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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Oil rigs exploding; Volcanoes erupting; Senate Climate Legislation coming — soon … PLUS: On the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, a look back at the very first one… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: Green reasons to ‘Move Your Money’: Big Banks and King Coal; Morales slams capitalism at People’s World Conference on Climate Change; Dead whale found with gallons of human garbage in gut; Cash for appliances program starts TODAY!; Everest expedition to clean World’s Highest Garbage Dump; UK University Ordered to Give Data to Climate Skeptic; USDA downplays own scientist’s research on ill effects of Monsanto herbicide … PLUS: A ‘real life’ AVATAR: Director James Cameron allies with indigenous tribes to save Amazon rainforest from dam project …
LATE UPDATE: Burning oil rig sinks in Gulf of Mexico….
Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today’s episode follow below…
- ERUPTION DISRUPTION Continued: Long-term Impacts of the Eruption of Eyjafjallajokull:
- A government bailout for airlines after Iceland volcano?: Citing the government bailout after the Sept. 11 shutdown of US airspace, European airlines are seeking government compensation over groundings caused by the ash cloud released from an Iceland volcano. So are some stranded passengers. (Christian Science Monitor)
- Iceland’s Farmers Try To Save Animals From Toxic Ash (Huffington Post Green)
- Could be worse: Why the Icelandic eruption is peculiarly troublesome for one so small (The Economist)
- Volcanic ash chaos ‘a lesson for Europe’: Europe’s ash cloud has triggered a flurry of anguished calls for the EU to improve its crisis response and co-ordination. (BBC)
- Volcano impact: As Dutch orchids wilt, New Zealand business blooms (CNN)
- Volcano casts cloud over European economy (CNN)
- African Flower Exports to Europe Halted by Icelandic Volcano (BusinessWeek)
- Planes or Volcano? What’s Emitting the Most CO2 Per Day? (Information Is Beautiful)
- Volcano Emitting 150,000-300,000 Tons of CO2 Daily: Experts (AFP)
- Oil Rig Explosion Off Louisiana Coast:
- UPDATE: Burning oil rig SINKS in Gulf of Mexico (CNN
- Oil rig explodes off La.; 11 missing, 17 hurt (AP)
- Another Week, Another Fossil-Fuel Disaster: Workers found safe, but Gulf oil rig in danger of tipping : It’s been a pretty awful month for fossil-fuel industry workers, defenders of the energy status quo, and organisms unlucky enough to live near coal, oil, or their shipping routes. (Grist)
- Senate Climate Bill Drops Monday, April 26th:
- Green Groups Fight for Clean Air Act in Climate Bill (Mother Jones)
- Senate trio to unveil climate bill on Monday (Wall St. Journal)
- White House: Climate Bill ‘Doable’ This Year (AP)
- Kerry: Gas Tax? What Gas Tax? (Mother Jones)
- A Look Back on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day:
- Wikipedia: The History of Earth Day (Wikipedia)
- On Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, a different world: Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970, discusses the challenges for the environmental movement and prospects for global warming legislation in today’s changed political climate. (LA Times)
- A lawmaker’s brainchild, Earth Day turns 40, having spawned environmental movement (McClatchy DC)
- Earth Day Recommendations for President Obama (Wonk Room)
- The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day: What Should We Do Today? (Natural Resources Defense Council)
- Earth Day: Oh, What’s The Point Of It All? (Treehugger)
- On 40th Anniversary, Earth Day Is Big Business (NY Times)
- Walter Cronkite, CBS News on the Very First Earth Day, 1970:
- Vintage Chamber of Commerce on Earth Day: h/t Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones
- CBS News with Walter Cronkite: Earth Day 1970 Special Report — Watch ’em all here!
- The People’s World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights: Bolivia’s Morales slams capitalist debt to global warming: Bolivian President Evo Morales opened a “people’s conference” on climate change on Tuesday with an attack on capitalism’s debt to global warming, before participants booed a UN envoy. (AP)
- Mining Protests Overshadow World People’s Summit on Climate Change: 3-Day Conference Draws Thousands (SolveClimate)
- Polluting Nations Downplay Goals for Cancun Climate Conference (Business Week)
- Green Reasons to ‘Move Your Money’: Big Banks and King Coal (HUffington Post Green)
- Cash for appliances program starts Thursday: The government is offering rebates on energy-saving appliances: $200 for refrigerators, $100 for clothes washers and $50 for air conditioners. Some stores will open early Thursday. (LA Times)
- Washed Up Whale Found with Gallons of Our Garbage In Its Gut (Treehugger)
- Everest Expedition To Clean World’s Highest Garbage Dump (Treehugger)
- UK University Ordered to Give Data to Climate Skeptic (New Scientist)
- ‘AVATAR’ Director Cameron To Help Tribes Fight Rainforest Destruction in a Real Life Avatar
- James Cameron joins real-life ‘Avatar’ battle (CNN)
- Amazon Dam Project Pits Economic Benefit Against Protection of Indigenous Lands (NY Times)
- Brazil completes controversial Amazon dam auction (Reuters)
- USDA downplays own scientist’s research on ill effects of Monsanto herbicide (Grist)
- James Cameron: The ‘Avatar’ sequel will dive into the oceans of Pandora (LA Times)
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: More green news not covered in today’s audio report…
Right now, my challenge is to orchestrate this in a way that “Avatar†can continue to do some good. I think the movie itself is reaching people all over the world, which it clearly did by the amount of money it made. It created a sense of an emotional response to this environmental crisis and I think it even may have made it an emotional call to action. The next step is people need to know what to do — what do I specifically do in my life next so that I don’t feel helpless and powerless.
…
Well, I think it makes certain projects that I liked as potential films seem trivial by comparison. I think it makes the idea of making another “Avatar†film more attractive. Because not only is it good business, but it’s good for the environment. I think every model we should use in evaluating any environmental project moving forward should be: Is it good business and is it good for the environment? Because there’s this idea promoted by the right and by special interest groups that you have to choose. You can either have a strong economy or you can help the environment, but you can’t do both at the same time. That’s ridiculous.
…
Well, I think it makes certain projects that I liked as potential films seem trivial by comparison. I think it makes the idea of making another “Avatar†film more attractive. Because not only is it good business, but it’s good for the environment. I think every model we should use in evaluating any environmental project moving forward should be: Is it good business and is it good for the environment? Because there’s this idea promoted by the right and by special interest groups that you have to choose. You can either have a strong economy or you can help the environment, but you can’t do both at the same time. That’s ridiculous.
1.Foreign aid bill mandates genetic engineering
PANUPS, April 2 2010
http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20100402#3
GM SOY LINKED TO STERILITY, INFANT MORTALITY
More details have emerged of the Russian GM soy feeding trial we reported in last week’s Weekly Watch. Scientists fed hamsters for two years over three generations. Those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.
And if this isn’t shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths – a phenomenon rarely seen, but apparently more prevalent among hamsters eating GM soy.
The study, jointly conducted by Surov’s Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is expected to be published in three months (July 2010).
One of the researchers, Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov, said, “We have no right to use GMOs until we understand the possible adverse effects, not only to ourselves but to future generations as well. We definitely need fully detailed studies to clarify this.”
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12160
spent yesterday afternoon in the woods, w/my hound.
Spring has sprung, it was a glorious Earth Day.
I hope everyone either got out for some quality Mom nature time or plans to this week-end.