutch firm Shell for shirking responsibility for oil spills in Nigeria and wreaking havoc on the environment.
A joint statement said Shell's operations in the southern oil-rich Niger Delta breached the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s guidelines for responsible business.
"The organisations claim that Shell?s use of discredited and misleading information...
Australia’s Greens call for flood deferral of company tax cut
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2011
Reuters: Australia's minority government should defer planned company tax cuts to help pay the multi-billion-dollar cost of flood reconstruction, the influential Greens party said on Tuesday, rather than turning first to a special taxpayer levy.
Flooding blamed on a Pacific La Nina wet weather pattern has devastated huge areas of the eastern seaboard, killing 35 people, submerging parts of the third-largest city Brisbane, shutting vital coal mines and destroying crops.
While hard-hit Queensland state...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia’s Greens call for flood deferral of company tax cutUnited States: Battles Over Mountaintop Coal Mining Rage in Wake of EPA Veto
Posted by New York Times: Paul Quinlan on January 24th, 2011
New York Times: Before blocking one of Appalachia's largest-ever mountaintop coal-mining projects this month, U.S. EPA agreed to allow blasting to start on a half-a-dozen other mountaintop mines. Last July, for example, five months before EPA's landmark veto of Arch Coal Inc.'s permit for the 2,200-acre Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia, the agency greenlit plans from an Arch subsidiary, Coal-Mac Inc., to dynamite a third as many acres for the Pine Creek, W.Va., mine. And last January, EPA signed off on plans...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Battles Over Mountaintop Coal Mining Rage in Wake of EPA VetoSupreme Court Stays Out of Okla. Water Fight
Posted by Greenwire: Lawrence Hurley on January 24th, 2011
Greenwire: The Supreme Court today declined to take up a dispute between six water districts and the state of Oklahoma.
The water districts had challenged whether they should have to pay the state to use water drawn from the Grand River. The failure of the court to intervene means that the legal battle the water districts have fought since 2007 is now over.
Although the state Grand River Dam Authority, formed in 1935, claims title over the river, the water districts argued that they take water from a...
Industry Group’s Self-Depiction Raises Eyebrows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2011
New York Times: At first glance, the Waters Advocacy Coalition could be mistaken for a typical environmental group. The home page of its Web site, protectmywater.org, features a banner reading "Protect the Clean Water Act" across a photo slide show of flowing streams and clear mountain lakes.
On Facebook and Twitter, where the group`s handle is @ProtectCWA, its bio reads: "Our coalition is made up of diverse organizations that have an interest in and actively protect our nation`s waters and wetlands resources."...