Gaddafi Cut Off

 While Libya has been in chaos, America has been slowly stepping into the spotlight of foreign aid. In the last 72 hours, the Obama administration has been targeted on cutting off as much money as possible from the Libyan government. As mush as $29.7 billion of Libyan property have been within one bank. Here is what the Washington Post reports:

The Treasury Department team had been working nonstop on a plan to freeze Libyan assets in U.S. banks, hoping they might snare $100 million or more and prevent Moammar Gaddafi from tapping it in the deadly attacks against protesters who wanted him gone.

Never before had U.S. officials so quickly launched economic sanctions affecting so many assets of a targeted country.

The frenetic 72 hours leading up to the Executive Order 13566 illustrate how a process of identifying and freezing assets — something that customarily has taken weeks or months — has become one of the first tactical tools to employ in the midst of fast-breaking crises.

 The same virtual finances that helped maintain the Libyan government are now ironically the same ones being used against them. Although this freeze is only one of many actions used to slow down the dictatorship, there is no guarantee that it will slow Gaddafi down in any way. This action should dwindle his resources but after a look at Gaddafi's track record, it is obvious that he knows how to remain in power during rough rides. The US should also consider proactively going after sources supplying the Lybian dictatorship.

America's Future 'Green Light' from Nuclear Japan

In a meeting in which Steven Chu, Nobel prize winning physicist and energy secretary, was supposed to help promote currently 'not so socially' thriving nuclear energy to a House panel, the secretary ended up defending nuclear power in light of the recent disasters in Japan. Politico posts:

The panel did not allow him to support Obama's pro-nuclear views and instead forced him to speak of the recent Japanese disasters, possibly forcing him to promote anti-nuclear panic instead. Chu, well spoken and well informed seamed to quell the panels disturbed and distorted views of nuclear energy but possibly not enough to persuade the panel to be in favor of supporting nuclear energy. In only another among countless events of scientific misinformation and bias, it looks like America will remain anti-nuclear for several years to come.

The World Steps Back From Nuclear

While disaster after disaster crashes upon Japan, the world, which among developed nations was decidedly pro nuclear, now takes a step back to re-evaluate. The National Geographic reports:

The disaster in Japan, which threatens to worsen as the country’s officials struggle to contain what is being called the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl meltdown 25 years ago, is having repercussions on nuclear policy worldwide.

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a three-month moratorium on extending the operation periods for its nuclear power plants. Under the moratorium, seven plants that began operating before 1980 will be shut down.

Switzerland also suspended its nuclear plans pending a safety review, and the European Union called for an emergency meeting of energy ministers Tuesday to assess, among other points, the idea of running stress tests on the EU’s 143 nuclear plants.

Many already nuclear European countries have scheduled immediate check-ups for their plants. America faces a slightly different problem. Obama had high hopes for nuclear energy and this disaster is putting his efforts to a screeching halt. Although this disaster can in the end, sadly, be deemed a learning experience to the rest, it has placed many not only cautiously but violently against nuclear energy.

Sports Going Green

 With much of the world turning to green forms of energy, it is no wonder that sports would soon follow suit in going green. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar, largely due to the fact that they've pledged to build as green a stadium as possible. The beautiful plans for this stadium have inspired numerous other countries to follow closely in green sports, America being a large contender of building green stadiums. The National Geographic  reports:

The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar—the world's largest supplier of liquefied natural gas—won its bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in December with its bold commitment to make the event carbon-neutral for the first time, an effort in which stunning stadium design will play a vital role.

Qatar plans to renovate three existing stadiums and construct nine new ones, incorporating solar energy, sun-shading, and an elaborate public transportation plan.

The issue of the World Cup's greenhouse gas emissions came under scrutiny last year, when a report commissioned by the South African and Norwegian governments concluded that carbon footprint of the 2010 tournament in South Africa was eight times higher than that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The increased burden stemmed primarily from South Africa's heavy reliance on coal for electricity, and a lack of intercity rail or local public transit that required fans to travel by air and bus.

Although the African FIFA was a large help in improving impoverished countries, much of it was done in non-environmentally friendly ways. Qatar, and possibly Russia in 2018, will help pave the way for awe inspiring and environmentally friendly sports around the world.

Japan's 50 Unnamed Nuclear Heroes

 As the rest of the world watches through the gaps of shaking hands, fifty heroic Japanese workers stay behind to tend to the highly dangerous and exploding nuclear power plants. Facing full knowledge of their possible instant death due to fires and explosions, or their long term health defects due to overexposure to radiation, they've  nevertheless opted to stay behind and protect their families, their country, and the world from massive amounts of nuclear radiation. The New York Times  reports;

A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan’s last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe.

They are the faceless 50, the unnamed operators who stayed behind. They have volunteered, or been assigned, to pump seawater on dangerously exposed nuclear fuel, already thought to be partly melting and spewing radioactive material, to prevent full meltdowns that could throw thousands of tons of radioactive dust high into the air and imperil millions of their compatriots.
They struggled on Tuesday and Wednesday to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Among the many problems they faced was what appeared to be yet another fire at the plant.
The workers are being asked to make escalating — and perhaps existential — sacrifices that so far are being only implicitly acknowledged: Japan’s Health Ministry said Tuesday it was raising the legal limit on the amount of radiation to which each worker could be exposed, to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts, five times the maximum exposure permitted for American nuclear plant workers.

The reactor operators face extraordinary risks. Tokyo Electric evacuated 750 emergency staff members from the stricken plant on Tuesday, leaving only about 50, when radiation levels soared. By comparison, standard staffing levels at the three active General Electric reactors on the site would be 10 to 12 people apiece including supervisors — an indication that the small crew left behind is barely larger than the contingent on duty on a quiet day.

With extremely low chances of survival, these workers, if they survive, face a lifetime of various health defects from the overexposure. Most likely, many of them knew they were signing on to this mission to die, either short or long term. the immense pressure from the world's eyes is building upon them, as is the pressure from within the power plants themselves. More than the best of luck to these human heroes.

Kites Are The New Prius

 Are we solving the energy crisis sooner than we predicted? While many have been looking into solar energy, others have been looking at a renewable resource here one Earth: wind. Windmills are no new idea, but kites are a whole other story. MSNBC shares;

“The jet streams are like a river of free, clean, and concentrated energy flowing above us, waiting to be tapped into,” says Cristina Archer, a California State University, Chico, assistant professor of environmental sciences who has written research papers on the topic.

That promise has inspired a throng of entrepreneurs and inventors who are now trying to transform what was once stuff of science fiction into real energy businesses. The goal is the same: build mega-watt systems that can wean the world off fossil fuels and grab a slice of the $63 billion global wind energy market. The U.S. Department of Energy expects that wind will provide 20 percent of the nation’s energy by 2030 – up from just 1.8 percent today.

This is possibly THE solution to what Thomas Friedman referred to as 'Code Green' in his Hot, Flat, and Crowded. This would create revenue, jobs and international market in terms of U.S. participation beyond our dreams. The fact that this could arrive in just a few years sweetens the deal. The U.S. must jump at this chance before other countries catch up.

Toyota Bites the Dust Again

 Toyota- the world's leading symbol of car safety features and automotive environmental conservation. Not anymore. In what seemed to be Toyota's slow but steady rise back to its seat of power, the currently scrutinized company is taking another one on the chin and hard. After last years accelerator mayhem, the Japanese company swore to the world that it would prove itself once again despite the 'hiccup', but now, their rise back is becoming unrealistic.
 Since the beginning of this year, they have quietly been experiencing mistakes time and time again until now; they are recalling 1.5 million vehicles from around the globe. MSNBC shares;

Toyota's seemingly endless series of recalls began in October 2009, when it announced it would take steps to resolve a problem with so-called sudden acceleration in its vehicles. 

That recall, blamed on loose floor mats that could jam the throttle on a variety of Toyota products, was followed by another, in January 2010, resulting from a potentially sticky accelerator assembly. 

But Toyota has also had to recall millions of other vehicles ranging from the 2010 Prius (which has had issues with potentially defective brakes) to some of the carmaker’s pickup and minivan models, which have experienced excessive corrosion severe enough to cause spare tires and other parts to fall off while driving. 

Joe Phillippi, chief analyst with AutoTrends Consulting, and others caution it will be difficult, if not impossible, for Toyota to ever fully regain its once-lofty perch as a bastion of automobile safety. And other makers are clearly taking advantage of that challenge.

 While ordinarily the ups and downs of a vehicle company would affect nothing much beyond itself, the problem is much more serious in this case. Toyota is still the world's leading mass producer of environmentally friendly cars. A cultural dislike towards Toyota and its leading green product, the Prius, could lead to major back tracking in huge environmental steps. The world cannot afford for a 'motor-driven' country like America to regress to the days of Humvees.

The Lobbying of...Drugs? No, Textbooks!

In Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Thomas Friedman concludes that the world is leveling off due to the availability and inflammation of the online universe. Today, you must 'go techno' in order to survive and compete on every level. Not everyone appears to agree. In a recent proposal in Moscow, the massive quantities of textbooks owned by students were to be replaced with e-readers. Specially designed e-readers that are not harmful to the eye, environmentally friendly and much lighter than seven thick textbooks. Why would this amazing offer be turned down last minute? Due only to one 'publicly caring' reason: lobbying. In Russia, the textbook printing industry is a multi-million, if not multi-billion dollar business. It is so large that it is worth more than the drug underworld, literally. So, the only logical response would be to rightfully inform the public that after much testing, it is easily derived that this new technology is dangerous to the mental health of students:

It is known that the supply of textbooks is a multi-billion dollar business, unrivaled in volume, even with the business of drugs. And where there is multi-billion-dollar business - there is serious lobbying.

Publishing companies sounded the alarm. And, of course, in their anxiety they do not explain the real concern being the health of school children. Simon Kalinovich, a person from one of those companies, begins to bear raving news about the fact that the reader is obviously dangerous to the health of students. (Translated from Russian blogger, Exler)

Sadly, this is another prime example of the laundering of environmental resources, a brilliant idea and youth. Even the competition of a country's children in the ever demanding and increasing virtual world is not enough disband a corrupt business. Of course this was not to be unexpected, but it is painful to see the externalities every so often . The question now is how much are they willing to risk for this industry?