soapbox

. . . . . . . . . Recycling for life in Argentina By Teresa Bo in Buenos Aires Entire families of 'cartoneros' have been forced to adopt recycling as a permanent job Al Jazeera reports on the poor Argentinians whose struggle to survive is also helping the environment. 'Cartoneros', or 'recyclers', have become one of the enduring consequences of the Argentinean economic crisis of 1999 – 2002, when the peso devalued by 70 per cent. Their job has meant dramatic results for the environment by reducing the amount of solid waste going into landfill by 25 per cent. Cartoneros collect cardboard, plastic and glass from the more salubrious neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires and then sell it to recycling companies. According to some estimates, there are now 30,000 cartoneros in Buenos Aires. While Argentina shows signs of economic recovery, entire families are looking for garbage on the streets in order to translate their findings into cash, in a job that pays less than $10 p

. . . . . . . . . . . .This report identifies the most common subsidies that create sprawl and provides examples from across the United States. For each type of subsidy we provide analysis and solutions. Where appropriate, our report also provides figures for the cost of these subsidies and calculates the cost of sprawl. Roads and Highways Roads are the lifeblood of sprawl. Building new roads encourages sprawling development and, because of the high cost, crowds out other transportation options. And when driving becomes the only choice, residents must drive for every chore. This leads to gridlocked traffic, frustrated drivers and calls for bigger roads. But it's impossible to build our way out of this mess-new lanes and new roads act like magnets for new traffic, encouraging more people to drive more miles. Recent research has shown that up to one-half of the additional lanes or roads built are filled by this new traffic. This means that highways designed to meet an area's nee

. . . . Suburban sprawl has been rightly blamed for many things: destroying green space, increasing air and water pollution, fracturing our neighborhoods and forcing us to drive gridlocked roads for every chore. But there is one consequence that usually goes unmentioned - sprawl is draining our pocketbooks and raising our taxes. Sprawl is the result of over five decades of subsidies paid for by the American taxpayer. These range from the obvious to the obscure and include big projects-like the billions we spend on new roads as well as smaller ones-like the tax-breaks that encourage businesses to move to the edge of town. We've subsidized sprawl at such a basic level for so long, that many people believe the status quo is actually fair and neutral. This is false-what we think of as a level playing field is tilted steeply in favor of sprawling development. How we subsidize sprawl: building new and wider roads building schools on the fringe extending sewer and water lines to sprawling

. . . . . HAPPY - -EARTH - -DAY - - IN MY OPINION EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY - - - - -SO WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO CELEBRATE ? LET ME COUNT SOME OF THE WAYS ,PLANT A TREE IF U CAN FIND A SPACE THAT ISN'T TAKEN UP FOR A HIGHWAY ,OR A MEGA SHOPPING CENTER.THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF WAYS .USE YOUR CREATIVE ABILITY AND DO IT.

THE FOLLOWING NEWS ITEM APPEARED APRIL 20,2007 NEWS ASIA-PACIFIC Indonesia may ban new cars There are more than 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles in Jakarta alone [AP] Indonesia may ban the sale of new cars in an effort to cut air pollution in the country's ever-growing urban areas. Rachmat Witoelar, the state minister for the environment, admitted that a freeze on the sale of new cars would cost thousands of Indonesians their jobs. But pollution from transportation was doing more damage in terms of global warming than emissions from Indonesian factories, the Jarkata Post quoted him as saying. The government said there are more than 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles in the capital Jakarta, but just 255,000 public transportation vehicles. The data also shows private car ownership rising by at least 11 per cent a year. Rachmat said that "if we don't take further action, the numbers of cars and motorcycles will exceed our country's p

Monday, April 16 2007 **Live from Wood Green Ravine @ Lawrence & Manse Rd. in Scarborough** Don York Chair of the Manse Valley Community Association. On Feb. 28, 2007, a notice was posted on Wood Green Ravine advising that an application had been submitted to Urban Forestry for a permit to remove 32 trees protected under the City of Toronto tree bylaw. Issuance of this permit would permit the builder to remove more than 1,200 trees from the property! The notice stated that objections to the issuance of a permit could be submitted in writing to the City. More than 1,200 people sent signed letters of protest to Urban Forestry… …The City has made a decision to issue the permit immediately, despite the letters of objection. Giorgio Mammoliti City Councillor, Ward 7 York West and Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee. According to local councilor, Ron Moeser, Ward 44 Scarborough East, the forestry division is issuing the permit because council approved the development last year… May

. . . ."Old trees are becoming a real problem with our residential communities. The roots are bursting the pipes; they're ripping up driveways, sidewalks, and grassed areas. Even foundations are cracking." . . . . . . . . ." BELIEVE IT OR NOT" . . . . . . THIS IS A QUOTE FROM A SITTING TORONTO COUNCILLOR WHOSE INITIALS ARE G.M.. . . . . . . .FROM NORTH WEST DISTRICT. . . . .THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE HAS RECENTLY CONDEMMED A LARGE WOODED RAVINE IN SCARBOROUGH FOR THE ALLEGED PURPOSE OF BUILDING LOW INCOME HOUSING, AFTER CLEAR-CUTTING THIS SO-CALLED "KILLER FOREST". . . . . .THE TREES ARE STILL STANDING TODAY BUT FOR HOW LONG,WE DON'T KNOW SINCE THE CITY COUNCIL (OF WHICH "G.M."IS A MEMBER)APPROVED THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS FOREST. . . . . . . INCIDENTLY APPROXIMATELY 1500 MATURE TREES ARE TO BE DESTROYED. . . . . A CATHOLIC RELIGOUS ORDER IS THE APPARENT OWNER ACCORDING TO NEWS REPORTS.

Nature and the human network are two separate systems that are on a collision course. Our challenge is to weave these two systems together as one. +++++++++++++++++++++++ IN FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS I WILL HAVE THIS NOTATION IN EVERY POST . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . THATS WHAT WE HAVE NOW IN CANADA . . . . . . . WITH THE STROKE OF A PEN AND WITH ALL THE T'S CROSSED AND THE DOTS DOTTED,ALL THE RADIO STATIONS IN THE MAJOR BIG CITIES IN CANADA ARE CONTROLLED BY ONE COMPANY. . . . . .THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST WEEK WHILE THE REST OF THE MEDIA HAD A FEEDING FRENZY OVER ONE INDIVIDUAL IN NEW YORK BY THE NAME OF DON IMUS . . . . . . . STRANGE . . . THE WAY THE HEADLINES ARE CHOSEN IN CANADA . . . . .THE COMPANY MONOPOLY IS CALLED ASTRAL(WHO KNEW?) . .. . NOW WHEN YOU CALL A RADIO TALK SHOW IN ANY MAJOR CITY . .BIG DADDY(MONOPOLY) . . .CAN CONTROL AND /OR CENSOR WHAT GOES ON THE AIR. . . . .WHAT HAPPENED TO FREE SPEECH? . . . . . IS THE CRTC (CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION-COMMISION) ASLEEP ? ?

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - Nearly 250 dead seals have washed up on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan in the past week, emergency officials said Saturday. Authorities were conducting tests to determined what killed the 247 seals found by oil workers inspecting the shore in western Mangistau region, the Emergencies Agency said. Environmentalists have been concerned about increasing exploration of the Caspian Sea's extensive oil reserves. Last year, 350 seals and thousands of sturgeon died in a northern part of the Caspian region as a result of a heavy metal leak from the Kashagan oil field. . . . . . . . . . .. YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF DISREGARD BY OIL INDUSTRY OF NATURES CREATURES LIKE THE SEALS AND THE STURGEON IN THE CASPIAN SEA IN KAZAKSTAN . . . . . . . . . . WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT . . . . .FISH OR ANIMALS OR GAS GUZZLING MOTOR VEHICLES ? ? . . . .

Companies like Climate Care allow people to fund emissions cuts elsewhere to offset their air travel -- for example by contributing to renewable energy projects -- and it calculates a return trip from London to Sydney produces 5.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person. This is close to the annual per capita CO2 emissions of a Frenchman of 6.2 tonnes, according to U.N. data. . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO SAY . . .. . .. . . ".EVERYTHING I LIKE DOING IS EITHER DESTRUCTIVE,ILLEGAL , IMMORAL OR WHATEVER" . . . . . . . QUOTE BY ANNONYMOUS. . . . . . .FROM THE ABOVE EXAMPLE IT SEEMS THAT SOMETHING AS SACRED TO "OUR"WAY OF LIFE AS AIR TRAVEL IS NOW PROVEN TO BE DESTRUCTIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . "TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM". . . . . .I HOPE THAT IS NOT OUR DESTINY.

One of the main sources in Pelley's piece was glaciologist Gino Casassa, who's been scrutinizing Patagonia's O'Higgins glacier for years. The rate it's shrinking -- both in area and thickness -- is alarming. At one point in the story, he discovers that what had been glacial ice in 2004 is now a lake. Casassa used to be skeptical about climate change. "I just didn’t believe in global warming; I mean, in global warming being produced by mankind, by us contaminating the atmosphere. I just refused to believe that,” he says.He's not a skeptic now. The evidence of the O'Higgins glacier changed that. . . . . . . . . . . THIS NEWS ITEM WAS AIRED ON" 60 MINUTES"RECENTLY.

“As a result of today’s landmark ruling, EPA can no longer hide behind the fiction that it lacks any regulatory authority to address the problem of global warming,” Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. “Today the nation’s highest court has set the White House straight. Carbon dioxide is an air pollutant, and the Clean Air Act gives EPA the power to start cutting the pollution from new vehicles that is wreaking havoc with our climate,” said David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Greenhouse gases occur naturally and also are emitted by cars, trucks and factories into the atmosphere. They can trap heat close to Earth’s surface like the glass walls of a greenhouse. Such emissions have risen steeply in the past century and many scientists see a connection between the rise, an increase in global average temperatures and a related increase in extreme weather, wildfires, melting glaciers and other damage to the environment. . . . . . . . . . BREAKING NEWS . .

. . . . . . . TWENTY- MILLION . .. . THATS THE NUMBER OF NEW AND USED CARS . . . .SOLD IN ONLY ONE YEAR(2006) IN ONLY TWO COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD . . . CHINA -AND -JAPAN . . . . . .IF EACH CAR EMITTED- 5 -TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE . . . . . .HOW MUCH POLLUTION IS CREATED ? ? . . . DO THE MATH . . . . . AND THEN YOU'LL KNOW WHY GLOBAL WARMING EXISTS. . . . . . . . .. note:over three quarters (75%) of the 20 million are new cars.Stats are from china news sources.