"Disaster at The Top of The World": ekos Earthship Monday

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.

Tonight's editor: ellinorianne

Please remember to rec the BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 90

And don't forget to check out Ecojustice, tonight's diary is EcoJustice: Coming to Ecuador, with or without Chevron

All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.

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EcoJustice: Coming to Ecuador, with or without Chevron

by citisven

A few weeks ago I had the great privilege of meeting Lou Dematteis, a former Reuters staff photographer who covered the wars that raged throughout Central America in the 1980s and first traveled to Ecuador's northern Amazon region in 1993.

What he found there was not a shooting war, but a war on the environment, a gut-wrenching clash between the "civilized" world's thirst for cheap oil and indigenous people's right to live in health and harmony with their native lands.

Lou's photos not only tell the story of the human and ecological cost of our oil addiction, but they've been invaluable visual documents helping to keep Chevron/Texaco, the culprit of this epic environmental catastrophe, from engaging in "pollute and run" business as usual.

Most importantly, these images highlight the power of local communities not only in fighting the corporate juggernaut that is fleecing the planet's resources for short term profits, but in calling attention to the systemic problems inherent in fossil fuel dependent economic models, and inspiring sustainable solutions for all.  

Take a ride and see for yourself.      

   

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Tribe, School Show DC Green Energy = Eco/Econ Smart

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

While DC fiddles and runs from comprehensive climate change legislation, a tribe in California and 3 school districts in Chicago recognize that green energy is not just good for our environment but also can sustain communities economically. Both have decided to invest in wind farms as a remedy for the economic shortfalls that each face.

Tonight's Climate Change News Roundup also includes news on how Koch Industries linked to climate denial machine, UN may rein in carbon trading scam, BP settlements likely to shield top defendants, fish beachings may be increasing due to BP gusher, toxic oil possibly found on seafloor, lizard species going extinct now, and even Dems voting NO on climate bill attacked as if they voted yes.

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Help Me Help Haiti - Please.

by environmentalist

Please Help Me Volunteer in Haiti

Straight up. I’m going to ask you for money.  I warned you about this when MB asked WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!?!  

So click HERE and donate at my paypal button or please read on for the details.  

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Macca's Meatless Monday...My Grill Is Red Hot

by beach babe in fl

In this weekly series we have been discussing the benefits of a vegetarian diet including: better health , animal rights, frugal living, global food crisis, food safety and the immense contribution of meat production to climate change/depletion of resources.

What You Eat Is More Important Than Where It Came From

"Where you get your food from is a relevant factor in family food decisions, but what you are eating - and the processes needed to make it - is much more important from a climate change perspective,''

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Cannabis Prohibition: The Past, Present and Future of Fail

by xxdr zombiexx

4 current articles on the Internet illustrate the past, and present failures of cannabis prohibition as well as point to the future in which we will make use of it, but others are beating us to the punch.

America's political commitment to the utter failure of cannabis prohibition profits fuel a worsening problem with outrageous Cartel violence in Mexico and causes large sums of money to change hands untaxed;

Meanwhile, over our northern border, sneaky Canadians are capitalizing on America's prohibition of hemp (same damn plant) to make strong, lightweight materials for electric cars. No... really. I don't have time to make this stuff up.

And it doesn't have to be this way: California is attempting to be the first state in America to fully do the right thing, but there are a number of blatantly dumb arguments circulating for continuing this unmitigated disaster of a policy.

It's all after the Jump™

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Floods in Asia a Result of Climate Change?

by akmk

Whether or not there is a link to the Gulf oil disaster, scientists and news media are now discussing seriously the possibility of severe flooding in Asia being caused by climate change.  Collapsing ocean ecosystems are also being noted.

Severe flooding and unusually dramatic heat waves, all appear to point to global warming and climate change.  And May of 2010 appears to be time of the start of the most dramatic changes.

The Gulf oil spill was in April.  The earth's atmosphere gained a considerable amount of methane.  The ocean's life forms have been subjected to a considerable amount of toxins.

What happens in one part of the planet affects all of the planet.  It's called ecology.

Other human caused factors may be contributing to the flooding in Asia as well.

And there are political implications to all of this.

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Time to Take On Global Warming Deniers

by Steven D

Global warming deniers come in basically one version: the one which holds their hands to their ears and sings lalalalalalala all day, refusing to discuss any and all evidence of global warming or that fossil fuels have anything to do with it.  

They are more willing to believe the craziest conspiracy theories and outright lies rather than deal with facts.  It's a shame really, because the facts are there and they are telling us something needs to be done -- Now.  Not twenty or thirty of fifty or one hundred years in the future, but right fricking now! Like this information, for one:

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Science Tidbits

by possum

Once again the time is here to gather around and take a well deserved hiatus from all the politics of the day.  Science talk is here.  New discoveries, new takes on old knowledge, and other bits of news are all available for the perusing in today's information world.  Over the fold are selections from the past week from a few of the many excellent science news sites around the world.  Today's tidbits include new coating developed to fight MRSA (methicillin resistant stap aureus) infection, many Americans are still clueless on how to save energy, new satellite data reveals true decline of world's mangrove forests, large masses of plastic found floating in the ocean, drought drives decade long decline in plant growth, and ancient 'terror bird' used powerful beak to jab like a boxer.  Pull up that beach chair and relax.  There is plenty of room for everyone.  Settle in for one more session of Dr. Possum's science education and entertainment.

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Baobab: Mother of the Sahel

by NourishingthePlanet

In this regular series, crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet, we profile African indigenous crops that can improve food security and protect the environment.

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Pat Toomey Named to 2010 Dirty Dozen

by TonyMassaro

Today, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) announced plans to target former Club for Growth President and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey for defeat by adding him to the 2010 "Dirty Dozen" list. Coinciding with the announcement, we launched an online campaign that includes a web video and targeted online advertising, alerting Pennsylvania voters to Toomey’s campaign cash from Big Oil and his dangerous support for oil and gas drilling in Lake Erie, even in the wake of the Gulf Coast catastrophe and the record-breaking Midwest oil spill in the Kalamazoo River.

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BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 90

by Gulf Watchers

Please rec the new Mothership #91 here. This one has expired.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #327 - Endless Fishin' - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - peraspera

Rules of the Road

• We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
• Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
• Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!

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Niger Delta: Shell Exxonerated! Bloody Pardoned if you like.

by LaFeminista

A report by the UN has indicated that Shell is only responsible for 10% of the 9 million barrels that have seeped and oozed over the Niger Delta for the last 50 years. This means they are all but exonerated from having to pay one penny towards a clean-up and the Nigerian government is responsible for the rest. Since the government is corrupt and has received billions in oil revenue and millions in kickbacks from Shell this environmental catastrophe will not end anytime soon. 40% of all the crude that comes from the delta and its 606 rigs is exported to the US; a rotting infrastructure is plain for all to see.

The UN report was paid for by Shell.

The Nigerian government is paid for by the Oil Industry.

The $10m (£6.5m) investigation by the UN environment programme (UNEP), paid for by Shell, will say that only 10% of oil pollution in Ogoniland has been caused by equipment failures and company negligence, and concludes that the rest has come from local people illegally stealing oil and sabotaging company pipelines.

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