December 2007
Trust Power Wind Farm Delivers Four Months Early
TrustPower’s wind farm project at Snowtown in South Australia has had a welcome Christmas present, with the first turbine delivering power before Christmas Day. This is an extraordinary achievement, given that internationally, large infrastructure projects such as wind farms usually struggle to meet construction targets.
TrustPower Chief Executive Keith Tempest says the achievement is testament to [...]
Stronger Measures Essential to Stop Didymo
The ‘NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers (Inc)’ are very concerned at what they consider very ‘inadequate Biosecurity’ measures both at international ports of entry and at domestic airports and ferry terminals (Cook Strait). Controls are needed to minimise the movement of DIDYMO through New Zealand - AND to stop other potentially damaging pest incursions that [...]
GM Watch’s Monthly Review
+ WHAT IS NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY GOOD FOR?
A superb commentary from the Bioscience Resource Project points out that the criticisms aimed at Dr Ermakova’s paper apply equally to the papers that are trumpeted by the critics as showing no ill effects from GM soy. The commentators conclude, ‘Nature Publishing Group no doubt finds that publishing a [...]
M/S Explorer, Sinking & Environmental Impacts in the Antarctic
On November 23, 2007 the M/S Explorer, a well-tested, ice-strengthened Antarctic cruise ship sank in Bransfield Strait near the South Shetland Islands, off the Antarctic Peninsula. The 154 people onboard were all safely evacuated and rescued by cruise ships in the vicinity within 4-5 hours. The response time was fast for Antarctic standards and was [...]
It’s Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Victory — Over Aspartame
Think Before You Drink is the life-saving theme of Phoenix Organics anti-aspartame campaign. They’re backing their words with 20,000 free bottles of Cola labeled with the truth about this poisonous sweetener, the ingredient in Diet Coke and thousands of foods and beverages. Bully! What a heroic and signal stand! Welcome to the Bandwagon! Back in [...]
“Flashback” issue of Organic Bytes USA
Welcome to our special annual “Flashback” issue of Organic Bytes. Thanks to you and others in our network, 2007 was a very successful year in our ongoing campaign for health, justice and sustainability. Below, you’ll find a quick recap of some of the most important OCA success stories of 2007. As we gear up to [...]
Assassination of Benazir Bhutto and emergence of a draconian military power
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who was the leader of one of the best known political parties in Pakistan that was contesting the election to be held on the 8th January 2008, reflects the nature of the repression and the absence of the rule of law and human rights in the country. To those who [...]
Bhutto Assassination Condemned By World Leaders
President Bush joined world leaders in shocked condemnation of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and called for continued progress toward democratic reforms in Pakistan. “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy,” Bush told reporters at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. [...]
Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007
Production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million U.S. homes. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV [...]
NZ Govt. Tips for a sustainable New Years resolution
With 2008 approaching it is a good time for people to make a New Years resolution to become more sustainable from next year, Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said today. “Whether you are staying at home and sharing your holiday with friends and family, or seeing the sights of New Zealand, there are plenty of ways [...]
Nutrient pollution drives frog deformities by ramping up infections, says CU-Boulder study
High levels of nutrients used in farming and ranching activities fuel parasite infections that have caused highly publicized frog deformities in ponds and lakes across North America, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The study showed increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause sharp hikes in the abundance [...]
Climate Change Affects Top Predators in Ocean Ecosystems
HONOLULU, HI Scientists from the University of Hawaii joined more than 150 colleagues at the First Climate Impacts on Oceanic Top Predators (CLIOTOP) Symposium, hosted by the Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas and the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste, in December 2007, at La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The symposium, which was [...]
Group Petitions EPA to Address Threat of Ocean Acidification
SAN FRANCISCO, CA The Center for Biological Diversity has formally petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to confront the threat of ocean acidification. The petition calls upon the EPA to strengthen the water-quality standard for ocean pH and to publish guidance to help states protect U.S. waters from carbon dioxide pollution. The oceans cover [...]
A new national park for Russian tigers
Endangered northern Amur tigers have received a boost to their protection through the creation of a new national park in Khabarovsk province, located in the Russian Far East. The Russian Government signed a decree declaring the new Aniyuiskii national park on December 15, making it the third established in this region this year. Tiger habitats [...]
UN General Assembly adopts new agreement to protect worlds forests
Fifteen years after discussions began on a global approach to protect the world’s forests, which are disappearing at an alarming rate, the General Assembly today adopted a new landmark international agreement to safeguard this critical natural resource. The agreement, entitled the “Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests,” was negotiated in April within the [...]
UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007 - Images Of Extremes
Ms. Sinclair’s photo shows a wedding couple in Afghanistan. The groom, Mohammed, is 40 years old and the bride, Ghulam, is still a child; she has just turned 11. The image “raises awareness about a worldwide problem,” UNICEF patroness Eva Luise Köhler said at the award ceremony in Berlin. “Millions of girls are married while [...]
Top ten most underreported humanitarian stories of 2007
As violence in Somalia escalated this year to some of the worst levels in over 15 years, both assistance for and attention to one of the most challenging and acute humanitarian situations in the world seemed to wane. Ethiopian troops and Transitional Federal Government forces, supported by international partners such as the United States and [...]
Japan commits to commercial whaling despite humpback backdown
Australia - The Japanese government have confirmed that they will suspend plans to kill 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean this season. This is good news indeed for the humpbacks and for Australia’s $300 million whale watching industry. It is also a victory for Greenpeace supporters who have joined with us in demanding action [...]
Whaling “Unacceptably Cruel” - Gordon Brown, UK PM
The moratorium on commercial whaling should be continued to protect whales from over-exploitation, pollution and climate change, Gordon Brown has said. Writing in the brochure “Protecting Whales - A global responsibility” released today, the Prime Minister said that whaling is “unacceptably cruel” and “economically unnecessary”. Whale watching is the only interaction with whales that is [...]
Send a frigate to protest whale slaughter
The Green Party is urging the Government to send a frigate to observe and protest the annual Japanese whale slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Conservation Spokesperson Metiria Turei said today that while the annual diplomatic protest announced by Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick will help to convey New Zealand’s outrage at the inhumane atrocity [...]
Act now: NZ taser gun decision due soon
The Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad, is currently considering the police’s evaluation of the TaserX26 trial, and is expected to make a decision early next year about whether or not the taser, or ‘electromuscular incapacitation device’ as it is otherwise known, will be issued permanently to frontline police officers around the country. But there are [...]
Cambodia: Ensure Safety of Buddhist Monks; Prosecute Police Involved in ‘Burma-Style’ Crackdown
On December 17, riot police violently assaulted with wooden and electric shock batons a group of 47 Khmer Krom Buddhist monks - indigenous ethnic Khmer from southern Vietnam - when they attempted to deliver a petition protesting the imprisonment of monks in Vietnam to the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh Police Commissioner Touch [...]
Disaster Capitalism: The New Economy Of Catastrophe by Naomi Klein
Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. — Milton Friedman. Three years ago, when I was in Baghdad on assignment for this magazine, I paid an early-morning visit to Khadamiya, a mostly Shiite area. [...]
2007 in Review: Reprogramming the Stem Cell Debate
2007 was a year of unexpected technical developments in stem cell research, all-too-predictable innovations in retail genomics, new twists in the commerce of baby-making, dismaying appearances of eugenic and racist ideologies, and more. Here’s a look at some of the key events in human biotechnology over the past twelve months.
2007 in Review: Reprogramming the Stem Cell [...]
Ditch the Diet Coke, the Facts Are Out. True Independence Needed For NZFSA Aspartame Review
The Soil & Health Association of NZ is impressed with the Phoenix Organics Think Before You Drink’ anti-aspartame campaign and their bringing into the public arena the shonky science and politics behind the approval of the artificial sweetener. “Having 20,000 bottles of Phoenix Organic Cola with labels highlighting concerns with aspartame, is a great counter [...]
Loading ...
Powered by FireStats