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Archive for October 18th, 2011
Apple supplier faces pollution complaints in China
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 18th, 2011
Associated Press: A Taiwan-based company that supplies metal casings for Apple's Inc.'s MacBook series of laptops says it is shutting down some operations at its factory complex in eastern China following complaints of bad odors by residents. Catcher Technology Chairman Hung Shui-shu told reporters late Monday that Chinese authorities had ordered the company to close down some production lines in Suzhou city for inspection. Hung said the shutdown may halt up to 40 percent of production. Catcher also supplies cellphone...
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S.Africa to place emission caps on top polluters
Posted by Reuters: Wendell Roelf on October 18th, 2011
Reuters: South Africa plans to place limits for carbon emissions on top polluters who may face penalties if they do not conform to the new regulations, a climate policy paper showed on Tuesday.
Africa's biggest economy wants to cut CO2 emissions by 34 percent over the next decade but has little flexibility to make fast changes with major employers among the top polluters and its cash-strapped power sector almost fully reliant on coal.
The government said the planned emissions cap, marking a more assertive...
Six Miles Off Shore: The Wreck Of Montebello
Posted by National Public Radio: Ina Jaffe on October 18th, 2011
National Public Radio: A task force is evaluating the risk posed by a sunken oil tanker, the S.S. Montebello. It went to the bottom after being attacked by a Japanese submarine in World War II.The state and federal officials want to know if the the ship is still carrying it's cargo of oil and if it could escape.
At stake is a coastline known for its stunning scenery and wildlife sanctuaries. The task force was put together a couple of years ago at the urging of State Senator Sam Blakeslee.
"I actually was reading...
Obama administration ‘bailed out’ GM salmon firm
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 18th, 2011
Guardian: The Obama administration awarded a coveted research grant to a financially strapped company working to put genetically modified (GM) salmon on American dinner tables, overlooking disclosures that the firm could run out of cash in early 2012, it has emerged.
Campaigners say the $500,000 grant to AquaBounty amounts to a bail-out for the firm's main investor, the business tycoon and former economics minister of Georgia, Kakha Bendukidze. They are also comparing it to the Solyndra controversy, which...
Climate change spawns incredible droughts
Posted by NewsDay: Wisdom Mdzungair on October 18th, 2011
NewsDay: Plants and animals are fast getting depleted because global temperatures are getting warmer with water sources drying up, African Union Commission (AUC) deputy chair Erastus Mwencha said here yesterday.
He warned the development could have profound implications for food production in future.
Mwencha, who spoke during the opening of the first Climate Change and Development for Africa Conference said the continent was under threat from the effects of climate change.
“These extreme climate...
We must make up ground in the fight against desertification
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 18th, 2011
Guardian: The 193 nations party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will gather in Changwon in Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to discuss what can be done to address challenges related to land degradation and drought.
Despite successive warnings and tree-planting campaigns in Sahel and other degraded arid lands, desertification is still progressing fast. More than 12m hectares of productive land are lost every year, the equivalent of losing the total arable area of...
Alaska voters say no to gold, copper mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 18th, 2011
Associated Press: The group promoting a massive gold-and-copper prospect near Alaska's Bristol Bay said Tuesday they plan to press on with their work, despite passage of a ballot initiative aimed at stopping the controversial Pebble Mine.
Unofficial results released by southwest Alaska's Lake and Peninsula Borough late Monday showed a vote of 280-246 in favor of a ban on large-scale resource extraction activity, including mining, that would destroy or degrade salmon habitat.
The measure was targeted at Pebble...
Climate change a health threat: experts
Posted by Agence France-Press: None Given on October 18th, 2011
Agence France-Press: Climate change poses an immediate and serious threat to global health and stability, as floods and droughts destroy people's homes and food supplies and increase mass migration, experts have warned.
In a statement issued at a meeting in London on Monday, they urged tougher action to reduce climate change including upping the EU target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from 20 per cent by 2020 to 30 per cent from 1990 levels.
"It is not enough for politicians to deal with climate change as...