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The top nine teams in NASCAR for the first time have formed a single entity to collaborate on initiatives and issues facing their sport. The goals of the Race Team Alliance include lowering costs for teams and creating one voice on issues facing them.Comments
John Force raced to his 140th career victory on Sunday, beating Ron Capps in the Funny Car final in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.Comments
Aric Almirola won the rain-delayed and rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, putting Richard Petty's famed No. 43 in Victory Lane for the first time since 1999.Comments
Steady rain forced NASCAR to postpone Saturday night's Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The Coke Zero 400 will start at 11 a.m. Sunday.Comments
On the Fourth of July, Kres Vandyke celebrated his independence from the rest of the Independence Clash 125 field at Kingsport Speedway.Comments
Fans of Josh Wise now have Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 11-year reign as NASCAR's most popular driver directly in their sights. Voting opened Saturday for the award, which is sponsored by Sprint and the National Motorsports Press Association.Comments
David Gilliland might have summed up Daytona qualifying best."It's uncontrolled chaos out there," Gilliland said Friday after landing the pole in a rain-shortened and somewhat hairy session that set the field for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night at DayComments
Both venues will hold a 125-lap Late Model Stock Car race with $2,000 going to the winner of each event. The Clash will begin Friday night at Kingsport Speedway and then head to Lonesome Pine Raceway on Saturday.Comments
Inclement weather washed out much of Sprint Cup practice Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. Bad weather is fairly typical for the July race at Daytona, and teams seemed prepared for it.Comments
Keselowski dominated Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway from the start, leading a race-high 199 of 267 laps on his way to his second series win of the season.Comments


text:
Home Depot will offer free home repair seminars to parents of students in the Detroit Public Schools.
The district says the 30-minute "Fix It Up Thursdays" workshops will be available through the district's eight Parent Resource Centers.
Staff from the home improvement giant will demonstrate faucet repair, patching holes, laying laminate flooring and installing shelves.
The program is scheduled to be announced Thursday morning.
Parent Resource Centers are spread across the city. They are designed to involve parents in their children's education. Various kinds of training, homework, studying and other workshops for parents and students are offered.
A W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant helps fund the centers.

subset: commoncrawl


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In Photoshop CS5 Essential Training, author Michael Ninness demonstrates how to produce the highest quality images with fantastic detail in the shortest amount of time, using a combination of Photoshop CS5, Adobe Bridge, and Camera Raw. This course shows the most efficient ways to perform common editing tasks, including noise reduction, shadow and highlight detail recovery, retouching, and combining multiple images. Along the way, Michael shares the secrets of non-destructive editing, utilizing and mastering Adobe Bridge, Camera Raw, layers, adjustment layers, blending modes, layer masks, and much more. Exercise files are included with the course.
One of the most common techniques that people want to accomplish when they're working with multiple layers in a Photoshop document is how do you blend more than one layer together. It not only just means by changing the opacity between two layers but actually controlling where you see different parts of the image. So, in this particular file, I've got two layers, a White layer and a Pink layer. I'll turn off the White layer here, so you can see the Pink layer behind at the pink flower. Now what I want to do is see a part of the pink flower blending into the white flower. Now the best way to do that is to use a layer mask.
So, on the White layer I've got that chosen. I'm going to go to the bottom of the Layers panel, and there's an Add Layer Mask button. And that adds a layer mask filled with white on that particular layer. Now white means reveal all, all right? Everything where there's a white on this particular layer mask show me the area of the image where I see white in that thumbnail. If I want to hide a portion of that white flower and start seeing the pink flower underneath it, then I need to put some black pixels on the layer mask. Now, if I get my Brush tool, type a B for the Brush tool and pick a really big brush, I'll hold down Ctrl+Option on the Mac or Alt+Right-click on Windows and start clicking and dragging to the right to make the brush pretty big.
And if I start painting with black on this layer, you can see I can just paint in exactly where I want that pink flower to show up. And if I take a look at the layer mask, everywhere there is gray-- in this case because my Opacity value is set to 56%. Everywhere where there is a gray, I'm going to start seeing the pink flower below. I can make the brush a little bit smaller by using my left bracket as well, a different technique. I'll type 0 to get my opacity back to 100%, and then I can paint in somewhere else where I want that pink flower to show. So, here I'm just getting a natural blend between the two layers simply by painting with black, white or gray on the layer mask.
If I want to bring some of the white flower back, I'll press X to exchange the foreground and background colors and I'll paint with the opposite color back over where I had previously painted with black. Now what you might want to do instead is actually have this gradual blend between the two in a nice smooth fashion. Of course, that would be using a gradient. So, I'm going to press the G key in my keyboard to switch to the Gradient tool. And the default gradient is from the foreground color to the background color, which happens to be white to black. And you can see I get a little preview of what that gradient looks like.
So, I'm going to start clicking and dragging with the Gradient tool. I still have my layer mask selected over here in the Layers panel. I'm going to go ahead and click and drag to drag out a gradient. Now, the default gradient replaces everything that's on the layer mask already. So, all that painting that I've done is replaced with this smooth from white to black gradient and gray in between. Everywhere there is black on that layer mask thumbnail, I'm hiding the Daisy flower. Everywhere it's white, I'm revealing the Daisy flower. So, where I see black here that's where I'm going to see the pink flower behind that other layer.
Now where you drag actually makes a difference. So, where you click is where the gradient begins and where you let go is where the gradient ends. And then it does gray transition between the two clicks. If I drag really far from left to right, let's say, you can see I get a much smoother transition between black and white or between opaque and transparent. Everytime you drag with the default gradient, you are replacing the previous gradient. You can go at an angle as well. If I do a really short drag, you'll see I get a very sharp transition between the two.
If I drag further, I get a smoother blend. So, you really need to just decide where you want these two images to blend together. If I want to go from here to here, you can see that now I don't want those two yellow centers to be seen at the same time. So, I'm just going to click and drag and kind of do something like that. Now if you want to be a little bit more creative and actually build up the gradient layer mask, you can change the type of gradient you use. Instead of from white to black, you can click up here on the little up the little ramp up here and go from foreground to transparent. So, I'm going to go ahead and click that second gradient option there.
And what this does is instead of replacing the current gradient on the layer mask, it's going to add it to the layer mask. So, I can actually build up multiple strokes here. I'm going to switch my colors from white to black to black and white. I'm going to press X to exchange my foreground and background colors. And now you can see, as I click and drag multiple times, I'm actually getting this custom blend between the two by just doing multiple drags and if you kind of take a look at the thumbnail over here in the layer mask, you're actually seeing this custom mask being built. If you ever want to see the mask by itself in a large view here, hold down the Option or Alt key and click on the layer mask itself.
And then you'll see what that mask looks like in full size there, instead of just relying on just a little tiny thumbnail there. Option+Click or Alt+Click to bring the image back. It's a way to temporarily view that layer mask in isolation just by Option+Clicking or Alt+ Clicking on the thumbnail itself. So, there you have it, a basic technique of blending multiple layers together just by throwing on a layer mask on the given layer and then using the Gradient tool to really dial in where you want that blend to happen between those two layers.
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text: The 5.45×39.5mm caliber SLR-104FR rifles feature a mil-spec stamped receiver, hammer-forged and chrome-lined barrel, and left-side folding polymer stock. The stock set is manufactured to the true original design and utilizes mil-spec reinforced polymer. The buttstock uses the standard 4.5mm pin that is interchangeable with other standard side-folding stocks with 4.5mm diameter pin holes. The side-mounted scope rail allows usage of many attachments that are designed for this type of rail, including Arsenal's latest SM-13 scope mount. On SLR-104FR, Arsenal uses its own US made fire control group with two-stage hammer and trigger that completely eliminates trigger slap and increases accuracy. The SLR-104FR has the standard 24×1.5mm right-hand threads with a removable muzzle brake. The stainless steel heat shield keeps your hand cool from the heat of the barrel. This rifle also features both a bayonet and accessory lugs on the front sight block and gas block. The SLR-104FR will be available in black stock set, desert sand stock set, and with left-side folding metal stock. Included in the rifle are one 30-round Bulgarian Arsenal Circle 10 magazine, sling, oil bottle, cleaning kit, and cleaning rod.


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Full of Snow
As the month of April comes to a close, most individuals in the Midwest will likely not forget this month for a very long time. The residents of one city in particular definitely had a month to reme...
Posted on 4/30/13 at 6:11 AM
The Goby and the Lamprey
Standing along the Duluth harbor in view of the Duluth lift bridge last Thursday afternoon, I found myself doing something rather out-of-the ordinary - fishing. Oh, fishing is nothing new to me - it ...
Posted on 6/20/11 at 9:35 PM
Advocates say urban farming feeds the poor, provides jobsDuluth could soon be awash in home-grown vegetables if two new programs taking seed this spring sprout as organizers hope.
By John Myers , May 17, 2010
First saltie arrives in Twin PortsDULUTH, Minn.— The first ocean-going ship to arrive in the Twin Ports this season will carry tons of Midwestern wheat back to Italy where it will be used for pasta.
April 08, 2010
Local interest in veggie gardening growsIn all his years working as a county extension educator, Bob Olen has never seen such tremendous interest in locally produced fruits and vegetables.
By Jana Peterson , March 15, 2010
Some in Minnesota find profits in raising goatsDULUTH, Minn. – Danyel Filipovich couldn't quite believe it when she heard that Big Red had made the news.
By By Janna Goerdt, Forum Communications Co. , January 03, 2010
Duluth's farmers market studied by MBA studentsWhile local farmers are nurturing fruits and vegetables this summer for the Duluth farmers market, college students will be fine-tuning finance and marketing options to improve the health of the nearly 100-year-old nonprofit organization.
June 01, 2009
Chester Creek concerts, senior fun and outdoor moviesDuluth Parks and Recreation have lots to offer everyone this summer, from senior activities to free outdoor movies and concerts at Chester Creek. Complete listing of concerts and movies included.
May 27, 2009
More than 900 pies expected for CHUM's Rhubarb FestivalMore than 900 rhubarb pies, along with jams, breads muffins and other rhubarb foods, are expected to be sold at Churches United in Ministries' fifth annual Rhubarb Festival.
May 19, 2009
Hartley to offer summer programs at Duluth parksHartley Nature Center will be offering Urban Wilderness Camps at city parks in Duluth this summer.
May 15, 2009
Duluth school district reports first swine flu caseDistrict officials were informed by the Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday morning that a student attending Homecroft Elementary School has the virus.
By Sarah Horner and Andy Greder , May 15, 2009
Allete's new president will lead environmental effortsAlan Hodnik, Allete's new president, has been with Minnesota Power since 1978, most recently serving as the company's chief operating officer.
By Peter Passi , May 13, 2009
What's that Business? Northland Organizing
May 11, 2009
Preservation group says jail endangeredThe former St. Louis County Jail has again made the top 10 list of most endangered historic places in Minnesota, as pressure to raze it continues.
By Candace Renalls , May 08, 2009
Gardeners' mecca planned for lower Chester BowlDuluth's Lower Chester Bowl could become a garden haven as the first project of Friends of the Parks, a new nonprofit group of volunteers.
By Candace Renalls , May 07, 2009
Northland has escaped the worst of the flu before. How about now?Local news coverage of pandemics in 1957 and 1968 reported schools closing and thousands sick. Now, we know more about handling major flu outbreaks.
By Jana Hollingsworth , May 03, 2009
Flu pandemic? No panic in the NorthlandThe level of concern about swine flu seems to be rising in the Northland but there's no panic, staff members at area pharmacies, travel agencies and hospitals said Monday.
By Jana Hollingsworth , April 28, 2009
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- REHEARSAL FRI 7/10 - 6 pm to 10 pm / SAT 7/11 - 11 am to 3 pm / SUN 7/12 - 12 noon to 4 pm. / FRI 7/17 - 6 pm to 10 pm. // PERFORMANCES: SAT 7/18 - 9 pm / THURS 7/23 - 9 pm / THURS 7/ 30 - 7 pm / WED 8/5 - 7 pm / FRI 8/7 - 7 pm / IF YOU ARE FREE WEEKDAYS - 3 pm to 5 pm but not mandatory for the role. / NON-EQUITY ONLY. / All rehearsals & performances are at Manhattan Repertory Theatre 303 W. 42nd St (at 8th Ave) NYC
- Seeking submissions from: New York, NY; NEW JERSEY, NJ
Seeking Immediate Replacement Actor and Understudy For THE MATCH GAME One of our actors is experiencing some health issues so we are seeking a replacement actor to play at least 2 full performances of The Match Game and be available for the other 3 performances. Seeking: Big Bobby B, a ...58 minutes ago
- Seeking submissions nationwide/worldwide
models are needed for a shoot, 22years and above and apply, email firstname.lastname@example.com for more info, thank you3 hours ago
- Filming July-August 2015
- Seeking submissions from: Los Angeles, CA
Casting "BATMAN BEYOND: The Series", a fan-made, non profit film project, funded by Indiegogo that will be broken down into a seven episode web series.4 hours ago
- Production dates: July 5th-July 19th. Hollywood, Los Angeles, Ca.
- Seeking submissions from: Los Angeles, CA
Once In Love is documentary series that tells heartbreaking love stories of everyday people, which will be a conversation with those people who have been through love lost sharing their experiences. Now we are branching out. And that's this brand new podcast show. We are looking for you who are ...8 hours ago
- Posted On: July 2nd, 2015 Production Length: 2-3 days Production Location: New York City, Hampton Bays and Southampton Shoot dates: July 26th to 28th Deadline for submissions: July 10th at midnight
- Seeking submissions from: New York, NY
Independent record label Day One (www.thisisdayone.com), is now casting the lead female in the pilot music video for the label's principle artist, Shah. Filming will take place in Manhattan and Southampton from July 26th to July 28th. The video will capture a cinematic visual aesthetic, with avant-garde utilization of landscapes ...9 hours ago
- Rehearsals start Sunday, July 12. Tentative rehearsal dates will be every Sunday, for 3-4 hours. There will be six shows in Los Angeles, scheduled for Sept. 25-27 and Oct. 2nd-4th. One performance will be performed for NAACP members.
- Auditions: Jul 4 in Hollywood, CA
[LOS ANGELES] Seeking AA men and women for the stage play, "JUICY". The story centers around Mia, a sweet young female who carries the burden of always being judged by her outer appearance. However, her mother, friends, and others think she should take advantage of the physical gift she was ...10 hours ago
- Shooting in November in Brooklyn, NY. Exact dates are TDB.
- Seeking submissions from: New York, NY
Casting "With Love," which tells the story of two high-school sweethearts' reunion in New York City for a final closure. This is the sequel to a foreign box office movie by an award-winning director.11 hours ago
- Shoots September-October in NYC.
- Seeking submissions from: New York, NY
Casting "Language Barrier," a multi-language heartwarming short film, set in New York, that tells three stories of people from different ethnicities and how their interactions, despite the language barrier, change their lives forever. Check out the teaser at https://youtu.be/BHDgQ7dZqpk12 hours ago
Improv Groups & Stand Up Comedians Wanted:
- Shakytown Live is a full time comedy club located at 5010 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. We are showcasing new performers and groups on the following dates: Friday July 9th (8pm) Thursday July 15th (8:30pm) Performers and groups that do well will be invited to return for future performing opportunties.
- Seeking submissions from: Los Angeles, CA; North Hollywood, CA; West Hollywod, CA
Improvisers and stand up comedians are wanted for showcases at the new Shakytown Live Comedy Club in North Hollywood. Stand up comics will be given 5 minutes to showcase with their own original material. Improv groups will be given 15-20 minutes.13 hours ago
- Audition day 12th July. Shoot dates TBC between but 13th-27th of July. There will be 2-3 shoot days, lasting a few hours each no more than four. Location - ALL Brooklyn TBC
- Seeking submissions from: New York, NY
Call for Actors/ non Actors from Mexico City and living in Brooklyn, NY. It is a experimental film by a visual artist filmmaker, it is part documentary / part fiction. Film Synopsis: Sunken (Working Title) The basic premise is inspired by the fact that Mexico City is built on the ...13 hours ago
- Filming August 7, 8, and 9
- Seeking submissions from: Los Angeles, CA
STRANGERS: The story of two strangers from opposite sides of the Civil War who meet in the woods and must make a life or death decision.14 hours ago
- Casting Session Date: Monday July 6th, 11am - 5pm Hollywood/Los Feliz area Shooting Dates/Description: Shoots July 27-30 near Desert Hot Springs. Talent must be avalable for only 2 of those days. We'll be spending the night in and/or around Desert Hot Springs, so room, board and transportation costs are covered by production.
- Seeking submissions from: Los Angeles, CA
Casting: Male, Late 20s to Early 30s. Any ethnicity. A music video for artist Boh Doran on Big Stuff Records debuting a solo EP - "White Knuckles" - recently featured on the Spotify Viral Chart. This video follows our singer driving into the desert, recalling moments from a past relationship ...14 hours ago
- Shoot in August 1st
- Seeking submissions nationwide/worldwide
models,actors and dancers are needed for this photo shoot with the age 27yrs upward.15 hours ago
The Vince Show - Sn. 2, Ep, 9: French New Wave
- Production: 7/19/2015 5-6pm Location: DromeBox Laboratories Optional Rehearsal: 7/16 @ 11pm-12am (DromeBox Laboratories)
- Auditions: Jul 12 in Los Angeles, CA
Each episode of "The Vince Show" pairs a popular internet personality with a different era/style of modern film technique. This episode will feature the styles of Luc Godard and the French New Wave. Show Outline: -5 Minute "Cold Open" -15 Minute Interview with Featured Guest -25-35 Minute "New Wave Production" ...16 hours ago
- Rehearses July and August for performances at Theater for the New City Community Space (dance floor, proscenium seating) in NYC.
- Auditions: Jul 6, 8 in New York, NY
Casting "Float," a musical set for five performances as part of the Dream Up! Festival. Synopsis: "Float" is a surrealistic wildly wonderful tantric four-element musical about the outrageous journey of adventurous characters dedicated to creating harmony between humanity and the natural world.16 hours ago


text:
Sacaton Middle School
San Juan School District
Shonto Middle School
Tuba City Jr. High School
Monument Valley High School
Student Webpages
Cholla Power Plant
Fort Valley Experimental Forest
Grand Canyon Field Trip
Carl Bowman of the National Park Service showed students several air quality monitoring stations at the Grand Canyon. Students saw the transmissometer at Grand View, which receives and measures a beam of light shot from Moran Point. The transmissometer helps Bowman calculate the particulates in the air by measuring the amount of light lost between points. Students also viewed the nephelometer and particle sampler. Every three days the particle sampler's filter is sent to an off-site lab where the particulates are identified.
Bowman told students the most significant factor effecting air quality at the Grand Canyon is vehicle emissions, while coal emissions run a close second.
NAU || ITEP || EPA || Home
EEOP Staff
Environmental Education Outreach Program (EEOP)
Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP)
PO Box 5768
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5768
Phone: (928) 523-1275
Fax: (928) 523-1280
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Last updated: May 27, 2005


text:
Talking to Your Child About Drugs
Children today are exposed to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs at increasingly younger ages. The media is rife with images that promote smoking and drinking as "cool," fun, and a natural part of life. That's why, more than ever, parents need to talk to their kids about the perils of drugs and help them separate fact from fiction. But how do you get started?
According to experts, it's best to develop an ongoing dialogue with your child -- starting in the preschool years if possible -- and to look for spontaneous, everyday situations, or "teachable moments," in which to lay the groundwork for open, honest communication. The best news? Research shows that children who hear the facts about drugs and alcohol from their parents are significantly less likely to use them. Here's how to begin.Ages 3 to 5
During the preschool years, children have strong ties to their family and seek their parents' approval. This is a great time to teach kids about good nutrition, proper hygiene, and developing a healthy lifestyle. It's also a good time to help children develop the decision-making and problem-solving skills they'll need later in life. Between the ages of 3 and 5:
- Talk to your child about the joys of healthy living. Discuss how good she feels when she's eaten a nutritious meal, gotten enough rest, and taken care of her body. Talk about how a healthy child can run, jump, and play for hours on end.
- Allow your child to make some decisions. Whenever possible, let your child make simple choices, such as what to wear or what to have for lunch. Even if his clothes are slightly mismatched, or he asks for peanut butter and jelly yet again, it's important now to reinforce his ability to make decisions.
- Encourage your child to be responsible for her health and well-being. Turn chores such as brushing teeth, putting away toys, wiping up spills, and caring for pets into fun experiences your child will enjoy. Break down the activities into manageable steps so that she learns to develop plans and solve problems.
- Teach your child about dangerous substances in his environment. Point out poisonous substances in your home, such as bleach or kitchen cleansers, and read the product warning labels out loud to your child. Explain that harmful substances don't always come with such "warnings," and that your child should only ingest a food or prescribed medication that either you, a relative, or other known caregiver has given him.


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Use kitchen shears to cut 1 to 2 pounds chicken strips into desired serving pieces. Season with salt and ground black pepper, and set aside. Place 2 cups panko bread crumbs in a small shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Beat 3 egg whites in a small mixing bowl. Dip chicken tenders into the beaten egg whites, and toss them in the panko crumbs. Place the breaded chicken tenders on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the crumbs are browned and the chicken is firm. (I baked mine for 10 minutes, and then turned them and baked them an additional 2 minutes. You may want to reduce the heat to 400 degrees and increase your baking time, depending on your oven.) While the chicken tenders are baking, prepare your dipping sauce: Place ½ cup Italian salad dressing and ½ cup apricot preserves in a small pot. Heat over low heat, until the sauce is smooth and completely blended. Remove from heat, and let sauce return to room temperature before serving. To serve your Baked Chicken Tenders with Dipping sauce, place a few chicken tenders on a nice serving plate, and pour a generous amount of dipping sauce into a small cup alongside the chicken tenders. This is great tasting, and great for your diet! I hope you enjoy it! --Betty
This video is a creation of bettyskitchen. You can visit bettyskitchen for complete recipes, and more videos.


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On January 17, 2014, the Texas Supreme Court held that the Railroad Commission of Texas (the "Commission") has the authority to adopt a gas utility rate schedule providing for automatic annual adjustments based on increases or decreases in the utility's cost of service under the Gas Utility Regulatory Act ("GURA"). Tex. Coast Util. Coal. v. R.R. Comm'n of Tex., No. 12-0102 (Tex. Jan. 17, 2014), available HERE.
In 2008, CenterPoint Energy Resources Corporation ("CenterPoint") notified necessary parties of its intent to raise its rates with a proposed rate schedule that included a "cost of service adjustment" ("COSA") clause permitting the rate to increase or decrease annually without the necessity of a full rate case. Tex. Coast Util. Coal., slip op. at 1-2. Several cities and state agencies opposed the proposed rate increase before the Commission. Id. at 2. The Commission ultimately approved the rate increase, but not the full amount proposed by CenterPoint. The Commission also revised the COSA clause as part of the final rate schedule. Id. The rate schedule approved by the Commission included three main components – a base rate, a tax adjustment tariff, and a Purchased Gas Adjustment tariff. The revised COSA clause was included as part of the base rate. Id. at 12.
The cities and state agencies opposing CenterPoint's rate schedule argued that (1) GURA does not authorize the Commission to include COSA clauses as a component of a base rate; and (2) the COSA clause violates GURA by avoiding CenterPoint's procedural requirements for future rate increases and depriving municipalities of their original jurisdiction over those proceedings. Id. The Supreme Court disagreed. Id.
The Texas Supreme Court held that GURA expressly authorizes the Commission to include COSA clauses in base rate components. Id. at 13-14. As justification for its holding, the Court first concluded that GURA authorizes the Commission to establish rates. TEX. UTIL. CODE §§ 104.001(a), 104.105(a), 104.110(a)(1), and 103.055(b). The Court then concluded that the COSA clause constituted a "rate" as that term is defined in §101.003(12). In making this determination, the Court looked at the two-part definition of "rate" and found that GURA authorizes the Commission to establish what a utility demands, observes, charges or collects, as well as practices affecting a utility's charges and compensation. The COSA clause, the Court concluded, is a practice affecting a utility's charges and compensation. Tex. Coast Util. Coal., slip op. at 13-14. The Court rejected the opposition's arguments that this construction of GURA is inconsistent with the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program statute, prior court holdings regarding PGA tariffs, or the Commission's own rules. Id. at 14-22.
The Court also held that the revised COSA clause complied with GURA and did not usurp the municipalities' jurisdiction. Id. at 22-30. GURA requires a utility to timely file a statement of intent to increase its rate which permits a regulatory authority or affected person to contest the proposed increase. TEX. UTIL. CODE §§ 104.102(a), 104.105. However, the Court noted that once a rate is approved pursuant to a proper rate proceeding, it does not need to be re-approved each time it is applied. Tex. Coast Util. Coal., slip op. at 24. Because the Court concluded the revised COSA clause was, by definition, a "rate," changes in the amount charged to a customer due to fluctuations in the variable inputs of the COSA clause did not constitute a change in "rate." Id. The COSA clause formula remained the same, thus the "rate" remained the same. Id. Similarly, the Court concluded that the COSA clause did not need to provide for a full GURA rate case prior to an annual adjustment because the COSA clause and adjustment are the product of a full rate case, in which the municipalities were afforded all of the jurisdiction, powers, and duties that GURA grants to them. Id. at 28-29. Furthermore, the revised COSA clause permitted municipalities to either deny an annual adjustment and participate in an appeal process to the Commission or initiate a ratemaking proceeding to decrease CenterPoint's rate if they considered the rate as a result of the COSA clause to not be "just and reasonable." Id. at 29.
This decision solidifies the Commission's authority to approve rate schedules including a cost of service adjustment clause providing for automatic annual adjustments based on increases or decreases in the utility's cost of service under the Gas Utility Regulatory Act. This authority helps to reduce regulatory lag and allows the utility's actual revenues to more closely match the approved rate of return.
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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
© Jackson Walker
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Liz Tilatti
Liz Kammel
My Stats
|Contributor Since:
|June 2012
|Chicago, IL
About Me
I'm the CEO and co-founder of ZipFit Denim, which is an e-commerce company that helps men find their best fitting jeans. I came up with the idea for ZipFit while carpooling with a bunch of grad school classmates. I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics & Economics from Emory and an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to ZipFit, I worked with two other startups and in consulting. My first job was at the Gap selling jeans, and I've now started a company that does exactly that. Outside of my love for jeans, I enjoy playing soccer, painting and playing with my cat, Euler.
I'm Known For...
being able to guess your jean size and fit
My Biggest Regret
not jumping into startups in college
I Truly Respect
entrepreneurs who fail and try again
Blocks I've Been Around
Chicago; Atlanta; Cairo; Siena; Jackson, MI
My Other Website
What I'm Currently Addicted To...
This Is Annoying Me...
my cat scratching and ruining my couch
This Is Bringing Me Joy...
finding jeans for you
Can't Do Without
chocolate, Excel & soccer


text:
Samsung HMX-H300
The H300 records 1080/60i high-definition, offers a relatively deep 30x optical zoom, sports a 3-inch LCD touchscreen, and has manual picture controls found on many higher-end camcorders.
- Solid build quality
- Decent low light performance
- 30x optical zoom
- Mediocre picture quality
- Subpar audio pick-up
- Manual lens cover
Quick Take
The H300 is not a bad buy for the family's first camcorder, owing much of that to its solid build. Serious videographers, however, might want to venture further up the price chart for their next device.
Read Our Full Review: Samsung HMX-H300 HD Camcorder Review
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text:
Many nutritionists and food industry critics interviewed in recent days have said they don't object to the proposed new name. Instead, they're focusing their energy on the overconsumption of sweetened foods that they blame for the ballooning of American waistlines and the associated rise in diabetes and heart disease. They just want Americans to consume fewer sugars of any type.
"Quite frankly, high fructose corn syrup is the same thing as sugar from a calorie perspective," said Laurie Tansman, nutrition coordinator for the Department of Clinical Nutrition at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. "The issue is that people are consuming too much sugar. The bottom line is people have the cut out the amount of added sugar they're consuming, especially if they have a weight problem."
But Kelly Brownell, director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, in New Haven, Conn., said it's more complicated than that.
"There was a while when the prevailing science suggested there was something different about high fructose corn syrup; that it affected satiety differently," Brownell said. "Then, some science came out saying that wasn't so much the case.
"Then, the thinking was sugar is sugar. And then there was a recent study at Princeton ... done with animals, but pretty concerning," that suggested high fructose corn syrup was metabolized differently.
The Princeton researchers found that rats fed high fructose corn syrup gained more weight than rats fed table sugar -- even when they consumed the same number of calories.
In another study published in March and also sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, researchers found that over the course of six months, rats eating a diet rich in high fructose corn syrup gained more weight, had higher triglyceride levels in their blood and developed more belly fat than those eating rat chow only.
Brownell compared the industry's push to change the product name to cigarette maker Philip Morris "changing its name to Altria. If you get a really bad black eye, the solution is to just change your name. Most consumers won't notice."
In thinking about the corn sugar name as well as name changes of other products, Brownell said: "It shows how this is all about marketing and not morality. There doesn't have to be any relationship between the product and its name."
In 1965, James M. Schlatter, a chemist for G.D. Searle & Co., synthesized the chemical aspartame while working on ulcer drugs. He licked his finger, noticed the intense sweetness, and accidentally discovered the product that soon became a staple of the artificial sweetener business.
Because it's 200 times sweeter than table sugar, aspartame can be used in much smaller quantities, thereby reducing the calories associated with it. Aspartame originally reached the market under the brand name NutraSweet, where it became a popular sugar substitute in low-calorie and sugar-free foods and beverages.
Another manufacturer, Merisant, sold it under the brand name Equal. Eventually, agricultural giant Monsanto bought out Searle and continued to market NutraSweet.


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News articles on threats to the amazon
Mongabay.com news articles on threats to the amazon in blog format. Updated regularly.
Bolivia opens protected areas to oil companies
(06/16/2015) A new law has opened millions of hectares of protected areas in Bolivia to oil and gas extraction.
Videos reveal rare birds, wild monkeys, and jaguar family in oil-exploited park
(05/11/2015) A compilation of new camera trap videos from Yasuni National Park shows off rarely seen species like the rufuos-vented ground cuckoo and the short-eared dog as well as odd behavior, like sloths licking salt from the ground. The compilation is produced by Diego Mosquera, manager and head of the camera trap program at Tiputini Biodiversity Station.
Photos: expedition to Amazon's white sands may have found new primate
(03/24/2015) Most people think of the Amazon rainforest as one massive, homogenous ecosystem—a giant castle of green. However, within the Amazon rainforest lie a myriad of distinct ecosystems, sporting unique characteristics and harboring endemic species. One of the rarer ecosystems in the Amazon is the white sands forest.
The Amazon's oil boom: concessions cover a Chile-sized bloc of rainforest
(02/04/2015) Hungry for oil revenue, governments and fossil fuel companies are moving even further into one of the world's last great wildernesses, according to a new study in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The total area set aside for oil and gas in the Western Amazon has grown by 150,000 square kilometers since 2008, now totaling more than 730,000 square kilometers—an area the size of Chile.
Mercury fish: gold mining puts downstream communities at risk in Peru
(02/02/2015) Artisanal, often illegal gold-mining, has swept across portions of the Peruvian Amazon over last decade, driven in part by a rising price in gold. The unregulated industry has resulted in widespread deforestation leading to an environmental disaster. Now a new study finds that mercury pollution has moved rapidly downstream and could be impacting communities at least 560 kilometers away.
Video: camera trap catches jaguar hunting peccaries
(01/26/2015) Catching a jaguar on a remote camera trap in the Amazon is a rare, happy sight. But catching a jaguar attempting to ambush a herd of peccaries is quite simply astonishing.
Ecuador sends aid money back to Germany over planned rainforest visit
(12/23/2014) A visit to a rainforest slated for oil drilling has blown up into a diplomatic row between Ecuador and Germany. Ecuador has said it will no longer partner with Germany on environmental issues and will return aid money, after the South American government discovered that German legislators were attempting to visit the much-embattled Yasuni National Park.
Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2014
(12/23/2014) In 2014, the unimaginable happened: companies representing the majority of palm oil production and trade agreed to stop cutting down rainforests and draining peatlands for new oil palm plantations. After years of intense campaigning by environmentalists and dire warnings from scientists, nearly two dozen major producers, traders, and buyers established zero deforestation policies.
Edited Reality: What I Learned from Filming Eaten Alive
(12/22/2014) On November 3, 2014, I woke up to check my flight status from Bangalore to New York. What I found when I opened my laptop was a mindboggling amount of emails, hate mail, death threats, and interview requests. The numbers were staggering. The night before, the Discovery Channel had aired the first trailers for the show they decided to call Eaten Alive.
Brazilian government silent as deforestation rises in the Amazon
(11/17/2014) Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon continues to outpace last year's rate by a significant margin, reveals data released today by Imazon, a Brazilian non-profit. Imazon's analysis of satellite data shows that for the 3-month period ended October 31, 2014, deforestation is running 226 percent of last year's rate. Forest degradation, which often precedes outright clearing, is pacing 691 percent ahead of last year.
Peru slashes environmental protections to attract more mining and fossil fuel investment
(07/23/2014) In an effort to kickstart investment in mining and fossil fuels, Peru has passed a controversial law that overturns many of its environmental protections and essentially defangs its Ministry of Environment. The new law has environmentalists not only concerned about its impact on the country but also that the measures will undermine progress at the up-coming UN Climate Summit in December.
A garden or a wilderness? One-fifth of the Amazon may have been savannah before the arrival of Europeans
(07/09/2014) The Amazon is the largest tropical forest on the planet, covering about 6.5 million square kilometers, although much has been lost in recent decades.Yet new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) finds that quite recently—just 500 years ago—a significant portion of the southern Amazon was not the tall-canopied forest it is today, but savannah.
Camera trap captures first ever video of rarely-seen bird in the Amazon...and much more
(06/17/2014) A camera trap program in Ecuador's embattled Yasuni National Program has struck gold, taking what researchers believe is the first ever film of a wild nocturnal curassow (Nothocrax urumutum). In addition, the program has captured video of other rarely-seen animals, including the short-eared dog and the giant armadillo.
Next big idea in forest conservation? Learning from innovations to make REDD+ work
(06/12/2014) A scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Brazil, Dr. Amy Duchelle coordinates research on the effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and co-benefits of REDD+ initiatives at the sub-national level in Latin America as part of CIFOR's Gloal Comparative Study on REDD+.
Oil company breaks agreement, builds big roads in Yasuni rainforest
(06/05/2014) When the Ecuadorian government approved permits for an oil company to drill deep in Yasuni National Park, it was on the condition that the company undertake a roadless design with helicopters doing most of the leg-work. However, a new report based on high-resolution satellite imagery has uncovered that the company, Petroamazonas, has flouted the agreement's conditions, building a massive access road.
After throwing out referendum, Ecuador approves oil drilling in Yasuni's embattled heart
(06/02/2014) By 2016, oil drilling will begin in what scientists believe is the most biodiverse place on the planet: remote Yasuni National Park. Late last month, Ecuador announced it had approved permits for oil drilling in Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputinin (ITT) block, an untouched swathe of primary rainforest covering around 100,000 hectares or about 10 percent of the park.
Of jaguars and loggers: new film to showcase one of the least-known regions in the deep Amazon
(06/02/2014) In August, three young filmmakers will go on the expedition of a lifetime. They plan to spend six months filming in one of the most remote, most spectacular, and most endangered ecosystems on the planet: the Las Piedras River system. This unprotected swathe of Amazon jungle contains massive anacondas, prowling jaguars, and even uncontacted indigenous people.
53 indigenous activists on trial for police-protester massacre in Peru
(05/15/2014) In the summer of 2009, on a highway in Peru known as Devil's Curve: everything went wrong. For months, indigenous groups had protested new laws by then President Alan Garcia opening up the Amazon to deregulated logging, fossil fuels, and other extractive industries as a part of free trade agreements with the U.S.
Featured video: celebrities speak out for Yasuni
(04/02/2014) A group of celebrities, including recent Academy Award winner Jared Leto, Law and Order's Benjamin Bratt, and Kill Bill's Daryl Hannah, have lent their voices to a new Public Service Announcement to raise signatures to protect Ecuador's Yasuni National Park from oil drilling.
Oil or rainforest: new website highlights the plight of Yasuni National Park
(03/20/2014) A new multimedia feature story by Brazilian environmental news group, ((o))eco, highlights the ongoing debate over Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, arguably the most biodiverse place on the planet.
Controversial Amazon dams may have exacerbated biblical flooding
(03/16/2014) Environmentalists and scientists raised howls of protest when the Santo Antônio and Jirau Dams were proposed for the Western Amazon in Brazil, claiming among other issues that the dams would raise water levels on the Madeira River, potentially leading to catastrophic flooding. It turns out they may have been right: last week a federal Brazilian court ordered a new environmental impact study on the dams given suspicion that they have worsened recent flooding in Brazil and across the border in Bolivia.
The making of Amazon Gold: once more unto the breach
(02/19/2014) When Sarah duPont first visited the Peruvian Amazon rainforest in the summer of 1999, it was a different place than it is today. Oceans of green, tranquil forest, met the eye at every turn. At dawn, her brain struggled to comprehend the onslaught of morning calls and duets of the nearly 600 species of birds resounding under the canopy. Today, the director of the new award-winning film, Amazon Gold, reports that "roads have been built and people have arrived. It has become a new wild west, a place without law. People driven by poverty and the desire for a better life have come, exploiting the sacred ground."
Featured video: camera traps catch jaguars, anteaters, and a sloth eating clay in the Amazon rainforest
(02/13/2014) These are sights that have rarely been seen by human eyes: a stealthy jaguar, a bustling giant armadillo, and, most amazingly, a sloth slurping up clay from the ground. A new compilation of camera trap videos from Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorean Amazon shows a staggering array of species, many cryptic and rare.
Scientists make one of the biggest animal discoveries of the century: a new tapir
(12/16/2013) In what will likely be considered one of the biggest (literally) zoological discoveries of the Twenty-First Century, scientists today announced they have discovered a new species of tapir in Brazil and Colombia. The new mammal, hidden from science but known to local indigenous tribes, is actually one of the biggest animals on the continent, although it's still the smallest living tapir. Described in the Journal of Mammology, the scientists have named the new tapir Tapirus kabomani after the name for 'tapir' in the local Paumari language: Arabo kabomani.
Could camera trap videos galvanize the world to protect Yasuni from oil drilling?
(11/07/2013) Even ten years ago it would have been impossible to imagine: clear-as-day footage of a jaguar plodding through the impenetrable Amazon, or a bicolored-spined porcupine balancing on a branch, or a troop of spider monkeys feeding at a clay lick, or a band of little coatis racing one-by-one from the dense foliage. These are things that even researchers who have spent a lifetime in the Amazon may never see. Now anyone can: scientists at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park have recently begun using camera trap videos to take movies of animals few will ever view in their lifetimes. The videos—following years of photo camera trapping—provide an intimate view of a world increasingly threatened by the oil industry.
Map reveals gas company flying over Manu National Park
(10/17/2013) A map in an internal Peruvian government report reveals that gas company Pluspetrol has been flying over the protected Manu National Park (MNP) in the south-eastern Peruvian Amazon where UNESCO says the biodiversity "exceeds that of any other place on earth." The over-flight was done via helicopter on 3 February, 2012 by Pluspetrol personnel together with a team from the National Institute e Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afroperuvian Peoples (INDEPA).
Over 100 scientists warn Ecuadorian Congress against oil development in Yasuni
(10/03/2013) Over 100 scientists have issued a statement to the Ecuadorian Congress warning that proposed oil development and accompanying roads in Yasuni National Park will degrade its "extraordinary biodiversity." The statement by a group dubbed the Scientists Concerned for Yasuni outlines in detail how the park is not only likely the most biodiverse ecosystems in the western hemisphere, but in the entire world. Despite this, the Ecuadorian government has recently given the go-ahead to plans to drill for oil in Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) blocs, one of most remote areas in the Amazon rainforest.
Yasuni could still be spared oil drilling
(08/26/2013) When Ecuadorean President, Rafael Correa, announced on August 15th that he was abandoning an innovative program to spare three blocs of Yasuni National Park from oil drilling, it seemed like the world had tossed away its most biodiverse ecosystem. However, environmental groups and activists quickly responded that there may be another way to keep oil companies out of Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) blocs: a national referendum.
Amazonian students help monitor threatened frog populations
(07/01/2013) According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, amphibians are the most threatened group of animals on Earth: currently around 30 percent of the world's amphibians are listed as threatened with extinction. However this percentage doesn't include those species about which too little is known to evaluate (26 percent). Amphibians face many threats but two of the largest are habitat loss and the lethal chytrid fungus, which has rapidly spread worldwide and is likely responsible for numerous extinctions. But conservationists are coming up with innovative and creative ways to keep amphibians from disappearing, including a program from the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) that is working with students in the Peruvian Amazon to monitor frog populations.
Over 30 tons of explosives to be detonated in Manu National Park buffer zone
(06/24/2013) A consortium of gas companies headed by Pluspetrol and including Hunt Oil plans on detonating approximately 38 tons of explosives in the south-east Peruvian Amazon in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. The detonations are part of 2D and 3D seismic tests planned by Pluspetrol in its search for new gas deposits in the Camisea region—plans that are currently pending approval by Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).
Scientists discover high mercury levels in Amazon residents, gold-mining to blame
(05/28/2013) The Madre de Dios region in Peru is recognized for its lush Amazon rainforests, meandering rivers and rich wildlife. But the region is also known for its artisanal gold mining, which employs the use of a harmful neurotoxin. Mercury is burned to extract the pure gold from metal and ore producing dangerous air-borne vapors that ultimately settle in nearby rivers. 'Mercury in all forms is a potent neurotoxin affecting the brain, central nervous system and major organs,'Luis Fernandez, an ecologist and research associate at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, told mongabay.com. 'At extremely high exposure levels, mercury has been documented to cause paralysis, insanity, coma and death.'
Crazy cat numbers: unusually high jaguar densities discovered in the Amazon rainforest
(05/16/2013) Jaguars (Panthera onca) are the biggest cat in the Americas and the only member of the Panthera genus in the New World; an animal most people recognize, the jaguar is also the third largest cat in the world with an intoxicatingly dangerous beauty. The feline ranges from the harsh deserts of southern Arizona to the lush rainforests of Central America, and from the Pantanal wetlands all the way down to northern Argentina. These mega-predators stalk prey quietly through the grasses of Venezuelan savannas, prowl the Atlantic forests of eastern Brazil, hunt along the river of the Amazon, and even venture into lower parts of the Andes.
Amazon: the world's greatest rainforest or internet giant?
(04/25/2013) When you see the word "Amazon", what's the first thing that springs to mind—the world's biggest forest, the longest river or the largest internet retailer—and which do you consider most important? These questions have risen to the fore in an arcane, but hugely important, debate about how to redraw the boundaries of the internet. Brazil and Peru have lodged objections to a bid made by the US e-commerce giant for a prime new piece of cyberspace: ".amazon".
Judge halts military-backed dam assessment in Brazil's Amazon
(04/17/2013) A federal court in Brazil has suspended the use of military and police personnel during technical research on the controversial São Luíz do Tapajós Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. The military and police were brought in to stamp down protests from indigenous people living along the Tapajós River, but the judge decreed that impacted indigenous groups must give free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) before any furter studies can be done on the proposed dam. However, the decision is expected to be appealed.
Indigenous group: Brazil using military to force Amazon dams
(04/08/2013) An Amazonian community has threatened to "go to war" with the Brazilian government after what they say is a military incursion into their land by dam builders. The Munduruku indigenous group in Para state say they have been betrayed by the authorities, who are pushing ahead with plans to build a cascade of hydropower plants on the Tapajós river without their permission.
Jaguars, tapirs, oh my!: Amazon explorer films shocking wildlife bonanza in threatened forest
(02/19/2013) Watching a new video by Amazon explorer, Paul Rosolie, one feels transported into a hidden world of stalking jaguars, heavyweight tapirs, and daylight-wandering giant armadillos. This is the Amazon as one imagines it as a child: still full of wild things. In just four weeks at a single colpa (or clay lick where mammals and birds gather) on the lower Las Piedras River, Rosolie and his team captured 30 Amazonian species on video, including seven imperiled species. However, the very spot Rosolie and his team filmed is under threat: the lower Las Piedras River is being infiltrated by loggers, miners, and farmers following the construction of the Trans-Amazon highway.
Fossil fuel company looking to exploit deposits in Manu National Park
(02/11/2013) Pluspetrol, an Argentine oil and gas company, is eyeing a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Amazon rainforest for gas production, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Manu National Park in eastern Peru is considered one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and is home to indigenous tribes living in voluntary isolation.
Miners win ruling over indigenous groups in Guyana
(01/29/2013) A judge in Guyana's high court has ruled that indigenous groups do not have the right to expel legal miners from their land. The judge, Diana Insanally, found that if the miners in question held a government-approved license than the local community had no right to dispute the mining. The ruling has sparked protests by indigenous groups and is expected to be appealed.
Dams are rapidly damning the Amazon
(12/08/2012) Dam-builders seeking to unlock the hydroelectric potential of the Amazon are putting the world's mightiest river and rainforest at risk, suggests a new assessment that charts the rapid expansion of dams in the region.
Forests, farming, and sprawl: the struggle over land in an Amazonian metropolis
(12/04/2012) The city of Parauapebas, Brazil is booming: built over the remains of the Amazon rainforest, the metropolis has grown 75-fold in less than 25 years, from 2,000 people upwards of 150,000. But little time for urban planning and both a spatial and mental distance from the federal government has created a frontier town where small-scale farmers struggle to survive against racing sprawl, legal and illegal mining, and a lack of investment in environmental protection. Forests, biodiversity, and subsistence farmers have all suffered under the battle for land. In this, Parauapebas may represent a microcosm both of Brazil's ongoing problems (social inequality, environmental degradation, and deforestation) and opportunity (poverty alleviation, reforestation, and environmental enforcement).
Unique program to leave oil beneath Amazonian paradise raises $300 million
(11/26/2012) The Yasuni-ITT Initiative has been called many things: controversial, ecological blackmail, revolutionary, pioneering, and the best chance to keep oil companies out of Ecuador's Yasuni National Park. But now, after a number of ups and downs, the program is beginning to make good: the Yasuni-ITT Initiative has raised $300 million, according to the Guardian, or 8 percent of the total amount needed to fully fund the idea.
Featured video: on-the-ground look at Brazil's fight against deforestation
(11/15/2012) A new video by the Guardian takes an on-the-ground look at Brazil's efforts to tackle deforestation in the Amazon. Using satellite imagery, an elite team of enforcement agents are now able to react swiftly to illegal deforestation. The crackdown on deforestation has been successful: destruction of the Amazon has slowed by around 75 percent in the last 8 years.
Belo Monte mega-dam halted again by high Brazilian court, appeal likely but difficult
(08/15/2012) A high federal court in Brazil has ruled that work on the Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon be immediately suspended. Finding that the government failed to properly consult indigenous people on the dam, the ruling is the latest in innumerable twists and turns regarding the massive dam, which was first conceived in the 1970s, and has been widely criticized for its impact on tribal groups in the region and the Amazon environment. In addition the Regional Federal Tribunal (TRF1) found that Brazil's Environmental Impact Assessment was flawed since it was conducted after work on the dam had already begun.
Experts: sustainable logging in rainforests impossible
(07/19/2012) Industrial logging in primary tropical forests that is both sustainable and profitable is impossible, argues a new study in Bioscience, which finds that the ecology of tropical hardwoods makes logging with truly sustainable practices not only impractical, but completely unprofitable. Given this, the researchers recommend industrial logging subsidies be dropped from the UN's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. The study, which adds to the growing debate about the role of logging in tropical forests, counters recent research making the case that well-managed logging in old-growth rainforests could provide a "middle way" between conservation and outright conversion of forests to monocultures or pasture.
Brazil cripples illegal gold mining operations in indigenous territory
(07/18/2012) Brazilian police have arrested 26 people and confiscated gold and aircraft in a coordinated effort to tackle illegal gold-mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Reserve, reports the BBC. Along with illegal miners the year-long investigation also arrested complicit airplane pilots, engineers, and business people in a bid to undercut the trade's funders and infrastructure.
Indigenous tribes end occupation of Belo Monte
(07/12/2012) After occupying the construction site of the massive Belo Monte dam for 21 days, some 300 indigenous people have left and gone home. The representatives from nine Amazonian tribes abandoned their occupation after two days of meeting with the dam's builder, the Norte Energia consortium.
Vietnam buys stakes in controversial oil blocks threatening Peru's most vulnerable indigenous people
(07/11/2012) Vietnam's state oil and gas company, PetroVietnam Exploration and Production (PVEP), has announced its intention to acquire a major stake in controversial oil operations in the remote Peruvian Amazon. This area, known as Lot 67, is one of the most biodiverse in the world and home to indigenous people living without regular contact with outsiders, sometimes dubbed 'isolated' or 'uncontacted', who could be decimated by contact with oil company workers because they are highly vulnerable to disease.
Experts dispute recent study that claims little impact by pre-Columbian tribes in Amazon
(07/05/2012) A study last month in the journal Science argued that pre-Columbian peoples had little impact on the western and central Amazon, going against a recently composed picture of the early Amazon inhabited by large, sophisticated populations influencing both the forest and its biodiversity. The new study, based on hundreds of soil samples, theorizes that indigenous populations in much of the Amazon were tiny and always on the move, largely sticking to rivers and practicing marginal agriculture. However, the study raised eyebrows as soon as it was released, including those of notable researchers who openly criticized its methods and pointed out omissions in the paper, such as no mention of hundreds of geoglyphs, manmade earthen structures, found in the region.
Over 700 people killed defending forest and land rights in past ten years
(06/19/2012) On May 24th, 2011, forest activist José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, were gunned down in an ambush in the Brazilian state of Pará. A longtime activist, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva had made a name for himself for openly criticizing illegal logging in the state which is rife with deforestation. The killers even cut off the ears of the da Silvas, a common practice of assassins in Brazil to prove to their employers that they had committed the deed. Less than a year before he was murdered, da Silva warned in a TEDx Talk, "I could get a bullet in my head at any moment...because I denounce the loggers and charcoal producers."
Jaguars photographed in palm oil plantation
(06/06/2012) As the highly-lucrative palm oil plantation moves from Southeast Asia to Africa and Latin America, it brings with it concerns of deforestation and wildlife loss. But an ongoing study in Colombia is finding that small palm oil plantations may not significantly hurt at least one species: the jaguar. Researchers in Magdalena River Valley have taken the first ever photos of jaguars in a palm plantation, including a mother with two cubs, showing that the America's biggest cat may not avoid palm oil plantations like its Asian relative, the tiger.
U.S. car manufacturers linked to Amazon destruction, slave labor
(05/14/2012) According to a new report by Greenpeace, top U.S. car companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Nissan are sourcing pig iron that has resulted in the destruction of Amazon rainforests, slave labor, and land conflict with indigenous tribes. Spending two years documenting the pig iron trade between northeastern Brazil and the U.S., Greenpeace has discovered that rainforests are cut and burned to power blast furnaces that produce pig iron, which is then shipped to the U.S. for steel production.
Can loggers be conservationists?
(05/10/2012) Last year researchers took the first ever publicly-released video of an African golden cat (Profelis aurata) in a Gabon rainforest. This beautiful, but elusive, feline was filmed sitting docilely for the camera and chasing a bat. The least-known of Africa's wild cat species, the African golden cat has been difficult to study because it makes its home deep in the Congo rainforest. However, researchers didn't capture the cat on video in an untrammeled, pristine forest, but in a well-managed logging concession by Precious Woods Inc., where scientist's cameras also photographed gorillas, elephants, leopards, and duikers.
Oil company Perenco endangering 'uncontacted' indigenous people, says Peru
(04/25/2012) The company hoping to exploit the oil deposits slated to transform Peru's economy has been declared to be endangering the lives of indigenous people living in "voluntary isolation" by the country's indigenous affairs department (INDEPA). Perenco, an Anglo-French company with headquarters in London and Paris, is currently seeking approval from Peru's Energy Ministry (MEM) to develop its operations in the Loreto region in the north of the country.
Featured video: How to save the Amazon
(04/22/2012) The past ten years have seen unprecedented progress in fighting deforestation in the Amazon. Indigenous rights, payments for ecosystem services, government enforcement, satellite imagery, and a spirit of cooperation amongst old foes has resulted in a decline of 80 percent in Brazil's deforestation rates.
Indigenous groups oppose priest pushing for road through uncontacted tribes' land
(04/19/2012) A grassroots indigenous organization in Peru is calling for the removal of an Italian Catholic priest from the remote Amazon in response to his lobbying to build a highway through the country's biggest national park.
U.S. gobbling illegal wood from Peru's Amazon rainforest
(04/10/2012) The next time you buy wood, you may want to make sure it's not from Peru. According to an in-depth new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the illegal logging trade is booming in the Peruvian Amazon and much of the wood is being exported to the U.S. Following the labyrinthian trail of illegal logging from the devastated forests of the Peruvian Amazon to the warehouses of the U.S., the EIA identified over 112 shipments of illegally logged cedar and big-leaf mahogany between January 2008 and May 2010. In fact, the group found that over a third (35 percent) of all the shipments of cedar and mahogany from Peru to the U.S. were from illegal sources, a percentage that is likely conservative.
Judge suspends Brazilian dam that would flood sacred waterfalls
(04/02/2012) A federal judge has suspended the construction of a 1,820 megawatt dam on the Teles Pires River in the Amazon. The judge found that indigenous communities were not properly consulted about the dam, which would flood a sacred site, known as the Seven Waterfalls, as well as imperil the livelihoods of indigenous fishermen.
Indigenous groups fight for recognition and illumination in Peru
(03/26/2012) "Shh, wait here," Wilson told me. I ducked down behind the buttress of a large tree to wait. We had been walking through the jungle for a few hours. At first we followed a path through the undergrowth, a wet world of ferns, trunks and lianas speckled with the sunlight that made it down through the canopy and understory, but soon we simply walked along a route Wilson picked out. I had been trying to concentrate on the myriad sounds: cicadas were the background and various small birds tweeted from different points. We were listening and looking for signs that would lead us to prey—perhaps the calm whistle of a perdiz or the scent—marking of a boar—but just before Wilson became excited I had heard nothing. He stopped and said, "Red monkeys," pointing ahead.
Climate change could increase fires, logging, and hunting in rainforests
(03/13/2012) The combined impacts of deforestation and climate change will bring a host of new troubles for the world's tropical rainforests argues a new study in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Drying rainforests due to climate change could lead to previously inaccessible forests falling to loggers, burning in unprecedented fires, or being overexploited by hunters.
Rally calls on Brazil President to veto new forest code
(03/07/2012) A coalition of 200 organizations, known as the Comitê Brasil in Defense of Forests and Sustainable Development, rallied today in Brasilia against proposed changes to Brazil's Forestry Code. The code, which was supposed to be voted on this week but has been delayed to shore up more support, would make changes in over 40-year-old code that some conservationists fear could lead to further deforestation in the Amazon. Protestors called on the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, to veto the bill as it stands now, holding signs exclaiming, "Veta Dilma!" ("Veto it Dilma!").
Innovative program seeks to safeguard Peruvian Amazon from impacts of Inter-Oceanic Highway
(03/06/2012) Arbio was begun by Michel Saini and Tatiana Espinosa Q. in the Peruvian Amazon region of Madre de Dios. The project focuses on a protective response to the increased encroachment and destructive land use driven by development. The recent construction of the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the Madre de Dios area presents an enormous threat to forest biodiversity. Arbio provides opportunities to help establish a buffer zone near the road to limit intrusive agricultural and deforestation activities.
World's most toxic frog gets new reserve
(03/05/2012) Touching a wild golden poison frog could kill you within minutes: in fact, a single golden poison frog, whose Latin name Phyllobates terribilis is even more evocative than its common one, is capable of killing 10 humans with its one milligram dose of poison. Yet the deadly nature of this tiny frog has not stopped it from nearing extinction. Now, in a bid to save the species, the World Land Trust (WLT) and Colombian NGO ProAves have teamed up to establish a 50 hectare (124 acres) reserve in the Chocó rainforest.
Tourism for biodiversity in Tambopata
(02/27/2012) Research and exploration in the Neotropics are extraordinary, life-changing experiences. In the past two decades, a new generation of collaborative projects has emerged throughout Central and South America to provide access to tropical biodiversity. Scientists, local naturalists, guides, students and travelers now have the chance to mingle and share knowledge. Fusion programs offering immersion in tropical biology, travel, ecological field work, and adventure often support local wilderness preservation, inspire and educate visitors.
Majority of protected tropical forests "empty" due to hunting
(02/08/2012) Protected areas in the world's tropical rainforests are absolutely essential, but one cannot simply set up a new refuge and believe the work is done, according to a new paper in Bioscience. Unsustainable hunting and poaching is decimating tropical forest species in the Amazon, the Congo, Southeast Asia, and Oceana, leaving behind "empty forests," places largely devoid of any mammal, bird, or reptile over a few pounds. The loss of such species impacts the whole ecosystems, as plants lose seed dispersers and the food chain is unraveled.
New meteorological theory argues that the world's forests are rainmakers
(02/01/2012) New, radical theories in science often take time to be accepted, especially those that directly challenge longstanding ideas, contemporary policy or cultural norms. The fact that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not vice-versa, took centuries to gain widespread scientific and public acceptance. While Darwin's theory of evolution was quickly grasped by biologists, portions of the public today, especially in places like the U.S., still disbelieve. Currently, the near total consensus by climatologists that human activities are warming the Earth continues to be challenged by outsiders. Whether or not the biotic pump theory will one day fall into this grouping remains to be seen. First published in 2007 by two Russian physicists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva, the still little-known biotic pump theory postulates that forests are the driving force behind precipitation over land masses.
Brazilian mining company connected to Belo Monte dam voted worst corporation
(01/31/2012) The world's second largest mining company, Vale, has been given the dubious honor of being voted the world's most awful corporation in terms of human rights abuses and environmental destruction by the Public Eye Awards. Vale received over 25,000 votes online, likely prompted in part by its stake in the hugely controversial Brazilian mega-dam, Belo Monte, which is being constructed on the Xingu River. An expert panel gave a second award to British bank Barclay's for speculation on food prices, which the experts stated was worsening hunger worldwide.
Saving the world's biggest river otter
(01/30/2012) Charismatic, vocal, unpredictable, domestic, and playful are all adjectives that aptly describe the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), one of the Amazon's most spectacular big mammals. As its name suggest, this otter is the longest member of the weasel family: from tip of the nose to tail's end the otter can measure 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. Living in closely-knit family groups, sporting a complex range of behavior, and displaying almost human-like capricious moods, the giant river otter has captured a number of researchers and conservationists' hearts, including Dutch conservationist Jessica Groenendijk.
Peruvian smugglers traffic illegal rainforest timber from Brazil to America
(01/11/2012) An investigation by Brazil's Federal Police has detailed a significant trade of illegally logged rainforest wood by Peruvian nationals making its way from northern Brazil to the U.S. and Mexico, reports O Globo.
Ecuador makes $116 million to not drill for oil in Amazon
(01/02/2012) A possibly ground-breaking idea has been kept on life support after Ecuador revealed its Yasuni-ITT Initiative had raked in $116 million before the end of the year, breaking the $100 million mark that Ecuador said it needed to keep the program alive. Ecuador is proposing to not drill for an estimated 850 million barrels of oil in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputinin (ITT) blocs of Yasuni National Park if the international community pledges $3.6 billion to a United Nations Development Fund (UNDF), or about half of what the oil is currently worth. The Yasuni-ITT Initiative would preserve arguably the most biodiverse region on Earth from oil exploitation, safeguard indigenous populations, and keep an estimated 410 million tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. However, the initiative is not without its detractors, some arguing the program is little more than blackmail; meanwhile proponents say it could prove an effective way to combat climate change, deforestation, and mass extinction.
Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2011
(12/22/2011) Many of 2011's most dramatic stories on environmental issues came from people taking to the streets. With governments and corporations slow to tackle massive environmental problems, people have begun to assert themselves. Victories were seen on four continents: in Bolivia a draconian response to protestors embarrassed the government, causing them to drop plans to build a road through Tipnis, an indigenous Amazonian reserve; in Myanmar, a nation not known for bowing to public demands, large protests pushed the government to cancel a massive Chinese hydroelectric project; in Borneo a three-year struggle to stop the construction of a coal plant on the coast of the Coral Triangle ended in victory for activists; in Britain plans to privatize forests created such a public outcry that the government not only pulled back but also apologized; and in the U.S. civil disobedience and massive marches pressured the Obama Administration to delay a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands from Canada to a global market.
Is the Russian Forest Code a warning for Brazil?
(12/19/2011) Brazil, which last week moved to reform its Forest Code, may find lessons in Russia's revision of its forest law in 2007, say a pair of Russian scientists. The Brazilian Senate last week passed a bill that would relax some of forest provisions imposed on landowners. Environmentalists blasted the move, arguing that the new Forest Code — provided it is not vetoed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff next year — could undermine the country's progress in reducing deforestation.
Yasuni ITT: the virtues and vices of environmental innovation
(12/07/2011) As the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place in Durban, Ecuador has embarked on the development of a project presented as highly innovative. This project targets Yasuni National Park, which has been protected since 1979. Yasuni is home to several indigenous peoples and is a biodiversity hotspot. But it so happens that the park also sits atop a vast oil field of 846 million barrels, representing about 20 percent of the country's oil reserves. The acronym Yasuni ITT stands for Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputinin, which are the names of three potential zones for oil extraction.
11 challenges facing 7 billion super-consumers
(10/31/2011) Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about Halloween this year is not the ghouls and goblins taking to the streets, but a baby born somewhere in the world. It's not the baby's or the parent's fault, of course, but this child will become a part of an artificial, but still important, milestone: according to the UN, the Earth's seventh billionth person will be born today. That's seven billion people who require, in the very least, freshwater, food, shelter, medicine, and education. In some parts of the world, they will also have a car, an iPod, a suburban house and yard, pets, computers, a lawn-mower, a microwave, and perhaps a swimming pool. Though rarely addressed directly in policy (and more often than not avoided in polite conversations), the issue of overpopulation is central to environmentally sustainability and human welfare.
Judge: work must halt on monster dam, Belo Monte
(09/29/2011) The decades-long fight over Brazilian megadam, the Belo Monte, has taken another U-turn after a judge ordered work to stop immediately since the dam would devastate vital fishing grounds for local people. In June the Brazilian government gave a go-ahead to the $11-17 billion dam, despite large-scale opposition from indigenous groups along the Xingu River and international outcry, including a petition signed by 600,000 people.
Repeated burning undercuts Amazon rainforest recovery
(09/26/2011) The Amazon rainforest can recover fromlogging, but has a far more difficult time returning after repeated burning, reports a new study in mongabay.com's open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science. In areas where the Amazon had been turned to pasture and was subject to repeated burning, Visima trees become the dominant tree inhibiting the return of a biodiverse forest. The key to the sudden domination of Visima trees, according to the study, is that these species re-sprout readily following fires; a capacity most other Amazonian trees lack.
New map reveals the most biodiverse place on Earth, but already threatened by oil
(09/22/2011) A new map highlights the importance of conserving Yasuni National Park as the most biodiverse ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, and maybe even on Earth. Scientists released the map to coincide with the United National General Assembly in support of a first-of-its-kind initiative to save the park from oil exploration through international donations to offset revenue loss. Known as the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, the plan, if successful, would protect a 200,000 hectare bloc in Yasuni National Park from oil drilling in return for a trust fund of over $3 billion.
Peru president signs indigenous rights act into law
(09/07/2011) Peru's new president, Ollanta Humala, has signed into law a measure requiring that indigenous groups are consulted prior to any mining, logging, or oil and gas projects on their land. If properly enforced, the new legislation will give indigenous people free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) over such industrial projects, though the new law does not go so far as to allow local communities a veto over projects. Still, the law puts Peru in line with the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, which the South American nation ratified nearly two decades ago.
Lessons from the world's longest study of rainforest fragments
(08/15/2011) For over 30 years, hundreds of scientists have scoured eleven forest fragments in the Amazon seeking answers to big questions: how do forest fragments' species and microclimate differ from their intact relatives? Will rainforest fragments provide a safe haven for imperiled species or are they last stand for the living dead? Should conservation focus on saving forest fragments or is it more important to focus the fight on big tropical landscapes? Are forest fragments capable of regrowth and expansion? Can a forest—once cut-off—heal itself? Such questions are increasingly important as forest fragments—patches of forest that are separated from larger forest landscapes due to expanding agriculture, pasture, or fire—increase worldwide along with the human footprint.
Peru cancels massive dam project after years of protests
(06/16/2011) Three years of sustained community opposition have brought down plans for a massive dam on the Madre de Dios River in Peru. Yesterday the Peruvian government announced it was terminating the contract with Empresa de Generación Eléctrica Amazonas Sur (Egasur) to build a 1.5 gigawatt dam, known as the Inambari Dam. The dam was one of six that were agreed upon between Peru and Brazil to supply the latter with energy.
Last chance to see: the Amazon's Xingu River
(06/15/2011) Not far from where the great Amazon River drains into the Atlantic, it splits off into a wide tributary, at first a fat vertical lake that, when viewed from satellite, eventually slims down to a wild scrawl through the dark green of the Amazon. In all, this tributary races almost completely southward through the Brazilian Amazon for 1,230 miles (1,979 kilometers)—nearly as long as the Colorado River—until it peters out in the savannah of Mato Grosso. Called home by diverse indigenous tribes and unique species, this is the Xingu River.
Germany backs out of Yasuni deal
(06/13/2011) Germany has backed out of a pledge to commit $50 million a year to Ecuador's Yasuni ITT Initiative, reports Science Insider. The move by Germany potentially upsets an innovative program hailed by environmentalists and scientists alike. This one-of-a-kind initiative would protect a 200,000 hectare bloc in Yasuni National Park from oil drilling in return for a trust fund of $3.6 billion, or about half the market value of the nearly billion barrels of oil lying underneath the area. The plan is meant to mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and safeguard the rights of indigenous people.
Authorities launch stealth operation in Amazon after satellite images reveal deforestation
(05/24/2011) Brazil's environmental enforcement agency busted an illegal logging ring following analysis of satellite imagery, reports Globo.
ConocoPhillips withdraws from oil exploitation in uncontacted indigenous territory
(05/11/2011) ConocoPhillips has announced it is withdrawing from its 45% share of oil drilling in Block 39 of Peru's Amazon rainforest. The withdrawal comes after pressure from indigenous-rights and environmental groups to leave two Peruvian oil blocks—39 and 67—alone, due to the presence of indigenous people who have chosen to remain uncontacted. ConocoPhillips and other companies have been warned they will 'decimate' tribes if they remain. However, Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF still operates in block 39 and is currently doing seismic testing for oil reserves in the untouched region. ConocoPhillips has not divulged what company is taking their place.
Controversial Brazilian mega-dam receives investment of $1.4 billion
(05/02/2011) Brazil's most controversial mega-dam, Belo Monte, which is moving full steam ahead against massive opposition, has received an extra infusion of cash from Vale, a Brazilian-run mining company.
Demand for gold pushing deforestation in Peruvian Amazon
(04/19/2011) Deforestation is on the rise in Peru's Madre de Dios region from illegal, small-scale, and dangerous gold mining. In some areas forest loss has increased up to six times. But the loss of forest is only the beginning; the unregulated mining is likely leaching mercury into the air, soil, and water, contaminating the region and imperiling its people. Using satellite imagery from NASA, researchers were able to follow rising deforestation due to artisanal gold mining in Peru. According the study, published in PLoS ONE, Two large mining sites saw the loss of 7,000 hectares of forest (15,200 acres)—an area larger than Bermuda—between 2003 and 2009.
NASA image reveals extent of 2010 Amazon drought
(04/17/2011) NASA has revealed a satellite image of the crippling effect of last year's record-breaking drought on the Amazon ecosystem. For those of you counting, that's two record droughts in the Amazon Basin in 5 years.
Giant fish help grow the Amazon rainforest
(04/12/2011) A fruit in the flooded Amazon falls from a tree and plops in the water. Before it can even sink to the floor, a 60-pound monster fish with a voracious appetite gobbles it. Nearly a week later—and miles away—the fish expels its waste, including seeds from the fruit eaten long ago and far away. One fortunate seed floats to a particularly suitable spot and germinates. Many years later the new fruit tree is thriving, while the same monster-fish returns from time-to-time, waiting for another meal to drop from the sky. This process is known as seed-dispersal, and while researchers have studied the seed-dispersal capacity of such species as birds, bats, monkeys, and rodents, one type of animal is often overlooked: fish.
Last year's drought hit Amazon hard: nearly a million square miles impacted
(03/29/2011) A new study on its way to being published shows that the Amazon rainforest suffered greatly from last year's drought. Employing satellite data and supercomputing technology, researchers have found that the Amazon was likely hit harder by last year's drought than a recent severe drought from 2005. The droughts have supported predictions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) that climate change, among other impacts, could push portions of the Amazon to grasslands, devastating the world's greatest rainforest. "The greenness levels of Amazonian vegetation—a measure of its health—decreased dramatically over an area more than three and one-half times the size of Texas and did not recover to normal levels, even after the drought ended in late October 2010," explains the study's lead author Liang Xu of Boston University.
Amazon still neglected by researchers
(03/28/2011) Although the Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest, it is not the most well known. Given the difficulty of access along with the fear of disease, dangerous species, indigenous groups, among other perceived perils, this great treasure chest of biology and ecology was practically ignored by scientists for centuries. Over the past few decades that trend has changed, however even today the Amazon remains lesser known than the much smaller, and more secure, tropical forests of Central America. A new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science, which surveyed two prominent international tropical ecology journals (Biotropica and Journal of Tropical Ecology) between 1995 and 2008, finds that Central America was the subject of twice as many studies as the Amazon. In fact, according to the authors, much of the Amazon remains terra incognito to researchers, even as every year more of the rainforest is lost to human impacts.
World's most controversial dam, Brazil's Belo Monte, back on
(03/06/2011) A recent injunction against controversial dam, Belo Monte, in Brazil has been overturned, allowing the first phase of construction to go ahead. The ruling by a higher court argued that not all environmental conditions must be met on the dam in order for construction to start.
Report: 90 oil spills in Peruvian Amazon over 3 years
(03/03/2011) A new report has uncovered 90 oil spills by Pluspetrol in northern Peru's Amazon rainforest over the past 3 years. Covering two oil blocs—1-AB and 8—the report, complied by the Federation of Indigenous Communities of the Corrientes River (FECONACO), recorded 18 major oil spills in just the last year. "A week after the landmark ruling against Chevron in Ecuador for $9 billion of damage from operations in the 1970's and 80's, this new report highlights the ongoing devastation caused by the oil industry on the fragile Amazon ecosystem and the people that live there," said Atossa Soltani, Executive Director at Amazon Watch, in a press release.
Indigenous leaders take fight over Amazon dams to Europe
(03/02/2011) Three indigenous Amazonian leaders spent this week touring Europe to raise awareness about the threat that a number of proposed monster dams pose to their people and the Amazon forest. Culminating in a press conference and protests in London, the international trip hopes to build pressure to stop three current hydroelectric projects, one in Peru, including six dams, and two in Brazil, the Madeira basin industrial complex and the massive Belo Monte dam. The indigenous leaders made the trip with the NGO Rainforest Foundation UK, including support from Amazon Watch, International Rivers, and Rainforest Concern.
Judge suspends Brazil's monster dam: contractor 'imposing' its interests
(02/27/2011) Construction on Brazil's planned mega-dam, the Belo Monte, has been ordered suspended by a federal judge, citing unmet environmental and social conditions. Just last month, the hugely controversial dam, was handed a partial license from Brazil's Environmental Agency (IBAMA). However, the judge, Ronaldo Destêrro, found that the partial license, the first of its kind in Brazil, was granted under pressure from the dam's contractor, Norte Energia or NESA.
First strike against illegal gold mining in Peru: military destroys miners' boats
(02/21/2011) Around a thousand Peruvian soldiers and police officers destroyed seven and seized thirteen boats used by illegal gold miners in the Peruvian Amazon, reports the AFP. The move is seen as a first strike against the environmentally destructive mining. Used to pump silt up from the river-bed, the boats are essential tools of the illegal gold mining trade which is booming in parts of the Amazon.
Half a million people sign petition against Belo Monte, Brazilian mega-dam
(02/08/2011) In a protest today in Brasilia, Brazil, indigenous people delivered a petition to authorities signed by 500,000 people calling on them to cancel the controversial Belo Monte dam. They hope the petition, organized by online activist group Avaaz, will help convince Brazil's new president, Dilma Rousseff, to cancel the project. However, actions by Brazil's first female president have pushed the dam forward.
Chief financier of Belo Monte dam ties social and environmental requirements to controversial project
(02/04/2011) The Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) has announced it will not grant a $640 million loan for the hugely controversial Belo Monte dam until 40 social and environmental conditions are met. In response, the company contracted to build the dam, Norte Energia, S.A. (NESA), has stated it may drop the bank's loan altogether and seek less discriminating private funding to start construction. Last week the Brazilian government's environmental agency IBAMA announced that the dam had been granted a partial license, an aberration in Brazilian law, to jumpstart construction. But BNDES also says it will not hand out the loan until a full license is granted.
Two massive droughts evidence that climate change is 'playing Russian roulette' with Amazon
(02/03/2011) In 2005 the Amazon rainforest underwent a massive drought that was labeled a one-in-100 year event. The subsequent die-off of trees from the drought released 5 billion tons of CO2. Just five years later another major drought struck. The 2010 drought, which desiccated entire rivers, may have been even worse according to a new study in Science, adding on-the-ground evidence to fears that climate change may inevitably transform the world's greatest rainforest.
Paradise & Paradox: a semester in Ecuador
(02/02/2011) A semester abroad is an opportunity to live a sort of compacted life. In a few short months you seem to gain the experience of a much longer time and make enough memories to fill years. I recall a weeklong trip to the Alvord Desert with a field biology class from Portland Community College: the adventure of living out of a van, conducting research, and experiencing a place with classmates turned colleagues and professors turned friends who knew the desert like the backs of their hands. In that regard, it had a lot in common with my semester in Ecuador, but I can't think of anything that could have prepared me for a four month stay in a small South American country that I knew very little about.
Agricultural lending jumps in Brazil, will Amazon deforestation follow?
(12/27/2010) With commodity prices surging, lending to Brazilian farmers for tractors, harvesters and plows reached 8.2 billion reais ($4.8 billion) for the July through November 2010 period, a 64 percent increase since the same period last year and the fastest pace since 2004, reports Bloomberg.
Consumer goods industry announces goal of zero deforestation in Cancun
(11/30/2010) While governments continue to stall on action to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, global corporations are promising big changes to tackle their responsibilities. The Board of Consumer Goods Forum (BCGF) has approved a resolution to achieve net zero deforestation by 2020 in products such as palm oil, soy, beef, and paper. Announced yesterday at the UN Climate Summit in Cancun, the BCGF has stated the goal will be met both by individual actions within companies and collective action, including partnerships with NGOs, development banks, and governments. With such giants as Walmart, Unilever, Carrefour, and General Mills, BCGF is made up of four hundred global consumer goods manufacturers and retailers totaling over $2.8 trillion in revenue.
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The Speyside Way is one of Scotland's official Long Distance Routes. It was first opened in 1981 to run from Spey Bay to Ballindalloch and was extended over the years to reach Aviemore in 2000.
The route is currently 65 miles long but the plan is to extend it to Newtonmore about 15 miles to the south. The whole route is expected to take around three to five years to complete and cost around £2 million
The Cairngorms National Park Authority's planning committee gave the go-ahead for the 0.75miles of new path and stock fencing south of the Highland Main Line railway opposite the Dalraddy Holiday Park, three miles south of Aviemore; 1.18 miles of new path south east of the Highland Main Line on the Kinrara Estate; half a mile of path east of the Loch Insh Outdoor Centre at the village of Kincraig; and over 200 yards of new path over the Allt Dibheach burn, near Aviemore.
Eleanor Mackintosh, the Cairngorm National Park Authority planning committee convener, said: "We are delighted progress continues to be made on the Speyside Way extension. "


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7,000 songs; 40 hours of video
Apple engineers squeezed all the best features of iPod into a case weighing just 3.6 ounces and smaller than any cell phone. iPod mini features an anodized aluminium case that resists stains and scratches. The case weighs practically nothing, but protects … see full wiki
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7,000 songs; 40 hours of video
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Prime Clinical Systems, Inc. is participating in the 2009 American College of Physicians' EHR Partners Program to help physicians more efficiently manage their patient records and realize positive clinical and financial impacts.
Pasadena, California (PRWEB) April 29, 2009 -- Prime Clinical Systems, Inc. is participating in the 2009 American College of Physicians' (ACP) EHR Partners Program (EPP). The initiative is designed to help physicians and their practices effectively compare electronic health records (EHRs), and, as a result, more quickly reap the clinical and financial benefits associated with these EHR systems.
"With the federal government offering financial incentives for information technology adoption through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, physician practices now, more than ever before, need to quickly make decisions about electronic medical record systems. With this program, physicians can be sure to select the right system for their practice; one that they will be able to quickly implement and one that will bring about the meaningful use of technology being required by the government. And, we believe that many practices will find Prime Clinical's Patient Chart Manager offers just what they need," says Richard Deits, M.D., Prime Clinical's Vice President of Electronic Medical Records.
Physicians and practice management executives can turn to the EPP to get detailed comparative information regarding Prime Clinical's product and that of the other participating vendor:
|Source: PRWeb
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