Green Power

Green power

Governments push environmental change despite economic slump: report

By Jennifer Byrd

Posted: February 25, 2009, 8:44 AM ET

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Governments worldwide have escalated "green" regulation and innovation initiatives over the past eight months, despite the global economic slump, according to a report from Deutsche Asset Management's DB Climate Change Advisors unit.

In fact, industries focused on clean technology, renewable energy and climate-change alleviation are likely to emerge from the global recession in good shape precisely because economic stimulus packages passed by governments around the world have earmarked significant resources toward those very efforts.

The report identified250 new regulations — worth more than $200 billion all told — that support renewable energy and climate-change mitigation that have popped up in government stimulus packages worldwide.

"(Governments) have certainly stepped up the pace in the past six to nine months, particularly because of the stimulus packages," Mark Fulton, global head of climate-change investment research at DB Climate Change Advisors, said during a Feb. 24 conference call on the report.

The report identified three broad areas of regulatory policy: traditional regulation, including mandated standards and public education; carbon pricing, including carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs; and innovation policy and subsidies. The report identified 124 traditional regulation policy developments worldwide since July 2008, 57 carbon pricing developments and 69 innovation policy developments.

"What's interesting is how much activity there has been in the traditional mandates and the innovation incentives and subsidies areas," Mr. Fulton said. "Carbon markets are important in the long run … but in the day-to-day investible markets, these mandates and these innovation policies are very important to keep markets moving at the moment."

And while market conditions and the liquidity crisis have been difficult on every economic sector, including climate change, Mr. Fulton said, the regulatory policies are laying the foundation for potential growth over the medium and long term.

"These are the sectors that can lead us out (of the financial crisis)," he said.

Equities, PE, VC and infrastructure to get boost

Asset classes that could particularly benefit include public equities, private equity and venture capital, and infrastructure, the report identified. In public equities, cap-and-trade programs or carbon taxes can increase the value of so-called "clean" businesses.

Also, policies such as feed-in tariffs (programs in which regional or national electric utilities are required to buy renewable electricity at above-market rates set by the government), tax credits and mandatory standards create demand for "green" products and services.

In private equity and venture capital, research and development incentives and subsidies are supporting innovation and the scaling-up of cutting-edge "clean" technologies such as renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), information technology, green transportation, electric motors, lighting and clean technology manufacturing.

In infrastructure, feed-in tariffs and tax credits make climate change-related projects economically sound and mandatory standards require the scale-up of green industries.

About 13.5% — or $106 billion — of the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17 is committed to green, climate change-related initiatives, the report said. Of that, $85 billion is dedicated to direct spending measures, including $18 billion for mass transit, and $21 billion for renewable energy tax breaks.

Among other items, the report identified $11 billion in the stimulus package dedicated to electric power grid investment, $8 billion to capital assistance for high-speed rail corridors and intercity rail services, $6.9 billion to the Federal Transit Administration's transit capital assistance, $6.3 billion to energy efficiency and conservation grants, $6 billion to renewable energy and transmission loan guarantees, $6 billion to nuclear waste cleanup and $5 billion to weatherization assistance program.

The report also tracked several non-U.S. initiatives, including the €200 billion ($257 billion) stimulus package proposed by the EU Commission in November, which included €4 billion in low interest loans to promote "the safety and environmental performance of cars" and €10.6 billion to other green technologies, such as energy efficiency in buildings.

"While there has been a lot of focus on the U.S. initiatives, we think it is very important to put it into a global context," Mr. Fulton said.

Green ideas in China stimulus not clear

The report separated China from the $212 billion it identified globally for green initiatives, because it is not obvious with the information available how much of the country's $586 billion stimulus package announced in November would be considered green, Mr. Fulton said. But the report did identify about 12% of the package as being targeted at energy efficiency and environmental improvements. That included $70 billion to upgrade and integrate the national electric power grid, $29 billion for power plants, including a number of nuclear plants and a natural gas pipeline, and $2.9 billion for water conservation and irrigation projects.

The four main investment themes that governments are focused on worldwide, according to the report, are the promotion of solar and wind energy, the installation of energy-saving light bulbs (called advanced lighting initiatives in the report), investments in improving electric grids and the development of clean automobiles that run on batteries.

"We believe this trend toward greater regulation will provide crucial support to climate change industries during the current global economic downturn," the report said. "Coupled with increased government spending on key climate change initiatives as part of economic stimulus packages in countries such as the U.S. and the UK, this should provide a boost to 'green' industries in contrast to other sectors of the global economy affected by recession."

Contact Jennifer Byrd at jbyrd@pionline.com

 

http://www.pionline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090225/REG/902259997/1007

Green" Illusions

"Green" Illusions

By Kenneth P. Green

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009

ARTICLES

Windsor Star

Publication Date: February 23, 2009

Resident Scholar

Kenneth P. Green

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has run afoul of two fallacies which plague governments with his new Green Energy Act.

The Act, which does not have a defined pricetag, would supposedly create 50,000 new jobs, putting people to work building windmills, solar power plants and bio-fuel plants.

Governments cannot create jobs, and labelling them "green" doesn't change the basic dynamics.

The Green Energy Act, he claims, will lead Ontario out of its recession and into a glorious future of clean energy.

Now, everyone would love to end the recession and enjoy clean, abundant and affordable energy. But there are some hard realities that suggest Premier McGuinty's plan isn't the smartest way to do it.

Let's review the reasons why governments cannot create jobs, and why labelling them "green" doesn't change the basic dynamics.

Let's start with the fallacy that governments can create jobs. This fallacy was exploded all the way back in 1845 by a French politician and political economist named Frédéric Bastiat. Bastiat pointed out that the only way governments can create jobs is by first obliterating other jobs.

Sometimes, they obliterate other jobs by diverting taxpayer money away from the economic uses the taxpayer would have pursued if they had kept their taxes.

Other times, they obliterate jobs by imposing regulations that kill off one industry in favour of another. In still other situations, they impose mandates, such as using recycled paper to create an artificial market for recycled paper which reduce jobs in fresh-paper production.

In the green energy case, they are doing all of the above: Taxpayer dollars are being used to subsidize the renewable energy sector; damaging regulations are being implemented on the traditional fossil fuel sector, and mandates for the use of renewable energy are being issued, creating a false market in wind power at the expense of fossil fuel and nuclear power. Governments also invariably siphon off a good part of the money for "administration," creating civil service jobs that pay comparatively higher wages than the private sector for similar activity.

Inevitably, government efforts to create jobs cost the economy jobs and, adding insult to injury, divert limited resources to inefficient uses, causing economic underperformance.

Now, let's look at the second fallacy: Call it "green" and, somehow, the fundamental laws of economics are suspended and we can all enjoy a free lunch and a utopian future of affordable, abundant and clean energy.

Of course, the only way to arrive at this fallacy is by inflating the expected value of green energy activities over the expected value from a non-green alternative.

In the premier's Green Energy Act, the expected value would result from a reduction of greenhouse gases related to energy production.

There's only one problem: The amount of greenhouse gases that Canada could eliminate, even if the entire country simply shut down, is not sufficient to retard global warming in any significant way.

Canada's fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emissions account for about two per cent of world emissions. Ontario's emissions are only seven-tenths of one per cent of the world total. China, which is building a coal power plant every week, emits more than 10 times all of Canada's greenhouse gases, and shows no signs of curbing its appetite any time soon.

Ontario's Green Energy Act will offer virtually no climate change protection or delay in warming, and no benefit to offset the costs of raising Canada's energy prices, raising the cost of goods and services, and rendering Canadian exports less competitive in world markets.

The premier, along with others such as U.S. President Barack Obama, has internalized the twin fallacies of job creation and a free lunch. He needs to undergo a reality check before he squanders limited resources and worsens the economic prospects for North America.

Taking actions to raise the cost of energy using a fallacious job-creation approach and fallacious benefit claims will only exacerbate Ontario's suffering in the ongoing world economic downturn.

Kenneth P. Green is a resident scholar at AEI.

from : http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.29443/pub_detail.asp

Ban on plastic bags makes HP clean

Ban on plastic bags makes HP clean

Shimla, Jan 19: The hills are looking clean again. Once an eyesore, littering the verdant mountain slopes, choking drains and scarring the environment, plastic pollution has come down dramatically in Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh, four years after this north Indian state banned the use of small polythene bags.

"Before the implementation of the ban, polythene pollution was a major problem in the state," R.K. Sood, joint member- secretary of the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, told.

Describing the scene before the ban was imposed, he said: "Plastic bags littered the hillsides. During the monsoon, the rain water brought along heaps of polythene bags and other non-biodegradable material that choked most of the municipal drains. Now, the problem has been solved to a great extent."

Himachal Pradesh was the first state in India to ban the production, storage, use, sale and distribution of small polythene bags in June 2004.

Under the Himachal Pradesh Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act of 1995, any violator trespassing faced a fine up to Rs.25,000. The minimum fine was fixed at Rs.500.

"The ban on use of coloured polythene bags manufactured from recycled plastic was initially imposed on Jan 1, 1999. Later in 2004, the ban was imposed under Section 7(h) of the State Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Rules on the use of polythene bags having thickness less than 70 microns and size less than 18"x12"," Sood said. As a result, paper and jute bags are now back in the state.

Sanjay Verma, project officer with the state Department of Environment Science and Technology, said: "Initially, it was a herculean task to enforce the ban. Special sensitisation drives were launched across the state to educate the common man about the ecological hazards and about which type of bags were exempted from the ban and which were not."

About 20 government officials were empowered at the district and sub-divisional level to ensure effective implementation of the ban."Still, 25 to 30 people are fined on an average every month in the state," Verma said. He said the problem is still acute in areas located along neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.

"The use of polythene continues in the border areas of the state. The problem can be checked when the neighbouring states enforce the ban too. Moreover, tourists generate more plastic during the peak season than the locals during the entire year," he said.

To dispose of Shimla's polythene waste, private firm Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd(GACL) joined hands with the city's municipal corporation in July last year as part of corporate social responsibility.

"As part of the understanding, we (GACL) are regularly getting truckloads of polythene waste that is scientifically burnt at our Darlaghat unit in Solan district," GACL official Sandeep Kapoor said.Around 1.5 to 2 quintals of polythene waste is collected daily in Shimla alone.

State Forest Minister J.P. Nadda said the state would soon have its environmental master plan to tackle critical areas of environmental degradation. "The master plan will include a baseline study of the environmental vulnerabilities and details of measures to tackle problems mainly related to urban solid waste, industrial pollution and ecological degradation caused by hydropower projects," he said.

IANS

resource: http://www.zeenews.com/sci-tech/eco-news/2009-01-19/499827news.html

still want to use plastic?

SANGAM (ALLAHABAD): If you are still carrying foodstuff or essential commodities in polythene bags on the bank of the Ganga or the Yamuna during Magh Mela, you run the risk of being penalised.

In fact, vigilant mela officials are on prowl on the entire campus to catch defaulters and initiate strict measures against them accordingly. Perhaps, this would be the first time in the history of Magh Mela in last one decade when usage of polythene or polybags was completely banned on the mela campus. Even the owners of shops of essential commodities and grocery, who have set up their business establishments in and around the campus, were not allowed to keep polythene bags with them to serve the customers.

The mela administration has assigned the special task to administrative teams of carrying out frequent raids at shops and punish the errant shop owners or carriers. The motive of banning polythene bags, according to insiders, could be an effective tool in reducing pollution in river Ganga and the Mela administration has been urging visitors to discard the use of polythene bags.

Till date, preventive action was initiated against 200 persons who had carried away polythene bags into mela campus due to ignorance or being of neighbouring district\state visitors.

District magistrate Rajeev Aggarwal said that the ban was put in place since the first day and would be effective till February 23. He added the orders covers all market areas, eating joints and hospitals.

He further stressed that there was an urgent need to educate and aware people about the disadvantages of using polythene bags. He, however, admitted that the usage of polythene bags has certainly declined in mela campus this year as the administrative teams had already seized polythene bags and related materials in the same regard.

Aggarwal also maintained that the mela administration has also sought the support of pilgrims and visitors, apprising them about the disadvantage of polythene made material and visitors have also assured them to keep them away from its usage. He added that preventive actions were being initiated against the defaulters and they were also given oral warnings.

Recently, a group of 15 visitors from Madhya Pradesh became so much impressed over the mela administration approach of banning polythene usage, claiming that it could reduce the pollution level of river ganga little a bit that they promised the concerned authorities to minimise its usage in their routine life too.

Resource: News

War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation

War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation

Steve Niva | January 7, 2009

Editor: Erik Leaver


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Foreign Policy In Focus
www.fpif.org

Israel has repeatedly claimed that it had "no choice" but to wage war on Gaza on December 27 because Hamas had broken a ceasefire, was firing rockets at Israeli civilians, and had "tried everything in order to avoid this military operation," as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni put it.

This claim, however, is widely at odds with the fact that Israel's military and political leadership took many aggressive steps during the ceasefire that escalated a crisis with Hamas, and possibly even provoked Hamas to create a pretext for the assault. This wasn't a war of "no choice," but rather a very avoidable war in which Israeli actions played the major role in instigating.

Israel has a long history of deliberately using violence and other provocative measures to trigger reactions in order to create a pretext for military action, and to portray its opponents as the aggressors and Israel as the victim. According to the respected Israeli military historian Zeev Maoz in his recent book, Defending the Holy Land, Israel most notably used this policy of "strategic escalation" in 1955-1956, when it launched deadly raids on Egyptian army positions to provoke Egypt's President Nasser into violent reprisals preceding its ill-fated invasion of Egypt; in 1981-1982, when it launched violent raids on Lebanon in order to provoke Palestinian escalation preceding the Israeli invasion of Lebanon; and between 2001-2004, when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon repeatedly ordered assassinations of high-level Palestinian militants during declared ceasefires, provoking violent attacks that enabled Israel's virtual reoccupation of the West Bank.

Israel's current assault on Gaza bears many trademark elements of Israel's long history of employing "strategic escalation" to manufacture a major crisis, if not a war.
Making War 'Inevitable'

The countdown to a war began, according to a detailed report by Barak Raviv in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, when Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak started planning the current attack on Gaza with his chiefs of staff at least six months ago — even as Israel was negotiating the Egyptian brokered ceasefire with Hamas that went into effect on June 19. During the subsequent ceasefire, the report contends, the Israeli security establishment carefully gathered intelligence to map out Hamas' security infrastructure, engaged in operational deception, and spread disinformation to mislead the public about its intentions.

This revelation doesn't confirm that Israel intended to start a war with Hamas in December, but it does shed some light on why Israel continuously took steps that undermined the terms of the fragile ceasefire with Hamas, even though Hamas respected their side of the agreement.

Indeed, there was a genuine lull in rocket and mortar fire between June 19 and November 4, due to Hamas compliance and only sporadically violated by a small number of launchings carried out by rival Fatah and Islamic Jihad militants, largely in defiance of Hamas. According to the conservative Israeli-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center's analysis of rocket and missile attacks in 2008, there were only three rockets fired at Israel in July, September, and October combined. Israeli civilians living near Gaza experienced an almost unprecedented degree of security during this period, with no Israeli casualties.

Yet despite the major lull, Israel continually raided the West Bank, arresting and frequently killing "wanted" Palestinians from June to October, which had the inevitable effect of ratcheting up pressure on Hamas to respond. Moreover, while the central expectation of Hamas going into the ceasefire was that Israel would lift the siege on Gaza, Israel only took the barest steps to ease the siege, which kept the people at a bare survival level. This policy was a clear affront to Hamas, and had the inescapable effect of undermining both Hamas and popular Palestinian support for the ceasefire.

But Israel's most provocative action, acknowledged by many now as the critical turning point that undermined the ceasefire, took place on November 4, when Israeli forces auspiciously violated the truce by crossing into the Gaza Strip to destroy what the army said was a tunnel dug by Hamas, killing six Hamas militants. Sara Roy, writing in the London Review of Books, contends this attack was "no doubt designed finally to undermine the truce between Israel and Hamas established last June."

The Israeli breach into Gaza was immediately followed by a further provocation by Israel on November 5, when the Israeli government hermetically sealed off all ways into and out of Gaza. As a result, the UN reports that the amount of imports entering Gaza has been "severely reduced to an average of 16 truckloads per day — down from 123 truckloads per day in October and 475 trucks per day in May 2007 — before the Hamas takeover." These limited shipments provide only a fraction of the supplies needed to sustain 1.5 million starving Palestinians.

In response, Hamas predictably claimed that Israel had violated the truce and allowed Islamic Jihad to launch a round of rocket attacks on Israel. Only after lethal Israeli reprisals killed over 10 Hamas gunmen in the following days did Hamas militants finally respond with volleys of mortars and rockets of their own. In two short weeks, Israel killed over 15 Palestinian militants, while about 120 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel, and although there were no Israeli casualties the calm had been shattered.

It was at this time that Israeli officials launched what appears to have been a coordinated media blitz to cultivate public reception for an impending conflict, stressing the theme of the "inevitability" of a coming war with Hamas in Gaza. On November 12, senior IDF officials announced that war with Hamas was likely in the two months after the six-month ceasefire, baldly stating it would occur even if Hamas wasn't interested in confrontation. A few days later, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly ordered his military commanders to draw up plans for a war in Gaza, which were already well developed at the time. On November 19, according to Raviv's report in Haaretz, the Gaza war plan was brought before Barak for final approval.

While the rhetoric of an "inevitable" war with Hamas may have only been Israeli bluster to compel Hamas into line, its actions on the ground in the critical month leading up to the official expiration of the ceasefire on December 19 only heightened the cycle of violence, leaving a distinct impression Israel had cast the die for war.

Finally, Hamas then walked right into the "inevitable war" that Israel had been preparing since the ceasefire had gone into effect in June. With many Palestinians believing the ceasefire to be meaningless, Hamas announced it wouldn't renew the ceasefire after it expired on December 19. Hamas then stood back for two days while Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants fired volleys of mortars and rockets into Israel, in the context of mutually escalating attacks. Yet even then, with Israeli threats of war mounting, Hamas imposed a 24-hour ceasefire on all missile attacks on December 21, announcing it would consider renewing the lapsed truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip if Israel would halt its raids in both Gaza and the West Bank, and keep Gaza border crossings open for supplies of aid and fuel. Israel immediately rejected its offer.

But when the Israel Defence Forces killed three Hamas militants laying explosives near the security fence between Israel and Gaza on the evening of December 23, the Hamas military wing lashed out by launching a barrage of over 80 missiles into Israel the following day, claiming it was Israel, and not Hamas, that was responsible for the escalation.

Little did they know that, according to Raviv, Prime Minister Olmert, and Defense Minister Barak had already met on December 18 to approve the impending war plan, but put the mission off waiting for a better pretext. By launching more than 170 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians in the days following December 23, killing one Israeli civilian, Hamas had provided reason enough for Israel to unleash its long-planned attack on Gaza on December 27.
The Rationale for War

If Israel's goal were simply to end rocket attacks on its civilians, it would have solidified and extended the ceasefire, which was working well, until November. Even after November, it could have addressed Hamas' longstanding ceasefire proposals for a complete end to rocket-fire on Israel, in exchange for Israel lifting its crippling 18-month siege on Gaza.

Instead, the actual targets of its assault on Gaza after December 27, which included police stations, mosques, universities, and Hamas government institutions, clearly reveal that Israel's primary goals go far beyond providing immediate security for its citizens. Israeli spokespersons repeatedly claim that Israel's assault isn't about seeking to effect regime change with Hamas, but rather about creating a "new security reality" in Gaza. But that "new reality" requires Israel to use massive violence to degrade the political and military capacity of Hamas, to a point where it agrees to a ceasefire with conditions more congenial to Israel. Short of a complete reoccupation of Gaza, no amount of violence will erase Hamas from the scene.

Confirming the steps needed to create the "new reality," the broader reasons why Israel chose a major confrontation with Hamas at this time appear to be the cause of several other factors unrelated to providing immediate security for its citizens.

First, many senior Israeli political and military leaders strongly opposed the June 19 ceasefire with Hamas, and looked for opportunities to reestablish Israel's fabled "deterrent capability" of instilling fear into its enemies. These leaders felt Israel's deterrent capability was badly damaged as a result of their withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and especially after the widely criticized failures in the 2006 Israeli war with Hezbollah. For this powerful group a ceasefire was at best a tactical pause before the inevitable renewal of conflict, when conditions were more favorable. Immediately following Israel's aerial assault, a New York Times article noted that Israel had been eager "to remind its foes that it has teeth" and to erase the ghost of Lebanon that has haunted it over the past two years.

A second factor was pressure surrounding the impending elections set to take place in early February. The ruling coalition, led by Barak and Livni, have been repeatedly criticized by the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister, who is leading in the polls, for not being tough enough on Hamas and rocket-fire from Gaza. This gave the ruling coalition a strong incentive to demonstrate to the Israeli people their security credentials in order to bolster their chances against the more hawkish Likud.

Third, Hamas repeatedly said it wouldn't recognize Mahmud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority after his term runs out on January 9. The looming political standoff on the Palestinian side threatens to boost Hamas and undermine Abbas, who had underseen closer security coordination with Israel and was congenial to Israeli demands for concessions on future peace proposals. One possible outcome of this assault is that Abbas will remain in power for a while longer, since Hamas will be unable to mobilise its supporters in order to force him to resign.

And finally, Israel was pressed to take action now due to its sense of the American political timeline. The Bush administration rarely exerted constraint on Israel and would certainly stand by in its waning days, while Barack Obama would not likely want to begin his presidency with a major confrontation with Israel. The Washington Post quoted a Bush administration official saying that Israel struck in Gaza "because they want it to be over before the next administration comes in. They can't predict how the next administration will handle it. And this is not the way they want to start with the new administration."
An Uncertain Ending

As the conflict rages to an uncertain end, it's important to consider Israeli military historian Zeev Maoz's contention that Israel's history of manufacturing wars through "strategic escalation" and using overwhelming force to achieve "deterrence" has never been successful. In fact, it's the primary cause of Israel's insecurity because it deepens hatred and a desire for revenge rather than fear.

At the same time, there's no question Hamas continues to callously sacrifice its fellow Palestinian citizens, as well as Israeli civilians, on the altar of maintaining its pyrrhic resistance credentials and its myopic preoccupation with revenge, and fell into many self-made traps of its own. There had been growing international pressure on Israel to ease its siege and a major increase in creative and nonviolent strategies drawing attention to the plight of Palestinians such as the arrival of humanitarian relief convoys off of Gaza's coast in the past months, but now Gaza lies in ruins.

But as the vastly more powerful actor holding nearly all the cards in this conflict, the war in Gaza was ultimately Israel's choice. And for all this bloodshed and violence, Israel must be held accountable.

With the American political establishment firmly behind Israel's attack, and Obama's foreign policy team heavily weighted with pro-Israel insiders like Dennis Ross and Hillary Clinton, any efforts to hold Israel accountable in the United States will depend upon American citizens mobilizing a major grassroots effort behind a new foreign policy that will not tolerate any violations of international law, including those by Israel, and will immediately work towards ending Israel's siege of Gaza and ending Israel's occupation.

Beyond that, the most promising prospect for holding Israel accountable is through the increasing use of universal jurisdiction for prosecuting war crimes, along with the growing transnational movement calling for sanctions on Israel until it ends its violations of international law. In what would be truly be a new style of foreign policy, a transnational network that focuses on Israeli violations of international law, rather than the state itself, could become a counterweight that forces policymakers in the United States, Europe, and Israel to reconsider their political and moral complicity in the current war, in favor of taking real steps towards peace and security in the region for all peoples.

Steve Niva, a professor of International Politics and Middle East Studies at The Evergreen State College, is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. He is currently writing a book on the relationship between Israel's military violence and Palestinian suicide bombings.

source :http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5776

Small Tsunami Waves

Twin Papua Quakes Collapse Hotel; Trigger Small Tsunami Waves

Japan coast braces after twin quakes in Indonesia
TOKYO, Jan 4, 2009 (AFP) - Japan's Pacific coast could see some minor tsunami waves on Sunday after two powerful earthquakes off Indonesia, but nothing big enough to cause damage, the country's meteorological agency said. Waves up to 50 centimetres (1.5 feet) could reach the Pacific sides of islands from the Okinawan chain to the main island of Honshu, it said in an advisory -- which is less significant than an urgent warning. The agency advised people from going near beaches and estuaries. A 7.6-magnitude quake and 7.5-magnitude aftershock hit Sunday morning off.
by Staff Writers
Manokwari, Indonesia (AFP) Jan 4, 2009
Two powerful earthquakes rattled Indonesia's West Papua province early Sunday, triggering panic among residents but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or heavy damage.
The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of the city of Manokwari, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami alert that was later withdrawn.

It was followed almost three hours later at 2233 GMT by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock, the US agency said.

Both quakes were fairly shallow, with the first hitting at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) and the second at 45 kilometres.

Distressed residents ran out of their homes as the quake rattled Manokwari, the seaside capital of the province, but there were no immediate signs of heavy damage or injuries, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

Thousands of residents including children and the elderly could be seen thronging the roads of the town in the darkness of a blackout and heading away from the sea despite the tsunami warning being lifted.

Little damage could be seen initially in the town apart from cracked walls.

"The quake was quite strong and we felt it for about three minutes. The electricity blacked out after the quake," a policeman who identified himself as Ketut said.

"The police and military are working right now to help people get to higher ground due to the tsunami alert and the fact that we're on the coast," he said.

Several smaller aftershocks were also reported in the hours following the first quake, Indonesian seismologists said.

Indonesia, which sits at the meeting of continental plates, is frequently hit by earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which was triggered by a massive quake off the coast of Indonesia, killed at least 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province and Nias island.

Hotel collapses after powerful Indonesian quakes
A hotel in Indonesia's West Papua province collapsed when the second of two powerful earthquakes hit the region Sunday and three people were pulled alive from the rubble, officials said.

The three guests who had been staying at the Mutiara hotel in the city of Manokwari were taken to hospital, but their condition was not immediately clear. No other hotel staff or guests were believed to be trapped or missing.

"Those three hotel guests returned to their room after the first big quake. They failed to evacuate after the second powerful quake struck and got trapped in the hotel rubble," a hotel staffer identified as Harun told AFP.

"The three have been brought to a nearby hospital. But it's not clear what injuries they suffered," he added.

He said that the hotel had failed to withstand the quake as it was old but that other buildings in the neighbourhood had received only minor damage such as cracks to the walls.

The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of Manokwari and was followed almost three hours later by a 7.5 magnitude aftershocks, the US Geological Survey said.

resource : http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Twin_Papua_Quakes_Collapse_Hotel_Trigger_Small_Tsunami_Waves_999.html

Series of quakes hit Indonesia

Series of quakes hit Indonesia,
killing 42009-01-05 02:26:01 -
MANOKWARI, Indonesia (AP) - A series of powerful earthquakes killed at least four people and injured dozens in remote eastern Indonesia Sunday and briefly triggered fears of another tsunami in a country still recovering from 2004's deadly waves.One of the quakes _ a 7.3-magnitude tremor _ was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan's southeastern coast.Residents near the epicenter in Papua province rushed from their homes in search of higher ground shortly after the first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT), afraid that huge waves might wash over the island.The epicenter was about 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Papua's main city of Manokwari and occurred at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.At least four people died, dozens were injured and some 135 homes and other buildings were badly damaged or toppled in the province. Power lines fell, cutting off electricity, and the runway of Manokwari's Rendani airport was cracked, prompting the cancellation of commercial flights.The government initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it within an hour after it was confirmed that the epicenter was on land, not water.Quakes centered onshore pose little tsunami threat to Indonesia itself, but those close to the coast can churn up large waves that sometimes reach the coastlines of other countries such as Japan.Japan reported tsunamis between 4 inches (10 centimeters) and 16 inches (40 centimeters) high hitting its shores following the temblors.A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, more than half of them on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra. Four years on, the multibillion dollar rebuilding process is almost complete.Residents in Papua's Manokwari _ a jumble of low-lying brick and cement structures home to 167,000 people _ remained jittery late Sunday, with thousands prepared to sleep outside for fear of aftershocks.«We don't feel safe,» said Simon, 32, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. He was staying outside with his wife and three kids. «It's just in case there are strong aftershocks.Local officials drove through the streets warning people not to return to structures that might be vulnerable if an aftershock hit.The Indonesian healthy ministry was sending an aid team to Manokwari Sunday night as well as four tons of medical supplies and baby food, spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said.Relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, including canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said spokeswoman Katarina Hardono. She said its team will try to reach Manokwari by plane, but if needed will make a 36-hour trip by boat.The National Disaster Coordination Agency said 135 houses and buildings were badly damaged or collapsed.Hengky Tewu, director of a local hospital, said 19 patients were being treated there for broken bones, cuts, crushed fingers and other injuries.Twenty quake patients were being treated at a navy hospital, said Ina, a nurse who also goes by a single name.Papua _ located about 1,830 miles (2,955 kilometers) east of the capital Jakarta _ is among the nation's least developed areas, and a low-level insurgency has simmered in the resource-rich region for years. It is off limits to foreign reporters.Indonesia straddles a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific «Ring of Fire» and is prone to seismic activity.The quake was felt 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) southwest of Papua in Australia's northern city of Darwin but no damage was reported there.
Associated Press writers Zakki Hakim and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.
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resource: http://www.pr-inside.com/print988533.htm

Should We Worry About Global Warming? The Benefits of Atmospheric Warming

Should We Worry About Global Warming?

The Benefits of Atmospheric Warming
Resource: http://www.enter.net/~jjfhome/globalwarming.htm


The Problem
"At stake is nothing less than the survival of human civilization and the habitability of the earth for our species."

A. Gore

If you believe today's press, nearly all the world's respectable scientists believe that mankind is causing the atmosphere to warm, and the temperature increase will lead to disastrous consequences for animals and man. Furthermore, only man can "save the planet", by costly methods and by putting man's environment ahead of the interests of man himself. Could it be possible that rising atmospheric temperatures are good for humanity? Over the earth's history, the climate has constantly changed, warming and cooling. At the present time, we are in a slow warming trend. Reason tells us that atmospheric warming is better than atmospheric cooling, because it is easier to adapt to warmer temperatures than to cooler ones. In the light of reason, the quote above from Mr. Gore is absurd.

A review of the planet's history

The earth has been warming for the last 18,000 years since the current interglacial event began. The warming has neither been linear nor monotonic. Within historical times, man has seen the medieval warming period, during which time Greenland and Newfoundland were colonized. George Washington experienced the Little Ice Age while at Valley Forge.

Throughout the history of the earth the climate has often changed but predicting future changes on the time scale of decades or centuries by using numerical models will never work. Just look at numerical weather prediction models. It is hard to predict a week ahead, and these models are particularly weak when they attempt to call a change in the weather. If we cannot reliably call the turn in the weather 48 - 72 hours out, how can we possibly suggest that global climate models could have any validity over centuries. Models are good at one thing--solving equations. Models cannot account for variables not programmed into them. In the case of climate, some variables that cause problems include: clouds, biologic activity, dust, land use, and carbon reservoirs such as: land plants, soil, atmosphere, oceans, & fossil fuels. To repeat myself, models are good for solving equations, period. Whatever you believe about the future of the climate, do not believe model predictions!

What causes climate change

Some causes of climate change include:

Changes in solar activity
Cycles in the earth's obliquity, eccentricity, and wobble
Plate tectonics
Vulcanism
Impact by extraterrestrial body
Changes in greenhouse gases (H2O, CH4, CO2, and others)

Of these gases, water and methane have the most greenhouse effect, but it is not easy to blame mankind for them. Clearly most of the climate change over the last two million years did not result from human activity, but it is likely that man is partially responsible for the current warming. It is not easy to prove either way, but it has become axiomatic in the press that it is man's fault. There is a correlation between CO2 concentration (currently about 385 parts per million) and atmospheric temperature, but although a cause and effect relationship has not been established (cum hoc ergo propter hoc), the relationship could be causal. The concentration has been higher and lower in the past, and given the history of climate change, man's effect is probably not overwhelming. After all, the CO2 concentration is only about 0.01 that of the water vapor concentration. Now let's take a look at politics.

GEO-4

In October 2007, the UN issued a report called Global Environmental Outlook.

In its press release, GEO-4 says, "There are no major issues raised in Our Common Future for which the foreseeable trends are favourable."

However, according to the EPA, "The common view that the environment is deteriorating in almost all respects is not justified. Several important trends are moving favorably as a result of applications of science and technology as well as behavioral and policy shifts in both developing and industrialized countries. For example, energy intensity, the source of major environmental problems when fuels are dirty, is decreasing, and the fuel mix is decarbonizing, signifying a shift to cleaner sources."

Geo-4 says, "Sea-level rise caused by thermal expansion of water and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets will continue for the foreseeable future, with potentially huge consequences." While true as stated, sea level has risen 100' in 18,000 years. Why does GEO-4 imply that this rise is recent?

GEO-4: "The situation on air pollution is mixed, with some successes in both developed and developing countries, but major problems remain...Despite progress in reducing emissions, air pollution still poses risks for both human health and the environment."

Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change: "There is little published evidence that changes in population health status actually have occurred in response to observed trends in climate over recent decades."

The Environment

The word "environment" refers to man's surroundings. Even if used to mean the surroundings of an animal, the word is used only by humans, not by the animal. It should be appropriate then for man to take pleasure in his environment, use its resources, and take care of it. However to some, "environment" and "earth" have taken on the characteristics of a god, and devotion to the environment has become a religion. To those people, man is viewed as evil; whereas, animals, trees, and ice are viewed as good. They seem to think the world would be a better place, if only there were no humans. If the atmosphere is warming, that is good for most people. Those living on low-lying islands or seacoasts seem to be the only exception.

According to the EPA, aggregate emissions from six principal pollutants in the USA has decreased 54% since 1970. From that I conclude man has done a good job in recent years in taking care of his environment.

A review

What have we learned so far? The earth has been warming for a long while, and humans may be contributing some of it now. What is the goal of radical environmentalism? Is it to reverse global warming and produce cooling? That would be a true catastrophe. Is it to stop warming? That is impossible until the next glaciation. Is it to reduce the rate of increase? To what purpose; how low should we reduce it; how will we know when we have done enough? Why is the goal never stated?

When have you heard an environmentalist propose a solution (not goal) that did not hurt people or business? Goals such as clean air and water are good; solutions that hurt people, cost money, resources, and the expenditure of great effort by man should be subjected to a cost/benefit analysis. Note that only CO2 emissions from transportation and electricity generation are addressed.

What about changing our forestry practices to put out more fires, such as cutting out the underbrush?
What about building more nuclear power plants?
What about engineering solutions like adding aerosols to the atmosphere?
What about using less ethanol in gasoline so we do not disturb a major carbon sink, the soil?

On balance ethanol in gasoline puts more carbon in the atmosphere.

The benefits of "Global" Warming

Amid all this despair about anthropogenic global warming, could it be possible that warming is good? First of all, warming is not global. It occurs most in colder places and times such as: northern latitudes, mountains, night, & winter. It occurs least in tropical climates. Let's compare some benefits with drawbacks.

Drawbacks Benefits
Low-lying areas get flooded Reduced energy use
Loss of biodiversity More land is available for mankind & farming
Arctic ice melts Northwest passage opens
More heat-related deaths Fewer cold-related deaths
More severe storms?? Better conditions for crops and forests

Although the consequences of warming outlined in red in the table are significant and problematical, there are offsetting consequences that are good. On balance, decide for yourself, are energy savings and increased land availability better for mankind than loss of low-lying areas and loss of biodiversity? When have you ever heard anyone cite the advantages of warming? Would you rather cooling or warming?

Conclusions

The earth has been warming since the latest glaciers started to melt. Isn't that better than cooling? Let's all enjoy the energy savings.

Should we worry about global warming? Yes, if you live on a low-lying island or barrier island, otherwise no. We should welcome the warmer temperatures in the polar and temperate climates and accept the trends we cannot control.

J. J. Friel, Ph. D.

CLICKING THAT HELPS

http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/
http://www.thehungersite.com/tpc/THS_linktous
http://www.care2.com/click2donate/

Come on, try checking them out.

IT'S FREE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DONATE $$ TO HELP.

These site have buttons for you to click LOL

Well, it works like this. The donations use money given by companies that put their advertisement there. When you click, It will shows those advertisement below the buttons. Each click count. And the advertisement's money will go to charity.

Sorry if you don't understand... Check this, it explains better:
The Hunger Site provides a feel-good way to help promote awareness and prevent hunger deaths every day — through easy and quick online activities.

With a simple, daily click of the yellow "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Hunger Site, visitors help provide food to those in need. Visitors pay nothing. Food is paid for by the site's sponsors and distributed by Mercy Corps worldwide and by Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest) to food banks throughout the United States.

Please remember to click every day to give help and hope to those most in need. Every click counts in the life of a hungry person.

Obama left with little time to curb global warming

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer Sun Dec 14, 6:49 pm ET

WASHINGTON – When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, global warming was a slow-moving environmental problem that was easy to ignore. Now it is a ticking time bomb that President-elect Barack Obama can't avoid.

Since Clinton's inauguration, summer Arctic sea ice has lost the equivalent of Alaska, California and Texas. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred since Clinton's second inauguration. Global warming is accelerating. Time is close to running out, and Obama knows it.

"The time for delay is over; the time for denial is over," he said on Tuesday after meeting with former Vice President Al Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. "We all believe what the scientists have been telling us for years now that this is a matter of urgency and national security and it has to be dealt with in a serious way."

But there are powerful political and economic realities that must be quickly overcome for Obama to succeed. Despite the urgency he expresses, it's not at all clear that he and Congress will agree on an approach during a worldwide financial crisis in time to meet some of the more crucial deadlines.

Obama is pushing changes in the way Americans use energy, and produce greenhouse gases, as part of what will be a massive economic stimulus. He called it an opportunity "to re-power America."

After years of inaction on global warming, 2009 might be different. Obama replaces a president who opposed mandatory cuts of greenhouse gas pollution and it appears he will have a willing Congress. Also, next year, diplomats will try to agree on a major new international treaty to curb the gases that promote global warming.

"We need to start in January making significant changes," Gore said in a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This year coming up is the most important opportunity the world has ever had to make progress in really solving the climate crisis."

Scientists are increasingly anxious, talking more often and more urgently about exceeding "tipping points."

"We're out of time," Stanford University biologist Terry Root said. "Things are going extinct."

U.S. emissions have increased by 20 percent since 1992. China has more than doubled its carbon dioxide pollution in that time. World carbon dioxide emissions have grown faster than scientists' worst-case scenarios. Methane, the next most potent greenhouse gas, suddenly is on the rise again and scientists fear that vast amounts of the trapped gas will escape from thawing Arctic permafrost.

The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere has already pushed past what some scientists say is the safe level.

In the early 1990s, many scientists figured that the world was about a century away from a truly dangerous amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, said Mike MacCracken, who was a top climate scientist in the Clinton administration. But as they studied the greenhouse effect further, scientists realized that harmful changes kick in at far lower levels of carbon dioxide than they thought. Now some scientists, but not all, say the safe carbon dioxide level for Earth is about 10 percent below what it is now.

Gore called the situation "the equivalent of a five-alarm fire that has to be addressed immediately."

Scientists fear that what's happening with Arctic ice melt will be amplified so that ominous sea level rise will occur sooner than they expected. They predict Arctic waters could be ice-free in summers, perhaps by 2013, decades earlier than they thought only a few years ago.

In December 2009, diplomats are charged with forging a new treaty replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set limits on greenhouse gases, and which the United States didn't ratify. This time European officials have high expectations for the U.S. to take the lead. But many experts don't see Congress passing a climate bill in time because of pressing economic and war issues.

"The reality is, it may take more than the first year to get it all done," Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said recently.

Complicating everything is the worldwide financial meltdown. Frank Maisano, a Washington energy specialist and spokesman who represents coal-fired utilities and refineries, sees the poor economy as "a huge factor" that could stop everything. That's because global warming efforts are aimed at restricting coal power, which is cheap. That would likely mean higher utility bills and more damage to ailing economies that depend on coal production, he said.

Obama is stacking his Cabinet and inner circle with advocates who have pushed for deep mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas pollution and even with government officials who have achieved results at the local level.

The President-elect has said that one of the first things he will do when he gets to Washington is grant California and other states permission to control car tailpipe emissions, something the Bush administration denied.

And though congressional action may take time, the incoming Congress will be more inclined to act on global warming. In the House, liberal California Democrat Henry Waxman's unseating of Michigan Rep. John Dingell — a staunch defender of Detroit automakers — as head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was a sign that global warming will be on the fast track.

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., vowed to push two global warming bills starting in January: one to promote energy efficiency as an economic stimulus and the other to create a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utilities. "The time is now," she wrote in a Dec. 8 letter to Obama.

Mother Nature, of course, is oblivious to the federal government's machinations. Ironically, 2008 is on pace to be a slightly cooler year in a steadily rising temperature trend line. Experts say it's thanks to a La Nina weather variation. While skeptics are already using it as evidence of some kind of cooling trend, it actually illustrates how fast the world is warming.

The average global temperature in 2008 is likely to wind up slightly under 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit, about a tenth of a degree cooler than last year. When Clinton was inaugurated, 57.9 easily would have been the warmest year on record. Now, that temperature would qualify as the ninth warmest year.

___

Associated Press writer Dina Cappiello contributed to this report.

source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081214/ap_on_sc/global_warming_obama/print

A Forum For Us

http://rainbowsociety.invisionplus.net

It's a forum for us, so register quickly because I am lonely there... It's for everyone, not just the commitee members.

Oh, when you first enter our forum, read the Announcement section first. There's not much there(for now), BUT what's inside are not rubbish. Read it, it's not lagging at all!

Currently, I have no idea what to article/topics should I put into the forum for us to discuss. So if you think you can be the first person to do it, go ahead. I don't care if you are the one to 'First Blood'....What? Well, what do you expect me to say?

The Big C.

Cancer is the big C that strikes fear into most hearts. Almost everyone knows who has died from some form of cancer. In this new millennium, more and more people are getting cancer, and at even younger ages too. The top cancers for men worldwide are cancer of the lung, nasopharynx and colon, whereas for women, it is breast, cervix and colon cancer.

The body has natural cycles of cell elimination and reproduction- for instance skin cells regenerate themselves in 28 days, while red blood cells are reproduced every four months to replace expired cells. Cancer happens when the body cells proliferate or grow faster than they should.

Scientist are still searching for the answers on why does this things happen – but there is already research that links cancer an\d abnormal cell conditions to family history, environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyle, high-fat diets and lack of physical activities.

The most alarming part about cancer is that the symptoms usually manifest themselves quite late. By the time there are symptoms, cell proliferation would have been quite substantial, which means the cancer is already in an advanced stage.

Some of the most common signs include an unexplained lump or growth in the breast or neck that does not go away, unusual bleeding from any part of the body, changes to a spot or mole, a sore that does not heal, changes in bladder or bowel habits and difficulty swallowing.

Recent research suggests that the diet plays the major role in cancer risk. Cancer rates are found to be much higher in the western countries with the culture of high-fat diets. As Asia gets increasingly westernized particularly in the dietary habits, the rates of cancer are rising in tandem!

Therefore, what can we do to keep cell activity healthy and normal so as to keep the big C at bay?
Here are some suggestions:

1. Maintain a healthy body weight because obesity has been found to be the cause of many chronic diseases.

2. Stay active physically exercise at least 3 times a week, 30 minutes each time.
3. Reduce fat in your diet and practice using low-fat alternatives in your cooking.
4. Increase foods with high fiber content such as fruits, vegetables and grains to promote intestinal activity.

5. Increase intake of vitamin C found naturally in citrus fruits and vegetables for better absorption of nutrients.

6. Reduce caffeinated beverages and opt for refreshing yet beneficial alternatives such as green tea.

7. Include natural immune booster such as mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs to keep your immune system balance.

8. Go for regular check-ups instead of visiting a doctor when there is a pain, injury or diseases.


So the most important is the awareness and attitude towards cancer prevention. Remember, cancer cuts across all race and religion. Early detection and treatment will prevent you from becoming a statistic!
By Audrey Lim
13th December, 2008.

Christmas gift

Today has already 10th of December,
Christmas's eve will be left with another 14 days!!!!
Have you bought gifts to your love ones, family and friends???
Expensive and big budget to spend?
NO!
why don't look for something GREEN and eco-friendly????


I found a website just now, look nice and affordable ;)
check it out!

http://www.greenchristmasmarket.blogspot.com/


Maybe you can DIY DO.It.YOURSELF to show your love ones that you CARE and LOVE them!!!

check this :
http://christmasgiftsnow.net/handmade-christmas-gifts.htm




Christmas's cookies always the best serve and homemade gift
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/




posted by : Elly See

ANNOUCEMENT, Labi trip

ANNOUNCEMENT:



RE : LABI TRIP FOR RAINBOW SOCIETY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

1. Date and Venue

a. Date: 27th December 2008, Sunday
b. Venue: Labi, mukim Sg.Liang ,Negara Brunei Darussalam

2. Rules and Regulations

a. This trip is strictly for Rainbow Society Committee Members only. Even if a Committee Member is unable to join the trip, no other people can be invited to join this trip.

b. Committee Members are expected to wear the Rainbow Society T-shirt and may bring an extra t-shirt if they wish to do so.

c. Every Committee Members must ensure that their parents know about this trip, and that their parents give their approval for the committee members to join this trip.

d. All items and belongings that each Committee Members bring are his or her responsibilities. Damage or loss of belongings will not be compensated. Members are also expected to take care of themselves as Rainbow Society will not be responsible for any damage acquired during the trip.

e. Committee Members are expected to make preparations a day before the trip and be ready on time for the transport.

f. Committee members are expected to obey the president and behave as they should for the trip.

3. Things Necessary For Each Committee Members To Bring

a. Respective cutlery, i.e., plates, spoons, forks and so on
b. Respective drinks, if possible, in the form of mineral water
c. An extra t-shirt
d. Mobile phone for contact
e. Ointment like sunblock or sunscreen

Note: Members are allowed to bring other things other than those listed above.

4. Miscellaneous

a. Committee Members must follow the Rules and Regulations stated above.
b. For additional information, please refer to the President.
c. This file is confidential and thus should not be forwarded to anyone else.


***All of the committee participants are expected to bring some info/general facts about GREEN Living/activities during the trip to share with others.
*Collections should be clear at least 1 week before the trip to Pei Fen, RS's treasurer or Ah hao, RS's asst.treasurer.



prepared by : Yee Jien (Jess Sia)
Approved by : Elly See ,president of RS

Chilean glaciers retreating due to global warming: report
SANTIAGO, Dec 7 (AFP) Dec 07, 2008
Chile's glaciers are on the retreat, a sign of global warming but also a threat to fresh water reserves at the southern end of South America, a report has found.
In a November report, the Chilean water utility -- Direccion General de Aguas de Chile (DGA) -- said the Echaurren ice fields, which supply the capital with 70 percent of its water needs, are receding up to 12 meters (39.37 feet) per year.

Twenty of the glaciers studied receded between 1986 and 2007 in Campos de Hielo Sur, the third largest ice reserve in the world after Antarctica and Greenland. At the current rate of decline, Echaurren and other small glaciers close to Santiago could vanish over the next half century.

"The results indicate that the Campos de Hielo Sur glaciers generally tend to recede, which could be due to climate change in the region," the study said.

"The glaciers have receded up to 580 meters (1,900 feet) due to reduced rainfall recorded by weather stations in Patagonia and temperatures rising by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the region over the last century."

The Chilean glaciers, located mostly in the remote flatlands of Patagonia, have receded by about 67 meters per year between 1986 and 2001 and by about 45 meters between 2001 and 2007, according to DGA.

The Jorge Montt receded the most of all glaciers studied, by 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) in 21 years, a loss of 40 square kilometers (25 square miles). The San Rafael glacier in southern Chile lost 12 kilometers (7.45 miles) over 136 years.

"The fact that the glaciers are receding is one of the most dramatic consequences of global warming, because that's where climate change is most obvious," glaciologist Andres Rivera of the Valdivia scientific studies institute (CECS) told AFP.

The melting or collapse of the ice wall formed at a glacier's extremity is not due solely to global warming, according to the scientists who wrote the DGA study. The depth of the lakes or fjords into which they fall also causes the glaciers to crumble.

Loss of glaciers along Chile's Andes mountain range, home to 76 percent of South America's glaciers over a surface of 20,000 square kilometers (12,400 square miles), is threatening the water supply for people and agriculture.

"The glaciers will continue to provide fresh water for at least a hundred years. The cities and crops will expand and a time will come where the glaciers will be the population's water source," the study warned.

But two glaciers bucked the trend. Pie XI, the biggest glacier in Hielo Sur, is also the only one that continues to expand in Chile. Perito Moreno in neighboring Argentina is its only glacier that is still spreading.

"These two examples are anomalies, exceptions in this region where the glaciers are receding and losing mass."






source :http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/081207220535.1tew1335.html

Quake with magnitude of 6.1 hits northern Japan

Quake with magnitude of 6.1 hits northern Japan
1 day ago

TOKYO (AP) — A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan on Thursday, the Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake hit Thursday morning off the coast of Miyagi, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Tokyo, the agency said. It struck at a depth of about six miles (10 kilometers).

The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the earthquake.

Masakazu Murakami, an official in charge of disaster management in Miyagi, said the quake caused no damage to utilities such as water, electricity, gas and telephone lines.

"I was in the office when the quake hit this morning. But I did not feel any tremors," Murakami said.

A police official in Miyagi said authorities there had not received any reports of damage or casualties. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

The most recent major quake in Japan killed more than 6,400 people in the western port city of Kobe in January 1995.

Experts believe Tokyo has a 90 percent chance of being hit by a major quake over the next 50 years.

source :
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j2Of-mRPmlnRRq09DW2EVRHLWqnAD94RIKN80

ANNOUCEMENT

ANNOUNCEMENT:

After a few days break, we are back!
Rainbow society members are going to back in their base and starting to plan for more strategy, activities as well as some official work-done here.
For more update, please keep in touch in this blog :D

ELLY SEE
President of RS

Indonesia's Quake Toll Rises To Six, 10,000 Displaced

(RTTNews) - Six persons were killed and over 10,000 others were displaced after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.5 rattled Indonesia's Sulawesi Island Monday. Health ministry reports said that over 150 persons were injured.

The shallow quake hit Indonesia early Monday with its epicenter 138 km northwest of Gorontalo city. Indonesia's meteorology agency issued a tsunami alert, but the warning was lifted later.

Two more bodies were pulled out from the rubble Tuesday adding to the four already reported dead in Monday's quake. The Health Ministry crisis center reports said that over 1,000 buildings were damaged in the quake and over 10,000 persons had sought safe shelters out of their homes.

Indonesia had just launched a hi-tech tsunami alert system to issue early warnings, but experts said that large parts of the country are still not covered and the system will not be fully operational till 2010.

Meanwhile, a moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.5 rocked eastern Indonesia Tuesday. However, there were no reports of damage or casualties.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Source: http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=779460&SMap=1