GlobalWarmingisReal contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up the climate and environmental news headlines for the past week:
- Obama promises that his next focus will be the environment. It will be interesting to see how hard Obama pushes against industry and how much we accomplishes.
- After Copenhagen the US is still looking for an international plan of action. Reuters explains the approach that the US will take in the future. The split between the rich and poor nations seems to be one of the greatest stresses to global negotiations.
- Bolivia’s indigenous population is not giving up on global climate change negotiations. The Guardian interviews Rafael Quispe, an Aymara indigenous leader, and covers his perspective.
- Ecuador, where a large suit against Chevron is underway, is trying to pass legislation that would force foreign oil companies to sign new contracts so that the government can control all oil supplies and capture more of the profit from oil extraction.
- Pollutants that humans release into their environment can either heat or cool the atmospheric temperature. If we reduce cooling pollutants more than we reduce heating pollutants we could accelerate global warming. Scientists discuss the ethics of geo-engineering the atmosphere, but we are doing it right now.
- Brazil is trying to push through a dam project that it says it more environmental than coal fired power plants. But hundreds of miles of forests will be affected and 20,000 people will have to be relocated. Indigenous people are fighting the project but are currently losing in the judicial arena.
- New research shows that mercury is often in the corn syrup that people consume every day.