Environment
The Story behind COP15, G77, Klimaforum09 and the Tired Ambassador
Copenhagen Out of the Frying Pan, Part 2
Private-Police Partnership for Water Project Spying
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Victoria Police has negotiated a formal agreement with the developers of a desalination plant to provide police files to the project developers. Paul Austin reports that "Victoria Police has agreed to hand over photos, video recordings and other police records to the international consortium AquaSure to help it 'manage' protests and potential security threats." A 20-page agreement was signed between Victoria Police and AquaSure in late August and contains a provision that police ''will release law enforcement data'' to the desalination plant developers.
Scientist Warns Against Climate Compromise
Submitted by Bob Burton on
James E. Hansen, one of the leading scientists researching global warming, would prefer that the COP15 climate change talks in Copenhagen collapse than result in a fatally flawed deal. "If it is going to be the Kyoto-type thing then [people] will spend years trying to determine exactly what that means," he said. Hansen argues that cutting greenhouse gas emission is not compatible with crafting political compromises.
Green or Mean? Questions Crop Up About "Organic" Toxic Sludge
Submitted by Anne Landman on
Almost fifteen years have passed since CMD blew the whistle on the Toxic Sludge Is Good for You! scam, but the spin campaign continues unabated.
U.S. Skeptic Has a European Outing
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Fred Singer is one of the veteran climate change skeptics appearing at the Have Humans Changed the Climate? conference in Brussels hosted by Roger Helmer, a British Conservative Party representative in the European Parliament. Billed as speaking on the topic of "Why can’t we trust IPCC?" [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change], Singer staked out a position that even other sceptics disagree with.
Drilling Through the Appalachian Shale Gas Hype
Submitted by Bob Burton on
While the U.S. economy continues to reel from the fallout from the global financial crisis, there's a boom on in the gas industry wanting access to Appalachian areas underlain by the Marcellus Shale deposits. The gas-industry boom has environmentalists and many residents worried about the environmental impacts.
Newsweek Is Neck Deep in Oil & Conflicts
TPM Muckraker has exposed the fact that Newsweek is teaming up with the American Petroleum Institute (API) to host a "briefing" for Members of Congress on climate and energy policy.
Chemical Industry Front Group Outed
Submitted by Bob Burton on
A freshly-minted front group, which proclaimed that it promoted "balanced chemical safety reform that protects public health, innovation, and economic growth,” has been outed.
Direct Action Confronts the Climate Crisis
Submitted by John Stauber on
"The global political process to counter runaway climate change has become, for practical purposes, irrelevant," writes Ryan King. "None of the currently proposed emissions reductions being seriously considered in policy making are appropriate to meet the severity of the situation.