Kusko_UG: Wow, the newly-renamed Donlin Gold is going ALL OUT with
the PR cash lately. Throwing sponsor money EVERYWHERE. Can $$$ >
logic and science?
A legislative audit concluded that the Alaska State Commission on
Human Rights is not investigating complaints in a timely manner and
that there are other shortcomings in the operation, one of whi…
"Alaskan salmon ranches and interception fisheries are damaging B.C.’s wild salmon populations, according to three Canadian conservation groups. Raincoast Conservation Foundation, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust and Watershed Watch Salmon Society said Wednesday they plan to challenge the eco-certification awarded to the Alaskan salmon fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council."
— B.C.’s wild salmon threatened by Alaskan practices - conservation groups
"There is a final context for this act in which we are all responsible, all guilty. A 19-year-old Marine has a very hard time reconciling the fact that it’s okay to waterboard a live Taliban fighter but not okay to urinate on a dead one. When the war on terror started, the Marines in that video were probably 9 or 10 years old. As children they heard adults — and political leaders — talk about our enemies in the most inhuman terms. The Internet and the news media are filled with self-important men and women referring to our enemies as animals that deserve little legal or moral consideration. We have sent enemy fighters to countries like Syria and Libya to be tortured by the very regimes that we have recently condemned for engaging in war crimes and torture. They have been tortured into confessing their crimes and then locked up indefinitely without trial because their confessions — achieved through torture — will not stand up in court. For the past 10 years, American children have absorbed these moral contradictions, and now they are fighting our wars. The video doesn’t surprise me, but it makes me incredibly sad — not just for them, but also for us. We may prosecute these men for desecrating the dead while maintaining that it is okay to torture the living."
— We’re all guilty of dehumanizing the enemy - The Washington Post
"The paradise the 49 permanent residents have inherited is a flawed one. Governor George Grey’s attempt to turn Kawau into a miniature Garden of Eden in the 19th century has created an out-of-balance ecosystem. Wallabies have chewed away most of the undergrowth, and imported pine trees dominate Kawau’s forest. A small population of kiwi survive, and weka are plentiful, but the many dogs, cats, rats and wallabies on the island mean it is not the Eden that Grey envisaged."
—
Flaws in Grey’s Garden of Eden - National - NZ Herald News
The problem with transforming habitats.
Rapid Rise in Arctic Methane Shocks Scientists: Science in the News
Rapid
Rise in Arctic Methane Shocks Scientists
from the New Zealand Herald
Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane—a greenhouse gas 20
times more potent than carbon dioxide—have been seen bubbling to the
surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive
survey of the region.
The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head
of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the
East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent, Dr. Igor Semiletov,
of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said
that he had never before witnessed the scale and force of the methane
being released from beneath the Arctic seabed.
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“Science in the News” is produced daily by Sigma Xi as a service for
its members and the public. It highlights science and technology news
stories appearing in the mainstream media. The accompanying Web links
provide access to the full text of the articles on the Web sites of
the individual media outlets from which they are taken. For more
about the service, visit
American
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Alaska—US Plans Its First Megadam in 40 Years: Science in the News
US
Plans Its First Megadam in 40 Years
from New Scientist
It reads like a fairy tale from the brothers Grimm: a giant US state
is planning a giant hydroelectric dam that could flood a tiny shrew
out of its idyllic home.
Later this month, Alaskan authorities will file plans in Washington
DC for a 213-metre megadam on one of the country’s last remaining
wild rivers: the Susitna. If approved, it would be the country’s
first hydroelectric megadam for 40 years, and its fifth tallest, just
8 metres shy of the Hoover dam.
Opponents say the project is a $4.5 billion boondoggle that will
affect wildlife including caribou, grizzly bears and salmon. Instead
they say the state should tap its abundant tidal, geothermal and wind
power. But the icon for protest against the dam may turn out to be
the country’s most secretive shrew. Weighing in at just 1.5 grams,
Sorex yukonicus lives on a bank 10 kilometres downstream of the
proposed site for the dam.
*******************************************************************
“Science in the News” is produced daily by Sigma Xi as a service for
its members and the public. It highlights science and technology news
stories appearing in the mainstream media. The accompanying Web links
provide access to the full text of the articles on the Web sites of
the individual media outlets from which they are taken. For more
about the service, visit
American
Scientist Online
If you experience any problems with the URLs (page not found, page
expired, etc.), we suggest you proceed to the
Science
in the News section of American Scientist Online, which mirrors the
daily e-mail update.»»
"The inspector general’s paper states that residents “no longer appear to derive a proportional benefit” from what is essentially a freight service and are stuck paying premiums for many goods still, including groceries. Rural merchants reap benefits from having supplies delivered to their doors at a “very low price,” but with little or no competition, they have little incentive to pass on savings to consumers, the paper states. It says the program discourages the state from “providing appropriate infrastructure,” saying the state is often slow to start highway expansion projects that could decrease fuel, freight and mail transport costs. Among the inspector general’s key findings: Alaska’s massive permanent fund “could theoretically be used to pay for the program or improve the state’s ground and air infrastructure for the benefit of all Alaskans."
—
Bypass mail needs big changes, inspector general says: Rural Alaska | Alaska news at adn.com
Unfortunately, it acts as a source of soda pop and candy for schools to sell. It does offer fresher produce and eggs, but not cheaper and not a great proportion of freight. It is a way to buy washers and baby diapers not otherwise available locally. It brings a lot of school supplies in, which must then be dumped or burned in the village. Needs revising to save the good and ditch the waste and unhealthy.
"The Legislature, which required less transparency of itself than the executive branch in adopting an open records law, also allowed an exemption for Penn State and other state-related universities from disclosure provisions. State-owned universities like Slippery Rock and Shippensburg must comply. …. For decades, Joe Paterno’s salary as head coach was a state secret."
