Tag Archives: region

Royal Dutch Shell Exonerated By UN Report, Bought and Paid For By Shell

photo via flickr While the Gulf Coast is just learning about the horrible impacts from oil drilling, the residents of Niger delta have completed a masterclass. For decades, the region has been beset by environmental devastation at the hands of Royal Dutch Shell, which has been harvesting crude oil in the delta while spilling untold amounts. But now a three-year investigation by the United Nations, funded by Shell, has almost entirely exonerated the oil giant from any wrong doing. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Royal Dutch Shell Exonerated By UN Report, Bought and Paid For By Shell

Joe Jonas Performs Charity Work, Plays Concert in Africa

It’s not enough for Joe Jonas to be handsome and talented. He also must be incredibly giving. As part of the Cambio Cares project, the singer recently spent time in Africa. He performed a concert for underprivileged kids there and also took on a considerable amount of charity work in the region. Like Sandra Bullock this week , and Angelina Jolie always , it’s refreshing to see a celebrity using his/her status for good, isn’t it? WATCH A VIDEO OF JONAS IN AFRICA BELOW. Joe in Africa

barrage floods Singapore 2010

The floods were mainly in the hotspots in the eastern and central parts. Heavy and intense rain triggered flash floods and left a trail of damage and disruption, as much of Singapore slept. The National Environment Agency#39;s Meteorological Services said the downpour was caused by unstable weather conditions in the region, partly brought on by Typhoon Conson. The downpour started at about 4.40am swiftly wreaking havoc over two hours. Traffic was hit, congestion was reported along several ro

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barrage floods Singapore 2010

Stewart + Brown Sustainable Sweaters for Fall 2010 (Photos)

Stewart + Brown Image courtesy of Stewart + Brown. Stewart + Brown ‘s luscious knits for fall have us craving crisp, cool weather. The California-based green fashion label uses only fine merino wool or Mongolian cashmere, culled from a co-op that help nomads in the region sustain their centuries-old practices, in their line of luxury sweaters. We exclusively released images from… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Stewart + Brown Sustainable Sweaters for Fall 2010 (Photos)

Gulf Oil Disaster: Evidence that demands investigation and verdict

Dear Congressman/Senator, I am deeply concerned with the handling of the cleanup and containment effort of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. As such, it is now the time to lay aside partisan issues, and issue a criminal and ethical investigation into the Obama administration’s dealings with BP oil, evidence of prior knowledge for the spill, and the relationship of money exchanged in return for complete collusion and complicity in this whole situation. Clearly, after citing the circumstantial evidence below, you should see that a criminal investigation into the roles of the Federal Government under the Obama administration and BP Oil, in the events leading up to the creation of this disaster, to the lack of federal response is warranted and overdue. EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS AN INVESTIGATION AND A VERDICT 1. Barack Obama received more money from BP Oil than ANY OTHER politician in the last 20 years – Republican or Democrat. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64420A20100505 ) 2. Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff to Barack Obama, lives in a luxury Washington D.C. apartment given to him by a high-level BP Oil Staffer (L.A. Times, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/06/rahm-emanuel-bp-gul-oil-spill… ) 3. Goldman Sachs, a part owner of BP, was the second highest contributor to Barack Obama, giving him just a little over $1 million (CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/20/obama.goldman.donations/index.html ) 4. The current chairman of Goldman Sachs was also the chairman of BP oil. He stepped down from BP in 2009 ( Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sutherland ) 5. Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, BP gave more money to Obama (Washington Independent, http://washingtonindependent.com/226/does-exxon-mobil-support-obama ) 6. George Soros, Who Helped Bankroll Obama’s 2008 campaign, is an aggressive investor in oil, and he is instrumental and is influential in Brazilian Oil Company Petrobras. (The Guru Focus, http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=33828 ) 7. Curiously, CEO of BP, Tony Hayward dumped 1/3 of his BP stock holdings($2.1 million dollars) weeks before the oil rig explosion (The UK Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chie… ) 8. Coincidentally, Goldman Sachs dumped 44% – 4,680,822 shares – of its stock in BP Oil weeks before the spill – no other oil company, just BP. This also represented an unusual transaction, being two times the size of any normal stock trade for an institution its size. (Raw Story, http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0602/month-oil-spill-goldman-sachs-sold-250-million-… ) 9. Weeks before the oil spill, Haliburton acquired Boots & Coots, a Houston-based oil well intervention/oil safety/oil spill cleanup company, an investment criticized by many as an “unwise” investment at the time (Houston Chronicle, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6952547.html ) 10. It has also now been learned that President Obama stands to make over $85 Million over the next 10 years due to this “accident.” It seems as though Vanguard, Pres. Obama’s asset holdings company, dumped all of his shares of BP oil stocks in the weeks before the “accident.” http://www.twawki.com/?p=6768 11. On March 31st, Obama lifted a 20 year moratorium on offshore drilling, opening the Gulf of Mexico to new exploration and new competition amongst oil companies (Bellona, http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2010/US_drilling_moratorium_lifted ) 12. As early as February 2010, BP engineer referred to this particular rig as a “nightmare rig.” (AOL News, http://www.aolnews.com/gulf-oil-spill/article/bp-engineer-brian-morel-called-dee… ) 13. Jimmy Harrell, chief operator for Transocean who owned the rig was well aware of problems and warned of such a disaster. Harrell is quoted is telling an unknown person on the phone, “”Are you f****g happy? Are you f****g happy? The rig’s on fire! I told you this was gonna happen.” ( Mother Jones http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/rigs-fire-i-told-you-was-gonna-happen ) 14. BP representatives knowingly and willfully gave the wrong orders on how to prevent an explosion on the rig. In order to control the pressure, cement(known as mud in the industry), is normally thrown down to seal of leaks. Instead, BP reps overruled the opinions of the workers and ordered sea water to be thrown down. This is clear evidence of criminal negligence, ineptitude, or criminal sabbotage. (NOLA.com, http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/hearings_bp_representa… ) 15. The United States Coast Guard, an arm of the US Military under the control of the commander-in-chief, President Obama, has become severely compromised. It has now been “rented out” to BP, who is using it as a private security detail/bully force in the region, using intimidation, cover-ups, lies, as weapons, and not allowing media to remotely come close to any BP workers in the region. The Coast Guard is also directly and indirectly involved in turning away foreign aid, as well as PRIVATE and STATE entities which are proven to help more effectively in preventing damage to their coastlines. http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0617/expert-bp-running-gulf-prison-warden/ 16. There has been LITTLE TO NO response on the part of environmental groups and agencies regarding the damage that is being done to the ecosystem and environment in the region. This can only be regarded as suspicious. One can only wonder why they have not only remained silent, but they have praised the Obama administration’s actions. 17. We know that there are three poisonous gasses being released from the oil rig area. These 3 gasses are: Methane, Benzene, Hydrogen Sulfide. This does not include the byproducts of the dispersants which are also being released in the air. It is feared by many scientists and experts that benzene has the capability of igniting itself when it chemically reacts with the right concentration of gasses already present in the region. 18. With the Obama administration’s prolonging, knuckle-dragging, and delays in turning away help and aid, their actions only cause the scenario mentioned above all the more frightening. In a worst case scenario, according to scientists and other experts, the ignition of benzene would result in something akin to napalm, burning everything in its path. The US Coast Guard is following unlawful orders from President Obama in enforcing the denial of the 10th amendment to the states affected by this disaster. The Federal Government has NO AUTHORITY to tell a state how it will clean up or prevent damage to its coastline. It is also imperative that the governors of all states affected convene an emergency, [cont] You might click on the link and send a letter to your reps, if you still believe your voice matters. added by: samantha420

Polar Bears Will Be Extinct in Western Hudson Bay by 2040

photo: James Seith Photography via flickr Back in 2004 there were only about 936 polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay part of Manitoba. Now researchers say that the increasing length of the ice-free season in the region means that a tipping point will soon be reached, which means the polar bears will decline over the next 30 years to a point where too few remain to sustain a viable breeding population. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Polar Bears Will Be Extinct in Western Hudson Bay by 2040

How To Survive The New South

It ain't your Granny's South anymore and there's a new code of conduct to follow for the region. Eugene, an intrepid young southern man, 'educates' Ryan, his buddy from the North on the best practices for how to conduct yourself next time you're south of the Mason-Dixon line. added by: rawleyv

The Euro Zone Has Failed

President Vaclav Klaus condemns the the Euro Zone project. “It was mistakenly and irresponsibly presented as an indisputable economic benefit…This has not happened.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280452365548866.html?m… added by: frank_runyeon

Turkish Navy to Escort More Ships to Gaza

Turkey has announced that they will send more ships to aid Gaza, and that this time they'll be accompanied by the Turkish Navy. This is a provocative and dangerous move, and one that is sure to raise tensions in the region. The implications of Turkey's threat are unknown at this time. Avi Trengo, a columnist at an Israeli news site, implies (before Turkey's announcement) that in a showdown between the two countries, Israel is likely to cave first. http://talkingskull.com/article/turkish-navy-to-escort-more-ships-to-gaza added by: Billy_Tarter

World’s Largest Land Art Exhibit Opens in Turkey’s Super-Scenic Cappadocia Region

“The Gift” sculpture in Cappadocia, where hot-air balloon tours are a popular way to see the region. Photo via Andrew Rogers . The surreal natural formations of Turkey’s Cappadocia region, where soft volcanic rocks have eroded over the eons into fanciful cones and spires, now have some serious man-made competition for tourist attention: The world’s largest contemporary land art park, comprising 10 giant sculptures made out of more than 10,500 … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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World’s Largest Land Art Exhibit Opens in Turkey’s Super-Scenic Cappadocia Region