Articles > May 2010
May 2010
Global Warming Causes Snowstorms?
EarthTalk® From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: The U.S. got socked with several major storms this past winter.
Time of Day
When asked what time it was, Yogi Berra responded, "You mean, right now?"For those who are involved in politics, the question is "What's the political time of day, like right now?" What's happening in this country on the large scale? What's the Obama Administration trying to do? What are its internal limitations and its external constraints? And what should progressives be trying to accomplish?When, during the election campaign, Obama said that he admired Reagan for having captured the mood of the country and shifting the governance of the country according to that mood, I don't believe that he was conveying his approval of the character of the changes.
In run-up to BP spill, media touted offshore safety
Media AdvisoryDrilling Disasters Can't Happen HereIn run-up to BP spill, media touted offshore safety5/25/10As the United States examines the origins of the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, one factor that should not be overlooked is media coverage that served to cover up dangers rather than expose them.
Greening Air Travel
EarthTalk® From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Can airplanes be run on cleaner fuels or be electric powered? Are there changes afoot in the airline business to find cleaner fuels? -- Reema Islam, Dhaka, Bangladesh Given air travel’s huge contribution to our collective carbon footprint—flying accounts for about three percent of carbon emissions worldwide by some estimates—and the fact that basic passenger and cargo jet designs haven’t changed significantly in decades, the world is certainly ready for greener forms of flying.
Life in the Gulf is Draining
Three US transnational companies are sucking the life out of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico due to negligence in operating the Deepwater Horizon Platform which caused a catastrophe that is threatening several states in the region.There are three to blame for the explosion that has provoked the oil spill in the Gulf: BP (former British Petroleum) owner of the oil deposit; Transocean, a firm that has the rights over the deep water platform where the accident took place; and Halliburton, which has a sub-contract to operate the complex installation.AFP reported that the one mile long pipeline is extracting a fifth of the oil that emanates, but the report does not mention the damages inflicted by the other four-fifths of the oil on the Gulf of Mexico´s flora and fauna whose extension is still unknown.The three firms, summoned by the US Congress, evaded their individual responsibilities blaming each other for the disaster.
Wal-Mart's Poor Environmental and Workers' Rights Record
EarthTalk® From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Stop Offshore Oil Drilling
EarthTalk® From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Given the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month, isn’t it high time the government put a stop to offshore oil drilling once and for all? Short of banning it altogether, what can be done to prevent explosions, leaks and spills moving forward? -- P. Greanville, Brewster, NY The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drill rig on April 20 and the resultant oil spill now consuming coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico could not have come at a worse time for President Obama, who only recently renewed a push to expand drilling off the coast of Virginia and other regions of the U.S. The debate over whether or not to tap offshore oil reserves with dangerous drilling equipment has been raging since extraction methods became feasible in the 1950s.
