BP shares down 2.8 pct after US brings lawsuit (AP)
AP – Shares in BP PLC are down by 2.8 percent after the U.S. Justice Department announced it was suing the oil company and several other firms involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
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Calif. set to adopt sweeping cap-and-trade rules (AP)
AP – California air quality regulators are poised to adopt the nation’s most sweeping regulations to give power plants, refineries and other major polluters a financial incentive to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
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Remembering Animal Shelters at the Holidays
Those who care for animals at our community animal shelters are often taken for granted. Working under the most stressful conditions, these unsung heroes deserve our special thanks, and the holiday season can be an ideal time to show our appreciation.
Many animal shelters are in dire financial shape—especially those impacted by the current economic crisis. Some are unable to cover their regular expenses, let alone any much-needed improvements or special purchases. This can sometimes add to the stress experienced by the staff-and by the animals they care for.
Here's where you can help. Consider starting a holiday tradition by becoming a micro-philanthropist to your local shelter. Nothing shows appreciation better than contributing to the cause.
One suggestion is to make a donation in honor of the staff to one or more needs at the shelter that best align with your interests. There might be a special fund for cat spaying and neutering or a building improvement fund. There may be some very specific needs that you could fund that would really benefit both the staff and the animals. For example, maybe the dryer needs to be repaired so that bedding and towels can fully dry (and save energy costs). To find out how to make the most of your contribution in honor of the staff, contact the shelter director. The director probably has an endless wish list just waiting for someone special like you.
Another suggestion is to anonymously provide vegan treats for the shelter staff. This could be as simple as some holiday cookies and Silk Nog. If the shelter has no party or it's a potluck affair, the possibilities are endless. A sign with the food can say it all: "Season's Eatings! (And 100 percent vegan!) In appreciation of ALL that you do for animals." While there's no tax deductibility for this type of giving, its rewards far outweigh any tax benefits.
A combination of the two suggestions is always a possibility. For example, you could send a contribution to the shelter or pay for one of its special needs in honor of the staff along with refreshments for the staff.
Will your efforts be appreciated? Indeed! I've seen a shelter director moved to tears. A thank-you card from the staff to the "anonymous donor" had these lines: "No one has ever done this before" and "I didn't think anybody cared about us."
Contact the director of your local animal shelter to find out how you can best help the animals, the staff and the shelter in this season of giving by becoming a shelter Santa Paws.
View full post on PETA Prime: Celebrating Kind Choices
Remembering Animal Shelters at the Holidays
Those who care for animals at our community animal shelters are often taken for granted. Working under the most stressful conditions, these unsung heroes deserve our special thanks, and the holiday season can be an ideal time to show our appreciation.
Many animal shelters are in dire financial shape—especially those impacted by the current economic crisis. Some are unable to cover their regular expenses, let alone any much-needed improvements or special purchases. This can sometimes add to the stress experienced by the staff-and by the animals they care for.
Here's where you can help. Consider starting a holiday tradition by becoming a micro-philanthropist to your local shelter. Nothing shows appreciation better than contributing to the cause.
One suggestion is to make a donation in honor of the staff to one or more needs at the shelter that best align with your interests. There might be a special fund for cat spaying and neutering or a building improvement fund. There may be some very specific needs that you could fund that would really benefit both the staff and the animals. For example, maybe the dryer needs to be repaired so that bedding and towels can fully dry (and save energy costs). To find out how to make the most of your contribution in honor of the staff, contact the shelter director. The director probably has an endless wish list just waiting for someone special like you.
Another suggestion is to anonymously provide vegan treats for the shelter staff. This could be as simple as some holiday cookies and Silk Nog. If the shelter has no party or it's a potluck affair, the possibilities are endless. A sign with the food can say it all: "Season's Eatings! (And 100 percent vegan!) In appreciation of ALL that you do for animals." While there's no tax deductibility for this type of giving, its rewards far outweigh any tax benefits.
A combination of the two suggestions is always a possibility. For example, you could send a contribution to the shelter or pay for one of its special needs in honor of the staff along with refreshments for the staff.
Will your efforts be appreciated? Indeed! I've seen a shelter director moved to tears. A thank-you card from the staff to the "anonymous donor" had these lines: "No one has ever done this before" and "I didn't think anybody cared about us."
Contact the director of your local animal shelter to find out how you can best help the animals, the staff and the shelter in this season of giving by becoming a shelter Santa Paws.
View full post on PETA Prime: Celebrating Kind Choices
BP investors spooked by oil spill lawsuit (Reuters)
Reuters – Oil giant BP was the biggest faller on Britain’s blue-chip board on Thursday, as investors fretted that a U.S. government lawsuit may mean the cost of its oil spill will be far higher than earlier expected.
View full post on Yahoo! News: Environment News
Nuclear News: New nuclear waste transport crosses into Germany
Deutsche Welle: New nuclear waste transport crosses into Germany
‘A new train carrying nuclear waste has crossed into Germany from France on its way to a storage facility in northern Germany. Police are being deployed to ensure that anti-nuclear protesters do not disrupt the route. The latest shipment of nuclear waste crossed the border into Germany from France on Wednesday afternoon. The train had begun its journey on Tuesday evening when it set out from the southern French research center of Cadarache. It is expected to arrive at its destination – a storage facililty in the northern German town of Lubmin – on Thursday. In the containers are around 2,500 spent fuel rods, that are originally from a research facility in the southwestern German city of Karlsruhe that went offline in 1991 and the research vessel Otto Hahn, which hasn’t been used since 1979.’
World Bulletin: Turkey’s first nuclear power plant to cost about $20 bln
‘Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, planned to be built by Russian state nuclear company on the southern coast of the country, would cost around $20 billion, a Russian official said on Wednesday. In May, Turkey and Russia signed a deal for construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, a small town on the Mediterranean coast. Alexander Lokshin from ROSATOM, Russia’s state-owned atomic power corporation, appeared at a press conference in Istanbul to give information about Akkuyu nuclear power plant process. Lokshin said that Akkuyu site would be licensed by the end of 2011. “We have one year ahead for applications,” Lokshin said, however, he added that it could take a little bit more than a year to complete legal procedures for licensing. Earlier this week, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovsky said that Russian company was likely to start building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in 2013 and the first reactor was planned to generate electricty in 2018.’
Daily Times: China pursues Pakistan nuclear deal; dilemma in West
‘SINGAPORE: China is moving ahead with a deal to export nuclear reactors to Pakistan despite grave misgivings in the West, in a sign it too can shape the rules of global nuclear trade after the US forced a waiver for India. By winking at India’s nuclear weapons programme and opening up exports of nuclear fuel and material to the rising Asian power, the US had created an opening for China and Pakistan to pursue similar cooperation, despite the risk of proliferation, analysts said. Under the 2008 deal, the US lifted a 35-year embargo on nuclear trade with India and then leaned on the 46-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG,) that lays the rules for peaceful use of nuclear exports, to grant an exemption so that a $150 billion market opened up. China too is hoping to help meet the energy needs of its ally Pakistan that was denied a similar deal by the US on the grounds that it had to improve its nuclear proliferation record first. This week, as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao travels to India first and then Pakistan, where he is expected to affirm strategic ties, the race to expand nuclear energy programmes in South Asia has added another layer of instability in a troubled region. While the collaboration is meant to boost nuclear energy as a viable alternative to fossil fuel for the growing economies of India and Pakistan, analysts say the deals indirectly help both nations’ weapons programmes by freeing up domestic reserves of uranium which are not under international inspections.’
Japan Today: Japan – Full operation of prototype fast-breeder reactor Monju to be delayed to 2014 or later
‘FUKUI — The launch of full operation of Japan’s prototype fast-breeder reactor Monju will be delayed by about a year to 2014 or later, due to work to collect a device which accidentally fell into the reactor in August, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, the operator of the 280,000-kilowatt Monju reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, is expected to remove the device from the reactor next summer or later and then conduct checkups, delaying the test operation initially scheduled to start next spring and subsequent full-fledged run. Removing the 3.3-ton device which was used for fuel exchange before it fell into the reactor vessel in the Aug 26 accident requires special equipment, approval from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and a follow-up inspection. Yoshiaki Takaki, minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, is expected to notify Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa of the decision at a meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, the sources said.’
Expatica France: Standard and Poor’s warns Areva of likely downgrade
‘Standard and Poor’s warned Wednesday that it would likely downgrade France’s state-owned nuclear services group Areva after it raised significantly less fresh capital than expected. “The rating action reflects the likelihood that we will downgrade by one notch Areva’s BBB+ rating as well as its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of bbb-,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Karl Nietvelt said in a statement. The rating agency said the 900-million-euro capital increase “is well below the 2.0 billion-2.5 billion we expected” and will leave the company with about four billion in net debt at the end of this year.’
Bloomberg: Pakistani Nuclear Program’s UN Aid Shows Weakness of Watchdog
‘Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — The United Nations agency tasked with curbing nuclear proliferation may have unwittingly helped Pakistan develop its atomic-weapons program because of weak internal oversight, according to documents and interviews with three former UN scientists. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency provided financial and technical aid to develop Pakistan’s uranium mines and improve plutonium-producing reactors even after the country tested a nuclear weapon in 1998 in defiance of a non- proliferation treaty, IAEA documents show. While the IAEA aid was intended for civilian nuclear power, Pakistan used uranium from the mines for weapons, said three former agency scientists with direct knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified because they are prohibited from commenting by confidentiality agreements with the IAEA. Pakistan’s two atomic-energy plants run on fuel from China and uranium from Niger under IAEA safeguards, according to agreements with the Vienna-based agency. “The uranium-mining assistance appears to have assisted Pakistan in furthering its nuclear-weapons program,” said Charles Ferguson, president of the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists and a physicist who has consulted for the U.S. State Department and the Energy Department. “What occurred was a lack of effective oversight.”’
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Inter-species mating could doom polar bear: experts (AFP)
AFP – Climate change is pushing Arctic mammals to mate with cousin species, in a trend that could be pushing the polar bear and other iconic animals towards extinction, biologists said on Wednesday.
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Top 12 unhealthiest wintertime drinks (Y! Green)
Y! Green – Ho ho, oh no, the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. Especially the flavors involved; pumpkin, gingerbread, and eggnog all get a hearty oh-oh-yes from me. But the pure volume of food and drink, at some point, becomes nearly obscene.
View full post on Yahoo! News: Environment News
BP pledges cooperation after US files suit (AFP)
AFP – BP pledged on Wednesday to cooperate with the United States after the government filed a suit against the energy giant for damages caused by this year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
View full post on Yahoo! News: Environment News
US sues BP, eight others to cover cleanup, losses from Gulf oil spill (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor – The Justice Department filed suit on Wednesday against BP Exploration and Production Inc. and eight other companies, seeking unlimited payments to cover ongoing cleanup costs and economic losses from the massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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