February 2010

Sadly, it is common for people to cover up contamination of water and food sources, or environmental toxins, which may harm or kill other people.  Here is an article about one such case, for which a study is finally to receive funding.

This article explains the moral issues behind health care.  Americans are supposed to have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Without adequate health care, people have none of those; health is a prerequisite for them, and therefore so is health care.  It is not legal to point a gun at someone and demand their money — but it is perfectly legal to demand their money in order to prevent a disease or injury from killing them, and to let them die if they do not hand over however much you demand.  Legal, but not moral.

Here is an article about the economy of small island nations and how that influences both politics and climate change.

The following article discusses a report that collates data gathered from indigenous people, in which they talk about the effects of climate change, oppression, and other threats to their survival.  Although it is not the first time that indigenous people have written about themselves, it may be the most comprehensive gathering they have done of their own statistical data.  I hope this information will help them gain more rights and respect, but given the historical record, I’m not very optimistic.  But who knows?  Maybe this time it will shame the fatted politicians of various nations into behaving like decent human beings.

The following article looks at climate change and weather.  In particular it examines the extreme snowfall in Washington, D.C.  While climate change deniers claim this as evidence against global warming, in reality the weather is subject to variation — but as climate change progresses, extreme weather events become more common.  That includes droughts and floods, hurricanes and tornados, heat waves and blizzards.  The atmosphere simply becomes less stable and less predictable and less pleasant to live in.

This alert crossed my desk recently, concerning the use of forest biomass as fuel.  To fight climate change, we should be planting more trees, not cutting them down to burn.

Check out “Help the Vanishing Bees” over on Bloggers Unite.  Honeybees are under threat from Colony Collapse Disorder, parasites, pesticides, and other hazards.  Organic beekeeping is an improvement for beekeepers.  There are many other things you can do to help the bees.  Among the best is to plant a bee garden.  I took the photo below at Allerton Park, which has many gardens attractive to insects.

This article discusses the ups and downs of biomass as it applies to forests. Applied thoughtfully, this technology could have some promise.  The timber industry is not planning to apply it “thoughtfully.”