United States News
The latest news from and about U.S. issues.Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Carbon emissions, carbon-rich waters drive up ocean acidity.
Oregon Live, May 22, 2008 - “Manmade carbon emissions and the seasonal upwelling of naturally carbon-rich waters are driving up the acidity of the shallow ocean just off the West Coast, a team of researchers from Oregon and elsewhere has found, posing a threat to shellfish, sea urchins and smaller shell-forming creatures that serve as food for young salmon. Their study, published online today in the journal Science Express, for the first time documents high acidity in the shallow nearshore waters of the West Coast’s fruitful continental shelf, the researchers said.” Read more.
Op-Ed: Much Ado about NAFTA.
Peterson Institute for International Economics, March 7, 2008 - “It’s the politics, stupid. When it comes to the US economy, trade has replaced the devil as the reason things go bad. A Fortune magazine poll conducted this January asked Americans what the most important reason for the recent economic slowdown was. The largest number—28 percent—answered ‘losing jobs to economies where labor is cheaper’ and an additional 7 percent mentioned ‘foreign competition.’ Fully 78 percent of the respondents said that trade has made things worse for American workers. [snip] In fact, trade’s role in America’s current economic difficulties is deeply misunderstood.” Read more.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Border Agents, Lured by the Other Side.
NY Times, May 27, 2008 - “The smuggler in the public service announcement sat handcuffed in prison garb, full of bravado and shrugging off the danger of bringing illegal immigrants across the border. ‘Sometimes they die in the desert, or the cars crash, or they drown,’ he said. ‘But it’s not my fault.’” Read more.
Friday, May 23, 2008
‘Acidified’ water found in Pacific.
OneClimate, May 23, 2008 - “Evidence of corrosive water caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) was found less than 20 miles off the west coast of North America during a field study from Canada to Mexico last summer. This was the first time “acidified” ocean water has been found on the continental shelf of western North America. The term “ocean acidification” describes the process of ocean water becoming corrosive as a result of carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere.” Read more.
Plan Mexico Passed.
Narcosphere, May 22, 2008 - “It’s official: Congress has approved Plan Mexico. The House of Representatives approved the Merida Initiative, also known as Plan Mexico, last week by a vote of 256-166. Excelsior reports that 244 Democrats and 32 Republicans voted for the bill and 7 democrats and 159 Republicans voted against it. The Senate approved a slightly different version today, although the specifics of the Senate version are still unavailable.” Read more.
Alaska Governor Proposes $500 Million in Subsidies for a Gas Pipeline.
NY Times, May 23, 2008 - “Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska on Thursday proposed granting state subsidies to a Canadian company to build a long-sought natural gas pipeline.The 1,715-mile pipeline would deliver natural gas from the North Slope of the state to markets in Alaska and the lower United States. Ms. Palin, a Republican, proposed providing $500 million in matching funds to the company, TransCanada.” Read more.
Garbage is dirty, but is it a clean fuel?
ENN, May 21, 2008 - “About 45 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles, a machine the size of a small truck flattens tons of food scraps, paper towels and other household trash into the side of a growing 300-foot pile. To Waste Management, which operates the landfill, this is more than just a mountain of garbage. Pipes tunneled deep into the mound extract gas from the rotting waste and send it to a plant that turns it into electricity.” Read more.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Blue Covenant: Maude Barlow on the Global Movement for Water Justice.
Democracy Now, February 27, 2008 - “Who’s going to make the decisions around water in the future? And what’s happened is that a large number corporations are now coming into the field saying—actually creating a kind of global water cartel, just as there exists for energy now, a cartel of corporations that control every drop of oil before it’s taken out of the ground. These companies are either big utility companies, like Veolia and Suez from Europe, that run municipal water systems on a for-profit system, and in the third world they deny millions of people who can’t afford it.” Read/Listen to more.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Fuel costs, tainted foreign goods boosts manufacturing.
Albuquerque Examner, May 17, 2008 - “After nearly collapsing at the beginning of the century, the maquiladora industry in the border city of Nogales, Sonora is re-emerging with a sophisticated pitch. The 43-year-old industry is fighting low-wage competition from China by recruiting aerospace, medical and military suppliers to move manufacturing jobs to Nogales, said Thomas W. Skwiat, marketing manager for Nogales, Ariz.-based Collectron International Inc., which helps U.S. and European firms set up maquiladora operations in Mexico. And concerns about tainted candy, toys and pet food from China are fueling interest in businesses to keep operations close to home, he said.” Read more.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Los Angeles eyes sewage as a source of water.
NY Times, May 16, 2008 - “Faced with a persistent drought and the threat of tighter water supplies, Los Angeles plans to begin using heavily cleansed sewage to increase drinking water supplies, joining a growing number of cities considering similar measures.” Read more.
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