- How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began A viciously anti-Muslim blogger [who is insane, by the way], the right-wing New York Post and the right-wing media machine: How it all went down (with video)
- Many Americans Are Still Clueless on How to Save Energy Many Americans believe they can save energy with small behavior changes that actually achieve very little, and severely underestimate the major effects of switching to efficient, currently available technologies, says a new survey of Americans in 34 states.
- Government Report on Gulf Oil Spill Inaccurate, Scientists Say at Least 79% of Oil Still in the Sea Researchers from the University of Georgia called a recent government report "inaccurate" on Monday for claiming that three-quarters of the oil leaked from BP’s blown-out underwater well had either been collected, evaporated or burned off. Instead, the scientists say nearly 79% of the oil still remains in the Gulf of Mexico in some form.
- Fox "News" Gives $1 Million to Republican Governor's Association News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave [an unprecedented] $1 million to the Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA's most recent filing.
- Pakistan Floods: 3.5 Million Children at Risk from Deadly Diseases, says UN The UN said Monday that 3.5 million children in Pakistan are at risk from deadly waterborne diseases, as fresh protests erupted over the slow delivery of aid in the flood-ravaged country.
- Old-Style Coal Plants Expanding Utilities across the country are building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the industry's standing as the largest industrial source of climate-changing gases for years to come.
Mankind Is Using Up Global Resources Faster Than Ever
The growing world population and increasing consumption has pushed the world into ‘eco-debt’ a month earlier this year, according to the latest statistics on global resources.
by Louise Gray
Published on Monday, August 16, 2010 by the Telegraph/UK
Think tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) look at how much food, fuel and other resources are consumed by humans every year. They then compare it to how much the world can provide without threatening the ability of important ecosystems like oceans and rainforests to recover.
![[]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/eat_earth_0.jpg "eat_earth.jpg")
This year the moment we start eating into nature's capital or ‘Earth Overshoot Day' will fall on 21st August, a full month earlier than last year, when resources were used up by 23rd September.
Andrew Simms, Policy Director at NEF, blamed increased consumption.
He said people in developing countries like China are consuming more meat and demanding cars and other energy-intensive goods. Even with green developments and energy efficiency, rich countries are also consuming more as individuals demand the latest technology, food fad or car.
He explained that the earlier humans use up Earth's resources, the more strain is put on resources, forcing up fuel prices and driving climate change. Ultimately ecosystems like fisheries and even the Earth's climate system will suffer and future generations will experience food shortages and rising global temperatures.
Mr Simms called for a transition to a more sustainable way of living to prevent poverty and starvation in the future.
"The banking crisis taught us the danger of a system that goads us to live beyond our means financially," he said. "A greater danger comes from a consumer culture and economic policy that pushes us to live beyond our means ecologically."
- Many Americans Are Still Clueless on How to Save Energy Many Americans believe they can save energy with small behavior changes that actually achieve very little, and severely underestimate the major effects of switching to efficient, currently available technologies, says a new survey of Americans in 34 states.
- Government Report on Gulf Oil Spill Inaccurate, Scientists Say at Least 79% of Oil Still in the Sea Researchers from the University of Georgia called a recent government report "inaccurate" on Monday for claiming that three-quarters of the oil leaked from BP’s blown-out underwater well had either been collected, evaporated or burned off. Instead, the scientists say nearly 79% of the oil still remains in the Gulf of Mexico in some form.
- Fox "News" Gives $1 Million to Republican Governor's Association News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave [an unprecedented] $1 million to the Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA's most recent filing.
- Pakistan Floods: 3.5 Million Children at Risk from Deadly Diseases, says UN The UN said Monday that 3.5 million children in Pakistan are at risk from deadly waterborne diseases, as fresh protests erupted over the slow delivery of aid in the flood-ravaged country.
- Old-Style Coal Plants Expanding Utilities across the country are building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the industry's standing as the largest industrial source of climate-changing gases for years to come.
Mankind Is Using Up Global Resources Faster Than Ever
The growing world population and increasing consumption has pushed the world into ‘eco-debt’ a month earlier this year, according to the latest statistics on global resources.
by Louise Gray
Published on Monday, August 16, 2010 by the Telegraph/UK
Think tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) look at how much food, fuel and other resources are consumed by humans every year. They then compare it to how much the world can provide without threatening the ability of important ecosystems like oceans and rainforests to recover.
Andrew Simms, Policy Director at NEF, blamed increased consumption.
He said people in developing countries like China are consuming more meat and demanding cars and other energy-intensive goods. Even with green developments and energy efficiency, rich countries are also consuming more as individuals demand the latest technology, food fad or car.
He explained that the earlier humans use up Earth's resources, the more strain is put on resources, forcing up fuel prices and driving climate change. Ultimately ecosystems like fisheries and even the Earth's climate system will suffer and future generations will experience food shortages and rising global temperatures.
Mr Simms called for a transition to a more sustainable way of living to prevent poverty and starvation in the future.
"The banking crisis taught us the danger of a system that goads us to live beyond our means financially," he said. "A greater danger comes from a consumer culture and economic policy that pushes us to live beyond our means ecologically."
Sean
