Environmental Graffiti

Foot and mouth disease has struck a new cattle farm in southern England, the government said on Wednesday, prompting the European Union to suspend a decision to lift its ban on British meat exports. On the 6th of September, Debbie Reynolds chief vetenary officer confirmed “we are finally free from foot and mouth disease.” How wrong she was…

A ministry statement said initial tests showed it was “likely that this is the same strain as found in the August outbreak”.

“We will not be able to confirm the full virus strain until all sequencing is completed. This is currently in progress. We do not have a timetable for when these final results will be received,” it said.

Britain suffered a crippling

Astronomers have discovered the first known planet to survive the “red-giant” phase - a process whereby aging stars expand and engulf its orbiting bodies. The discovery of the “gas-giant planet” three times the size of Jupiter, shows an insight into the future of our own solar system. What will happen to the Earth when the sun grows old and collapses?

The planet is some 4,500 light-years from Earth. It once orbited its star at the same distance as the Earth is now from the sun about eight light-minutes, but then subsequently drifted away.

Scientists have identified around 250 planets orbiting stars other than our sun. Most are detected by

China’s State Forestry Administration raided an apartment in the West of China last month. The contents were shocking to say the least…

27 snow leopard pelts were seized – these are some of the most endangered cats, highlighting the volatile environment

As we all know oil is finite. There’s a limited supply. Most nations in fact have already reached their peak. Texan oil drills used to pump tons of the black stuff every day; now it is barely trickle. The peak oil theory suggests that there’ll be a huge divide been supply and demand. Is this alarmist?

Well..let me put another question to you. Does OPEC’s decision to increase oil production by only a “token” amount, despite record-high prices, mean they

War

Flash back to AD 1870, when Napoleon III was fighting the Prussians. Both food supplies and morale were low. Napoleon’s armies couldn’t march on empty stomachs, they needed a solution quickly. One million cans of beef were ordered, to feed the starving troops and the task went to Englishman named John Lawson Johnston.

Bovril – “cow in a can”

Although the order was swiftly accepted, the UK wasn’t able to produce the vast quantities of beef to meet French demands. Johnston, being the entrepreneur he was, discovered a way to feed everyone by

Green weddings are big business nowadays. With the average cost of that special day in the region of £16,000, more and more couples are saying “I do” in the most lavish of surroundings.

But, with the rise of the ‘Bridezilla’ (and, in some cases, the ‘Groomzilla’), there is also a growing counter-movement towards a more environmentally and ethically aware wedding day.

Couples embarking on a ‘green wedding’ are more likely to spend time sourcing sustainable jewellery and clothing. They may choose to

Vegans are a wonder; firstly, they live longer than us regular folk, they’re super good for the environment (rearing animals for food being one of the biggest CO2 producers), and yet this lifestyle choice has generally been seen as excessive and unhealthy. In the home of the extreme (that’s New Zealand if you weren’t quite sure), a portion of vegans are taking the restrictions on their lifestyle a step further, not only by extracting animal produce from their diet, but also from their love life.

These people are now commonly known as vegansexuals. Alongside not eating meat, they are also choosing not to be sexually intimate with non-vegan partners whose bodies, they say, are made up of dead animals. The term

Maria Surma Manka is a top US expert in environmental policy and green business. She’ll answer all of your questions related to her fields in our weekly post “hazy idea? Ask Maria Energia!” If you feel like asking her any questions email us.

This time however, it is Maria’s turn to interview - she has kindly given us this to reprint. Her victim? Former talk show host, comedian and satirist Al Franken, who is running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota. Last month, Franken made an appearance at the Crow Wing County/Morrison County DFL summer picnic. Maria grew up in Morrison County, so she attended and was impressed with the (relatively) huge turnout. Maria met Al and he took the time to answer some questions about renewable energy and Minnesota’s role in the clean tech revolution.

Maria Energia: What specific renewable energy legislation do you want to see implemented at the federal level?

Al Franken: On a macro level, I’d like to implement a national cap and

Global Warming effects

Green house gases stay can stay in the atmosphere for an amount of years ranging from decades to hundreds and thousands of years. No matter what we do, global warming is going to have some effect on Earth. Here are the 5 deadliest effects of global warming.

5. Spread of disease
As northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate north, bringing plague and disease with them. Indeed some scientists believe that in some countries thanks to global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated.

4. Warmer waters and more hurricanes
As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. We saw in this in 2004 and 2005.

3. Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves
Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.

2. Economic consequences
Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate all of these.

1. Polar ice caps melting
The ice caps melting is a four-pronged danger.

First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise.

Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or in plain English - make it less salty. The desalinization of the gulf current will “screw up” ocean currents, which regulate temperatures. The stream shutdown or irregularity would cool the area around north-east America and Western Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area!

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is relected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

So what is the solution? Are we just being negative? Are there any positive effects of global warming? What about all the stupid global warming solutions. We welcome your thoughts.

Simmons blogs at Thoughts on Global Warming.

Europe has been resistant to products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), insisting on the worlds toughest labelling regime and outraging the US who accuse them of violating free trade agreements over the products.

Now it is thought that EU ministers will approve a GMO sugar beet variety this month. Officials will also be discussing the licensing of 10 GMO products, including several forms of maize, cotton, soybeans and a high-starch potato, before the end of the year.