Tag Archives: environment
Experts quizzed over freeport, dredging and algal blooms as crab deaths on coast investigated
The deaths of thousands of sea creatures washed up on Teesside’s beaches are to be investigated in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Teesport operator PD Ports, the Environment Agency, a Whitby fishing association and academics will give evidence to MPs about the mass sea deaths. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee will hear from witnesses about the crustacean deaths after committee chair Conservative Sir Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, branded the situation “disturbing”. A Defra investigation earlier this year concluded the cause of the crab deaths to be a naturally occurring algal bloom but campaigners believe dredging has unearthed historical toxins – including a chemical called pyridine – which has caused the deaths. >click to read< 12:15
Seabed mining ban – a win for marine life, fishing and culture
The Northern Territory Government first declared a three-year temporary ban on seabed mining in March 2012 and has since extended it twice under both the Country Liberal Party (CLP) and Labor Governments. With the temporary ban due to expire in March, Territorians have made it clear that they want a permanent ban. It’s great to see today the Government listen and act on this important issue. “The Top End has some of the last healthy tropical coasts in the world. Seabed mining is like bulldozing the seafloor. It would decimate our marine life, pollute our waters, threaten our fishing and destroy places of cultural significance.” >click to read< 12:37
YouTube Cancels Michael Moore Produced Green Energy Documentary, “Planet of the Humans”
Finally, YouTube has found the flimsy pretext it needed to cancel the controversial Michael Moore-produced eco-documentary which has been infuriating greenies with its anti-renewables message: ‘copyright infringement.’ Planet of the Humans, the documentary executive-produced by Moore and written and directed by his friend Jeff Gibbs has racked up over 8 million views on YouTube since its launch last month. But now — in what Gibbs says is a “blatant act of censorship” — YouTube has taken down the video. Filmmaker Jeff Gibbs is surely correct when he says that YouTube’s cancellation of the documentary is politically motivated. >click to read<16:43
Michael Moore and Driessen agree! Wind, solar and biofuel energy are devastating Planet Earth – Never in my wildest dreams did I envision a day when I’d agree with anything filmmaker Michael Moore said – much less that he would agree with me. But this new film, Planet of the Humans, is as devastating an indictment of wind, solar and biofuel energy as anything I have ever written. The documentary reflects Moore’s willingness to reexamine environmentalist doctrine. >click to read<
Our water quality problems are a tangled mess, but they can be fixed
What can we or local governments do about red tide? Another major outbreak could be disaster. But it could be necessary to forces us to address the sources of nutrient pollution. Reality is government ignores everything it can. To fix things, the sources have to be outed, and then it will take money to clean things up. But elected officials need contributions to get elected and re-elected. It’s expensive to campaign. What do those big contributions buy? >click to read< 09:04
Defenders of right whales pursue limits on aquaculture and fixed gear fisheries
Right whale defenders are now taking aim at aquaculture as they try to protect the highly endangered species from deadly fishing gear entanglements. Advocates usually focus on the lobster industry,,,Right whale defenders are now taking aim at aquaculture as they try to protect the highly endangered species from deadly fishing gear entanglements. Advocates usually focus on the lobster industry,,, Researchers from Whale and Dolphin Conservation, a U.K.-based nonprofit that advocates for marine animals, want regulators to reduce surface-to-seabed lines in all Gulf of Maine fisheries, not just lobstering. They name aquaculture and gill net as rope-based fishing methods that are known to entrap, injure and kill both humpback and right whales. They say it’s not fair for regulators, who are meeting next week, to seek rope reduction from lobstermen while issuing permits for other fisheries that use similar rope. >click to read<20:40
If Renewables Are So Great for the Environment, Why Do They Keep Destroying It?
If solar and wind farms are needed to protect the natural environment, why do they so often destroy it? Consider that: New offshore wind turbines in Germany could “lead to the extinction of individual species” including the rare, intelligent, and highly-threatened harbor porpoise, according to Friends of the Earth-Germany (BUND). Migratory bat populations, including the hoary bat, could go extinct, say, scientists, if the expansion of wind energy in North America continues. A single California solar farm, Ivanpah, required the killing of hundreds of desert tortoises, the state’s threatened reptile, and annually kills six thousand birds by lighting them on fire. Wind turbines on California’s Altamont Pass killed an estimated 4,700 bird kills annually including Golden Eagles. “Some lose their wings,” says the Audubon Society, “others are decapitated, and still others are cut in half.” Come on, you might be thinking — aren’t these impacts trivial compared to other threats? After all, house cats kill between one and four billion birds per year in the U.S. >click to read<18:49
Matt Ridley: Blue Planet II Was Superb, Save A Few Fishy Facts
Nothing that Hollywood sci-fi screenwriters dream up for outer space begins to rival the beauty and ingenuity of life under water right here. Blue Planet II captured behaviour that was new to science as well as surprising: giant trevally fish eating sooty terns on the wing; Galapagos sea lions herding yellowfin tuna ashore; an octopus wrapping itself in shells to confuse sharks. The series also preached. Every episode had a dose of bad news about the ocean and a rebuke to humanity, while the entire last episode was devoted to the environmental cause, featuring overfishing, pollution, climate change and ocean acidification. The team behind the incomparable Sir David Attenborough has acceded to demands that it should push more environmentalism. click here to read the story 12:26
Fur for the Ladies, AND the environment! All the luxury, none of the guilt with nutria pelts
Believe it or not, there was a time when lustrous nutria pelts were coveted by such stars as Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. Over the years, the “swamp rat” fell into disfavor. Now, a southeast Louisiana company called Righteous Fur seeks to recapture the glory days of nutria fashion by creating eco-friendly nutria designs that can be worn with a guilt-free conscience. Their mission: to help save the Louisiana wetlands. Read the rest here 20:21
Martha’s Vineyard: Islanders question local benefits of offshore wind project leases
Concerns about how Martha’s Vineyard will benefit from a commercial offshore renewable wind energy project 12 nautical miles south of its shores dominated discussion at a public hearing to discuss the proposed leasing process and transmission route at a public meeting Monday night in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Tisbury. Read more here 08:27
Right whales: Public comments range from ‘save the whales’ to ‘save the fishermen’
Samuel Sautaux posted his comment from Lentigny, Switzerland, located north of the Alps. His comment is among about 171,208 received from individuals who live near and far from the right whales’ cruising grounds and posted an opinion on the latest federal effort to protect the species on the public comment page overseen by NOAA. These comments are now being processed,,, Some of the comments are quite succinct, as was Sautaux’s. Others are more elaborate – including one from an author who signs as a 69-year-old, sixth generation lobsterman from Maine who says the proposal amounts to a “death sentence” on the industry. >click to read< 07:16
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