tagged w/ Environmentalism
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Want to see how severely we humans are scouring the oceans for fish? Check out this striking map from the World Wildlife Fund’s 2012 “Living Planet Report.” The red areas are the most intensively fished (and, in many cases, overfished) parts of the ocean — and they’ve expanded dramatically since 1950: Fish gone cause of fishing! (more at link)Want to see how severely we humans are scouring the oceans for fish? Check out this... more
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"Sadly I agree, we are no longer worthwhile Americans, we are simply a commodity!!!"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101726198
"So how do we turn this around??? Any Suggestions Folks???""Sadly I agree, we are no longer worthwhile Americans, we are simply a... more
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KB723
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26 days ago
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By EDDIE BARNES
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 00:00
US TYCOON Donald Trump will warn the Scottish Parliament this week that his plans to build a luxury hotel alongside his Aberdeenshire golf course will be axed if ministers back a series of “insane” wind turbines nearby.
The billionaire property developer will appear at Holyrood on Wednesday to attack the Scottish Government’s renewable energy proposals, accusing Alex Salmond of “destroying” the country’s natural heritage.
His championship golf course, ten miles north of Aberdeen, is scheduled to open as planned in July, but the entrepreneur’s senior representative said additional plans for a major hotel and housing development could not “co-exist” with an offshore wind farm planned for the coastal waters nearby.
George Sorial, vice president of The Trump Organisation, said: “If there is an industrial power plant on the shore line, the concept of having a luxury hotel and resort is simply incompatible. The two can’t co-exist.”
Sorial’s comments throw fresh doubt on the 500-hectare development, along with the job hopes of the thousands of workers which the Trump Organisation claims will be needed to build the entire project.
However, Trump was accused of “showbiz bluster” by environmental campaigners last night, as they produced a poll showing that 71 per cent of Scots back wind power as part of the country’s energy mix. The Scottish Government is committed to sourcing all of the country’s electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020. Trump’s dispute centres on plans to construct 11 new “next-generation” wind turbines, that will be clearly seen from his development.
The American billionaire will give evidence this week to Holyrood’s economy and energy committee. He is also expected to renew his attack on both Salmond and former first minister Lord McConnell, claiming he was given assurances that the windfarm development would not go ahead. Both Salmond and McConnell, who lost power at the 2007 Holyrood elections, deny any such guarantees.
Trump is expected to speak both inside and outside parliament on Wednesday as anti-wind farm protesters gather to rally against the Scottish Government’s plans to increase the number of turbines both on land and at sea. Trump has turned on Salmond over the push, claiming the move will do more damage “than any event in Scotland’s history”.
Both Salmond and McConnell have said the matter of the Aberdeenshire wind farm proposal, known as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, is now a matter for the planning authorities to decide. However, Sorial said that it was “disingenuous and ridiculous” for Salmond to claim he was not backing the wind farm programme off the north-east coast. “Everybody in Aberdeen knows that Alex Salmond is the driving force behind the EWDC application,” he said.
He added: “A lot of people won’t agree with us and a lot of people may feel uncomfortable agreeing with us but on this issue we were misled.
He went on: “It wasn’t until we built the course that the application went in. We knew the proposals were out there but we were always led to believe they wouldn’t get anywhere.”
Last month, Trump claimed he had been assured by McConnell there would be no wind turbines over-looking his course.
He said: “Jack McConnell and his administration said, ‘We really want you to spend your money in Scotland. We will not build the windmills.’ ... I said: ‘Do I have your word?’ They said: ‘You have our word.’”
However, McConnell hit back last night. He said: “Mr Trump was treated with the same respect and courtesy that I and my government treated all potential inward investors. It is a pity that he doesn’t return that courtesy now.”
Meanwhile, Trump flew into the former Soviet republic of Georgia yesterday to expand his global real estate empire, lending his name to a glitzy tower on the Black Sea coast. Unveiling a $250 million (£155m) residential high-rise planned for the Georgian coastal resort town of Batumi, Trump said the country had become a prime destination for foreign investment.
• http://snh.gov.uk/docs/B961030.pdf|Click here for a map of current and proposed windfarm projects in Scotland|Windfarm map}By EDDIE BARNES
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 00:00
US TYCOON Donald Trump... more
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There is no excuse for this needless slaughter of wolves, and it needs to be stopped.
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Batteries would appear to be the inexpensive solution to our growing fuel issues, however the environmental cost of battery materials and disposal is economically and environmentally unsustainable. What if there was a battery that never needed to be thrown away, whose materials were renewable and non-toxic? Enter Dr. Donald Sadoway’s innovative “liquid battery” which provides inexpensive, reusable energy from materials as common as dirt.
How many devices do you use daily that require batteries?
Batteries would appear to be the inexpensive solution to our growing fuel... more
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The FBI conducted a three-year investigation, dubbed "Seizing Thunder," into a animal-rights and environmental "terrorists" in the Pacific Northwest that devolved into widespread—and seemingly pointless—surveillance of activists for no apparent reason aside from the fact that they were anarchists, or protested the war in Iraq, or were "militant feminists." Here's the file.
I first came across the name "Seizing Thunder" several years ago while rifling through the FBI's investigative files on the Animal Liberation Front. The ALF records obliquely referenced the evocatively named investigation, which I requested via the Freedom of Information Act just for kicks. Last month—after three years—the FBI returned nearly 500 pages (it held back 784).
It turns out that Seizing Thunder, which was based out of the bureau's Portland field office, was one of several investigations into animal rights and environmental activists nationwide that the FBI eventually merged into Operation Backfire, a wide-ranging probe of ALF and the Earth Liberation Front. Backfire concluded in 2006 with the indictments of 11 activists for arson and other "acts of domestic terrorism," including a notorious 1998 destruction of a $12 million ski lodge in Vail, Colo. The Portland portion seemed to focus primarily on gathering general intelligence on activists who used tree-sitting and other monkey-wrench tactics to fight old-growth logging in the Pacific Northwest.
What makes Seizing Thunder interesting, however, is how easily the agents slipped beyond investigating actual federal crimes and devoted considerable resources to tracking political activists with no apparent criminal intent.
Seizing Thunder was opened in 2002 to target members of the "Animal Liberation front (ALF), Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and an anarchist group called the Red Cloud Thunder, all whose members are inter-related and they openly claimed several major arsons," according to the files. The investigation involved physical and video surveillance, warrants for phone taps, and cooperation with local police departments in Portland and Eugene, Ore. But the feds quickly dropped the pretense of tracking organized groups and quickly began surveilling people simply for identifying themselves—or for being identified by informants—as anarchists. The memos read like artifacts from the Red Scare:
July 19, 2002: "On [redacted], the source observed a [redacted] Oregon license plate...parked at [redacted], a known anarchist hangout."
August 8, 2002: "The source observed the following vehicles in the vicinity of [redacted], a major hangout for the anarchist and [redacted]"
September 19, 2002: "On [redacted] the source observed [redacted] vehicle, Oregon license plate [redacted] parked at [redacted] one of the hangout for anarchist...."
October 18, 2002: "On [redacted] the source was questioned as to the [redacted] anarchist travelling to [redacted]."
Continued at: http://gawker.com/5892639/how-the-fbi-monitored-crusty-punks-anarchist-hangouts-and-an-organic-farmers-market-under-the-guise-of-combating-terrorismThe FBI conducted a three-year investigation, dubbed "Seizing Thunder," into... more
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Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North Carolina's approach to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fine offered these comments during a Feb. 27, 2012, presentation to the John Locke Foundation's Shafesbury Society. Video courtesy of CarolinaJournal.tv. Watch full-length video of JLF events here: http://www.johnlocke.org/events/videos.html
Dr. Daniel I. Fine works with the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. He is a longtime research associate at the Mining and Minerals Resources Institute, MIT. Fine is also a policy adviser on nonconventional oil and gas. He is co-editor of Resource War in 3-D: Dependence, Diplomacy and Defense, and has contributed to Business Week, the Engineering and Mining Journal and the Washington Times. Fine has testified on strategic natural resources before the U.S. Senate committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources. In this speech, he discusses "Shale Gas Wars: From Pennsylvania to North Carolina."
http://youtu.be/4Lbn9diK1PADr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North... more
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Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North Carolina's approach to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fine offered these comments during a Feb. 27, 2012, presentation to the John Locke Foundation's Shafesbury Society. Video courtesy of CarolinaJournal.tv. Watch full-length video of JLF events here: http://www.johnlocke.org/events/videos.htmlDr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North... more
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Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North Carolina's approach to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fine offered these comments during a Feb. 27, 2012, presentation to the John Locke Foundation's Shafesbury Society. Video courtesy of CarolinaJournal.tv. Watch full-length video of JLF events here: http://www.johnlocke.org/events/videos.html
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*Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North... more
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Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North Carolina's approach to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fine offered these comments during a Feb. 27, 2012, presentation to the John Locke Foundation's Shafesbury Society. Video courtesy of CarolinaJournal.tv. Watch full-length video of JLF events here:
Daniel Fine discusses North Carolina's approach to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing (two minutes)---
http://youtu.be/4Lbn9diK1PA
The full one hour video can be seen here-->"North Carolina?s approach to natural gas fracking" ---> http://lockerroom.johnlocke.org/2012/02/27/no...
Dr. Daniel I. Fine works with the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. He is a longtime research associate at the Mining and Minerals Resources Institute, MIT. Fine is also a policy adviser on nonconventional oil and gas. He is co-editor of Resource War in 3-D: Dependence, Diplomacy and Defense, and has contributed to Business Week, the Engineering and Mining Journal and the Washington Times. Fine has testified on strategic natural resources before the U.S. Senate committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources. In this speech, he discusses "Shale Gas Wars: From Pennsylvania to North Carolina."Dr. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy discusses North... more
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11dim
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4 months ago
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Los Angeles Times...
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. (Associated Press)
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The new war on wolves
As soon as federal protection ended, the slaughter began.
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By J. William Gibson
December 8, 2011
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Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. And this fall, the killing began.
As of Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported that 154 of its estimated 750 wolves had been "harvested" this year. Legal hunting and trapping — with both snares to strangle and leg traps to capture — will continue through the spring. And if hunting fails to reduce the wolf population sufficiently — to less than 150 wolves — the state says it will use airborne shooters to eliminate more.
In Montana, hunters will be allowed to kill up to 220 wolves this season (or about 40% of the state's roughly 550 wolves). To date, hunters have taken only about 100 wolves, prompting the state to extend the hunting season until the end of January. David Allen, president of the powerful Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, has said he thinks hunters can't do the job, and he is urging the state to follow Idaho's lead and "prepare for more aggressive wolf control methods, perhaps as early as summer 2012."
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination.
What is happening to wolves now, and what is planned for them, doesn't really qualify as hunting. It is an outright war.
In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 66 wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho, most of the U.S. celebrated. The magnificent wolf, an icon of wilderness that humans had driven to extinction in the United States, would now reoccupy part of its old range. But in the region where the wolves were introduced, the move was much more controversial.
Part of the reason was the increase, particularly in Idaho and Montana, in paramilitary militia advocates, with their masculine ideal of man as warrior who should fight the hated federal government, by armed force if necessary. They were outraged by what they saw as federal interference in the region spurred by environmentalists, and their ideas found a willing reception among ranchers, who view wolves as a threat to their livestock — even though they ranch on federal land — and hunters, who don't want the wolves reducing the big game population.
The factions have reinforced one another, and today a cultural mythology has emerged that demonizes the federal government, the environmental movement and the wolves themselves. Many false claims have been embraced as truth, including that the Fish and Wildlife Service stole $60 million from federal excise taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for bringing wolves back; that the introduced wolves carry horrible tapeworms that can be easily transmitted to dogs, and ultimately to humans; that the Canadian wolves that were brought in are an entirely different species from the gray wolves that once lived in the Rockies, and that these wolves will kill elk, deer, livestock — even humans — for sport.
The false claims may have had particular resonance because they built on a long tradition in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that wolves belonged to the devil: Demons could take the shape of wolves, as could witches. Puritans brought similar ideas to America. Cotton Mather called New England before it was settled a "howling wilderness." Asked to investigate Salem's alleged witches, Mather concluded in his book, "On Witchcraft" (1692): "Evening wolves" (werewolves and witches) were but another of the devil's tests as New England passed from "wilderness" to the "promised land."
And that attitude has persisted. Gary Marbut, president of the influential Montana Shooting Sports Assn., wrote in 2003 that "one might reasonably view man's entire development and creation of civilization as a process of fortifying against wolves."
Politicians from both parties in Western states have been eager to help with the fortifications. In Idaho, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and the state's governor, Butch Otter, made removal of wolves from the Endangered Species Act a political priority. In Montana, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has made delisting wolves central to his 2012 Senate campaign against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. In April, Tester in turn persuaded fellow Democrats in the Senate to approve his inserting a rider in a budget bill that delisted wolves.
In early November, Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, made his own political contribution. Thrilled at the testing of a drone aircraft manufactured in Montana, Baucus declared: "Our troops rely on this type of technology every day, and there is an enormous future potential in border security, agriculture and wildlife and predator management." A manufacturer's representative claimed his company's drone "can tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote." Pilotless drone aircraft used by the CIA and the Air Force to target and kill alleged terrorists now appear to be real options to track and kill "enemy" wolves.
How far we have fallen since the mid-1990s, when we celebrated the wolves' reintroduction. During the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama declared: "Federal policy toward animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of the environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect."
The president now should make good on that promise.
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J. William Gibson is a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach and the author of "A Reenchanted World." http://www.jameswilliamgibson.com
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from... more
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Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to surpass London as a great city. Unlike the poverty tourism and accolades awarded to communitarian slum living by the likes of Prince Charles and Kevin McCloud, Dharavi residents think big. Sadhvi Sharma takes us through the streets and introduces us to aspirant families for whom Dharavi is a place of transition. The least we can do, she argues, is support their aspirations.Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to... more
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If you have ever been to Disney then you know about its famous monorail system. But did you also know that the Disney monorail was the first daily operating monorail in the Western hemisphere, or that it carries some 50 million passengers per year? Other monorails have made an equally impressive impact, including the Tokyo monorail, which averages 127,000 passengers a day. With such proven results in moving large numbers of people, why are monorails only largely designated to shuttle services between airports and hotels?
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
The monorail, like the PRT, has had a difficult time getting the green light for developing new and more complex systems. Primary resistance has come from local government agencies deeming monorails a high-risk investment. A major disadvantage for the monorail system is its incompatibility with other types of rail infrastructure, which would make service on mainline (train) tracks impossible. This means an entirely new system would have to be installed, which would be both costly and time-consuming. There are several advantages however, of these systems – mainly that they require less space both horizontally and vertically than conventional railways. Monorails also have a smaller footprint and are seen as a more attractive alternative to traditional railways, they are quieter and safer as they are incapable of derailing.
Personal Rapid Transit systems, like the ones featured in this week’s video segment are similarly attractive as monorail systems in terms of public transportation services. Their quiet ride, safety and low environmental impact make them an ideal solution for mass transit. However, as with the monorails, they also face tough opposition from groups citing lack of research into urban integration and access considerations on elevated tracks.
If you could choose a new type of public transportation for your city, what would it be?If you have ever been to Disney then you know about its famous monorail system. But... more
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Developing safer, cleaner methods of transportation are key components of urban planning. A Brooklyn based architect, Dr. Mitchell Joachim, founded Terreform1, a group committed to exploring and solving the issues surrounding human transportation in an urban setting. Their designs imagine new ecological solutions to communities and vehicles while remaining energy and resource efficient.Developing safer, cleaner methods of transportation are key components of urban... more
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CNN...
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U.S. beefs up conservation efforts for endangered sea turtles
By Shelby Lin Erdman, CNN Radio
September 18, 2011 8:03 p.m. EDT
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PHOTO: Loggerhead turtles will be divided into nine distinct population groups based on where they live, according to new regulations.
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(CNN) -- The government has revised its rules on sea turtles to try to decrease the number killed every year and reduce the threats they face.
The new regulations place the Loggerhead turtle into nine distinct population groups, depending on where they live, instead of listing the marine animal as a single worldwide species. In all nine segments the turtles are listed as either threatened or endangered.
Officials at both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both responsible for overseeing the turtle conservation efforts, say they can better address the challenges the turtles face with the new geographical division.
Loggerhead or marine turtles live in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. The new "distinct population segments" for the turtles are: The Northeast Atlantic Ocean group, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Indian Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean, the Northwest Atlantic, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and our Atlantic Coast, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Southwest Indian Ocean.
Researchers estimate more than 4,500 loggerheads are killed every year by commercial fishing, but environmentalists believe the number is probably much higher.
Commercial fishing is one of the biggest risks for the turtles, whether they live in the Indian, Pacific or Atlantic oceans, said Jim Lecky, the fisheries director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"They all continue to be challenged by a number of threats, incidental capture in fishing gear, longlines, gill nets, trawl gear, trap and pot lines, which tangle turtles and other species, and dredges; all have incidental mortality of sea turtles in those fisheries," he said.
But Lecky says that's not the only threat for the turtles. "They are all also challenged by losses of habitat, degradation of nesting habitat. There still is direct harvest of eggs in adults ... at some level and they are all subject to vessel strikes."
The turtles are facing all those threats, but at different levels. So the new rules will allow fine-tuning of sea turtle conservation measures and regulations.
"We believe that this revised listing of the Loggerhead will help us and our partners to better focus recovery and conservation efforts by allowing us to take a more regional approach. But, again, the separation of Loggerhead into these population groups will not reduce our current conservation efforts," said Sandy MacPherson, the national sea turtle coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
MacPherson also told CNN Radio, "These new listings will help us to provide more focused recovery and conservation, as well as more focused threat analysis and evaluation of conservation successes."
The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement that Loggerhead populations "need more protection to survive this century."
The rule revisions also included designating five regional populations as endangered species, which the group characterized as "a wake-up call that a whole host of threats, from oil spills, channel dredging and commercial trawling to longline and gillnet fisheries, continue to kill off turtles faster than the animals can possibly hope to reproduce."
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CNN's Ninette Sosa and Barbara Hall both contributed to this report.CNN...
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U.S. beefs up conservation efforts for endangered sea turtles
By... more
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Traffic congestion is a major factor affecting the air quality in urban areas. With the average driver spending up to one year of their lifetime searching for a parking space, it is no surprise that vehicles in Paris emit 2 million tons of Co2 annually. Roughly 30% of all traffic in Paris is the result of cars looking for a parking spot.
How do you deal with traffic congestion?
Be sure to check out current.com/urbanmobility for more news, community discussions and upcoming videos about Urban Mobility.
Traffic congestion is a major factor affecting the air quality in urban areas. With... more
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What can you make with 65 old, used shipping containers? How about a huge building with an amphitheater, offices and a sustainable development educational center.
The complex of 65 shipping containers is the creation of the Los Angeles-based architectural firm APHIDoIDEA. Acronymically and rather clumsily named the eCORRE (Environmental Center of Regenerative Research Education), the building would primarily serve as an environmental education center for Long Beach, California. The complex includes a public plaza underneath raised and angled shipping containers in the middle of the structure.
http://design.spotcoolstuff.com/shipping-container-architecture/creative-long-beach-eco-centerWhat can you make with 65 old, used shipping containers? How about a huge building... more
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The T.25 is an innovative concept in car design. With an average operation cost 50% less than the average consumer vehicle and 40% less emissions, it would be the most cost and fuel efficient car on the market. However, design is not the most important aspect of creating a futuristic car. Improved efficiency in production and shipping are also taken into account when turning the world of car manufacturing on its head.
Now that you've seen one concept of car design, tell us what does your car of the future look like?
Be sure to check out current.com/urbanmobility for more news, community discussions and upcoming videos about Urban Mobility.The T.25 is an innovative concept in car design. With an average operation cost 50%... more
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600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much fossil fuel is required run these cars, in addition to the energy used to create them, it becomes clear that developing more efficient ways to build cars can be as important as reducing vehicle emissions.
In this week’s Urban Mobility segment, Gordon Murray, a former Formula One racecar designer, uses his knowledge of lightweight materials to construct a prototype road car that would drastically reduce the energy required for vehicle production by 60%.
After seeing Gordon’s factory design and concept car, what kinds of features would you like to see in the Car of the Future?600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much... more
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