China rises to a Global Power with Market Socialism

China Thursday celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party's rise to power with a spectacular military parade that is billed as the largest ever in Chinese history. It also underlines China's new status as a global power, and throughout the gala celebration "Socialism with Chinese characteristics," a concept developed by the late Deng Xiaoping in 1984, was the phrase heard most often in the official commentary.

“The 60 years of new China have proved that only socialism can save China,” Hu Jintao, the president of China said in his key note address.

“We will unswervingly follow socialism with Chinese characteristics and comprehensively implement the ruling party’s basic theory, basic line and basic programme.”

Economic reforms under a market socialist model began in China in 1979, which has allowed for astonishing economic growth of more than 8 per cent for over two decades. This has induced profound social migration from rural to urban cities and caused major environmental challenges.

Despite the global economic downturn that started in early 2008, the Chinese economy has come out earlier than most of the western economies.

Link.

Obama is elevating science to the top

President Bush's administration has been consistently at odds with the scientific community over global warming. Scientists explain global warming as a result of increased concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. These gases trap heat in the lower atmosphere, making the Earth warmer. They also say that's why glaciers in Alaska, Greenland and Iceland are melting at alarming rates, coral reefs are dying from warmer water, and sea levels are rising.

Although the United States is largest emitter of greenhouse gases, President Bush has refused to sign the Kyoto treaty which 141 countries signed promising to reduce greenhouse gases.

US President-elect Barack Obama has promised to make clean energy a top priority in his new administration. Over the next ten years, he wants the US government to spend US$150 billion on promoting green technologies. But a substantial portion of the funds will go into propping up America's failing car industry. Obama wants to invest US$15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy. He is hoping it can create 5 million new green jobs in the next decade."

Many scientists who objected to the Bush administration's policies, from restrictions on embryonic stem cell research to the global warming are hopeful that Obama is giving a more prominent role to the scientists.

"I think they'll be restoring the role of science in the federal establishment," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Cambridge-based advocacy organization. "We've got a bunch of people across the [new] administration who get it."

In a sign that President-elect Barack Obama intends to elevate science to greater prominence, John P. Holdren, a Harvard physicist widely recognized for his leadership on energy policy and climate change, has been named to be appointed White House science adviser.

In 2004, Holdren joined other prominent scientists to sign a letter accusing the Bush administration of undermining and censoring scientists.

"When scientific knowledge has been found to be in conflict with its political goals, the administration has often manipulated the process through which science enters into its decisions," the letter said.

Holdren, who was an adviser to the Obama campaign and a member of a scientific advisory committee to President Bill Clinton, is a specialist on energy, climate change, and nuclear proliferation.

Holdren is the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program in the School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

In addition to his Kennedy School appointments, John Holdren is also Professor of Environmental Science and Policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and President and Director of the independent, nonprofit Woods Hole Research Center. He has been at Harvard since 1996 and affiliated part-time with the Woods Hole Research Center since 1992.

Floating houses: a lesson for living in rising water

The lesson is from Dutch Housing Minister Sybilla Dekker who recently said: "You cannot fight water. You have to learn how to live with it."

Or in this case, float on it.

With scientists predicting sea-level rises of up to 110 cms (43 inches) by 2100, and catastrophic weather events becoming ever more common, the floating house could be the only realistic way for people to continue living in low-lying areas without fear of losing their homes, possessions and even lives to flooding.

The Netherlands famously known for its windmills, half the country lies below mean sea level. Flooding has long been a fact of life and extensive range of dikes and dunes protects the land from the rising tides.

Now a construction and engineering company Dura Vermeer has come up with a novel and, when you think about it, obvious solution to the problem: houses that float.

"These type of homes offer a good way of dealing with the effects of climate change," Dura Vermeer spokesman Johan van der Pol said.

"Unlike normal houses, they are extremely flexible when it comes to flooding, able to deal with a sea level rise of up to five metres.

The company has developed two variations on the same theme: a floating house which, as the name suggests, sits permanently on the water like a boat; and an amphibious house that stands on dry land but, in the event of floods, is able to rise with the water.

Both employ a large hollow concrete cube at their base to provide buoyancy, and are "moored" in pairs to huge steel piles to keep them anchored in one place, the piles enabling them to withstand currents as strong as you would find on the open seas.

Polluting printers

This printer in a Brisbane, Australia, office building contributed to higher particulate matter concentrations indoors than those outside near a freeway.Photo:Lidia Morawska.


This study has appeared in the online edition of the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) journal, measured particulate output of 62 laser printers, including models from name brands such as Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Ricoh. Particle emissions, believed to be toner -- the finely-ground powder used to form images and characters on paper -- were measured in an open office floor plan, then ranked.

The research underscores the importance of printer emissions. Read more here.

Charging to save the environment

America is the world's largest polluter (China catching up fast) and one of America's biggest companies, the General Electric Company or GE is stepping forward to lend a helping hand to reduce greenhouse gases.

This is green capitalism. Instead of adopting lifestyle changing habits, GE has unveiled a credit card designed to offset the environmental impact of the very consumerism it promotes.

GE Money's (GE) Earth Rewards MasterCard (MA) takes 1 percent of all purchases and uses the money to invest in greenhouse gas reduction projects like capturing methane, planting trees and building wind and solar power plants.

The Earth Rewards site lists "3 Easy Steps toward Reducing Your Climate Impact: 1. Choose Reward. 2. Shop. 3. Offset."

The malaise of US consumerism is an area that needs to be addressed as well.

Environmental call in global glitz

Microsoft's MSN reached a landmark global audience of over 10 million for the webcast of this weekend's multi-venue Live Earth concerts to combat the threat of global warming.

The promoter of this global extravaganza Al Gore, former US vice president hopes to spread awareness about our ailing planet. As international music stars lit up stages across the seven continents, international broadcasters of the 24-hour concert series was expected to reach 2 billion.

This global party is a desperately need act to wake up many still in slumber about the alarming damage to our environment caused by greenhouse gases and what action can be taken to reduce them.

Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign , which is using a powerful multimedia platform - films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others - to move people to combat the climate crisis.

Live Earth urged everyone to support a seven point initiative to reduce greenhouse gases.

(1) To demand United States join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;

(2) To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become 'carbon neutral;'

(3) To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;

(4) To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;

(5) To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;

(6) To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,

(7) To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.

Pope goes green

Finally the Vatican has sent a strong signal calling on the faithful to protect the earth. Mother earth is in pitiful state and several species may get wiped out due to the looming changes expected on the climate caused by industrial pollution and global warming.

The Vatican yesterday added its voice to the alarms from churches around the world that abuse of the environment is against God's will. The Pope has urged that the one billion-strong Catholic church must become far greener.


At the Vatican conference on climate change, Pope Benedict urged bishops, scientists and politicians - including UK environment secretary David Miliband - to "respect creation" while "focusing on the needs of sustainable development".

An interesting speculation among some evangelical leaders suggest that global warming is not human induced and they have argued that the collapse of the world is inevitable and will herald the second coming of Christ.

Their younger leaders who have broken ranks with them are working to influence politicians and financiers formulate environmentally sound polices to bring about sustainable development.

Second Earth has thirteen days a year

This artist's rendering, released by European Southern Observatory, shows the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581.
Photo: AP/ESO

More on this story here.

Capitalism and Environment

While scanning through the net, here's a gripping article that I came across which is definitely worth thinking about.

Capitalism in not sustainable by its very nature. It is predicated on infinitely expanding markets, faster consumption and bigger production in a finite planet.

Business is the cornerstone of every capitalistic economy. Most of the countries in the world practise capitalism in one form or the other.

The world's scientists have warned that hundreds of millions may be at risk due to the impacts of global warming and the ensuing climate change.

The industrialised world and the developing countries that are pursuing a relentless pace of economic development need to heed the scientific findings and reduce the deadly greenhouse gases that is adversely affecting the planet that we live.

It is time for governments and business corporations to show strong leadership, not only to grow economic prosperity but to do it in an environmentally sustainable manner.

That seems to be the challenge faced by the world.

Doom glooms due to global warming

A new global warming report issued Friday by the United Nations paints a near-apocalyptic vision of Earth's future: hundreds of millions of people short of water from the Ganges delta in India to the deserts acrosss China, extreme food shortages in Africa, a landscape ravaged by floods and millions of species sentenced to extinction.

This is a dire prediction and the consequences are scary and atlast everyone agrees that this climate change is a reality although there are still some who quibble on the causes of it. Whether the causes are human induced or not, it is a life-threatening crisis that must be faced and action must be taken now to reduce green house gases to reverse this deadly trend.

Protecting industrial development and an unsustainable lifestyle at the cost losing lives is foolhardy.

We, the humans, the most intelligent species living on this planet have also become its biggest threat.

Australia's green idea

The Australian government has announced plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs across the country.

Australia is enacting legislation that calls for the standard household bulb, the incandescent, (which wastes 95% of the energy it uses), to be phased out within three years.

In what will be touted as a world first, this effort to phase out the standard incandescent light bulb demonstrates Australia’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal Government figures suggest energy used for household lighting in Australia contributes up to 12 per cent of coal-energy greenhouse gas emissions and around 25 per cent of emissions from commercial and public lighting.

It is felt the change to fluorescent lighting could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the order of 800,000 tonnes a year by 2012.

Environmentally, Australia has taken a step in the right direction. Get rid of the light bulb. What next for the sake of the environment!

Final warning on earth's warming

According to a just-released UN report, the world will be a much hotter place by 2100.

In a conference in Paris, officials from 113 countries agreed that global warming was "very likely" caused by human activity.

As the delegates held their evening session, the Eiffel Tower, other Paris monuments and concerned citizens in several European countrie switched off their lights for five minutes to call attention to energy conservation, heeding a call by French environmental campaigners.

The Americans who lead as the world's largest polluter, had walked away from the Kyoto pact which required the commitment of the rich industrialised countries to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases, sparking widespread criticism.

The impact of the catastrophic human suffering and financial losses of shutting down oil refinaries caused by hurricane Katrina and Rita on the US Gulf Coast together with the increasing ferocity of other hurricanes and tornadoes seems to have woken up the Americans.

The Bush administration has said the human role in climate change is no longer debatable following the report. ``Human activity is contributing to changes in the Earth's climate,'' Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said at a press conference in Washington. ``That issue is no longer up for debate.''

At long last, common sense which isn't too common is prevailing. The humans are beginning to be convinced that the rising temperature of the earth has to be a consequence of the action the humans.

Dead Sea is dying again

An ecological disaster is waiting to happen. Hidden in the world's deepest valley is the biblical Dead Sea which is the lowest point on the earth, 1300 feet below sea level.

You can never drown in the Dead Sea, you can only float there. The Dead Sea is facing massive evaporation and there are fears that the sea may dry up in another three decades. The river has lost so much volume because it is used to supply the farms and cities of Israel, Jordan and Syria with water.

There is a study to divert water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea but no one is sure what would happen if waters from two different bodies of salt water are mixed. The Dead Sea needs a fighting chance to survive. Increasing political tensions in a thirsty middle east may give no easy answers to raise the receding levels of this 'sacred river.'

A Picturesque Lake

It's the crater lake in Oregon, USA. This lake was formed about 7500 years ago, when a volcanic mountain collapsed on itself. Its incredible blue color comes from its depth and clarity. Sunlight penetrates deep into the water and only blue light is reflected back.

Global Fisheries Face Peril

Fisheries experts have raised the red flag.

The world's fish and seafood populations will collapse by 2048 if current trends in habitat destruction and overfishing continue, resulting in less food for humans.

The unsustainable over-fishing together with pollution and other forms of over-exploitation is having a disaterous effect on the marine ecosystem.

Fisheries experts are recommending the establishment of "no-fishing" zones and ocean reserves, and banning destructive fishing practices.

They also want to promote commercial fish farming that can take the pressure off fisheries habitats, giving time for the depleting fish stocks to recover.

A grim warning on climate

Sir Nicholas Stern, an eminent economist with the UK Treasury, who was commissioned by Britain's Cabinet Office to review the economics of climate change has issued a 700-page STERN REPORT today.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the report was the most important one received by the government during his period in office.

Stern's review shows the world needs to spend 1% of gross domestic product to combat global warming.

For Britain, that would be £11bn a year from industry, government and ordinary people. The British government has already started to give grants for ordinary people to install energy-saving technology in their homes.

The review calls on the international community to sign a new pact on greenhouse emissions by next year rather than in 2010/11, when they had planned to agree a successor to the Kyoto agreement on cutting carbon dioxide and other gas emissions.

Even if immediate action is taken to cut pollution, slow acting greenhouse gases will continue to have an effect on the environment for another 30 years, the report adds.

It is also time for the biggest polluters like the USA, to cut down greenhouse gases, for without action the report says 200 million people could become refugees as their homes are hit by drought or flood.

The Stern report gives a stark warning , reminiscent of the Great Depression that was a worldwide economic downturn which started in 1929. The rich nations are now put to the test to avoid another great depression, mass migration and untold human suffering.

Australia moves to curb global warming

Like the United States, the world's biggest polluter, Australia has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change saying that it will adversely affect the Australian farming industry.

Now under pressure from academics and experts, the Australian governmnet has established a special $500 million fund to be used in partnership with companies and state governments to invest in new technologies designed to produce cleaner fossil energy and also renewable energy.

Starting this week, the Australian Government will announce the first projects to be supported out of this fund.

The wine industry is Australia's fastest growing rural enterprise with an annual gross value of more than $5 billion, including $2.7 billion in export earnings.

According to a scientific study, global warming will hit Australian winegrowers hard, possibly reducing the area suitable for vineyards by more than 40 per cent by 2050.

The grape growers will need to adapt, perhaps moving to cooler areas while they keep pressure on their government to introduce measures and cut down greenhouse gases in line with the the Kyoto accord.

Click to see greenhouse effect.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A picture that took nine years to obtain and was almost deleted at the last minute has won the prestigious Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

Goran Ehlme's shot of a walrus feeding on clams on the sea floor is a whirl of grey; the animal's face is seen poking through a cloud of disturbed sediment.

Technorati tag: Wildlife photography

The world's most polluted cities

A US-based environmental charity The Blacksmith Institute says three of the hotspots are in Russia, with the remainder dotted in various countries as marked on the map above.

The institute surveyed scientists and environmental bodies across the world to compile its list, and is running clean-up projects in some of the sites.

Happiest Countries !!!

Researchers at Britains University of Leicester have used an array of statistical data, plus the subjective responses of 80,000 people worldwide, to map out well-being across 178 countries.

Denmark and five other European countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and Iceland, came out in the top 10, while Zimbabwe and Burundi pulled up the bottom.


Countries that are happiest are those that are healthy, wealthy, and wise. The most significant factors were health, the level of poverty, and access to basic education. Population size also plays a role.

Smaller countries with greater social cohesion and a stronger sense of national identity tended to score better, while those with the largest populations fared worse. China came in No. 82, India ranked 125, and Russia was 167. The U.S. came in at 23.

Why have Asians done poorly on this happiness chart?

It is hard to understand without knowing all the details of what went into the survey.

Most Asian countries have strong collective identity, family bonds and all members of the family pull together for each other. This may be changing because of the pressures of modern-day life of materialism and intense competition.