Inspirational and good news.
A question that is rarely asked got answered recently:
What’s the best way to perform research in Antarctica?
The answer is to do it on skis.
A new research base will be elevated on skis so it can be moved around and allow the researchers sunlight (when it shines) because a major complaint from researchers was the lack of sun. It will also have some solar panels. It is a modular design to allow for quick construction, and I assume it would be easy to add new modules as things get better.
As the price of oil increases (because we are running out of the stuff) some smart people are realising that we need to look elsewhere for energy. It is only suiting that the shipping industry does this since renewable resources for energy (wind) have been used longer than human-made forms of energy. One company, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, has designed a ship that uses three forms of energy: wind, solar, and water.
The linked article also has a list of other innovate approaches that have been spawned by this boating project.
Thanks, Emily!
The 6th International Conference on Walking in the 21st Century will take place in Switzerland where walking is an established and significant part of everyday life.
EVERYDAY WALKING CULTURE will focus on the planned implementation of walking into daily life by technical, political and structural means
Venezuela has ordered Royal Dutch/Shell to pay almost $131 million in back taxes. The government is cracking down on tax evasions by oil companies and so they also confiscated financial data form Chevron. Hugo Chavez, the current president of Venezuela, is trying to tighten the government’s control over the lucrative and strategic oil industry. The government has said that they are going to alert two more oil companies in the coming weeks if they owe back taxes or not.
Parliament has called on the Government of Canada to take action to end the devastating social and environmental impacts of Canadian mining operations overseas.
A recent Parliamentary report calls on the Government to: (i) stop using taxpayer money to support destructive Canadian mining projects abroad; (ii) hold Canadian mining companies legally accountable for environmental and human rights violations in other countries, and; (iii) force the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to respect international human rights standards.
The Government has about 60 days left to respond and, not surprisingly, it would like nothing more than to sweep the report under the carpet. So, like most of the good things that happen, the changes demanded will only take place as the result of many people’s efforts. Our participation is needed, as always, to pressure the Government to adopt Parliament’s recommendations and to address ongoing international scandals associated with the Canadian mining industry.
What can we do to help make this happen? The websites of Friends of the Earth Canada and Mining Watch have a lot of info on these issues and ways to take action.