Category: Archive

Brown haze cuts Asian sunlight & monsoon rains

admin /21 August, 2006

The ‘Asian brown haze’, a semi-permanent feature of summer from the northern Indian Ocean to China and much of Southeast Asia, was graphic evidence of the rise in airborne aerosols in the developing world, Alan Dupont and Graeme Pearman wrote in their Lowy Institute paper, "Heating up the planet: climate change and security".

Less light, rainfall: A combination of ash from fires lit by humans, vehicle emissions, and soot from millions of inefficient cookers using wood and cow dung, the haze had reduced sunlight by 10–15pc, leading to a 20–40% fall in monsoon rainfall and atmospheric warming, the paper said.

Haze gains global reach: The haze had global implications because it could travel halfway around the world depending on the strength and direction of prevailing winds.

Reference: "Heating up the planet: climate change and security", by Alan Dupont & Graeme Pearman. Lowy Institute Paper 12. P.65. Longueville Media, PO Box 102, Double Bay, New South Wales 2028 Australia, ph: (02) 9362 8441, email: info@longmedia.com.au website: http://www.longmedia.com.au Document can be found at website: http://www.lowyinstitute.org

Erisk Net, 11/8/2006

Hollywood hides its green light

admin /20 August, 2006

Mini-boom of green celebrity stalks Hollywood: vegetarian Daryl Hannah says she’s carbon-neutralized

The past year has seen a mini-boom of green celebrity: Cameron Diaz, Leonardo di Caprio, Ed Norton, Matt Damon and others have lately joined the eco-celeb pantheon that has long included a handful of activist-actors like Woody Harrelson and Ed Begley, reported The Australian Financial Review (19/8/2006, p.23).

Constraining history/controlling knowledge

admin /20 August, 2006

By Robert Jensen

One way to measure the fears of people in power is by the intensity of their quest for certainty and control over knowledge.

By that standard, the members of the Florida Legislature marked themselves as the folks most terrified of history in the United States when last month they took bold action to become the first state to outlaw historical interpretation in public schools. In other words, Florida has officially replaced the study of history with the imposition of dogma and effectively outlawed critical thinking.

Although U.S. students are typically taught a sanitized version of history in which the inherent superiority and benevolence of the United States is rarely challenged, the social and political changes unleashed in the 1960s have opened up some space for a more honest accounting of our past. But even these few small steps taken by some teachers toward collective critical self-reflection are too much for many Americans to bear.

So, as part of an education bill signed into law by Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida has declared that "American history shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed." That factual history, the law states, shall be viewed as "knowable, teachable and testable."

Aussie air travel clocks up tonnes of emission

admin /20 August, 2006

Air travel in Australia in 2004 accounted for about 4.8 million tonnes of emissions, according to the latest National Greenhouse Accounts, but the national accounts don’t include international travel, meaning that the emissions from overseas flights hang in mid-air, reported The Courier-Mail (19/8/2006, p.71). Australia created a total of 564.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide Continue Reading →

Congress Poised to Unravel the Internet

admin /20 August, 2006

by JEFFREY CHESTER

Lured by huge checks handed out by the country’s top lobbyists, members of Congress could soon strike a blow against Internet freedom as they seek to resolve the hot-button controversy over preserving "network neutrality." The telecommunications reform bill now moving through Congress threatens to be a major setback for those who hope that digital media can foster a more democratic society. The bill not only precludes net neutrality safeguards but also eliminates local community oversight of digital communications provided by cable and phone giants. It sets the stage for the privatized, consolidated and unregulated communications system that is at the core of the phone and cable lobbies’ political agenda.

In both the House and Senate versions of the bill, Americans are described as "consumers" and "subscribers," not citizens deserving substantial rights when it comes to the creation and distribution of digital media. A handful of companies stand to gain incredible monopoly power from such legislation, especially AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon. They have already used their political clout in Washington to secure for the phone and cable industries a stunning 98 percent control of the US residential market for high-speed Internet.

NSW firefighters snub recycled water

admin /20 August, 2006

More than 20 million litres of Sydney’s drinking water is going down the drain every day because firefighters have placed a ban on using recycled water to battle blazes, reported The Daily Telegraph (17/8/2006, p.5).

As the city faces its worst drought in memory, an industrial dispute by firefighters could potentially see more than 7 billion litres of quality drinking water wasted on an annual basis.

But the dispute is wider, with Sydney Water claiming the Fire Brigade Employees Union won’t allow its members to use recycled water anywhere in NSW. Despite the Health Department approving the recycled water, the union has stalled the opening of the country’s largest recycling project because it refuses to use the water from it.

The ban contradicts its own policy at its training facilities in Alexandria where it has used recycled water since 1973, the State Government said. In response the government on 16 August night lodged a dispute notification with the Industrial Relations Commission.

The Daily Telegraph, 17/8/2006, p.5

Source: Erisk Net