Archive
Burning issue: ‘Waste-to-energy’ plants take off in bid to cut garbage, fuel use
Texas Tribune – El Paso Power Plant Draws Community Opposition
Renamed site
Dear Friends and Followers, just a note on the name change. I decided to switch the order of the blog’s title and subtitle. The change better reflects material posted on the blog.
-wej
Dakota Rural Action supports tribes in rejecting Keystone XL
Dakota Rural Action board chair Paul Seamans speaks in solidarity with indigenous tribes in rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline during a press conference in Rapid City, South Dakota, on May 16, 2013. In an act of unification, 10 tribes walked out on a State Department consultation and demanded to meet with President Obama on their own terms.
No peace pipe: Native American tribes on warpath over Keystone XL pipeline from RT.com
Leaders from 11 Native American tribes stormed out of a meeting with US federal officials in Rapid City, South Dakota, to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which they say will lead to ‘environmental genocide.’
Native Americans are opposed to the 1,179-mile (1,897km) Keystone XL project, a system to transport tar sands oil from Canada and the northern United States to refineries in Texas for various reasons, including possible damage to sacred sites, pollution, and water contamination.
Although the planned pipeline would not pass directly through any Native American reservation, tribes in proximity to the proposed system say it will violate their traditional lands and that the environmental risks of the project are simply too great.
Russ Girling, CEO of TransCanada, the company that hopes to build the pipeline, has promised in the past that Keystone XL will be “the safest pipeline ever built.”
The Indian groups, as well as…
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West, Texas Plant Explosion and Land Use Planning
Thanks, Geog 430
Thanks to all my Geog. 430 students this spring semester. Your participation and meaningful contributions to class discussion and the blog made the semester a great learning experience for all. I asked you to work hard. I demanded clear thinking (and lots of reading). I encouraged better writing. I asked for more participation each meeting. And you came through.
I wish all of you the best and please continue to contribute to the blog. You have earned your place as an Author and I look forward to hearing from you. I really mean it.
-wej
Burning Tar Sands = ‘Unsolvable’ Climate Crisis: Hansen
See on Scoop.it – FrackInformant
Fresh off his resignation from NASA, leading climate scientist James Hansen is making the rounds this week, warning media and lawmakers that not only are we heading for a “tremendously chaotic” climate, but if we dig up and burn Canadian tar sands, the climate crisis will be rendered “unsolvable.”
See on www.commondreams.org
A Black Mound of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit. The New York Times
Another cost of tarsands, Keystone XL
Current Water Use: Reflection of “Blue Gold”
Current Water Use
Reflection of “Blue Gold”
The world’s finite water supply coupled with exponential population growth will be our future’s toughest challenge to face. The film focuses on the hydrologic cycle disruption, water privatization, and poorly institutionalized water regulations. The questions become how does our world develop practices that bolster sustainable water use?
The world is suffering from desertification, and the problem this poses is there is a possibility of running out of water. “Blue Gold” explains that the hydrologic system is the natural means of establishing renewable water. Desertification and urbanization cause rain water to drain off into sewers and back into the ocean. Rainwater is unable to penetrate the natural soil and replenish through the hydrologic cycle. In today’s industrial and technology dependent world the only tangible advancements are seen through more industrial development. Technology is often the solution to solve environmental problems. “Blue Gold” explains water damns have interrupted the natural flow of water and consequentially have disrupted the hydrologic cycle. The general population is unaware to the seriousness associated with our unsustainable development. Activists have been pointing out the issues and trying to educating the general population on the water crises. Once the water crisis is generally understood there needs to be proactive solutions implemented that strive to restore the natural hydrologic flow. The problem is our world has become very reliant on technology and resources such as forest trees. There is a temptation to resort to new technology, but technology has burdened us with the current water crisis.
Along with expelling technology as a viable solution there needs to be stricter regulations with natural resource use. “Blue Gold” explains water companies have privatized water and in affect have a powerful control over water. Water privatization is not limited to developing countries it happens in the United States. Proper framework evaluations are necessary for a society’s prosperity. The three frameworks discussed in class were the government, privatization and communal ownership. The question is what model of water ownership works for each area. In “Blue Gold” water privatization was completely discarded and announced only profit seeking. While this may generally be true, there are circumstances in which water privatization is the only answer. In third world countries the governments are often times corrupt because the whole nation is poor. Consequently government, operated water-systems only supply water to the upper-class, oppose to the lower-class which is left to find water on their own. On this ground water privatization becomes a better solution, not a perfect solution.
Modified water-use regulations are cardinal to galvanize water sustainability. In “Blue Gold” the farmers spoke about how they had to use a certain amount of water even if it was an unnecessary amount. If the farmers did not use the allotted amount they would lose whatever they did not use for the following year. Consequently the policy benefited and encouraged the farmer to waste the excess amount of water. Current misguided water policies have caused detriments to our world’s invaluable water source.
By: Chad L. Cook
Environmental Justice 