Updates

Here I am going to put some updates to previous blogs (with links).

Navy Sonar - In my blog about using "national security" as an excuse for avoiding environmental or other laws, I mentioned the lawsuit against the US Navy to prevent them testing a new type of sonar ("active sonar"). Well, recently the appeals court ruled for the Navy, removing a lower court injunction against the test. Interesting is this line in the court's opinion "We are currently engaged in war, in two countries.". But Afganistan is landlocked and the people were fighting in Iraq have no submarines. Sounds like Navy misinformation has won out.

Climate Change and Human Rights - About six months ago I wrote a very short point about the Inuit in Alaska related to human rights violations:

An interesting twist to the global warming debate. But a very valid point. The Inuit in Alaska has filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights claiming the US government's inaction on global warming in violating their human rights.

The UN and some Pacific Island countries have also recently made statements equating human rights and global warming.

Sustainability - My last post was entitled "Is Sustainable Development Dead?". Some more examples:
Lao Dams - Laos has a couple of large dam projects. Here is a report on one of them. It says the expansion of Theun-Hinboun dam would cause "serious flooding, ruin fisheries, and displace thousands of people". Yet the fact is all most all of the electricity produced at these dams is not for Laos, but sold to neighboring countries.

Water Wastage in Delhi - With all the economic growth of India, it cannot even manage the domestic water supply in its capital. Interesting quote "There is no water shortage in Delhi, just inefficient management of water resources".

Water and Sanitation - The same article as the previous example points out that we will probably miss the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the number of people without basic sanitation and access to safe drinking water.

Biofuels - In two blogs I discussed the problems with biofuel. Another problem, shown recently by the Agronomy Society of America, is that with increased demand for biofuels some have identified corn residue as a source. However, this residue is vital for being used to replace soil organic matter and reducing soil erosion.