Thursday: Global Hotspots

Subscribe to this blog's feed As Geography Awareness Week 2008 passes the mid-week hump, our goal is to round out the week with some of geography’s most practical and relevant info. Today we focus on global hotspots – places around the world where change puts pressure on local communities (human, natural, or both), and often leads to conflict. Each global hotspot has its possess set of economic, social and political factors, making an issue like deforestation in Brazil different than deforest

20 Nov 2008, 8:21 am | click here to view more

Green Building Report Questions How Good Is ‘Good Enough’

GreenerBuildings.com released its 2008 Green Building Impact Report yesterday, the first comprehensive evaluation of the real and verifiable environmental improvements of LEED design and construction. The report is filled with figures measuring the amount of emissions reductions or the impacts of indoor environmental quality, but for the more the casual observer, what’s more interesting is the tepid tone the report takes. "Our findings are both encouraging and cautionary," said GreenerBuild

20 Nov 2008, 8:12 am | click here to view more

DrumBeat: November 20, 2008

U.S. intel office adds warming to warnings: Report looking out to 2030 cites danger of water, food shortages A U.S. intelligence report coming out Thursday — and likely to grab President-elect Barack Obama's attention — is adding a new variable to the "traditional" mix of factors expected to destabilize the world into the close future. Issued by the National Intelligence Council, the "Global Trends 2025" report includes warnings tied to climate change, the man behind the report said this week

20 Nov 2008, 8:03 am | click here to view more

California leads fight against climate change on global level; ‘We have got to do something worldwide here,’ says the Governor

California leads battle against climate change on global level; ‘We have got to do something worldwide here,’ says the Governor Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 20, 2008 at 6:02 am From the Los Angeles Times: California formally moved to spread its can-do global warming gospel around the world, signing a declaration Wednesday with 11 other U.S. states and provinces or states in five other countries to help them slash their greenhouse gas emissions. Fighting climate change shouldn’t jus

20 Nov 2008, 8:02 am | click here to view more

US braces itself for Day Without A Gay protest against gay marriage discrimination

Indian police accused of "social cleansing" after another attack on trans community Police in Bangalore reportedly forced about 100 transgender people from their homes last week, the latest in a pattern of harassment. Immigration activists target BMI over deportation of gay artist A major airline faces a "day of action" organised by activists who oppose migration controls. No Borders South Wales wants people nationwide protest against BMI. Video: LGBT families defend their right

20 Nov 2008, 8:01 am | click here to view more

Glacial climate swings: It’s in the ocean

Posted for Quirin Schiermeier A paper this week in Nature (subscription) sheds new light on the causes of pronounced greenhouse-gas and climate fluctuations during glacial times. The last ice-age, which covered the period from around 110,000 to 10,000 years before now, is famed for a series of climate swings known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Scientists have found evidence in Greenland ice cores for abrupt warming episodes of up to 15 degrees Celsius within few decades, followed by a more

20 Nov 2008, 7:59 am | click here to view more

QotD: Oh, but it's cold outside!

"Oh, but it's icy outside!" It's a fact of life that the economic climate is a bit chilly this holiday season. Is that affecting how you're doing your holiday shopping? Sponsored by Best Buy. Frozen Money Sure. I am as tight financially as many other people. Our currency keeps dropping each day. Welcome back, global monetary crisis! You're so icy. My pocket is freezing!

20 Nov 2008, 7:58 am | click here to view more

Forests for Climate - Slideshow

Check out this slideshow put together by Jamie, webby onboard the Esperanza for the Forests for Climate tour. I found the images of forest destruction shocking and the the bravery of the activists inspiring. Thanks Jamie. Direct action continued for weeks as activists called to for an end to forest destruction on the Forests for Climate Tour Read more about the Esperanza's journey through Indonesia on the boat tour blog.

20 Nov 2008, 7:53 am | click here to view more

THE GREAT DECEPTION AS GOLD HIT ALL TIME HIGHS

Richard J. Greene Amazingly, while gold and other commodity related stocks continued to be sold off to levels that are at deep discounts to their intrinsic value in October, gold continued to break to new every time highs in most major currencies. On October 9th and 10th gold recorded new every time highs in many currencies including the Euro, the Australian Dollar, British Sterling, the Indian Rupee, the Russian Ruble, the South African Rand and many others. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Stock

20 Nov 2008, 7:51 am | click here to view more

a mixed bag of green news

a mixed bag of green news by rd @ 8:50 am post a comment » There’s ‘good’ energy and ‘bad’ energy…Global Warming Could guide to More Arctic Energy - reuters This man puts the ‘lame’ in ‘lame duck’…Bush Set to Relax Rules Protecting Species - msnbc Is there enough Prozac to go around?  Depressed Parrot on Prozac - ananova Obama Climate Pledge ‘Very Positive’: U.N. Official - enn/reuters The clothes make the lady…Gwyneth Paltrow Explains Fur Faux Pas to PETA - ecorazzi Eating these guys cou

20 Nov 2008, 7:50 am | click here to view more

Emerson Lynn On Politics

Vt. Yankee, Budget: part of same debate Over the next six months, two debates will dominate the political landscape in Vermont; one will be the reconciliation of the state’s budget with our changing economic realities; the other will be whether to extend Vermont Yankee’s license to operate its nuclear plant in Vernon. They are not separate issues. How the Legislature treats Vermont Yankee will, in no tiny part, affect the state’s economic future, and, by extension, our budget, which makes th

20 Nov 2008, 7:50 am | click here to view more

Masson’s Blog - A Citizen’s Guide to Indiana » Kotchen & Grant: Eliminate Daylight Time Nationwide Essentially, the decreased use of lights during Daylight Time was more than offset by the use of air conditioners tardy into the evening. The column concludes by suggesting that eliminating daylight time would be consistent with President Obama’s goals of conserving resources, saving money, promoting energy security, and reducing climate change.Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr. Research Group Ne

20 Nov 2008, 7:42 am | click here to view more

Ann Curry, ‘Today’ Show Host, Turned Back From Kilimanjaro Summit

Today show host Ann Curry has been turned back from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro after getting within striking distance.  Her decision to tug back from the final summit push, which was scheduled for tomorrow, came after the team started suffering from the effects of acute altitude sickness. She said in yesterday’s broadcast report that, even if they didn’t summit, they accomplished what they set out to do by showing the visual evidence of how far the glaciers and snow fields have retreated f

20 Nov 2008, 7:41 am | click here to view more

Education minister reveals new guidance for schools on gender identity

Interview: Greg Barker on the challenge of climate change Last month's government reshuffle focused mainly on the return of Lord Mandelson to the fold, but there was another highly significant appointment. Other posts in opinion Interview: Blowing the whistle on being gay, in adore and on Gaydar Comment: Proposition 8 broke our hearts, but it did not end our battle Explore Barack Obama's America with a trip to multi-racial Miami Interview: Securing gay rights in Jamaica is vital to AIDS str

20 Nov 2008, 7:40 am | click here to view more

A Climate Change Potpourrie from CCNET

Timothy Birdnow Several good pieces on CCNet that I think should be shared. First, this piece elaborating on why Anthropogenic Global Warming is probably not real: CO2 FINGERPRINT Robert Redelmeier [redelm@sbcglobal.net] Fred Singer’s fingerprint method (CCNet, 18 Nov 08) is a fine example of “negative” knowledge — learning from what should be gift but is not. The absence of amplified atmospheric warming negates an amplified greenhouse effect. The underlying cause is simple: CO2 only a

20 Nov 2008, 7:38 am | click here to view more

Mercedes GLK: Sport/Utility With A Purpose

  2010 Mercedes GLK Mercedes took advantage of being the last automaker to show their new vehicles on Wednesday’s Press Day, by wrapping three of them in Christmas presents and unveiling them one by one. The first, and the most important gift was the official introduction of the Mercedes GLK, the automaker’s every-new, tiny sport/utility vehicle. Handsome, with chiseled lines and a boxy look, the GLK may seem out of place during these days of avoiding every things SUV. Mercedes indicated as mu

20 Nov 2008, 7:36 am | click here to view more

Social networking (Www.OSIR.org.in) online can improve skills: executives - West Online

The use of social networking tools such as Facebook, blogs and even the online game World of Warcraft could improve business, a report based on the opinions of senior executives shows. The report, Executive Insights into Enterprise Social Network Source: www.thewest.com.au Obama ends American isolationism over climate change - Belfast Telegraph Prospects for success in the world’s struggle to combat global warming have been transformed at a stroke after US President-elect Barack Obama made i

20 Nov 2008, 7:30 am | click here to view more

Green Ink: Empty-Handed Jet Set

Crude oil futures fell further to about $52 a barrel amid more signs of falling global demand, with some analysts now forecasting a big demand contraction next year, Bloomberg reports. To juice demand, China is studying lowering domestic fuel prices, also in Bloomberg. The dismal outlook for oil demand translates into more woes for U.S. automakers, but for now Washington is unlikely to offer additional help. General Motors is on track for a “Lehman-like” bankruptcy situation but isn’t preparin

20 Nov 2008, 7:28 am | click here to view more

Lose the "command and control" attitude to help build prosperous social networks

By Annie Waite, Global Editor of the Internal Comms Hub, Melcrum  Peter Bradwell, a researcher for think tank Demos, says today’s difficult business environment tends to create an instinctive reaction from management to “batten down the hatches" and return to traditional “command and control” hierarchies - where productivity is closely monitored and measured. But although allowing workers to have more freedom and flexibility might seem counterintuitive, "it appears to create businesses more

20 Nov 2008, 7:24 am | click here to view more

Is it random if I put it in a list?

1. Go here. Remember how I said that I wasn't chilly enough to take gorgeous pictures of my breakfast on Monday? Well, apparently my bro-in-law is. He also took a sweet picture of "The Bean." You don't know what The Bean is? Let's just say you probably don't take chilly pictures of your food either. 2. TV update: Miss Dub responded with a unparalleled level of obedience to my TV restrictions the very day I posted about it. She now watches three shows - after waking, before nap, before bedtime. You

20 Nov 2008, 7:23 am | click here to view more