Article excerpt:
“A horrendous slaughter is going on out here,” said Peter D. Ward, a biologist from the University of Washington, during a recent census of the marine creature in the Philippines. “They’re nearly wiped out.”
The culprit? Growing sales of jewelry and ornaments derived from the lustrous shell. To satisfy the worldwide demand, fishermen have been killing the nautilus by the millions, scientists fear. Now marine biologists have begun to assess the status of its populations and to consider whether it should be listed as an endangered species to curb the shell trade.
On eBay and elsewhere, small nautilus shells sell as earrings for $19.95, and as pendants for $24.95. Big ones — up to the size of plates — can be found for $56, often bisected to display the elegant chambers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/science/25nautilus.html?pagewanted=all
The Epoch Times:
Land Grabs in Africa Threaten Greater Poverty, Part 1 of 2
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/land-grabs-in-africa-threaten-greater-poverty-61869.html
excerpt:
This land grab or land rush began in earnest a decade ago, but gained momentum following record high food prices in 2008, combined with increasing hunger, the ongoing financial crisis, and a surge in biofuel demand. It describes investors, governments, or companies, buying or leasing vast tracks of arable land in foreign countries for the purpose of exporting the produce back to their own country, or simply for financial speculation.
The phenomena is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Brazil and Russia; the foreign countries most involved in claiming the land are China, South Korea, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.
While the exact figures are hard to determine, in 2009, the World Bank estimates that over 110 million acres of land were under negotiation for allocation, 70 percent of which were in Africa. The International Land Coalition (ILC) puts the number at almost 200 million acres, 64 percent in Africa.
According to the World Bank, 21 percent of land deals in 2009 globally were for biofuel production; the ILC figure for 2009 is 44 percent, with Southern Africa being called the new Middle East of biofuels.
Land Grabs in Africa Usher in a New Form of Colonialism, Part 2 of 2
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/land-grabs-in-africa-usher-in-a-new-form-of-colonialism-61961.html
From Sun-Sentinel article, “Nuke program wrong move, wrong place” by Philip Stoddard, Mayor of South Miami:
Under our American capitalist model, corporations issue bonds to raise money for new projects. But here in Florida, our Legislature allows a publicly traded utility to take our money, never repay the principal and charge us 10 percent interest on whatever it builds with our dollars. So long as a “regulated” utility can claim to be planning a new nuclear reactor, it can bypass Wall Street and take the money directly from ratepayers like us ahead of time.
This amazing scam is perfectly legal under Florida Statute 366.93, known as the Early Cost Recovery. An electric utility can take our money up front for any and all of the following:
“All capital investments, including rate of return, any applicable taxes, and all expenses, including operation and maintenance expenses, related to or resulting from the siting, licensing, design, construction or operation of the nuclear power plant, including new, expanded or relocated electrical transmission lines or facilities of any size that are necessary thereto.”
The full article is here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/outlook/fl-fpl-nuclear-energy-mistake-stoddard-07-20110830,0,4372245.story
The capitalist system sets up a false jobs vs. environment conflict, that serves the system on both sides. If people’s land wasn’t stolen and destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to be forced into a position of dependency and into the labor force in the first place.
Here’s an interesting article by a labor leader about why he opposes the Tar Sands pipeline. Though he’s very much part of the establishment unions, he seems to be honestly grappling with the false conflict between labor and the environment that has been set up by the ruling class.
I don’t see things the same way he does (like his advocacy of “green jobs” within a continued framework of capitalism, or participating in a protest of orchestrated arrests that appeals to Obama), but he makes some good points and, I think, eloquently expresses the real anguish of the worker trapped in a bind — of balancing the immediate need to feed one’s family while realizing that the only options we’re offered for doing so are destroying their future.
http://www.truth-out.org/why-im-marching-bill-mckibben-protest-keystone-pipeline/1314112061
It’s hard to find anything to eat anymore that isn’t going to kill us. Recently I wondered: should I eat hormone-infused US-made cheese, or radioactive European cheese?
Hm.
Decided on a handful of raw almonds (irradiated or fumigated with proylene oxide) instead.
Here’s an article about my work in the Transylvanian online newspaper Transindex: http://think.transindex.ro/?p=9198
Isn’t it weird that mainstream news programs talk incessantly about record temperatures all over, but none of them mention the cause?
Everything’s FINE! Keep buying stuff and keep that stock market humming, everyone!
From an article on Truthout.org:
The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) program was launched in 2008 with a $47 million grant from mega-rich philanthropists Warrant Buffet and Bill Gates. The program is supposed to help farmers in several African countries increase their yields with drought- and heat-tolerant corn varieties, but a report released last month by the African Centre for Biosafety claims WEMA is threatening Africa’s food sovereignty and opening new markets for agribusiness giants like Monsanto.
The Gates Foundation claims that biotechnology, GE crops and Western agricultural methods are needed to feed the world’s growing population and programs like WEMA will help end poverty and hunger in the developing world. Critics say the foundation is using its billions to shape the global food agenda and the motivations behind WEMA were recently called into question when activists discovered the Gates foundation had spent $27.6 million on 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock between April and June 2010.
http://www.truth-out.org/second-green-revolutionaries-gates-foundation-and-monsanto-push-ge-crops-africa/1310411034
From an article on Treehugger:
Her garden consists of 5 raised beds, where she grows a mix of squashes, corn, tomatoes, flowers, and other veggies. Bass received a warning from the city telling her to remove the vegetable garden, because it doesn’t adhere to city ordinances (more on that later.) When she refused, she was ticketed and charged with a misdemeanor. Her trial, before a jury, is set to begin on July 26th. If she is found guilty, she can be sentenced to up to 93 days in jail.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/michigan_woman_faces_jail_planting_veggie_garden.php
From an article on Global Research:
Now a new international scientific team headed by Prof. Andres Carrasco and including researchers from the UK, Brazil, USA, and Argentina have demonstrated that Glyphosate, the main active ingredient in Roundup causes malformations in frog and chicken embryos at doses far lower than those used in agricultural spraying and well below maximum residue levels in products presently approved in the European Union.[1] The Carrasco group was led to research the embryonic effects of glyphosate by reports of high rates of birth defects in rural areas of Argentina where Monsanto’s genetically modified “Roundup Ready” (RR) soybeans are grown in large monocultures sprayed from airplanes regularly. RR soy is engineered to tolerate Roundup, allowing farmers to spray the herbicide liberally to kill weeds while the crop is growing.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21251
Documentation for “My Check” —
http://www.ewg.org/release/administration-stacks-panel-big-oil-and-gas
Administration Stacks Panel With Big Oil and Gas
The Obama administration panel named May 5 to study hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas drilling technique that injects thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water into the ground, is dominated by oil and gas industry professionals.
Notably, the panel does not include citizens from communities concerned about the damage to health, water and private property posed by the surge in natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
“An industry insider like John Deutch is completely unacceptable to lead this panel,” Environmental Working Group Senior Counsel Dusty Horwitt said. “It looks as if the Obama Administration has already reached the conclusion that fracking is safe.”
↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The prestigious Society of Professional Journalists’ 2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award for excellence in journalism has been awarded to Code Green by Stephanie McMillan in the editorial cartooning category. Code Green is the only syndicated editorial cartoon in the U.S. about environmental issues.
Judges chose the winners from over 1,400 entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2010.
McMillan of Fort Lauderdale, FL, submitted an entry of cartoons published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times.
During the past year, Code Green has covered:
• The Gulf of Mexico oil spill
• Fukushima nuclear plant disaster
• Global warming
• Fossil fuels and alternative power sources
• Environmental regulations, global agreements and government corruption
• The pacifying roles of “Big Green” non-profits and lifestyle activism
• Sources of pollution, such as mining
• Contaminated water and food
“It is a great honor for me to receive the Sigma Delta Chi Award. I would like to thank the Society of Professional Journalists for recognizing my work and supporting my efforts to bring public attention to the environmental emergency and the need to respond effectively,” said McMillan.
Code Green is available for publication at reasonable rates.
View samples at stephaniemcmillan.org/codegreen
