Clipmarks | papananook's clips

"As an Older American..."

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:29:22 GMT

clipped by: papananook

As an older American, I find myself ashamed at what this nation has become. While many people mindlessly continue to repeat the mantra that America is the greatest nation in the world, it is hard for me to understand why they still believe this. I love my country, but my husband and I now experience sadness instead of the pride when we hear the National Anthem.

Many Americans claim to be Christians, but I see little of Christ's teaching of love, humility, compassion and tolerance in the way they live their lives. Instead, they speak of individual self-reliance, which is little more than a doctrine based on survival of the fittest.

How do they bear the knowledge of the horrific human suffering we have caused the people of Iraq? How can they not see what is so flawed about the American way of life and our culture of wasteful consumption and willful degradation of the planet.

Capitalism is running amok. America’s one true God has become the dollar—a fallen idol at best.

Watery climate doom

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:06:27 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: papananook.livejournal.com

Oceans absorbing less CO2 may have 1500 year impact. “Global oceans are soaking up less carbon dioxide, a development that could speed up the greenhouse effect and have an impact for the next 1,500 years... Research from a five-year project funded by the European Union showed the North Atlantic, which along with the Antarctic is of the world's two vital ocean carbon sinks, is absorbing only half the amount of CO2 that it did in the mid-1990s.”

Freshening of deep Antarctic waters worries experts. “Scientists studying the icy depths of the sea around Antarctica have detected changes in salinity that could have profound effects on the world's climate and ocean currents.”

Clip Source: afp.google.com

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Glaciologists for the first time observed the sudden drainage of meltwater from the top of the Greenland ice sheet to its base, a phenomenon that can help speed up summer ice movement, a report said Thursday.

Oh, the Asian Advertiser is Amusing

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:50:13 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Taking acid on the potty is unacceptable....

Clip Source: www.engrish.com

Who says potty training has to be a sobering experience...

Clip Source: www.engrish.com

I started seeing these tags ever since I got married...

Clip Source: www.engrish.com

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IN CHINA by Deanna “Dee” Taylor

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:16:16 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: China’s environment is deteriorating on all fronts: air, land and water and is negatively affecting biodiversity and the health and quality of life for individuals. The statistics on air pollution, loss of farmland, toxic waters, and biodiversity are alarming.

The Chinese government’s lack of sustainable water management policies has contributed to water pollution that significantly harms public health, water shortage and contamination, and loss of community livelihood and local income.

Clip Source: deesings.livejournal.com

With a record high of US$177.47 billion in trade surplus last year, China is one of the world’s economic powerhouses. However, this economic growth comes at the expense of the environment and public health. Researchers estimate that pollution in China causes more than 300,000 premature deaths every year. In addition to human costs, pollution has brought economic losses at an estimated 10 percent of China’s GDP. According to the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), China will need to spend a projected 1.6 percent of its GDP, totaling about 1.3 trillion yuan (US $167 billion) to clean up the environment and prevent further degradation between 2006 and 2010. Extensive environmental damage has also fueled rising social unrests. In 2005, SEPA reported that severe pollution prompted 51,000 public disputes, while the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has identified pollution as one of four social problems linked to social disharmony.

A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:08:33 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: The drought’s effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production.

It is difficult to definitely link short-term changes in weather to long-term climate change, but the unusually severe drought is consistent with what climatologists predict will be a problem of increasing frequency.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people around the world. But six long years of drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia’s rice crop by 98 percent and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.

Ten thousand miles separate the mill’s hushed rows of oversized silos and sheds — beige, gray and now empty — from the riotous streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, but a widening global crisis unites them.

The collapse of Australia’s rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world’s largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off violent protests in countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen.