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The Australian, 14/2/2006, p. 10

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net/ picture – AP

To complement its series on Poverty and the Environment in the USA,
Grist Magazine studies the attitude toward environmental issues in
emerging economies. There are many difficult issues at the heart of
this question, most notably that the underlying principle that we have
to lower our aspirations appears hypocritical to those who aspire to
the standard of living we have enjoyed so wantonly.

Full story on Grist 

The Advertiser, 13/2/2006, p. 1

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Bad times just a memory: Sugar traded under US4c in 1998; in
early 2004, the spot sugar contract was trading around US5.7c. At the
start of 2005, it fetched a little over US9c, while on January 3 this
year, it closed at US14.18c. Earlier this month, sugar touched US19.65c
a pound on the New York Board of Trade, the highest price for a
contract closest to expiry since April 1981.

US40c/lb possible by 2010: Ethanol demand may drive sugar prices
as high as US40c a pound by 2010, Roland Jansen, who started the 2.5
billion Swiss franc ($A2.6 billion) fund-management arm at
Liechtenstein’s state bank, said on December 9.

The Australian Financial Review, 13/2/2006, p. 23

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Financial savings of 10 per cent: The article said early
indications were that customers with smart meters were saving about 10
per cent on their power bill. The savings were coming from changes in
appliance use such as waiting until the shoulder or off-peak period to
turn on dishwashers, dryers, washing machines or pool pumps. But
high-demand customers could expect an increase in their bills as they
had benefited most from cross-subsidisation under flat power rates.

Cost efficient smart meters: Basic smart meters cost the same as
existing meter equipment and were being installed at no extra charge.
Customers who wanted meters with in-house displays and communications
capability would be charged $300.

The Australian Financial Review, 13/2/2006, p. 5

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Consider this central paradox of U.S. environmentalism: In much of
popular and political culture, the movement is dismissed as the pet
cause of white, well-off Americans — people who can afford to buy
organic arugula, vacation in Lake Tahoe, and worry about the fate of
the Pacific pocket mouse. And yet, the population most affected by
environmental problems is the poor.

 Grist magazine starts a seven week series investigating how
environmental issues impact on America’s poor. The truth is that as the
going gets tough its the poor who are suffering.

Go to Grist for the full story