Woodworking unions and environmentalists propose new plan to protect forests and jobs while fighting climate change
Forest industry unions and leading environmental groups have united behind a plan that calls on the BC government to conserve more forest, halt rampant wood waste and promote wise use of forest products — all as part of a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Managing BC’s Forests for a Cooler Planet: Carbon Storage, Sustainable Jobs and Conservation, was released jointly today by the CCPA; BC Government and Service Employees’ Union; Communications, Energy and Paperworkers of Canada; David Suzuki Foundation; Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada; Sierra Club BC; United Steelworkers District 3 – Western Canada; and Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
This conclusion comes from a major review of research into how industrial chemicals such as mercury and organochlorines affect the bears. The review suggests that such chemicals have a range of subclinical effects. When added together, these can have a dramatic and potentially fatal impact on the bears' bones, organs and reproductive and immune systems. The review, an analysis of more than a decade's research into the effect of pollution on bears, is published in the journal Environment International. Peak Water follows in the same line of theory as does Peak Oil, due to the fact that these natural resources are not only unable to be naturally reproduced in nature quickly enough, but that they are also running out rapidly worldwide upon an exponential curve. Global consumption and waste is beginning to reach a 'peak' beyond the capability of these natural resources to supply our critical needs and demands! Experts agree: Our water demands are becoming larger than our water supply! The worst is yet to come . . . If we fail to take preemptive action and plan ahead!!! ========== > Information Resources: "Peter Gleick on Peak Water" - Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm7lxwKgO5I "FLOW" - Documentary 'A Must See' Film Video: http://www.documentary-film.net/sear...h.php?&ref=212 "Global Water Crisis" - The Arlington Institute: http://www.arlingtoninstitute.org/wb...-water-crisis# "Peak Water: How We Built Civilisation on Water and Drained the World Dry" - Book Review - The Ecologist: http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/...er_crisis.html "10 Campaign Groups Calling For Cleaner Water" - How to Make a Difference - The Ecologist: http://www.theecologist.org/how_to_m...ner_water.html "America's Dwindling Water Supply" - CBS Reports : http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...eaturedPost-PE ========== > Please sign & share these (2) Care2 petitions + (1) ipetitions.com -- Thank you!!! "Jump Start The Water-Maker Industry Now!" - Care2 Petitionsite: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/jum...r-industry-now "World Movement Toward Green Energy Markets" - Care2 Petitionsite: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/wor...energy-markets "Obama Rebuild America Now!" (In Green Context) - ipetitions.com: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamarebuildnow/ ========== Please Visit: The Fifth Knight's News - (SirRobert's News) - Care2 C2NN: http://www.care2.com/news/member/510...sort=submitted |
How to destroy the BBC without mentioning Murdoch.
It's been obvious for some time now that the BBC under a Conservative government is going to be facing a vastly different climate to the one that it currently enjoys under a somewhat supportive Labour party. Facing not just the accusations from the usual suspects of an innate liberal bias, but also now the outright fury of the Murdochs for daring to provide a free to use news website, with many certain that the deal between Cameron and Murdoch for his support must involve some kind of emasculation of the BBC once the new Tories gain power, there still hasn't been a set-out policy from how this is going to be achieved. Thankfully, Policy Exchange, the right-wing think-tank with notable links to the few within the Cameron set with an ideological bent has come up with a step-by-step guide on how destroy the BBC by a thousand cuts which doesn't so much as mention Murdoch.
Rambling about the Naked Rambler.
At the very best of times it's difficult to get a bearing on the workings of the criminal justice system. Without coming over all Daily Mail, there certainly are cases at times which result in cautions or very minor penalties that clearly deserved harsher punishment; to balance that out though there are often also trivialities dealt with in the courts which should have never got anywhere near coming up in front of a beak. One such case is that of Roger Day, prosecuted under the Army Act of 1955 for pretending to be an army veteran after he took part in a Remembrance Day parade in Bedworth wearing medals which he clearly could not have earned himself.
Day thankfully only received a relatively light community service order for his crime of fantasy. At the opposite end of the scale is the continuing stand off between Stephen Gough, better known as the Naked Rambler, and the Scottish authorities. Having walked from Land's End to John O'Groats on two occasions completely naked, both times being arrested repeatedly, and most often north of the border, Gough has only experienced freedom for a matter of minutes since 2006 after he was arrested for exposing himself on a flight between Southampton and Edinburgh. Since then Gough and the police have been involved in what is probably best described as the Pete Doherty shuffle, so named because of the police's constant pursuit of ex-Libertines drug addict: each time Gough finishes serving his last sentence, for either breaching the peace, contempt of court (for appearing naked in the dock) or public indecency, they immediately arrest him for once again stepping out into the open air wearing usually only socks, boots, a wristwatch and a backpack. Gough's latest arrest came after being released from Perth prison on the 17th of December. He was warned yesterday that he faced life in prison if he continued to refuse to put on clothes, with the same process continuing over and over.
Day thankfully only received a relatively light community service order for his crime of fantasy. At the opposite end of the scale is the continuing stand off between Stephen Gough, better known as the Naked Rambler, and the Scottish authorities. Having walked from Land's End to John O'Groats on two occasions completely naked, both times being arrested repeatedly, and most often north of the border, Gough has only experienced freedom for a matter of minutes since 2006 after he was arrested for exposing himself on a flight between Southampton and Edinburgh. Since then Gough and the police have been involved in what is probably best described as the Pete Doherty shuffle, so named because of the police's constant pursuit of ex-Libertines drug addict: each time Gough finishes serving his last sentence, for either breaching the peace, contempt of court (for appearing naked in the dock) or public indecency, they immediately arrest him for once again stepping out into the open air wearing usually only socks, boots, a wristwatch and a backpack. Gough's latest arrest came after being released from Perth prison on the 17th of December. He was warned yesterday that he faced life in prison if he continued to refuse to put on clothes, with the same process continuing over and over.
Quite why the Scottish magistrates are allowing this charade to continue is unclear: it's obvious that this long stopped being about Gough and his belief that he has a right to be naked, and has instead become a battle between Gough and the authorities over their consistent re-arresting of him within seconds of him leaving custody.
The cost of all this is difficult to estimate, but some have suggested that including his legal aid, his room and board at Her Majesty's pleasure and the successive prosecutions, he's run up a taxpayer-paid bill of around or over £200,000. All because the Scottish authorities seem determined to ensure that one man can't possibly be allowed to wander around naked, even for 30 seconds, lest someone be alarmed at a very shrivelled and tiny male member. The obvious solution would be to let him get on with it, but that seems beyond the comprehension of a system which can't seem to let someone who is determined to keep making a fool of it get away with it, even for as long as a minute.
Iraq inquiry groundhog day.
At points Campbell's evidence made you wonder whether his stubbornness to admit almost any mistake is not in fact borne of his continuing loyalty to Blair, or his own unstinting belief in his own righteousness, but in fact that he has to keep telling both himself and the world how he got everything right while everyone else has repeatedly got it wrong in order to convince himself that he is still on the side of the angels. Hence he'll defend "every single word" of the September 2002 dossier, while Andrew Gilligan's substantially confirmed report on the Today programme was a "dishonest piece of journalism", which is a quite wonderful example of projection, and almost anything which contradicts his evidence is a conspiracy theory,like the Guardian report of yesterday which suggested that he changed a part of the dossier to bring it into line with a claim made by Dick Cheney.
It is though perhaps instructive to compare how we conduct inquiries with the Dutch. Previously the government of the Netherlands resigned after a damning report into the Dutch military's failures at Srebrenica. By coincidence, their own inquiry today into their role in the Iraq war has concluded that it was illegal, as UN resolution 1441 could not be used as a mandate for armed conflict. Back here, we're still regarding Alastair Campbell as though he's a reliable witness. One suspects that the Chilcott inquiry's conclusions won't be anywhere near as incisive.
It is though perhaps instructive to compare how we conduct inquiries with the Dutch. Previously the government of the Netherlands resigned after a damning report into the Dutch military's failures at Srebrenica. By coincidence, their own inquiry today into their role in the Iraq war has concluded that it was illegal, as UN resolution 1441 could not be used as a mandate for armed conflict. Back here, we're still regarding Alastair Campbell as though he's a reliable witness. One suspects that the Chilcott inquiry's conclusions won't be anywhere near as incisive.
Chalk River isotope delays could last into April
Iran's Other Nuclear Reactor
A heavy-water reactor operates with natural uranium rather than enriched uranium so there is no need to build a big, expensive, and easy-to-spot enrichment plant. It is also continuously refueled, unlike an electric-power reactor, which requires annual long and highly visible shutdowns to exchange roughly one third of its old fuel for new fuel. The spent fuel pellets of a heavy-water reactor contain plutonium as well as medical isotopes, and the same facility that extracts medical isotopes can also extract plutonium for weapons. These qualities make heavy-water reactors a greater proliferation risk, but fortunately they are much more expensive than the ordinary water-cooled power reactors, and few large ones have been built.
At 40 megawatts, the Arak reactor is large for its stated purpose; big enough to satisfy a significant part of the world's demand for medical isotopes. A reactor of that kind and size can also produce enough weapons-grade plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons each year. As has already been demonstrated by India, Israel, and North Korea, it is easier to go this route to nuclear weapons than it is to get the necessary weapons-grade uranium by building and operating an enrichment plant with tens of thousands of centrifuges running day and night.
Does either the nuclear power project or the isotope project make sense for Iran? To me the answer is "yes" for the Bushehr power reactor and a very skeptical "maybe" for the Arak isotope-production reactor. Demand for electricity is growing in Iran as its population and per capita GDP increase. Even at today's prices for oil and natural gas, Iran could get its electricity at less cost from nuclear power while selling its oil and gas to outsiders.
As for medical isotopes, there certainly is a market. Canada's 125-megawatt heavy-water reactor is the big player in that market, producing a large fraction of the world's supply of some of the isotopes. Having sources distributed around the world is a good thing in theory, but I don't see Iran having the economic justification for isotope production that it can make for nuclear electricity. I spent a week in Iran at the end of last May and saw what seemed like a vibrant economy constrained by limited infrastructure. Spending a very large amount of money on both the plant to produce the heavy water and on the reactor is a strange economic choice to me.
The heavy-water plant at Arak is complete and in operation. The reactor itself is under construction and is supposed to be completed in four years. There are easy-to-monitor signals that can show if the output is medical or weapons material, and appropriate safeguards for the Arak reactor should be required in any nuclear deal with Iran. While we continue to argue over the Bushehr enrichment plant, we should not forget there is another ball in play, and we may have been watching the wrong one.
At 40 megawatts, the Arak reactor is large for its stated purpose; big enough to satisfy a significant part of the world's demand for medical isotopes. A reactor of that kind and size can also produce enough weapons-grade plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons each year. As has already been demonstrated by India, Israel, and North Korea, it is easier to go this route to nuclear weapons than it is to get the necessary weapons-grade uranium by building and operating an enrichment plant with tens of thousands of centrifuges running day and night.
Does either the nuclear power project or the isotope project make sense for Iran? To me the answer is "yes" for the Bushehr power reactor and a very skeptical "maybe" for the Arak isotope-production reactor. Demand for electricity is growing in Iran as its population and per capita GDP increase. Even at today's prices for oil and natural gas, Iran could get its electricity at less cost from nuclear power while selling its oil and gas to outsiders.
As for medical isotopes, there certainly is a market. Canada's 125-megawatt heavy-water reactor is the big player in that market, producing a large fraction of the world's supply of some of the isotopes. Having sources distributed around the world is a good thing in theory, but I don't see Iran having the economic justification for isotope production that it can make for nuclear electricity. I spent a week in Iran at the end of last May and saw what seemed like a vibrant economy constrained by limited infrastructure. Spending a very large amount of money on both the plant to produce the heavy water and on the reactor is a strange economic choice to me.
The heavy-water plant at Arak is complete and in operation. The reactor itself is under construction and is supposed to be completed in four years. There are easy-to-monitor signals that can show if the output is medical or weapons material, and appropriate safeguards for the Arak reactor should be required in any nuclear deal with Iran. While we continue to argue over the Bushehr enrichment plant, we should not forget there is another ball in play, and we may have been watching the wrong one.
Bosch to quit south Wales with the loss of 900 jobs
Lifehacker
Remains of the Day: Adios to Firefox 3.7 Edition
Google mobile search on iPhone and Android devices adds location-based autosuggest, Mozilla drops Firefox 3.7 from their release schedule and changes their development process, and a JavaScript hack allows Flash to run on iPhones.
- Optimized Search Suggestions using your location
Google search on Android and iPhone mobile devices now uses location for better autocomplete. [Google Mobile Blog] - Mozilla dumps Firefox 3.7 from schedule, changes dev process
Mozilla has changed its development process to roll out new features along with their frequent security updates rather than through major once- or twice-a-year updates; drops 3.7 entirely. [Macworld] - The Great Google Coverup?
Blogger Douglas Rushkoff suggests that Google's big stand against China is a smokescreen to cover up that there was in fact a significant security breach. [The Daily Beast] - Websites and Words That Are Blocked in China
Interesting infograph that gives you an idea of the kind of restrictions imposed on Chinese searchers. [Digital Inspiration] - Weave Sync 1.0 Release Candidate Available
Mozilla's browser syncing tool Weave Sync gets close to an official 1.0 release. [Mozilla Labs] - Everything You Need To Refute a File-Sharing Legal Threat
Doesn't hurt to know! [TorrentFreak] - JavaScript Hack Enables Flash on iPhone
Sounds like it's not perfect, but a clever Javascript hack allows iPhones to run Flash apps in Mobile Safari using a Javascript built Flash runtime. [Wired] - Search your BlackBerry email and contacts with Google Mobile App
The Google Mobile app for BlackBerry updates, integrating email and contacts in search results. - Epix, the "Hulu of Movies," Gets Wider Distribution This April
Online film site Epix takes more steps toward becoming a viable service. [Mashable]
Naomi Klein Issues Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again
crises are often used now as the pretext for pushing through policies that you cannot push through under times of stability. Countries in periods of extreme crisis are desperate for any kind of aid, any kind of money, and are not in a position to negotiate fairly the terms of that exchange.
And I just want to pause for a second and read you something, which is pretty extraordinary. I just put this up on my website. The headline is “Haiti: Stop Them Before They Shock Again.” This went up a few hours ago, three hours ago, I believe, on theHeritage Foundation website.
“Amidst the Suffering, Crisis in Haiti Offers Opportunities to the U.S. In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the image of the United States in the region.” And then goes on.
Now, I don’t know whether things are improving or not, because it took the Heritage Foundation thirteen days before they issued thirty-two free market solutions for Hurricane Katrina. We put that document up on our website, as well. It was close down the housing projects, turn the Gulf Coast into a tax-free free enterprise zone, get rid of the labor laws that forces contractors to pay a living wage. Yeah, so it took them thirteen days before they did that in the case of Katrina. In the case of Haiti, they didn’t even wait twenty-four hours.
Now, why I say I don’t know whether it’s improving or not is that two hours ago they took this down. So somebody told them that it wasn’t couth. And then they put up something that was much more delicate. Fortunately, the investigative reporters atDemocracy Now! managed to find that earlier document in a Google cache. But what you’ll find now is a much gentler “Things to Remember While Helping Haiti.” And buried down there, it says, “Long-term reforms for Haitian democracy and its economy are also badly overdue.”
But the point is, we need to make sure that the aid that goes to Haiti is, one, grants, not loans. This is absolutely crucial. This is an already heavily indebted country. This is a disaster that, as Amy said, on the one hand is nature, is, you know, an earthquake; on the other hand is the creation, is worsened by the poverty that our governments have been so complicit in deepening. Crises—natural disasters are so much worse in countries like Haiti, because you have soil erosion because the poverty means people are building in very, very precarious ways, so houses just slide down because they are built in places where they shouldn’t be built. All of this is interconnected. But we have to be absolutely clear that this tragedy, which is part natural, part unnatural, must, under no circumstances, be used to, one, further indebt Haiti, and, two, to push through unpopular corporatist policies in the interests of our corporations. And this is not a conspiracy theory. They have done it again and again.
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