Comments arob has made

  • A terrible tragedy for gorillas and humans

    This story is indeed very moving.

    Actually having polluters offset their emissions by protecting tropical forests is not entirely applicable to this situation because the gorilla massacres are occurring within the boundaries of a designated park.  A better solution for this tragedy would be to prioritize development aid to the DRC for park management and protection.  Also Western governments have not worked very hard to stabilize the country (probably because their mining companies have benefited from the instability as documented in the UN Panel of Experts investigation from 2001 and 2002).  Some wealth transfer from developed countries to the global South is clearly necessary to preserve tropical carbon storage, but it won't stop the gorilla massacres in the eastern DRC (nor will it stop the massacres of humans there).

    Whiskerfish, I'm interning with a group doing work on mining in terms of the environment, human rights, and economic justice in the DRC.  Have you done work on chain-of-custody for coltan and other minerals mined artisanally from the DRC (especially from the DRC to the US)? As far as I know, few if any groups in the US have done an in-depth chain of custody investigation.  I would be extremely interested in any information you have or any reports you've authored, even if they're only pertinent to the UK.  My email is arob@dartmouth.edu, thanksOn Newsweek's cover story deserves Pulitzer -- and global action posted 2 years, 3 months ago 5 Responses

  • I agree

    I too am interested to see if anyone has quantitatively studied the CO2 contribution of national park visitors.  The way we have always visited national parks is tied into the Eisenhower highway system and our reliance on the family automobile.  I recall Edward Abbey proposing banning personal vehicles in parks while preserving access in Desert Solitaire.  That might not be politically feasible, but surely public transportation should have a greater role in national parks to reduce air pollution as well as ghg emissions.

    Also I wonder if the NPCA or anyone else has issued a study looking at the parks' management of ecosystems in addition to funding for that management.  I know that in the past the NPS has really screwed up ecosystems in a lot of ways.On An interview with Tom Kiernan of the National Parks Conservation Association posted 2 years, 4 months ago 5 Responses

  • Re: Mercury

    Coal-fired power plants produce 40% of mercury emissions in the US.  Because converting to CFL's cause less coal to be consumed in power plants, net mercury emissions decrease (http://www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf)(of course assuming your electricity is generated by coal).  Also, CFL's can be recycled.  Earth911.org would have the info on that.  Finally, manufacturers are working on creating bulbs with less mercury.  I read an article on a new low-mercury bulb somewhere but I can't remember where.  So although it's a pretty small thing you shouldn't get too excited about, switching to CFL's does mostly have a positive impact on the environment.On A Grist correspondent sweats her way through Live Earth posted 2 years, 4 months ago 12 Responses

  • Schwarzenegger

    The California League of Conservation Voters gave him a grade of 50% for 2006 and 58% for 2005.  See here.

    http://www.ecovote.org/scorecards/2006/

    That's actually quite good for a Republican, but not nearly enough to merit being in the top 15 green politicians. The global warming bills he's signed definitely have been progressive (he did have a role in shaping the legislation, but perhaps more credit should go to the legislature).  The publicity he's given the climate movement has been phenomenal, and he's been blunt in criticizing the Bush administration's criminal climate negligence.  However, his overall environmental record is not that good.

    I would suggest Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, for the list.  He has a great voting record, and introduced the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act along with Barbara Boxer.  I saw him speak in Hanover, NH for the Step It Up rally, and was really impressed.On 15 Green Politicians posted 2 years, 5 months ago 34 Responses

  • great articles

    Thanks for the hrw link, very educational.  His stacking of the Supreme Court is very alarming, as is the muzzling of the press.  The fight against corporate feudalism shouldn't involve dismantling freedom and democracy.

    The South American energy summit will be extremely interesting.  Sugar cane derived-biofuels plus oil would be a formidable one-two punch indeed for Venezuela.  I hope geopolitics does not get in the way of smart energy policy.

    And I wasn't trying to say criticizing Chavez is arrogant, but rather that the use of sensationalist rhetoric such as "murdering" and "torturing" can be problematic.On Oil diplomat or man of the people? posted 2 years, 7 months ago 14 Responses

  • torturing, murdering?

    Amazingdrx, I've read your comments on other posts, and I respect your opinion on most issues.  However, your characterization of Chavez as a "torturing, murdering dictator" is absolutely false.  In recent internationally monitored elections, Chavez won nearly 60% of the votes.  He has much more of a mandate from the people than Bush, who didn't even win the first election.  Furthermore, I may be mistaken but I have not read of any torture Chavez's administration has performed. You cannot seriously compare him to Bush, who has caused the deaths of more than 650,000 Iraqis and Americans.  I am not a huge Chavez fan; I think he has too big a mouth, and he has enacted undemocratic changes such as extending the maximum amount of terms he can rule.  Also, he has muzzled the press to an extent.  But he has also made serious achievement in bridging the huge socio-economic gap in his country, and the region in general, which has the most inequity of any in the world.

    I think your post demonstrates historic American prejudices towards Latin America that go back to the Monroe Doctrine.  Just because countries don't obey Washington does not mean they have Communist dictators.  I would remind you that environmental solutions do not have to act contrary to social ones.  Neo-liberal trade policies that contribute to global economic inequities also contribute to tropical deforestation, the industrial agriculture, and biodiversity loss.

    Haha, thanks for inspiring to me to make my first post.  I'm not a Marxist, just I have a huge problem with American arrogance towards developing countries, especially when we are the major drivers of global problems such as climate change.  And, in regards to the question of Chavez and biofuels, I also believe he is posturing.  Biofuels are competition for Venezuela's oil.On Oil diplomat or man of the people? posted 2 years, 7 months ago 14 Responses