Obama considers off-shore drilling

Obama would consider off-shore drilling as part of comprehensive energy plan
By MICHAEL C. BENDER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, August 01, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG — U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes.

"My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.


"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done," Obama said.

Off-shore drilling has become a push-button issue in the presidential campaign since Republican candidate John McCain announced his support to open more of the country's coastline for drilling in order to reduce gas prices. Both candidates are campaigning in Florida today.

Obama has opposed exposing more coastline to drilling, saying that oil companies have not fully explored the areas open to drilling now and insisting that it would have little immediate impact on prices at the pump.

After speaking to a capacity crowd at Gibbs High School auditorium in St. Petersburg, he told the Post he would be open to expanding the current drilling boundaries if it meant winning approval for more fuel-efficient cars, developing alternative energy sources and making the country more "energy independent."

"I think it's important for the American people to understand we're not going to drill our way out of this problem," he said.

"It's also important to recognize if you start drilling now you won't see a drop of oil for ten years, which means its not going to have a significant impact on short-term prices. Every expert agrees on that."

McCain has tried to paint Obama as an obstacle to lower gas prices in a pair of television ads that boast McCain's off-shore drilling position while blaming Obama for $4-per-gallon gas. Neither of the ads have targeted Florida voters.

Once a taboo topic in Florida politics, some Republicans in the state, including Gov. Charlie Crist, have said they'd be willing to explore Florida's coast to combat soaring gas prices.

"The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on drilling," Obama said in the interview. "And so we don't want gridlock. We want to get something done."

Meanwhile, watch as McCain makes his statement on off-shore drilling here:

The cutest (and best) letter-opener ever!

Forget about scissors, knifes, actual letter-openers and other gadgets. Get a cute, little bunny like this one to get all your mail opened in no time at all:

Florida no longer the "Sunshine" State

Time Magazine's Michael Grunwald recently wrote an excellent article on all the problems that South Florida's currently facing, including the housing and economic crises. Of the environmental crisis, he speaks at length.

Here, an excerpt of Grunwald's Is Florida the Sunset State?:

Florida now has 18 million residents, most of them south of Orlando. Such progress had a price. Half the Everglades is gone. The rest is polluted, disconnected and infested by invasive species ranging from fast-growing ferns to pythons.(Personal note- read about Florida's python problem here)

And South Florida is having an ecological and hydrological meltdown, the legacy of a century of plumbing and dredging and growing without much thinking. The Everglades ecosystem now hosts 69 threatened or endangered species, and its rookeries and fisheries have crashed. Massive algal blooms are turning Florida Bay into pea soup. The region's reefs have lost up to 95% of their elkhorn coral; persistent red tides have made it tough for sunbathers to breathe at the beach.

Now the rainiest swath of the country is running dry, facing a specter of structural droughts. And the dike around Lake O. is leaking so badly that water managers routinely dump billions of precious gallons out of the lake to avoid a 1928-style calamity, ravaging estuaries and draining the region's water supply. This spring the lake fell so low that 40,000 acres of its exposed bottom burned out of control, along with 40,000 acres of the perennially parched Everglades National Park...

Read the entire article here.

Picture of the day: Sleepy bengal tiger cub

One of two white Bengal tiger cubs at the Saskatoon Zoo in Saskatoon yawns following his feeding. The tigers' mother Rani didn't have milk, so the cubs, just over one month old, are currently cared for by zoo keepers.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Geoff Howe)
Source: Yahoo.com

Happy Birthday, Tai Shan!

Tai Shan, one of the country's most beloved giant pandas, is celebrating his third birthday today!

Lil' Butterstick (as he is also known) was born at the Smithsonian National Zoo on July 9, 2005, to proud parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

His birthday celebration is great news to conservationists and panda fans alike since pandas are a highly endangered species. To make matters wose, they have a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity.

The fact that Tai Shan's is turning three and is in excellent health is a conservation success story- he is only the third giant panda to be born in the United States and survive. He is also the first surviving panda born at the Smithsonian National Zoo in its 119-year history.

As a special birthday present, Tai Shan got not one, but three popsicles filled with frozen bamboo leaves and orange slices. He also got to enjoy a huge water-and-gelatin fruitcicle in the shape of a number three!




It's not too late to send Tai Shan a Happy Birthday card! You can do so by a adopting a panda or making a donation.

Fla. biologist saves 375 lb. bear from drowning

A Florida biologist saved a 375 lb. black bear from drowning after it fell into the Gulf of Mexico's waters Tuesday.

The bear had been shot with a tranquilizer dart by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists who wanted to safely remove him from a residential area.

The intent was to take him to nearby woods, but as the medicine started to take effect, the bear fell into the water unconscious.

That's when FWC biologist Adam Warwicks took off his shirt and shoes and bravely dove in the water to rescue the bear.

Watch the video.

Video: Gov. Charlie Crist announces deal to restore Everglades

Source: The Palm Beach Post

Governor Charlie Crist approves deal, acquires 187,000 acres for the Everglades

From The Palm Beach Post:
BY Staff writers Dianna Smith and Jennifer Sorentrue

WST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and other state leaders signed off Tuesday on the outlines of a $1.75 billion deal that will give United States Sugar Corp. six years to end its operations while handing taxpayers control over 187,000 acres in the historic northern Everglades.

Crist called the purchase "as monumental as our nation's first national park" — Yellowstone, created by then-President Ulysses Grant.

Besides helping restore the Everglades, environmentalists hope, the purchase also would allow the state to end the harmful dumping of noxious Lake Okeechobee water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. Instead, the water could flow through marshes that would cleanse it and return it to the Everglades. Read more...

UPDATE: Blockbuster land deal faces many obstacles

See a slideshow here.

Get ready to Dump the Pump!

Tomorrow is National Dump the Pump Day!

People are encouraged to leave their their cars at home and instead, discover the benefits of public transportation. As the slogan of this holiday states, SAVE THE MONEY, SAVE THE PLANET.

So why not take the bus or ride the train (in Florida- the Tri-Rail) ? You'll just have to sit back and relax while the bus or train safely takes you to your destination. You won't have to worry about wasting gas or polluting the environment.

Now that's what I call a great idea!

Need more reasons to dump the pump?

UPDATE: June 20, 2008
Below: As an incentive to get riders on public transportation, Tri-Rail joined with other agencies to celebrate "Dump The Pump Day" in Palm Beach County Thursday, June 19, 2008.

Photo and caption by Palm Beach Post photographer Chris Matula.

Study: Guys with "green" cars get all the babes

The results of recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors are in: girls dig guys who drive ecologically-conscious cars.

Among the findings (as published on Yahoo.com):

-Nearly 9 in 10 women (88 percent) say they'd rather chat up someone who owns the latest fuel-efficient car versus the latest sports car.

-Eighty percent of American car buyers would find someone with the latest fuel-efficient car more interesting to talk to at a party than someone with the latest sports car.

-More than 4 out of 10 (45 percent) 18- to 43-year-olds say it's a fashion faux pas nowadays to have a car that's not green or environmentally friendly. (Of course, this doesn't mean that a man has run out and buy a hybrid right away. I mean if he can, great. But just as long as he drives a car that isn't a major offense against the environment and he makes the effort not to drive as much, or plan his trips accordingly, that's just as good.)

Recently a guy who drives a Hummer asked me out. I was coming out of the bank and there he was, standing in front of his H3, thinking he's all that, trying to make conversation. At some point, I asked him if he was aware of how much gas it wastes and how bad it is for the environment and he replied- "Well, it doesn't bother me. I can afford it, you know?" What a jerk! I wasn't interested anyway, but it's just perplexing how ignorant people are in regards of being kind to our planet.

Anyway, back to the study-it was part of a competition in which engineering students had to build vehicles utilizing innovative automotive technologies that would minimize the environmental impact of personal transportation and "illustrate pathways to a sustainable transportation future."

Personally, I totally agree with the study. To me, a man who's actually eco-conscious is incredibly attractive. (Other things taken into account as well, of course.)

I've never really cared about what kind of car a man drives. I had always thought that was superficial and irrelevant. But now things have changed. In these times when we really have to be aware of what kind of impact our actions have on our planet, I must say that I now do pay attention to things like that, not because I care how much money a guy makes or his "status," but because I care how much HE cares about the environment.

Now that's HOT!

French "Spiderman" climbs NYT building, draws attention to global warming

This week, Alain Robert, dubbed the "French Spiderman," scaled the walls of the New York Times building in Times Square, New York.

In a press release he said the stunt, which he performed Tuesday, June 5, was "a peaceful way to create support for far greater and urgent action from world leaders on global warming."

While climbing, he hung a large, yellow banner with a message about the urgency in taking greater action against global warming.

He was later arrested and charged in a Manhattan court Friday, but released on parole, court officilas said.

Still, his action was nothing short of admirable and ingenious (but kids, don't try this at home!). His stunt, and the message behind it, definitely drew the attention of not only New Yorkers, but people around the country and around the world.

Bravo, monsieur!

Climate Change Bill dies in the Senate

The Senate today brought the Climate Change Bill to an end, at least for this year, as it did not get the votes it needed to proceed.

The Senate begun debating the bill Monday. Democrats moved to end debate and move to a final vote, which required 60 votes to pass, but failed, with 48 in favor and 36 against. Take a look at how your state Senator voted here.

The bill would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases. Specifically, it would have required U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases to peak in 2012, then gradually decline by about 2 percent a year until 2050 - for a total reduction of about 66 percent from current levels.

For more details about the bill, read this posting from The San Francisco Chronicle.

Bill supporters drew attention to the gravity of the climate change crisis. Although absent, presidential candidate Barack Obama, said in a statement that "The future of our planet is at stake." Meanwhile, Senate majority leader Harry Reid called climate change "the most important issue facing the world today."

Democrats blamed the Republicans for the impasse. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, issued this statement:

A reckless and cynical minority has denied the Senate—and the American
people—the meaningful and long overdo debate on global warming their
constituents have been clamoring for. While the Senate leadership and a
bi-partisan group of Senators sought to debate the solutions to our
ever-deepening environmental and economic crises, the Republican leadership
instead used theatrics to tie the Senate in knots for the sole purpose of
"making political points."

Even if the bill had pushed through the Senate, President Bush had threatened to veto the legislation. The bill may have a better chance next year with a new president who will hopefully understand the importance of doing something on a legislative level about the climate change crisis.

Happy Earth Day!

Today, the planet celebrates Earth Day!

According to the New York Times, nearly 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970. In the decades since, Earth Day has spread across the globe with thousands of events in more than 180 countries.

From its beginning, the event influenced environmental politics, triggering such national legislation as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

Organizers of the first celebration wrote in their manifesto:

"Earth Day is a commitment to make life better, not just bigger and faster.
It is a day to re-examine the ethic of individual progress at mankind's
expense."

Here, some agency pictures from today's Earth Day celebrations around the world:

Above, children paint pictures with soil to commemorate Earth Day in Panama City, Tuesday, April, 22, 2008.(AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Above, environmental activists perform on the eve of Earth Day in Makassar, Indonesia's South Sulawesi province, April 21, 2008. The performance is a call to protect trees on Earth. REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad (INDONESIA)

Above, on the eve of the internationally recognized 'Earth Day,' Taipei's city government writes 'Cool Below 2 Degrees' on the side of the Taipei 101 building to address global warming in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, April 21, 2008.(AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Above, President George W. Bush, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, (R), and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L), shovel dirt before planting a tree in honor of Earth Day while in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 22, 2008.(Larry Downing/Reuters)

The most important thing to remember, though, is that Earth Day is not just today, it's everyday!

Pope says pollution is a sin

"Thou shall not pollute the Earth."

Pollution is one of the new seven deadly sins, according to a statement released by Pope Benedict XVI this week.

In regards to the list, Senior Vatican official Gianfranco Girotti, said an offense against God “is not only stealing or coveting another man’s wife, it is also destroying the environment.”

The list appeared in the Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

The list of new sins also includes genetic engineering, abortion and pedophilia.

According to a Los Angeles Times article, the Catholic Church is not the only one to take a stand for the environment. The Southern Baptist Convention, this month announced plans to fight global warming, the article reads, and the California diocese of the Episcopal Church recently appointed its first canon for environmental ministry.

Photo: Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press

Solar-powered flowers "dance" in exhibition

Recently, thousands of multi-colored, happy-faced flowers were on display at the entrance of the European Union council headquarters in Brussels .

This was the "Dang'cing Solar Flowers" exhibition, which featured a total of 10,000 solar flowers- flowers powered by solar energy. Its purpose was to raise public awareness on energy conservation issues.

The top picture shows a man as he places one of the solar flowers for the exhibition, which was organized by the Slovenian Presidency for the 50th Jubilee of the Treaty of Rome and the 20th Jubilee of "Sustainable Development."

Meanwhile, the picture on the bottom shows a man as he walks by the "field" of solar flowers late in the afternoon, when the flowers started lighting up by using the energy obtained from the sun during the day. As you can see, some of the flowers in the picture seem blurry, but that's only because they also shook around as if they were dancing using their stored solar power, creating an eye-catching display of light, color and movement.

Population and Environment

"Population growth is the primary source of environmental damage."
-Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997)French explorer, researcher and ecologist.


"The idea that we can just keep growing forever on a finite planet is totally imbecilic.... Technology does nothing to solve problems of biodiversity or living space or arable cropland.... Fresh water and arable cropland are finite nonrenewable resources.... We are already far beyond what we can support sustainably.... The provincial view you get from someone living in some wealthy American East Coast city is wildly different from reality. Most of the world is tropical, hungry and poor. Visit the developing world and southern hemisphere and you get a very different view of reality."
-Paul R. Ehrlich, Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and author of The Population Bomb.

World's cheapest car means bad news for the environment

This week, India's Tata Motors unveiled the world's cheapest car- the Nano.

The bubble-like vehicle will only cost $2,500.

Some facts about what has been nicknamed the "People's car:"

* Length: 3.1 meters

* Height: 1.6 meters

* Width: 1.5 meters

* Engine: Rear-wheel drive, 2-cylinder, 623 cc, multi-point fuel-injection petrol engine. Engine is rear mounted. Tata said it was the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine was being used in a car with single balancer shaft.

But what about its fuel efficiency?

According to its manufacturer, it's 20km/ liter . Tata Motors assures that its emission performance exceeds current regulatory requirements, adding that it produces lower overall pollution level than two-wheelers made in India.

Initially, the idea of being able to buy what seems to be a fuel-efficient car for only $2,500 sounds like great news. For the people who, up until now, have had to rely on less practical forms of transportation because they could not afford a car, the possibility of buying a Nano means mobility.

But when you think about it, the fact that more people will be able to have a car means that there will be more cars on the road. It is scary to think that thousands, possibly millions of cars could be added to our already crowded highways, which would, in turn, create higher levels of exhaust emissions, all of which can only mean one thing: more pollution.

According to an IBN (India Broadcasting Network, a CNN partner) article, "there are already over one million cars being added on Indian roads every year and this is expected to triple by 2015. Tata's has made no bones about the fact that the Nano targets 1st time users, 2 wheeler owners, and people in rural areas, which accounts to almost 60 million users."

Sixty million users!= Sixty million cars!

All of which makes me wonder- if they're able to come up with such such a cheap and tiny car, why don't automobile manufacturers invest their technology and resources in meeting the demand for greener cars? What we need, what the planet needs, are good, economic, stylish cars that run on hydrogen or some other sort of environmentally-friendly fuel.

I'm glad to find out that others share this point of view.

In Indians hit the Road Among Elephants, an article that appeared in The New York Times, Rajendra K. Pachauri, economist, environmental scientist and chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is said to have "sharply criticized the small car boom, questioning Tata Motors in particular for devoting itself to building cheap cars rather than efficient mass transportation."

Meanwhile, Rata Tata, president of the Tata Group, answers the following question in the company's own website:

"About the criticism that the car will add to India's pollution problems, why are the Tatas being singled out?"

To which he basically draws a parallel to Swatch watches.

I'm sorry, Mr. Tata, but cars aren't watches. Watches don't produce toxic fumes that pollute the environment, cars do.

Quote of the Day: John Muir and Nature

In every walk with nature one receives
far more than he seeks.

-John Muir (1838-1914), writer, conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club.

Boca Raton conservationist saves turtles in Costa Rica

Dr. Kirt Rusenko is something of a celebrity among marine life lovers, not only in Boca Raton but in South Florida. But now, his popularity, might extend all the way to Costa Rica, especially among sea turtles.

He's the leading marine conservationist and researcher at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Complex in Boca Raton, a marine life research center that also provides a home to many endangered sea turtles.

According to yesterday's Palm Beach Post article, Turtle wizard is guiding light in Costa Rica, Rusenko was recently invited to Playa Grande, Costa Rica, to address the country's sea turtle nesting decline. Playa Grande, a 3.5-mile white sand beach that lies on the country's North Pacific Coast, supports a major nesting colony of leatherback turtles, a species that is endangered worldwide.

Pressure from real/estate developers to build oceanview condominiums may jeopardize the survival of the leatherback turtle in that area. According to the article, as it is, the beach is already seeing fewer turtle nests. There were 13,000 female leatherbacks nesting on Playa Grande in 1989. In 2006, there were only 56., the article states.

Because of this, the Costa Rican government invited Dr. Rusenko to evaluate the present situation and develop ideas for the implementation of more protection laws to preserve this turtle species.

Dr. Rusenko is also working on improvements to the Gumbo Limbo Center to accomodate even more sea turtles. To read more about it, read the article by Palm Beach Post reporter Gretel Sarmiento here.

New Year welcomed by Times Square's "green" ball drop

Once again, more than a billion people from all over the world ushered in the new year as they watched Times Square's ball drop.

Following tradition, the 1,415-pound crystal ball slid down the flagpole high atop the New York City building.

Breaking with tradition, the brightly illuminated ball's 672 crystals were lit, for the first time ever, by more than 9,500 energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LED's).

According to The Times Square Alliance, the not-for-profit organization in charge of Times Square's development, when the Times Square new year's ball tradition began a century ago, the ball weighed 700 pounds, was made of wood and iron, and was lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs.

For its 100th birthday, the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball was more than twice as bright as the 2000-2007 ball (which used crystal light bulbs and strobe lights), with enhanced color capabilities and state-of-the-art LED lighting effects. This lighting technology substantially increased the brightness and color capabilities of the Ball.

The exclusive use of LEDs also improved the Ball's energy eficiency. Event officials explained to CNN that the Ball used only about the same amount of electricity as 10 toasters.

CNN also mentioned that over the past week, visitors from across the country wrote their messages on a Times Square "Wishing Wall."

"I want to turn the world green and the water clean," one person wrote.

Definitely a great resolution to work on this year.

Here's to a better, greener, healthier planet...

Happy 2008!