Police clash with protesters in Chile

Chilean police used a water cannon to disperse protesters.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181149.html

Police in the Chilean city of Valparaiso have clashed with demonstrators protesting against the government of President Sebastian Pinera's policies.

Most demonstrators were peaceful, but bands of hooded protesters attacked police and smashed shop windows and damaged other properties.

The demonstration -- organized by the country's main trade union movement, the CUT -- was in protest at Pinera's environmental, education and labor policies, state-run BBC reported.

Protesters said his promises were “in the opposite way from those the populations were demanding.”

Many had come to protest against the construction of a dam that would flood 6,000 hectares of land in the remote southern Chilean Patagonia.

The environmentalists predict that the construction of the dam will not only have immediate impacts on the Chilean ecosystem, but will affect the environment of neighboring Argentina, and in the long run will affect the Latin American countries of Uruguay, Paraguay and even Bolivia.

But the government says the HidroAysen project is needed to meet Chile's increasing demand for electricity and is expected to give its final approval in June.

"We can't say we need energy, consume it abundantly, and at the same time oppose all of its sources," said Pinera during his state of the nation address.

Besides HidroAysen, Pinera has approved the construction of three very pollutant coal thermo-electric plants this year, one of which will be the biggest in Latin America.

Chilean officials have ruled out nuclear energy following Japan's nuclear disaster, saying Chile is as seismic as Japan.

The Latin American country witnessed an 8.8-magnitude earthquake on February 7, 2010 which entailed a tsunami.

Oil leak threatens Louisiana's marshes

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127159&sectionid=3510203


The BP oil leak has spread into US wetlands, prompting furious Louisiana officials to accuse the oil giant of destroying fragile marshes beyond repair.

A top local official in southern Louisiana said on Thursday that oil washing ashore has destroyed 24 miles of the state's fragile marshland.

According to Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the threat mainly affects fish, birds and mammals.

With some of the worst fears of environmental disaster being realized in the marshlands of the Mississippi Delta, BP was also forced to admit that it had underestimated the amount of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

The British energy giant had always maintained that only 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons of crude was gushing each day from a pipe ruptured when its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded one month ago and sank.

Independent experts have warned the flow could be at least 10 times higher.

Solution to Global Warming & Pollution

By: Stewart Brennan

Solution to Global Warming and Pollution

The Living World as we know it, is faced with the possibility of extinction at every level. No longer can we reject the consequences of Pollution to our Soil, Air, and Water. The term "Global Warming" is a warning, so we better start thinking and acting before it’s too late. It isn’t enough to say that we will “study the problem” or take a “lets wait and see stance”. It's time to take serious action now, on a Global scale and do it collectively.

Man is sharing the threat of extinction with all other life forms on this planet, and man is to blame. We can no longer ignore the signs of environmental degradation, pollution, industrial waste, desertification, disappearing animal species, war, starvation, the shortage of drinking water, and an exponential population explosion.

The Root Cause of Global Warming:

For over 60 years, (Since the end of WW2) the world has seen massive growth in industrialization. Millions of Companies have developed a wide range of products and sold them to consumers nationally and internationally. These products range from plastic dog poop to huge recreation vehicles. The speed at which we consume can be seen by the progress and impact of communication. We started with Radio, added television, then the internet, and now personal hand held devices that combine all of those mediums into one where you can be reached anywhere, at any time, by anyone, including advertisers.

The methods of manufacturing, and the management of the resulting waste, were, and still are not properly regulated. Corporate decisions are made by corporate stockholders in favour of higher profit at lowest possible cost. The sacrifices made every time are the considerations of morality regarding life and the environment. There has never been a set of moral laws put in place to govern what a company can and can't do. Greed prevails and the result is like giving a virus free reign in a petri dish.

The concept term called "Global Warming" should not be the sole focus, because it is narrow in scope and does not address the problems. Pollution in general needs to be dealt with if we are going to sustain a livable Biosphere for all living things. Greed and the lack of moral responsibility in planning and decision making, are at the heart of the matter.

If we are going to have a serious look at Global Warming then we must start looking at the root causes. Ie: We need to do the math...

Sustainability 101: Exponential Growth - Arithmetic, Population and Energy

Source: Sustainable Guidance

We will need to change the way we live...change our values because the way in which we live is not sustainable.

David Suzuki just wrote a letter on obsolescence where technology is moving so fast that a new product may only have a one-year shelf life. An electronic product available this year will not be available next year due to so called improvements. The result is that you get stuck with a battery recharger, and an extension cord that no longer has a function because it does not fit the new product, or any other product for that matter.

What happened to standardization, or long lasting products? What is alarming is that we are consuming at an exponential rate converting materials and fossil fuels into disposable products and discarding them faster than ever before, and for what? So that some shareholder will make money? What will you use the money for when the living environment is completely destroyed by corporate greed?

Indigenous Native American Prophecy (Elders Speak part 3)

Video Source: Mad Razor Ray

What are our options? You know that those in charge will not change directions...Global Warming? Maybe it should be given a new name..."Global Greed". If we don't do anything about global greed, we will not survive the exponential direction it takes us...

The Solution

We need to seriously re-examine our priorities. We have two choices: the pursuit of money with the status quo of exponential growth or the pursuit of sustainability and the preservation of life...

The solution is to change our way of thinking, and that change starts with the individual. It's really that simple...

Regulation

The idea of changing how we govern ourselves and industry must start at the personal level. Governments are elected by the people therefore it is every individual’s responsibility to weigh the situation and vote for change in policy. Government is elected by the people to act in its interest. Do not be fooled otherwise. Tell your politicians to take action. If we the people are willing to commit to regulation changes then I believe we would be able to attack the root causes of environmental destruction for the better health of our children and our Planet. We only get one shot at this because an environmental collapse is looming. The longer we stay undecided and argue amongst ourselves, the worse our environment will become. We cannot reverse all the damage already done, but we can stop industrial pollution in its tracks and reverse the damage. However, we must act now, or we risk greater, irreversible damage. The longer we take a wait and see attitude, the more unpredictable the future will become because we will continue to loose species at an accelerated rate, loose our potable water, and increase the risk of global depression or War.

The proposed Policy change will attack Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Unemployment, International Trade, militarism and remove the exponential wasteful consumer debt societies raging out of control in trade for the better health of every species on our Planet.

Proposal Brief:

Kyoto is the start that is needed, but if everyone is truly serious about attacking Pollution and the destruction of our environment, then it is time to create a body within our countries that “Employs” and puts science in charge of solutions. A research facility should be built in each State or Province within each country. Each State / Provincial body would be responsible to govern industry, farming, waste etc. and would be linked to the National body. Information, research, and solutions will be shared throughout the world.

The research results of the body could then be put into proposed solutions and passed onto a “rebuilt” United Nations where all nations meet to compare notes. The United Nations would then become a central point of shared information and solutions where International Laws could be adopted.

An agreement between all Nations could then produce an efficient trade agreement whereby acceptance would create a universal product coding system. Accepted products would then be issued a unique import / export number.

Industrialization, farming, water resources, reforestation, and waste will be managed efficiently, which will ultimately slow the destruction of our environment, perhaps even stop it. Research into new technologies could allow us to reach our goal of a sustainable living planet sooner.