“Greece is set to rejoin the Kyoto Protocol’s carbon-trading mechanisms after a unanimous decision of the United Nations Compliance Committee, the Greek town planning, public works, environment ministry announced on Friday. According to the announcement, the country was found to meet all requirements for participating in emissions trading during a meeting of the committee on Thursday.” (11/14/08)
“Helping clean up Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua was the goal of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team that visited Nicaragua in July at the request of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. ‘Wastewater, debris and agricultural runoff directly enter these lakes, which is a common problem in other areas of Central America as well as in the developing world,’ Al Korgi, EPA Region 4 international activities coordinator, told America.gov. EPA’s assistance, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), complements other USAID projects under the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).” (11/14/08)
http://newsblaze.com/story/20081114085031tsop.nb/topstory.html
“Flames that ripped through multimillion-dollar mansions Thursday evening continuing burning this morning in the upscale Southern California community of Monticeto, near Santa Barbara. At least 100 homes have been destroyed. … Four people were injured and about 5,400 of the community’s 14,000 residents have been evacuated, and more may be forced to flee today. ” (11/14/08)
“U.S. conservation groups on Thursday hailed the imminent end of ‘environmental abuse and neglect’ by the Bush administration and promised to work with President-elect Barack Obama to reverse this course. … The conservation leaders also stressed the need for immediate action to deal with the impact that global warming is having on natural resources.” (11/14/08)
“A three-kilometer thick cloud of brown soot and other pollutants hanging over Asia is darkening cities, killing thousands and damaging crops but may be holding off the worst effects of global warming, the U.N. said on Thursday. The vast plume of contamination from factories, fires, cars and deforestation contains some particles that reflect sunlight away from the earth, cutting its ability to heat the earth. … The choking soup of pollutants may hold temperatures down overall, but the mix of particles means it is also speeding up warming in some of the most vulnerable areas and exacerbating the most devastating impacts of higher temperatures. The complex impact of the cloud, which tends to cool areas near the surface of the earth and warm the air higher up, is believed to be causing a shortening of the monsoon season in India while increasing flooding there and in southern China.” (11/13/08)
“Lowering air pollution in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley would save more lives annually than ending all motor vehicle fatalities in the two regions, according to a new study. The study, which examined the costs of air pollution in two areas with the worst levels in the country, also said meeting federal ozone and fine particulate standards could save $28 billion annually in health care costs, school absences, missed work and lost income potential from premature deaths.” (11/13/08)
“Threats to national security are more important than possible harm to whales and dolphins, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in lightening restrictions on the Navy’s use of sonar in anti-submarine training off Southern California despite its potential effects on undersea creatures. The ruling, the first of the court’s 2008-09 term, accepted the Navy’s arguments that the limitations would hinder vital exercises in the use of sonar to detect enemy submarines. The restrictions, imposed by lower courts, would have required the Navy to reduce or halt underwater sonar pulses when marine mammals might be nearby.” (11/13/08)
“An attorney for two North Dakota farmers argued Wednesday they should be able to grow industrial hemp under state regulations without fear of federal criminal prosecution. Attorney Joe Sandler told a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that his clients’ lawsuit against the federal Drug Enforcement Administration should move forward so that the farmers’ might have a chance to use their state permits to grow hemp for seeds and oil. The lawsuit was dismissed in U.S. District Court. At the heart of the dispute is whether the farmers — state Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock, N.D., and Wayne Hauge of Ray, N.D. — can cultivate hemp under North Dakota laws without violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. … Sandler argued that while hemp plants might fall under the federal law, the law doesn’t apply because the parts of the plant that could be considered a drug would never leave the farms.” (11/12/08)
“Federal scientists have concluded that Alaska’s North Slope holds one of the nation’s largest deposits of recoverable natural gas in the form of gas hydrates, a finding that could open a major new front in domestic energy exploration. Researchers have speculated for years that gas hydrates — a combination of gas and water locked in an icelike solid that forms under high pressure and low temperatures — could provide an important source of natural gas in the United States and worldwide. Today, the U.S. Geological Survey will release a study estimating that 85.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas can be extracted from Alaska’s gas hydrates, an amount that could heat more than 100 million average homes for more than a decade.” (11/12/08)
“Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions rose to a record high in the year to March, putting the world’s fifth-largest carbon dioxide producer at risk of an embarrassing failure to achieve its Kyoto target over the next four years. The increase of 2.3 percent last year, largely due to the closure of Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant after an earthquake, will ratchet up the pressure for it to give up its efforts to control emissions through voluntary measures and adopt tougher limits on industry like the European Union and Australia.” (11/12/08)
edited by Thomas L. Knapp
Freedom News Daily
