Deca-BDE is the most commonly used flame retardant material in the US, and around the world as a whole. However, by 2013, this material will be completely removed from application in the United States, as a result of a new deal between Chemtura and Albemarie Corporation, its US producers – ICL Industrial Products Inc, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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NASA’s  new Ares I-X  test rocket is on the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for its debut launch scheduled for October 27.

The Ares I-X  is a prototype for the Ares 1 rocket NASA plans to use to launch its shuttle successor, the Orion spacecraft. The flight test will provide NASA with an opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

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Major business groups in the United States have warned US Congress that it will trigger what may be called a “green trade war” if Congress passes a climate change bill which “threatens” other countries with taxes on energy-intensive goods.

In a letter to US Senate leaders, the National Foreign Trade Council, the United States Chamber of Commerce and two other groups urged the Senate to desist from including provisions that could “negatively impact US relations with key trading partners and disrupt the global trading systems.”  Climate change, the letter adds, is a global problem which requires international cooperation and not “unilateral ultimatums.”

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Peak Oil has been a theory of immense discussion and though I don’t get much of it, the comprehension that it has something to do with maximum oil production around the globe is ample for me and for the rest of you. I may not understand the basics of Peak Oil, but what I do know is that the global oil reserves are diminishing fast. Indeed, the heavy oil consumption now leaves us at a point where only half of the earths’ oil reserves are left.

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They say the balance of power shifts with the control over natural gases and oil reserves. It might be the right notion with Russia, US, Canada and Denmark staking their claim over the region that falls north of the Arctic Circle.

These countries would get back to staking their claims as scientists from the USGS in collaboration with international researchers have revealed that the Arctic may hold twice the oil previously found there. Not just the oil reserves, the sedimentary basins in the area, also house natural gas reserves.

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In the early 1800s, the ocean around New Zealand contained about 27,000 southern right whales – that is, about 30 times more than today. This has been revealed in one of several startling reconstructions of ocean life in olden days and presented at the Census of Marine Life conference on May 26-28, 2009, in Denmark.

According to British researchers, while large pods of blue whales and orcas, blue sharks and thresher sharks were plentiful in the waters off Cornwall, England, herds of harbour porpoise chased fish upriver, and dolphins played in waters inshore.

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Yo mamma is so fat that she has her own zip code.
Yo mamma is so fat that people sit next to her at the beach to get some shade.
Yo mamma is so fat that 20 Greenpeacers tried to throw her back into the ocean.

Funny.

Not funny… about 80 long-finned whales beached themselves in Hamelin Bay, Western Australia. Five bottlenose dolphins joined them in the mass suicide.

Workers were able to get 14 whales and four dolphins back to the sea when they were taken to calmer seas.

Scientists offer some theories as to why the whales beach themselves:

1. chased by predators
2. chasing prey
3. sonar used for navigation is hindered by natural geomagnetic factors
4. bad directions
5. following an ill or injured pod member into danger and refusing to leave it
6. human activity – undersea exploration, sonar from submarines

Since last November about 520 whales have beached themselves. More than 470 have died.

“We’re in a peak period now,” said Evans, of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. “What happens in that period is the climate factors increase the prey field near the shore, forcing whales closer to shore and thereby increasing the probability that they will strand.”

There is a cycle of such activities by the whales dating back to the 1920s. Maybe something can be discovered by studying that.

Let’s hope so.

It is sometimes hard to believe that we ignore some of humanities most basic necessities in search of greater gains that actually cause more harm than good to the planet. Water is the harbinger for all civilized life and it seems that our utter disdain and disregard for this simple fact of life is going to cost us dearly in the years to come.

According to the latest survey report released by the United Nations – Water in a Changing World, if we do not improve the current situation then the planet will soon spiral downwards towards a looming water crisis.

The report forecasts that the current world population of 6.6 billion is set to rise by 2.5 billion by 2050 and that will put an immense pressure on freshwater resources that are already scarce. Unequal distribution of available resources, poor planning, lack of infrastructure and state funding have seen the mismanagement of vast water resources and it is now leading to a breaking point where major wars and conflicts could very well be caused due to lack of water.

The UN notes that the conflict in Darfur and the tussle between Israel and its Arab neighbors are already consequences of water shortage and are problems that stemmed from lack of proper water management.

Add to this the fact that growing biofuel production demands an excess of 180 cubic kilometers of irrigation water and nations like China and India with bustling population will soon find it hard to quench the thirst of their citizens.

With the Middle East and North Africa already reaching limits of their water resources, it seems that fast and smart measures are the only way to avoid impending global drought. But something can be done about it …

Image by bestrated1

Irrespective of the reasons that have contributed to this, it is indeed heartening to see that the amount of crude oil that is being used currently in the US, has dropped to the consumption levels of 2003.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, demand for oil in the U.S. in 2008 went down by 6% to 19.4m barrels/day. And while that still forms huge chunks of carbon dioxide constantly released into the atmosphere, it still is a considerable decline indeed.

The reduction in oil consumption might have come from a variety of reasons. From the bad economy that forces more commuters to use public transportation to a switch the alternate fuel, this is obviously a development that one can be slightly happy about.

Still, no reason to feel ecstatic.

The US oil consumption in 2003 was no small number in itself and despite the 3.3 percent drop in use of gasoline one cannot help but think that this has more to do with the ‘green dollars’ rather than ‘green thoughts’.

Is environmental awareness starting to become a by-product of sound economy? Very well could be and we are not complaining as long as the results keep flowing in.

Source: TreeHugger & AutoBlogGreen
Original Image by marinephotobank

Japan denied accusations that it used weapons against activists from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on inflatable boats near Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said two crew members were injured when Japanese whalers used a water cannon, concussion grenades, acoustic weapons and threw brass and lead balls at them.

“If our crew can hit them, then they would be better off quitting the research vessel and joining a professional baseball team,” said an assistant director of the Far Seas Fisheries Division at Japan’s fisheries ministry.

The Japanese fleet used hoses on two Sea Shepherd boats after sending warnings because the Sea Shepherd crew members threw bottles containing dyes and strong-smelling liquid at its boats.

Japan hopes to hunt about 900 whales.

Sea Shepherd has used confrontational tactics including collisions which are widely criticized by pro-whaling groups and fellow environmentalists.