bending_sickle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bending_sickle) wrote2008-06-13 02:29 pm
bending_sickle) wrote2008-06-13 02:29 pm
I had four green fields, each one was a jewel*
I'm reading the Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development from the UN. It's naught but a list of Things To Do. 'Tis most boring.
Links of the Day:
Unofficial List of 10 Greatest Canadians
Unofficial List of 10 Greatest Natural Wonders
UBCWiki: Environmental Problems in Canada
Top Ten Global Environmental Problems
Scientific Facts on Desertification
Bush administration disagrees with ruling on detainees by Mark Sherman - The Bush administration disagrees strongly with a Supreme Court decision that gives suspected terrorists the right to go to federal court to seek their release from indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. [...] But in a blistering dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said the decision "will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." [...] Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo who resigned in October amid disagreements with his Pentagon superiors, said, "I believe the drafters of the Constitution would be turning over in their graves to find out that people intent on destroying our society have constitutional rights." [...] Guantanamo generally and the tribunals were conceived on the idea that "constitutional protections wouldn't apply," Swift said. "The court said the Constitution applies. They're in big trouble." Human rights groups and many Democratic members of Congress celebrated the ruling as affirming the nation's commitment to the rule of law. Several Republican lawmakers called it a decision that put foreign terrorists' rights above the safety of the American people.
Drought and Desertification in Spain - The Sahara is about to leap across the Mediterranean. According to the Spanish government one third of the country is in immediate danger of turning into desert. [...] Unrestricted tourist and residential development is sucking the water out of the coastal regions whilst the vast vegetable fields of Almeria and Murcia are dehydrating the interior. [...] UN says 12% of Europe at risk of turning into desert. Between 30-60% of Spain is at inmediate risk from desertification. Causes: water demands from tourism and urbanisation (golf course, etc), fire, and above all intensive irrigated agriculture, fueled in part by demand from British supermarkets
Taking Control of Air Pollution in Mexico City by Michelle Hibler - In 1992, the United Nations described Mexico City’s air as the most polluted on the planet. Six years later, that air earned Mexico the reputation of “the most dangerous city in the world for children” — a reputation Mexico has been working hard to improve. [...] Many factors have contributed to this situation: industrial growth, a population boom (from three million in 1950 to some 20 million today), and the proliferation of vehicles. More than 3.5 million vehicles — 30% of them more than 20 years old — now ply the city streets. [...] Geography conspires with human activity to produce a poisonous scenario. Located in the crater of an extinct volcano, Mexico City is about 2,240 metres above sea level. The lower atmospheric oxygen levels at this altitude cause incomplete fuel combustion in engines and higher emissions of carbon monoxide and other compounds. Intense sunlight turns these into higher than normal smog levels. In turn, the smog prevents the sun from heating the atmosphere enough to penetrate the inversion layer blanketing the city. [...] “It’s not air pollution that kills people but some people die sooner than they would otherwise,” says biologist Roberto Muñoz Cruz, sub-director of information and analysis at Mexico City’s atmospheric monitoring system, part of the Secretaria del Medio Ambiente.
Air Pollution/Transportation: Mexico City - In 1989, in an effort to alleviate congestion and pollution problems, a new program was launched. This program consisted of a regulation mandating that each car in Mexico City could not be driven on one specific day (determined by license plates) during the week. This regulation has experienced some popularity, as many people believe that this is a reasonable sacrifice for individuals to make for the public good. Compliance is believed to be high in light of the high fines and highly visible police enforcement. Despite its popularity, this regulation has been shown to be both inefficient and ineffective in curbing automobile use.
* "Four Green Fields", Tommy Makem
Links of the Day:
Unofficial List of 10 Greatest Canadians
Unofficial List of 10 Greatest Natural Wonders
UBCWiki: Environmental Problems in Canada
Top Ten Global Environmental Problems
Scientific Facts on Desertification
Bush administration disagrees with ruling on detainees by Mark Sherman - The Bush administration disagrees strongly with a Supreme Court decision that gives suspected terrorists the right to go to federal court to seek their release from indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. [...] But in a blistering dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said the decision "will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." [...] Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo who resigned in October amid disagreements with his Pentagon superiors, said, "I believe the drafters of the Constitution would be turning over in their graves to find out that people intent on destroying our society have constitutional rights." [...] Guantanamo generally and the tribunals were conceived on the idea that "constitutional protections wouldn't apply," Swift said. "The court said the Constitution applies. They're in big trouble." Human rights groups and many Democratic members of Congress celebrated the ruling as affirming the nation's commitment to the rule of law. Several Republican lawmakers called it a decision that put foreign terrorists' rights above the safety of the American people.
Drought and Desertification in Spain - The Sahara is about to leap across the Mediterranean. According to the Spanish government one third of the country is in immediate danger of turning into desert. [...] Unrestricted tourist and residential development is sucking the water out of the coastal regions whilst the vast vegetable fields of Almeria and Murcia are dehydrating the interior. [...] UN says 12% of Europe at risk of turning into desert. Between 30-60% of Spain is at inmediate risk from desertification. Causes: water demands from tourism and urbanisation (golf course, etc), fire, and above all intensive irrigated agriculture, fueled in part by demand from British supermarkets
Taking Control of Air Pollution in Mexico City by Michelle Hibler - In 1992, the United Nations described Mexico City’s air as the most polluted on the planet. Six years later, that air earned Mexico the reputation of “the most dangerous city in the world for children” — a reputation Mexico has been working hard to improve. [...] Many factors have contributed to this situation: industrial growth, a population boom (from three million in 1950 to some 20 million today), and the proliferation of vehicles. More than 3.5 million vehicles — 30% of them more than 20 years old — now ply the city streets. [...] Geography conspires with human activity to produce a poisonous scenario. Located in the crater of an extinct volcano, Mexico City is about 2,240 metres above sea level. The lower atmospheric oxygen levels at this altitude cause incomplete fuel combustion in engines and higher emissions of carbon monoxide and other compounds. Intense sunlight turns these into higher than normal smog levels. In turn, the smog prevents the sun from heating the atmosphere enough to penetrate the inversion layer blanketing the city. [...] “It’s not air pollution that kills people but some people die sooner than they would otherwise,” says biologist Roberto Muñoz Cruz, sub-director of information and analysis at Mexico City’s atmospheric monitoring system, part of the Secretaria del Medio Ambiente.
Air Pollution/Transportation: Mexico City - In 1989, in an effort to alleviate congestion and pollution problems, a new program was launched. This program consisted of a regulation mandating that each car in Mexico City could not be driven on one specific day (determined by license plates) during the week. This regulation has experienced some popularity, as many people believe that this is a reasonable sacrifice for individuals to make for the public good. Compliance is believed to be high in light of the high fines and highly visible police enforcement. Despite its popularity, this regulation has been shown to be both inefficient and ineffective in curbing automobile use.
* "Four Green Fields", Tommy Makem