current events: february 18, 2010

U.S. Offers Solar Project a Crucial Loan Guarantee

by: todd woody published: february 22, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/business/energy-environment/23solar.html?ref=earth

the u.s. department of energy is going to offer a loan that would help supply funds for a solar-energy power plant. there are two sides to the equation here though, due to its location in a desert, the desert tortoise, as well as other rare plants will have their environment taken over. in this respect, the project is a bad cause because it is destroying the environment that is only 45 miles from Las Vegas. on the flip side, the energy supply is renewable because it is the sun. with this being said, solar energy is being utilized in a power plant instead of say a nuclear power plant. this is a step in the right direction as far as generating power goes.

current events: February 4, 2010

Gasoline Rises After Unexpected Supply Drop.

by the Associated Press
February 4, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/03/business/AP-Oil-Prices.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=oil&st=cse

Last week, there was a sudden drop in the amount of oil for the U.S. naturally this would cause concern, but it was corrected, and oil totals went back up. If this isn't a warning to realize that oil is running low, then i don't know what it. For the u.s. to lose that much oil in one week-there was a drop of 1.3 million barrels- then we need to think of ways to combat this now. people are always trying to get new energy methods invented, but in reality, it seems there is a feeble attempt at really doing this. gas prices are all over the place, and its ridiculous for the world to stand back and continue to drill. it is astounding how this is happening.

Current Events: January 21, 2010

New Rule Would Bar Illegal Fishing Vessels From Ports

by Colin Miner

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/new-rule-would-bar-illegal-fishing-vessels-from-ports/

January 19, 2010

There has been a law passed internationally that would ask for the decline of illegal fishing. There have been many boats recorded that have taken part in illegal fishing, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is trying to crack down on the industry. There are fish in high demand that are being captured as a result from this and that is not fair to the fish, especially if they are endangered the integrity and the environment. i really like this law to be passed, becasue the environment gets a lot of heat for not reason because humans have to have everything. we should learn to share with the other inhabitants of this earth.

Current Events: January 14, 2010

China Tries a New Tack to Go Solar

by Keith Bradsher

Januray 8, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/business/energy-environment/09solar.html?ref=earth

China is already on the way to being one of the world leaders for using wind energy, nuclear energy, and photovoltaic energy. But now since the energy crisis is more relevant more than ever, China has decided to look into the solar energy field. The way this works is for mirrors to capture the rays of sunlight and convert them into energy, it is an alternative way to use electricity. The only problem that China has is that the most sunny place in the country is the desert within the interior of the country. And not many people live in the desert, which makes it difficult for the rays to be captured and converted. I like the path in which China is going, but they need to think of a way to get a hold of this energy. They need it now more than ever.

Current Events: January 7, 2010

Large Oil Spill Reported in China

By David Barboza
Published: January 3, 2010

SHANGHAI — A large oil spill in northwest China has heavily polluted a tributary of the Yellow River, and threatens to reach one of the country’s longest and most important sources of water.

There was a leak of a pipeline in China that contaminated the Yellow River on a large scale. The cause of the leak is unknown, but there have been actions taken to remove the contaminated materials in the area. I like what China is doing about this whole situation, because the officials are at least getting rid of the material that would cause harm for the people further down the river. The problem i do have with this whole thing is where are they putting the material that's contaminated? They obviously aren't putting it somewhere were it will disappear so it needs to be somewhere in the country. This doesn't sit right with me because other land will be infected with this, and the environment will pay the price too. China is doing the right thing, but they can improve on what they are doing. Maybe they can convert the contaminated stuff into other things to put less stress on the environment.

Current Events: December 10, 2009

Prairie Dogs Deemed Not Endangered

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: December 2, 2009

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Black-tailed prairie dogs were denied protection under the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday after federal officials concluded the once prevalent species showed signs of rebounding.

This article is relevant to our class discussions lately about endangered and extinct species. According to federal officials, the black-tailed prairie dogs are no longer on the endangered species list and are now rebounding back to a healthy population size. There is a problem here though in that there is a new prairie dog poison that is supposed to repel the animals, but it has also hurt a bald eagle and two badgers, actually it killed them and there are other animals supposedly that were harmed by this chemical. I have a problem with this, solely because the prairie dog is a keystone species, so why would we be hurting it more first of all. And secondly, it just got off of the endangered species list, what are we doing that would be okay to go ahead and poison these animals. We need to have a reservoir for these critters so they can come back strong.

Current Events: December 4, 2009

The Doctors Where Real, the Patients Undercover

By DOUGLAS HEINGARTNER

Published: November 30, 2009


EDE, the Netherlands — It had all the markings of a television detective show. Posing as patients, three undercover observers got themselves admitted as patients to a locked psychiatric ward to investigate conditions on the inside.

This article is about the conditions of the mental hospitals that people go to in the Netherlands, and around the world. The idea here was to have fake patients go into the hospital and with the help of other undercover people, find the conditions of which the people must live in. To me, this is a very smart idea because it gets a first person perspective on the life of a mental hospital. Although i think that they should actually have the cameras on the patients rather than the visitors to get the full effect. It is important to have these places be as comfortable as possible because the people who live there are very unstable sometimes and need the environment around them to be soothing. Overall i agree with the idea to to surveillance on these wards, but it should be done in more of a discreet and more detailing way.