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Methane (greenhouse gas 25x potent as CO2) bubbles out 5x faster. Warmer air thaws Arctic soil, 50 bil tonnes may be released

Arctic Ocean seabed is thawing & releasing greenhouse gases. Methane, trapped in the permafrost, 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, is bubbling out faster than expected
Researchers believe the Arctic Ocean seabed is thawing in patches and releasing greenhouse gases. Methane, trapped in the permafrost, 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, is bubbling out of the frozen arctic faster than expected.

igniting bubble of methane on Alaska’s Steward Peninsula
Researchers ignite a bubble of methane on Alaska’s Steward Peninsula.

methane leaking from East Siberian Arctic Shelf into atmosphere at alarming rate
Methane is leaking from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. The amount leaking from this locale is comparable to all methane from rest of the world's oceans put together. Methane is a greenhouse gas more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Left: Researcher ignites a pocket of methane. Right: methane bubbles trapped in lake ice in Siberia in early autumn
Left: Researcher ignites a pocket of methane. Right: methane bubbles trapped in lake ice in Siberia in early autumn.

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"Earth and Nature suffer grave ruin, destruction instead of construction, when Technology is in the hands of Greed." - LuCxeed

Earth and Nature suffer grave ruin, destruction instead of construction, when Technology is in the hands of Greed.

— LuCxeed

Pope Benedict XVI: "human dignity must be preserved", criticizing body scanners which Rabbis say violate Jewish women's rights

Top: Pope Benedict XVI: ‘human dignity must be preserved’. ‘Every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity’. Bottom: hands-up to be scanned - ‘virtual strip search’ - at airport

"Every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity". "For you this reality represents an ever more task of complex organization and it is a labour that if often discreet and barely known, not always noted but which does not escape the eyes of God, who sees all of Man's works even those that are hidden."

(quote)

Pope Benedict XVI criticises airport body scanners. Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out against the use of body scanners at airports insisting that "human dignity must be preserved".

The Pope made his comments during an audience with airport workers held at the Vatican. Although the Pontiff did not mention the words body scanner it was clear what he meant as he told the 1,200 strong crowd: "Every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity.

"Respecting these principles can seem particularly complex and difficult in the present context.

"The economic crisis has had problematic effects on the civil aviation sector, the international terrorist threat which, precisely, has in its line of fire airports and aircraft to realise its destructive schemes.  read more »

EU voted down body scanners in 2008: "degrading measure". Concerns: Effective? Health? Dignity? Privacy? Heavy cost?

Cartoons. Top R: Sign in front of body scanner: ‘Remove All: shoes; belts; metal; dignity; rights’. Bottom L: ‘I hate it when fans of that Village People hit song step into the full body scanner!’
Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan - naked body scanners image of him were printed and circulated by airport staff

Craziness is not rare, neither is Crime. Else, there would be no need for law, law enforcement, etc. etc.. Does Fear lead to solutions, or to panic, shutting out common sense and wisdom? EU Justice Chief has the answer: "We have to have a very clear line on this. We must never be driven by fear but by our values."
MEPs not yet convinced about body scanners, await impact analysis: "legitimate questions"... "Technology has become the new religion in counter-terrorism"... "Violation of dignity"... "no matter how much technology you have, terrorists will manage to circumvent it"... "great cost implications" of using body scanners, and advised against "putting burdens on airport companies" (also tax payers?) without the certainty that such scanners would be useful.

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Arctic: pollution on its way. Oil drilling in Chukchi Sea threatens clean air, water, ocean resources & sea life

Oil operations at Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska's North Slope, are gradually moving offshore into the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Washing out the tanks of oil tankers, dumping bilge water and minor spillages on board or in port are the main sources of hydrocarbon pollution of marine origin.

Shall we protect Nature as it is,
reserve some land, ocean, resources
for coming generations, for our children’s children?
Shall we, or shall we not? In words, or in action?

(quote) Approval of oil drilling in Chukchi Sea fails to include recent science and violates laws that protect clean air, water, and ocean resources. Oceana, together with Arctic communities and other conservation groups filed a legal challenge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) approval of Shell Offshore Inc.’s proposed exploration drilling in the Chukchi Sea. The groups argue that MMS and Shell have not complied with federal laws that require thorough analysis of potential impacts and protections for clean air, water, and marine life.  read more »

"We must never be driven by fear but by our values." ... "To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

"We must never be driven by fear but by our values."
"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

— 1st quote by Viviane Reding, 2nd by Bertrand Russell

2010 International Year of Biodiversity. Ongoing extinction at 1000 times natural rate: most species to disappear in <100 years

2010 International Year of Biodiversity. In the logo, symbolizing biodiversity, include fish, waves, a flamingo, an adult and child, and a tree.
Top: baby harp seal. Bottom: green sea turtles
Green sea turtles, whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago, are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.
Top: deforestation; Bottom: Ecuadorian Poison Frog, Epipedobates bilinguis, transporting its tadpoles.

(quote)

World's biodiversity crisis needs action, says UN. With species extinction running at about 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate, some biologists contend that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction - the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts.

The United Nations has launched the International Year of Biodiversity, warning that the ongoing loss of species around the world is affecting human well being. Eight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be met.  read more »

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