Starbucks Wastes 23.4 Million Liters of Water Daily

British newspaper The Sun discovered last weekend that Starbucks has been wasting millions of liters of water every day by keeping a tap running non-stop at all of its 10,000 locations worldwide. The amount of water wasted is enough to provide daily water for the 2 million drought-stricken Namibians or to fill an Olympic pool every 83 minutes.

Every single Starbucks store has a cold tap behind the counter for a sink called a ‘dipper well’ which is used for washing spoons and utensils, and staff are banned from turning the water off under the misguided notion that leaving the tap on stops germs from breeding in the taps.

From The Sun:

And the claim that running taps are needed for hygiene reasons was dismissed by experts as “nonsense”.

A single Starbucks tap left running for just over three minutes wastes the amount of water one African needs to survive for a day in drought conditions.

The Sun investigated after a Starbucks executive revealed the policy in a letter to a couple who complained about a tap left running at their local branch.

Lisa Woolfe, 39, of Cuffley, Herts, said: “I noticed a small sink behind the counter had its tap running. The assistant said the store was told to keep it running as it cleaned the pipes.

“I could not believe it but when we contacted head office, they confirmed that the taps were left on and the water was not recycled.

“It is an absolutely astonishing waste of water, especially for a company which prides itself on its green credentials.”

The Sun confirmed taps running at Starbucks all over the world, from Vienna, Austria to Cluj, Romania (there are Starbucks in Romania?).  It’s even happening in drought-stricken Australia, where water is currently a very precious commodity.  Check out video of the taps running at The Sun website.

Way to waste, Starbucks.  This is really an astoundingly stupid thing to do, especially for a company so conscious of its image – did they think people would forgive them because they claim to be doing it for hygienic reasons?

If you still frequent Starbucks, this is as good a reason as any to shift your business to other coffeehouses – hopefully local ones.  It’s an outrage that they would hold such blatant disregard not only for the conservation of precious resources but for the people who are desperately in need of water.

Link [The Sun]
Photo credit: EarthFirst composite/Flickr user mobilestreetlife

BBC Investigated After Global Warming Denier Claims Program ‘One-Sided’

Television watchdogs are investigating the BBC after a ‘leading climate change skeptic’ claimed that his views were ‘deliberately misrepresented’ in a program about global warming. Lord Monckton, a former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, had been interviewed for the program by Dr. Iain Stewart, a geologist.  Monckton is accusing the BBC of unfair editing and called the program “a one-sided polemic for the new religion of global warming”.

From Mail Online:

Earth: The Climate Wars, which was broadcast on BBC 2, was billed as a definitive guide to the history of global warming, including arguments for and against.

‘I very much hope Ofcom will do something about this,’ he said yesterday.

‘The BBC very gravely misrepresented me and several others, as well as the science behind our argument. It is a breach of its code of conduct.

‘I was interviewed for 90 minutes and all my views were backed up by sound scientific data, but this was all omitted. They made it sound as if these were just my personal views, as if I was some potty peer. It was caddish of them.’

Ofcom confirmed it was looking into a ‘fairness complaint’ about the documentary.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘We stand by the programme.’

This is the guy who played a key role in a legal challenge heard in the High Court in October 2007 in an attempt to prevent the film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ from being shown in English schools.  Sorry, global warming deniers: you deserve every bit of ridicule thrown your way.  Especially this Lord Monckton – he’s such a nut, he calls for Mann, Bradley and Hughes (of the hockey stick graph) to be put on trial for genocide.  Indeed.

Link [Mail Online] + [Deltoid]

New Company Offers Green Spray-Paint Service for Dead Lawns

All those banks trying to sell off foreclosed homes with dead, brown yards have a new, convenient, guaranteed non-eco-friendly option available to them: spray paint.  Chances are, you’ve seen the sickly, unnatural blue-green look of grass that’s been spray-painted in order to appear alive on the side of the highway once or twice.  Now, a company called Greener Grass Co. is offering the same service for foreclosed homes.

From RecordNet, via BoingBoing:

For between $175 and $225 per yard, Terlouw uses a motor-powered 50-gallon insecticide sprayer designed for treating orchard trees. He waves his magic wand and in broad sweeps, a la painting a house, makes tired, if not expired, turf sit up and sparkle like Shirley Temple.

“Looking good from over here,” hollered Chad Lam, a homeowner watching Terlouw spruce up a brown lawn across the street. “I’m glad to see that happen. It gives us all a lift around here.”

Terlouw, who formerly had a window-cleaning business, said he got the idea for the new business from football games.

“They paint logos on football fields,” he said. “Why can’t we do the same for homes?”

Yeah, because surely potential buyers will be totally fooled that the foreclosed home they’re looking at has a bright green, totally alive lawn.  Just ignore that crunchy feeling when you’re walking on it.  Seriously, this really is ‘putting lipstick on a pig’.  And what’s in this stuff? It’s undoubtedly seeping into the soil and going down storm drains.  FAIL.

Link [RecordNet via BoingBoing]
Photo credit: Craig Sanders/The Record

Do You Really Need Fiji Water More Than Fijians Do?

Fiji water seems to have replaced Evian in the status-symbol category, becoming an accessory seen in the arms of the same type of people who constantly carry tiny dogs. You know, the Paris Hilton set. It’s marketed as a super-fresh, great-tasting bottled water that’s far superior to what comes out of your tap.  But, wake-up call: at least you have clean water coming out of your tap.  That’s more than Fijians have.

Yes, that’s right: as a money-hungry corporation (big surprise) drills into the artesian aquifer in this remote South Pacific island, bottles it up (with plastic bottles imported from China) and sends it across the world to areas where people already have clean water to drink, native Fijians have to make do with dirty, polluted water.

From willisays:

In looking for examples of good clean water programs, I came accross the Humanitarian Services division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Over the last 5 years, they’ve done clean water projects in 34 countries. More about that later.

Here’s where the two stories converge. One of those projects is in Fiji. The village Navunimono gets it’s water from a river polluted by cattle grazing, runoff and other stuff. Humanitarian Services helped the village construct 3 water tanks and now they have clean water.

I’m happy they have clean water now but the story points out problems around the world. What did the military dictator of Fiji do about the water problem? What about the American company taking clean water from another part of the island chain?

This is a great example of how entitled and self-absorbed much of the Western world has become – especially America.  We’re more than happy to consume away at the expense of other people.  Most of us are born into privilege compared to the citizens of third world countries, yet it’s never enough.  We have to tear basic human rights like clean water out of the hands of the less fortunate so that we can enjoy ridiculous excesses like imported water in plastic bottles.

Link [willisays]

Palin Unable to Recall McCain’s History of Supporting Regulation

Sarah Palin is criminally unprepared to step foot in the White House, let alone be a heartbeat away from the presidency.  The McCain campaign has done everything they can to keep this woman under wraps and unavailable to the media, and the reason is becoming clear.  She doesn’t know enough about politics to be a middle school social studies teacher. Just look at how she reacted to questioning by Katie Couric about running mate John McCain’s history of supporting regulation.  She couldn’t name a single instance in which McCain had pushed for more regulation.  Check it out:

Is anyone else reminded, when watching Sarah Palin in interviews, of another beauty queen being asked a ‘tough question’?  Here, let me refresh your memory:

Gee, if Sarah Palin can’t even handle Katie Couric in an interview, I can’t wait to see the Vice Presidential debates.  It’s doubtful that Joe Biden will be anywhere near as gentle as Katie.  Whee!

Link [The Huffington Post]

Democrats Totally Puss Out on Offshore Drilling Ban

Well, it happened: in the midst of election season, during the double-whammy of an energy crisis and a financial collapse, the Democrats have let go of the reigns on an extremely important environmental issue: offshore drilling.  They’ve been railing against letting the 26-year-old ban expire all year, and when it came down to it, they gave in to pressure from Republicans.  Nice job.

From The Guardian:

Although the drilling debate dominated the campaign dialog for much of last month, the McCain camp had little to say when Democrats announced late yesterday that their plan to fund the government until next spring would let the drilling ban expire.

That silence is proof of the financial markets’ sudden rise to the top of the US political agenda, as well as a recent decline in fuel prices.

A few Democrats from coastal states, however, openly lamented their party’s decision to give ground in the face of a White House veto threat on the funding plan.

“I think it’s awful. This battle is not over,” California senator Dianne Feinstein, an ardent opponent of coastal drilling, said. “We will come back and fight another day, that’s for sure.”

Part of the problem is, undoubtedly, a false perception among the public that offshore drilling will ease the energy crisis, which many believe would in turn help lessen the blow from the current meltdown in the financial markets.  Unfortunately, the idea that offshore drilling will have any impact at all on the energy market for at least 10 years is about as realistic as believing that Santa Claus really does drop down millions of chimneys on one night, or that John McCain would be a good president.

The Sierra Club, at least, is holding on to a sliver of hope: they released a memo to reporters that relayed their belief that a new president could turn this thing around, saying, “The moratorium could very well be restored by a new Congress and president who understand that more offshore drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices or solve our energy crisis”.

Link [The Guardian] via [Truthdig]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

EPA Decides Not to Remove Rocket Fuel from Drinking Water

There’s a toxic rocket fuel ingredient in drinking water across the country, and the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t care. Though the EPA is officially in charge of protecting the public from dangers such as this, they reached the conclusion that the ingredient, perchlorate, would not result in a “meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems.”  So, despite the fact that perchlorate – which has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at dangerously high levels – interferes with thyroid function and could pose developmental health risks, especially for babies and fetuses, the EPA doesn’t think it’s too important.

From The Huffington Post:

The Defense Department used perchlorate for decades in testing missiles and rockets, and most perchlorate contamination is the result of defense and aerospace activities, congressional investigators said last year.

The Pentagon could face liability if EPA set a national drinking water standard that forced water agencies around the country to undertake costly clean-up efforts. Defense officials have spent years questioning EPA’s conclusions about the risks posed by perchlorate.

The Pentagon objected strongly Monday to the suggestion that it sought to influence EPA’s decision.

Of course they denied pressuring the EPA – there’d be public outrage if they admitted it. That’s the Bush administration’s way – they make the decisions that are advantageous to themselves, and lie to everyone about their methods and motivations. The EPA’s decision basically amounts to announcing that they don’t care about public health. It’s pretty sick, but not surprising given what the Bush presidency has put this country through for the last 8 years.

The next president is going to have a lot to clean up, and if we want anything to get done, we’d better do all we can to ensure McCain and Palin don’t win the election.

Link [The Huffington Post]

250 Million Pounds of Drugs Flushed Annually

In yet another amazingly stupid example of how we’re killing ourselves and destroying the planet, it’s been revealed that health facilities around the world send an estimated 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals down the drain every year. Those drugs end up contaminating our water supply, and even small traces can cause serious cell abnormalities in humans – let alone the effects they have on other living things.  The discarded meds are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed, unneeded or otherwise unused.

From USA Today:

Few of the country’s 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data on the pharmaceutical waste they generate. Based on a small sample, though, the AP was able to project an annual national estimate of at least 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging, with no way to separate out the drug volume.

Researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild. Also, researchers report that human cells fail to grow normally in the laboratory when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs.

One of the dangers of this is the fact that drug dumping has been linked to virulent antibiotic-resistant germs as well as genetic mutations that may promote cancers.  Tests of sewage from hospitals in Paris and Oslo have revealed hormones, antibiotics, heart and skin medications and pain relievers.  Though most drugs end up in landfills, the ones frequently flushed are the ones most susceptible to abuse.  The EPA is reportedly considering whether to impose a national standard for how much drug waste can be released into waterways by the medical services industry, but a decision isn’t expected until next year at the earliest.

Things like this are terrifying – what are we doing to ourselves? How could people think that things like this won’t have negative consequences? We’ve already learned that the EPA doesn’t necessarily have the people’s best interests in mind, so we can’t count on them to protect us.  When our water is polluted with cancer-causing drugs and we’re creating super bugs that could wipe us all out in a flash, you know that we need to make big changes and we need to make them NOW.

Link [USA Today]
Photo credit: Flickr user newtype2011

MTV Trashes Island for Real World/Road Rules Challenge Episode

Looks like MTV didn’t learn anything from their attempt to green up their reality show, The Real World.  Earlier this year, the Real World cast enjoyed living in a green house, complete with sustainable furniture, solar panels, dual-flush toilets and a tour by Summer Rayne Oakes.  But when the network traveled to Boca del Drago, Republic of Panama to shoot a Real World/Road Rules challenge this summer, they certainly weren’t keeping the environment in mind.

The Tree Climber Coalition documented the destruction left behind on the island after the MTV crew was done with it (and have accounts of finding scripts for the so-called reality show, among other things).

Finally, toward the end of July, we were told that the “show” was over and that the crew and the participants were gone. One of our students and I took a walk out toward the area to see what was to be seen. The security was gone, the gate on the road was closed, and life seemed back to normal. We found the “new” driveway that had been made to access the site and we took a cautious walk down toward the beach. All was quiet; nobody stopped us. Down the hill we went toward the beach and began to see just what a crew of TV people could do when they decided to make a production. The place looked like a trash dump and there was an area of devastation inconsistent with the surrounding forest. MTV had packed up and gone and there was nothing left behind that could be compared with what had been there before. Refer to the photos at the start of this article in order to get a visual idea of what I am talking about here. I have seen the aftermath of a tornado and this was almost as bad. The area had been deserted with little attempt at any sort of cleanup of the mess.

As Jmaher and Michael Drake of the Tree Climber Coalition point out, the show is supposedly set in a remote island location, but there are houses within yards of the set.  MTV cut down a large area of rainforest to create the set, and left large amounts of trash behind.  They also conducted activities on a protected island that has been declared off-limits to human visitation, and flew a helicopter very low over the forest, disturbing the formerly tranquil setting which is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

It’s definitely at odds with the so-called ‘MTV Green Crusade’.  Real green, guys.

Link [Tree Climber Coalition]
Photo credit: Michael Drake

Poor Diddy Flying Commercial Due to High Gas Prices

Okay, people.  Now’s the time to get really serious about the energy prices and start doing everything we can to lower them.  The situation has gotten so dire, the unthinkable has happened.  A great and powerful man has been affected.  Despite his fortune, P. Diddy (oh, my bad, he’s just calling himself DIDDY now) has reached a point where he can no longer justify flying in a private jet due to the price of gas. He’s flying commercial, and he’s pissed.  After all, why should America hip hop royalty be forced to mingle with us commoners, sitting in first class with regular, non-famous rich people?

He’s so upset, he’s taken to YouTube to express his feelings and beg his ‘Saudi brothers and sisters’ for free oil.  Yep.

“Right now, I’m actually – can you believe this? – I’m actually flying commercial.  That’s how high gas prices are.”

Let’s all scrape our pennies together and send them to Diddy Douchebag, cause he’s hurting so much that he can no longer afford to fly around in a private jet.

Link [Huffington Post] + [YouTube]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Palin Spouts Lies on Oil Drilling, Bridge to Nowhere

By now, anyone who’s truly paying attention knows that Sarah Palin is a liar.  Not that she’s the only one, of course – there were plenty of inaccuracies and all-out falsehoods stated by folks like Joe Lieberman, Fred Thompson and of course John McCain at the Republican National Convention last week.  But, Sarah really laid some whoppers on the nation in her speech, and she continues to stretch the truth, skip over inconvenient facts and lie outright to anyone who will listen.

In this clip from Charlie Rose’s ‘The Green Room’, not only is Palin completely absorbed with Alaska (um, hello, you’re running for Vice President of the entire country), she also claims that drilling in her state would revitalize the economy and give us energy independence.  Check it out at 2:15 below.

That was a knee-slapper. What else do you have in your comedy routine, Palin? Oh, yeah, your continuing insistence that you’ve opposed the Bridge to Nowhere all along, when in fact you were its biggest champion until it became clear that the Senate wasn’t going to back it. Check out the video of the entire episode at Grist, which includes more of her big fish stories.

You know, it’s funny how Palin notes that supplying our own energy is one of the most important ways we can keep America safe and secure, yet oil is the sole focus of her plan to make that happen. Never does she mention any other sources of domestic energy – it’s oil, oil, oil. Big surprise. She’s just another ignorant Republican pushing the agenda of Big Oil.

Link [Grist]

New Jersey Assemblyman Fighting State’s Global Warming Response Act

Michael Doherty is convinced that global warming is a sham, and the Assemblyman in the good old Garden State is trying to get New Jersey’s landmark Global Warming Response Act repealed. Doherty claims that various new ‘scientific’ reports questioning the concept of global warming back up his stance.

From PolitickerNJ.com:

“There are many credible members of the scientific community who have questioned the theory of global warming, and now we have some scientists actually suggesting the earth’s temperatures may be entering a period of dramatic cooling,” said Doherty, R-Warren and Hunterdon. “With this growing level of scientific uncertainty, it makes no sense to enact a new set of economically damaging regulations prompted by the global warming hysteria of recent years.”

The Global Warming Response Act was signed last year by Corzine, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. The law required the state Department of Environmental Protection to release a report detailing how the state would meet the goals, with recommendations now expected to be issued this fall.

It’s not known whether Doherty’s misconceptions about global warming are caused by a defective gene, or the fact that he lives in New Jersey. Seriously though, New Jersey environmentalists should get together and show this guy the state bird. You know, the one on the third finger of their hands. Because, anyone with at least half of a functioning brain knows that there’s no credible bloc of scientists who dispute global warming.

Link [PolitickerNJ.com]
Photo credit: Flickr user kcjc009

Eco Clothing Store Owner Sued for $20M After Exposing Scam

When business owner Leslie Richard of eco-clothing store The Oko Box was first contacted by Vision Media Television, the offer of an interview for a documentary about eco fashion they were producing sounded like a great opportunity. VMT’s producer told Leslie that the documentary would air on CNN and PBS and that it would be seen by 84 million viewers worldwide.

Of course, there was a catch: the company demanded $22,900 in production fees and $3,000 airfare to do the program. Leslie told The Mountain Xpress, “I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say. My store doesn’t have that kind of money.”

It wasn’t long before some searching on the internet revealed VMT’s questionable history, with several reports of scams on consumer-report websites like the Ripoff Report. Leslie wrote about what happened on The Oko Box Blog, including several email exchanges with VMT in which they try to rationalize the charges and react indignantly when Leslie tells them she has reported them to the Better Business Bureau. One reads, “You need to call me before spreading wrong information about our company in any way. Vision Media Television’s Legal Department will follow up with you promptly if you do not.”

Unfortunately, when Leslie didn’t remove the blog postings – in the hope that she could help other small businesses that might be similarly targeted – VMT’s legal department did just that. Leslie has been served with a $20 million dollar lawsuit – an amount that a small business like The Oko Box could never pay.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern U.S. District of Florida on July 17th, accuses Leslie of defamation, libel and “tortious interference with business relationship.” Leslie, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, is trying to figure out how to deal with the lawsuit, hoping she’ll be able to get it transferred to her state and find a lawyer to represent her pro-bono. She has answered the summons and written a motion herself to try to get the lawsuit dismissed or transferred.

The Mountain Xpress has more information about VMT’s false claims, reports of them scamming others and the details of the lawsuit. The New York Times also wrote a piece about VMT on August 15th, “Company Pitches a Television Production, and Nonprofit Groups Are Wary”.

Talk about jerkass haters. We wish Leslie much luck in this – we know that VMT’s claims will be thrown out. They’re ridiculous. Surely, a U.S. court will be able to recognize a scam for what it is. Hopefully, the press that this story has picked up will help ensure that other business owners avoid being scammed out of their own hard-earned money.

Link [The Oko Box] + [Mountain Xpress] + [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Tooth and Jaw

Big Shocker: McCain Has Missed 8 Crucial Votes on Renewable Energy

John McCain is a hypocrite. He tours the nation proclaiming himself to be a forward-thinking, green politician who cares deeply about the environment, attempting to paint himself as a reformer. He puts on a big show for his constituents, yelling about how Congress needs to come back from vacation and get started on legislation that will aid America in this energy crisis. And yet, he has personally missed eight – yes, EIGHT – crucial votes on a renewable energy bill.

The bill in question, S. 3335, would have extended investment tax credits for installing solar energy as well as the production tax credits for building wind turbines and other energy-efficiency systems. It’s absolutely vital to the emerging renewable energy industry, which depends on such credits to be competitive with the current polluting industries like coal and oil.

On July 30th, when McCain once again failed to show up to vote for the bill, it failed for the eighth time. As The New York Times reports, McCain missed all eight votes – and one of the times, he was in his office and couldn’t be bothered to saunter on down to participate in the vote.

From The New York Times:

What impact does this have? In the solar industry today there is a rush to finish any project that would be up and running by Dec. 31 — when the credits expire — and most everything beyond that is now on hold. Consider the Solana concentrated solar power plant, 70 miles southwest of Phoenix in McCain’s home state. It is the biggest proposed concentrating solar energy project ever. The farsighted local utility is ready to buy its power.

But because of the Senate’s refusal to extend the solar tax credits, “we cannot get our bank financing,” said Fred Morse, a senior adviser for the American operations of Abengoa Solar, which is building the project. “Without the credits, the numbers don’t work.” Some 2,000 construction jobs are on hold.

Big Oil uses the ‘it’s not cost effective’ excuse to keep solar and wind energy down, but making it cost effective is exactly what this bill is designed to do. No doubt the oil industry has something to do with all the ‘nay’ votes – our congressmen and women can’t seem to keep their hands out of Big Oil’s pockets.

This just goes to show that McCain is all talk and no action – he wants voters to believe that he’s an open-minded, middle-of-the-road Republican who’s out to protect the environment. It’s simply not true. When it comes down to it, McCain is clearly not passionate about turning this country around and bringing clean energy and millions of green collar jobs to American citizens.

If elected, there’s no question that he’d settle immediately into Big Oil’s cozy bosom and remain there until his term was up. Luckily, that’s not going to happen.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Hot Rod

Gas Prices Down Again: The Return of America?

Copyright 2008 Tribune Media Services

Gas prices are going down bit by bit each day, and this cartoon frighteningly portrays what could happen if they continue to slide.  The return of America? Let’s hope not. But it wouldn’t be surprising if all of the good that has been done since gas prices started going up instantly was undone if Americans can afford to be wasteful again.

Link [The Week Daily]

Right-Wing ‘Hot for Jesus’ Congresswoman Claims Planet Already Saved

Meet Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota. Congratulations, America – though Bachmann may not have been on your radar before (unless you’re a Minnesotan), you’re not likely to forget her now, much to your chagrin, since she’s demonstrated herself to be a total right-wing whackjob.

You see, Bachmann’s got a problem with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s insistence that we need an energy policy to ‘save the planet’. It seems that Bachmann is offended by Pelosi’s efforts to prevent us from completely destroying the planet that, according to Bachmann’s own beliefs, was entrusted to us by a ‘higher power’.

From PoliticalBlogs.StarTribune.com:

“[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she’s just trying to save the planet,” Bachmann said. “We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet — we didn’t need Nancy Pelosi to do that.”

It’s depressing that there are people in the world – let alone in Congress – who think like this. Call me crazy, but uh – if I remember correctly, the Bible says absolutely nothing about Jesus saving the planet. Just the immortal souls of the people on it, or something like that. So, this line shouldn’t even make sense to people who subscribe to the same beliefs as this wonk-eyed slag. It’s likely an effort to inject some fire into a dejected Republican base before the election, though that may be giving her too much credit. She might just really believe what she said.

We shouldn’t be surprised, though. This is the same woman who told a crowd of parishioners at the Living Word Church in Brooklyn,

“What does God say when he looks at you or looks at me? He wants to say, ‘she’s hot, he’s hot,’ because we are hot for him on the inside,” Bachmann said. “When you are hot for Jesus Christ, nothing is like that life.”

Christ. On. A. Cracker.

Link [Star Tribune]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Poor Countries Left in the Dust as Center for Atmospheric Research Drops Important Program

For poor nations, the upcoming effects of climate change will now be even more difficult to get through. The National Center for Atmospheric Research, a major hub of work on the causes and consequences of climate change, has eliminated a program that aimed to help poor countries deal with droughts, floods and other climate-related hazards.

Faced with a shrinking budget, the center apparently decided that poor nations’ ability to help their people through incredible hardships that could occur as climate change wreaks havoc on the planet, just wasn’t one of their ‘core’ goals.

From The New York Times:

One scientist, Ilan Kelman, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, said he was “appalled” that the National Center for Atmospheric Research, based in Boulder, Colo., “would suddenly end one of the most productive programs and would let go of one of the most productive scientists within the institute.”

“In terms of value for money,” he added, “Dr. Glantz’s science was among the best, being cutting-edge and cost-effective, yet influencing the world. He also ensured that science was used for humanity and by humanity.”

This is bullshit. It amounts to washing their hands of the people who need them most. If anything, they should be expanding programs like this, to ensure that climate science research touches on its potential effects on the people of the world and not just abstract theories.

Note: Hit up BugMeNot.com to get logins and passwords for The New York Times if you don’t want to register.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Green Bicyclists and Filmmakers’ Gear Stolen During Stop in Eugene, OR

Andy Davis and Melissa Henige had planned to make Eugene, Oregon a key stop on their cross-country bicycle trip, having heard that it was a great bike town. Excited about the trip and the sustainable documentary they were making, the couple never thought that soon after stopping at The Beanery coffeehouse they’d be updating their blog with the words, “Dear thief who stole my gear…”

From The Register Guard:

Sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, someone snipped the cable locking the engaged couple’s bicycles and Burley Design trailers and made off with Henige’s red, white and blue Trek 1000 touring bike and the trailer.

Inside the trailer was all their camping gear, including their tent, her sleeping bag, personal belongings, food, checkbook and all her clothes. And their business cards — thus the “Dear Thief” blog written by Henige on their Web site, www.changinggearsmovie.com. The cards list the Web site, so Henige thought there would be a good chance the thief might read it.

“Little did you know when you stole my bike and gear that you would disrupt an incredible journey across the country … As you read through our blog, you’ll see the amazing people who have helped us on this adventure, and maybe their wisdom, ingenuity, and warmth may inspire you to work for a better world as well.”

The couple was supposed to be continuing down the coast to San Francisco, where they plan to exchange pre-wedding vows in the Muir woods. They’re still heading down there, but it’ll be on a Greyhound – they shipped Davis’ bike back to their home in Indiana.

What a buzzkill. We hope they get their gear back!

See the couple talk about their experience on the video at The Register Guard.

Link [The Register Guard]

Some People Honestly Believe the World is Flat

Amazing as it seems in this day and age, there really are ‘flat-earthers’ – and I’m not saying that in the typical way it’s used, to describe someone ignorant or grossly misinformed. There are people who actually believe that the world is flat, and evidence of a round earth is simply a vast conspiracy dreamed up by people who want to take our money… wait, this is starting to sound really familiar.

From BBC News:

Flat earth theory is still around. On the internet and in small meeting rooms in Britain and the US, flat earth believers get together to challenge the “conspiracy” that the Earth is round.

Mr Davis, a 25-year-old computer scientist originally from Canada, first became interested in flat earth theory after “coming across some literature from the Flat Earth Society a few years ago”.

Mr Davis now believes “the Earth is flat and horizontally infinite - it stretches horizontally forever”.

What about all the photos from space that show, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the Earth is round? “The space agencies of the world are involved in an international conspiracy to dupe the public for vast profit,” says Mr McIntyre.

Flat earthers apparently believe that the photographic evidence is fake. They see the North Pole as central and Antarctica as a ring that runs along the edge of the earth. Oh yes, and our disc-shaped earth is also 9,000 kilometers deep. Yes, they’re serious.

Right – and global warming is a hoax, we never landed on the moon, Prince Charles is the antichrist and Bigfoot roams the Pacific Northwest. We get your message loud and clear, flat earthers.

Link [BBC News]
Photo credit: BBC News & Newsweek

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