Ringling Bros. Elephant Announcement Brings Welcome Second Surprise
The March 5 announcement by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that it will halt the use of elephants brought additional, welcome news to circus-going families. Donald Trump announced via Twitter he too will end his appearances at The Greatest Show on...
Another Oil Train Bursts Into Flames as Fears Go National
A demand by the environmental organization Riverkeeper to "Stop the Bomb Trains" was once derided by critics as hyperbole. No longer. On Thursday, 21 of 103 railcars carrying Bakken crude derailed, causing some to burst into flames alongside the Upper Mississipi River...
Global Is the New Local: Pollution Changes Clouds, Climate Downstream
By Carol Rasmussen NASA's Earth Science News Team Aerosol emission and transport, 9/1/06 to 4/10/07. Also included are locations, indicated by red and yellow dots, of wildfires and human-initiated burning. Via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center The residents of Beijing...
Obama “Quietly” Vetoes Keystone by Nate Beeler
Associated Press: "The federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people." «« »» Nate Beeler's...
Hudson Valley Foie Gras Steals the Name “Hudson” to Sell Animal Cruelty
One of the Hudson Valley's bragging rights is that the name "Hudson" sells. It attracts tourism. Recreational outfitters tag it to their names. There are books about Hudson Valley cuisine. Businesses proudly carry the descriptors Hudson, Hudson River, Hudson...
Obama Keystone Action a Veto not a Pledge
As we reported was likely, Congress' passage of a bill to construct the Keystone XL Pipeline has proven to be symbolic. President Obama today vetoed the measure, an action more directed at protecting presidential authority than the environment. The administration has...
Virtual Reality by Andy Singer
Palmer Luckey, chief executive officer of Oculus, the virtual reality company Facebook bought for $2 billion in 2014, told The Guardian, “People are narcissists and they want people to see what they think are their amazing lives.” «« »» From Everydaycitizen.com: Andy...
W.V. Oil Train Derailment: Worry Closer to Reality on the Hudson
Overnight, the fireball of the West Virginia oil train derailment alongside the Kanawha River gave fresh credence to year-old demands by Hudson River environmentalists for greater controls over the "virtual pipeline" of crude oil traveling by freight rail through the...
Sentient Being by Rainer Hachfeld
On January 28, the French National Assembly voted to change the status of animals from "furniture" to "sentient beings," a long overdue reform of a policy that dates to Napoleonic times. More from RT.com. «« »» Rainer Hachfeld was born in Ludwigshafen in 1939. He is...
Local Polystyrene Ban Brings American Chemistry Council to Putnam County, NY
While I was en route to hear the American Chemistry Council argue against a proposed ban on polystyrene in Putnam County, NY, National Public Radio broadcast a story about Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia whose study, published this week in Science,...
Saddest Show on Earth by Y&R for PETA
Out of the Public Eye, the Global Economic Community Plans for Environmental Disruption
The global water crisis and climate change receive equal billing with unemployment and cyber security in the World Economic Forum report Global Risks 2015: As last year, concerns about environmental and economic risks remain, in particular around failure of...