Clipmarks | JICWyllie's 'i-consequences' clips

Boatloads of Trouble: How We Are Importing Our Way to Destruction

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:16:43 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: Think about it before buying any more rubbish from China. Make your own, look after what you've got. It's the new cool. Consumption and more stuff is so vulgar.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Economists, bureaucrats and investors rejoiced late last month when the Commerce Department announced that U.S. exports in June were up sharply, $28.8 billion higher than in June 2007. The department made less noise about the rising tide of imports, which were up $26.4 billion.

the nation's seaports are now handling 1.4 billion tons of goods annually and that waterborne container traffic will double by 2020.

Oceangoing ships burn the lowest of low-quality diesel oil, and the fuel used by locomotives isn't much better. Trucks burn a greater quantity of fuel per ton hauled, with correspondingly high emissions.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

imagine 7,300 football fields paved and enclosed (or have a look at these images.) Similarly vast acreages

are paved as well.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Halting that growth or even making deep cuts in imports would not only help clear the air, it would make it easier to clean up the toxic water pollution that accumulates in sea lanes and ports;

Tags: economy, transport, i-consequences, i-increase, environment, i-pollution, i-climate change, i-crisis

Why cheaper oil signals trouble

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:24:44 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: Deflation will win over inflation.

But the "good news" will go on until just after the USA election. Then reality will begin to intrude its ugly head, again.

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

Food and energy prices are coming down in part because of a global growth slowdown that could also cool the red hot U.S. export sector - the major bright spot in an economy still struggling with a massive housing bust.

If prices keep sliding, year-over-year inflation numbers - after hitting a 17-year high last month - could soon look much healthier, reducing fears that the Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates to stamp out rising inflation expectations.

If the growth party is over around the world, the U.S. export boom will quickly fizzle.

A pullback by some of its overseas customers offers the latest bit of unhappy news for the U.S. economy, which this year has continued to grow - if only tepidly - in large measure thanks to slowing imports and rising exports.

The halo effect from exports could already be wearing off.

second-quarter GDP data showed U.S. corporate profits from foreign sources dropped 15% from first-quarter levels, due to softer worldwide economic conditions.

Tags: economy, commodities, i-prices, i-decrease, i-consequences, i-deflation

Bank of England to show no mercy as firms go under

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:24:01 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Bank of England is expected to ignore pleas for a cut in rates this week, despite warnings that the number of companies set to go under in Britain this year could reach 17,000.

The cost of borrowing should remain at 5 per cent even though figures – collated from official statistics for the first six months of 2008 – show that failures among companies could rise by a staggering third over last year's total of 12,507.

There's worse to come, insolvency experts warn. Figures for the 1990s show that company failures do not seriously escalate until the second and third year of a recession. Britain has yet to officially lurch into recession, defined as two quarters of negative economic growth.

Tags: economy, currencies, i-interest rates, i-policy, i-consequences, business, i-insolvancy, i-increase

The Next Oil-Price Shock Will Be At Christmas

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:56:27 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.fleetstreetinvest.co.uk

A two-pronged attack that bombed nuclear facilities and cut off benzene supplies could easily get the US exactly what they want in Iran.

It could destroy any chance of Iran getting the bomb and force Ahmadinejad out of office. It won’t take much to convince the current US administration to come along to this particular party.

So, the world is gearing up for action in Iran. The plan has been made. The warships have practiced. The will is there.

I think Israel will bomb suspected Iranian nuclear facilities and a US-led task force will block the Straits of Hormuz.

All this is likely to happen sometime in the US interregnum period around Christmas. If it does, the oil price will go utterly ballistic.

Up to 40% of the world’s oil supplies pass through the Straits of Hormuz. It is one of the most strategically important waterways in the entire world.

The Americans want to block the Straits of Hormuz to stop Iranian imports of benzene. This will cripple the country’s economy.

Tags: energy, oil, i-prices, i-increase, i-forecast, politics, i-policy, i-war, i-consequences

Pinching pennies like your grandparents

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:13:40 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

the skyrocketing cost of everything from cereal to eggs is prompting some Americans to turn to traditional techniques for stretching a dollar or a meal.

The food inflation is clearly affecting American lifestyles. An April survey by market researchers NPD Group found that more than half of adults who described themselves as “financially challenged” were trying to use up leftovers more often and prepare more meals at home than they did a year ago.

Americans are still eating out but are choosing cheaper restaurants

more people are choosing grain-based foods, such as pizza and pasta, over meat-based meals.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

For those people who are trying to shop and eat more like their grandparents did, the change in behavior isn’t just a matter of time management. Accustomed to years of drive-through restaurants and pasta in a box, many simply don’t know how to cook from scratch.

Tags: economy, consumers, i-spending, i-decrease, i-consequences

Index Research: On The Road To Extinction

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:49:20 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: indexresearch.blogspot.com

A history lecturer recently said that if one doesn’t believe in ‘global warming’ one is put in the same category as those who do not believe in the Nazi holocaust. This research of summer 2008 articles is not only about global warming but also about species that have become extinct or are an endangered species.

1. Planet Earth: General; Air pollution; Biofuels; Coral Reefs; Dead Zones; Depleted Uranium Contamination; “Democracy,” Food (corn, rice, wheat, famine); Lakes (extinct: Greenland Lake: endangered Baikal); Nuclear Holocaust; Oil (Peak Oil, U.S. exploitation, The Car); Polar Ice; Rainforest; Water; Wetlands

2. Towards Extinction: General; Amphibians (frogs); Bees; Birds; Deer; Elephant; Fish (salmon, shark, sturgeon, tuna) Flora and Fauna (Lichen, Orchid); Mammals (deer, (elephant, lynx, kangaroo, mustang, polar bear, seal, tiger, whale, wolf, wolverine); Mammoth rhino), Primates (Great Ape, Homo Sapiens, Lemur, Monkey, Orangutan); Reptiles (lizard, turtle, tortoise.

Tags: environment, i-climate change, i-consequences, i-extinction

Global warming time bomb trapped in Arctic soil: study

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:25:08 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: Le coup de grace, tabernaque. Meme moi, j'ai peur, colis.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Climate change could release unexpectedly huge stores of carbon dioxide from Arctic soils, which would in turn fuel a vicious circle of global warming, a new study warned

current models of climate change have not taken this extra source of greenhouse gas into account.

The study, published in the British journal Nature Geoscience, found that the stock of organic carbon "is considerably higher than previously thought" -- 60 percent more than the previously estimated.

This is roughly equivalent of one sixth of the entire carbon content in the atmosphere.

And that is just for North America.

And the danger of a thaw is real, note climate scientists.

the climate change models upon which future projections are based, do not include the potential impact of the gases trapped frozen Arctic soils.

"Releasing even a portion of this carbon into the atmosphere, in the form of methane or carbon dioxide, would have an significant impact on Earth's climate," he noted

Tags: environment, forest, taiga, water, i-climate change, i-melting, i-heating, i-consequences

Revealed: the massive scale of UK's water consumption

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:09:32 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Each Briton uses 4,645 litres a day when hidden factors are included

The scale of British water consumption and its impact around the world is revealed in a new report today, which warns of the hidden levels needed to produce food and clothing.

The UK has become the sixth largest net importer of water in the world,

Only 38% of the UK's total water use comes from its own resources; the rest depends on the water systems of other countries, some of which are already facing serious shortages.

Average household water use for washing and drinking in the UK is about 150 litres a person daily, but we consume about 30 times as much in "virtual water", used in the production of imported food and textiles;

People in poorer countries typically subsist on 1,000 litres of virtual water a day;

A meat and dairy-based diet consumes about 5,000 litres of virtual water a day while a vegetarian diet uses about 2,000 litres.

Tags: environment, fresh water, i-demand, i-increase, i-record, i-consequences

E.P.A. Declines to Reduce the Quota for Ethanol in Cars

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:23:48 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: Let them eat gas. At least, cake can be eaten.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Environmental Protection Agency rejected on Thursday a request to cut the federal government’s quota for the use of ethanol in cars, concluding, at least for now, that the national goal of reducing oil use trumps any effect on food prices from making fuel from corn.

The agency’s administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, said the mandate was “strengthening our nation’s energy security and supporting American farming communities,” and that the mandate was not causing “severe harm to the economy or the environment.”

Recently, high oil prices have led to even more ethanol production than the quota required. On the other hand, rising corn prices made some ethanol operations unprofitable, especially as oil prices started to fall.

“The food inflation that you’ve seen now, at least in the meat and poultry sector, probably is mild compared to what may be coming in the future,” said Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation.

Legislators from farm states applauded the ruling.

Tags: energy, renewables, biofuels, i-policy, i-subsidy, i-consequences

More Acidic Ocean Could Spell Trouble For Marine Life's Earliest Stages

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:09:06 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.terradaily.com

More Acidic Ocean Could Spell Trouble For Marine Life's Earliest Stages

Increasingly acidic conditions in the ocean-brought on as a direct result of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere-could spell trouble for the earliest stages of marine life,

Levels of acidification predicted by the year 2100 could slash the fertilization success of sea urchins by an estimated 25 percent, the study shows.

"If other marine species respond similarly-and there's no evidence yet that they don't-then we're in trouble," said Jon Havenhand of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

we observed a 25 percent reduction in fertilization success at reduced pH, which is equivalent to a 25 percent reduction in the spawning stock of the species. Apply equivalent changes to other commercially or ecologically important species, such as lobsters, crabs, abalone, clams, mussels, or even fish, and the consequences would be far-reaching. It could be enough to "tip" an ecosystem from one state to another."

Tags: environment, oceans, i-acidifaction, i-consequences, i-extinction, i-risks

Climate pain ahead for folk in the 'kidney stone belt'

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:51:47 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: environment.newscientist.com

Kidney stones will strike up to 2.25 million more Americans per year by 2050 because of temperature increases, research suggests.

"We're certain that climate change will continue and increase, and we're equally certain that increased temperatures will lead to increased kidney stone formation," says Tom Brikowski, a hydrologist at the University of Texas, Dallas.

The team hasn't yet crunched the numbers for the rest of the world, but Asians and Eastern Europeans, in particular, could be in for a painful future, Brikowski says.

"This may be an underestimate based on what we know," says Paul Epstein, of the Harvard Medical School. Brikowski's projections are "based on mean annual temperature, and we know that the extremes, Iike heat waves, could play an even more severe role."

Tags: environment, i-climate change, i-health, i-consequences

Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day Week

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:25:10 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.voanews.com

American schools are looking for ways to save money on bus transportation because of high fuel prices. More children may have to walk, ride their bikes or find other ways to get to school.

But, as another effect of the high prices, they may not have to go to school as often.

Some schools, especially in rural areas, are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.

But he sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time. And activities that used to interfere with classes are now held on non-school days.

He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes. And in some states, high school students can take them, too.

Tags: energy, oil, i-price, i-increase, i-consequences, i-behaviour change

Will clotheslines turn dryers into relics?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:19:59 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.chicagotribune.com

nothing made such a dent in our power bill as abandoning the dryer. That simple change dropped our average monthly bill by more than $100.

Dryers use nine times the energy of a washing machine. And a heat-generating appliance is obviously the wrong direction to turn on a hot summer day.

Why haven't we heard more about this? Because no organized interest profits from line drying.

Tags: energy, electricity, i-prices, i-increase, i-consequences, i-behaviour change

A World to Win

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:35:44 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Until now, the doom and gloomsters were mostly to be found in the margins, in financial blogs or in the campaigns of Ron Paul, Ralph Nader or the Greens. The mainstream media has been looking the other way and mostly downplaying the unfolding disaster.

People in the know like George Soros are saying this is the worst financial crisis since the depression. Others fear another depression. This pessimism has reached Newsweek, a guardian of conventional wisdom, which now says "It's Worse Than You Think, writing "this downturn is likely to last longer than the eight-month-long recession of 2001.

a housing and credit crisis, and rising energy and food prices -- have strengthened rather than let up in recent months. To aggravate matters, the twin crises that dominate the financial news -- a credit crunch and the global commodity boom -- are blunting the stimulus efforts."

Tags: economy, i-despression, i-risks, i-consequences, i-opportunities

Air Pollution Is Causing Widespread And Serious Impacts To Ecosystems

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:30:28 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.terradaily.com

If you are living in the eastern United States, the environment around you is being harmed by air pollution. From Adirondack forests and Shenandoah streams to Appalachian wetlands and the Chesapeake Bay, a new report by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and The Nature Conservancy has found that air pollution is degrading every major ecosystem type in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States.

"Deposited pollutants have tangible human impacts. Mercury contamination results in fish that are unsafe to eat. Acidification kills fish and strips nutrients from soils. Excess nitrogen pollutes estuaries, to the detriment of coastal fisheries. And ground-level ozone reduces plant growth, a threat to forestry and agriculture."

The authors urge U.S. policymakers to establish air quality standards that are based on critical loads. This is defined as the maximum level of deposited pollution that ecosystems can tolerate before harmful effects occur.

Tags: environment, air, i-pollution, i-risks, i-consequences, i-degradation