Cheay Areng Dam Would Flood Cardamom Forest and Displace Indigenous Peoples For No Other Reason But Greed

Cambodia: Stop The Flooding Of The Cardamom Forest!

This is what’s at stake: rainforest as far as the eye can see (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

China Guodian Corporation, a state-owned power company, plans to build a hydroelectric dam on the Areng’s upper reaches in Cambodia.

The Cheăy Areng dam would spell catastrophe for the rainforest dwellers by inundating their habitat. Just a few hundred of the highly-endangered Siamese crocodiles remain worldwide – and most of them live in the Areng Valley.

The indigenous peoples would lose their homes and have to be relocated.

From an economic point of view, the project makes little sense, as its costs would exceed its benefits for the country:

20,000 hectares of rainforest are to be flooded; half of them in the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest.

The lost habitat is one of the most important biologically diverse areas in Cambodia, with more than 277 animal species recorded in the valley, of which 31 are globally threatened. Among these are the Asian elephant, the clouded leopard, the Siamese crocodile, the dragon fish and the white-winged duck.

Development of the densely wooded river valley would pave the way for illegal logging and poaching.

Nearly 1,000 indigenous Khmer Daeum people face forced relocation from their ancestral homelands that they have sustainably managed to date.

Other energy companies have studied the project but turned it down – in addition to the environmental damage, the costs for the dam would be very high in view of the plant’s low capacity. Its projected output of only 108 MW would not meet Cambodia’s rising energy needs.

China Guodian Corporation, however, now wants to sign an agreement on the construction and operation of the dam with the Cambodian government.

Please sign the petition which the Cambodian environmentalists will be submitting to China Guodian Corporation. It will also be addressed to the Cambodian government at a later date.

Start of campaign: Jun 7, 2013

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Also See:

Fight On To Keep Pristine Paradise From Being Turned Into Death Valley

An unlikely alliance has been formed to block efforts to flood the Central Cardamon Protected Forest to make way for a dubious hydroelectric project that puts the future of the indigenous people and the...

See rest of article at the link.

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Unconscionable. I can't even begin to describe the outrage I feel about this. This has happened so many times wherein these hydroelectric dams are built displacing indigenous people and destroying forests, agricultural land and displacing species all for greed. And reportedly this company is doing it in order to get oil and gas concessions. Yet those who do this claim hydroelectric dams are "green." Please pass this on and sign the petition to protect this pristine and diverse paradise and the culture and spirit of the trees here as well as the river.

Also see:

Hydroelectric Dams Pose Threat To Tribal Peoples

Bill Nye: "Heat Energy" Caused 2.6 Mile Wide Tornado In Oklahoma

Bill Nye: "Heat Energy" Caused 2.6 Mile Wide Tornado In Oklahoma

By Stephen C. Webster

Excess “heat energy in the atmosphere” contributed significantly to making last week’s EF5 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma grow to an astonishing 2.6 miles-wide, science educator Bill Nye told CNN on Tuesday.

The El Reno tornado was the widest-ever on record, and the National Weather Service said its winds nearly topped 300 miles per hour. A total of 19 people died in the event, including two experienced storm chasers, less than two weeks after another EF5 tornado killed 25 in neighboring Moore, Oklahoma.

“What would make it so wide is more heat energy in the atmosphere,” Nye said. “But just fundamentally, if you think of a tornado as being a half mile or three quarters of a mile wide, this thing’s about four times that… So, the first approximation is, if it’s four times as wide and you’re looking at the same area, it would be 16 times as much energy [as an average tornado].”

“Now, the problem is probably more complicated than that,” he went on. “But it’s on the order of two times 10: so 20 times as much energy in a tornado. And you guys, I appreciate everybody saying ‘this is a very rare event, you may never see this again in your lifetime,’ but if this is the third tornado to go through, very narrowly, this track in the last, say, since 1999… Maybe it’s the beginning of something that’s troublesome. So, this is really something for everybody to consider.”

While the science is out on how climate change interacts with tornadoes, scientists have long predicted that extreme weather patterns would worsen as more heat energy and moisture is trapped in the atmosphere due to human activity and industrial carbon emissions.

In his 2009 book “Storms of My Grandchildren,” former top NASA climatologist James Hansen writes that as the polar ice caps melt, more water vapor occupies the air. With more water vapor and more heat trapped in the atmosphere, extreme weather systems like tornadoes and hurricanes have more moisture to power their fury, leading to storms of gradually increasing destructiveness.

“Global warming does increase the intensity of droughts and heat waves, and thus the area of forest fires,” Hansen wrote. “However, because the warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, global warming must also increase the intensity of the other extreme of the hydrologic cycle — meaning heavier rains, more extreme floods, and more intense storms driven by latent heat, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, and tropical storms.”

Climate-related extreme weather events cost the U.S. in excess of $170 billion in 2012, a total which amounts to more than two-thirds of the natural disaster costs felt around the world, according to the environmental group World Watch Institute.

end of excerpt.

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No apology for some of the language in my response here. It is warranted at this point. I truly wonder when fossil fuel companies will be held responsible for all of the people they have killed and how long it really will take for people to demand it and the changes we now must see to save ourselves!

Thank you Bill Nye. Also take into account that the Moore tornado was moving 20-25 MPH when it is usual for such violent tornadoes to move much faster. This facilitated much more devastation. Arctic amplification also enters into these events in regards to jet stream changes holding fronts in place providing the conditions for these events to be more destructive. Hurricane Sandy was also only moving at about 10 MPH which facilitated much more damage. It is time for deniers in league with oil goons for $$$$, ideologues with a partisan stick stuck up their butts and those scientists as well who continue to be fearful of TRUTH to tell us what is really going on. By rights this tornado should have been categorized as an EF-6. We are crossing into new territory here and the continued BS being spewed by those who refuse to see it for their own selfish reasons is KILLING PEOPLE. This is not some partisan game being played. THIS IS ABOUT OUR LIVES. In decades to come when the coasts are under water and people will have no choice but to move inland, where will they go? What will we do when the Ogalalla Aquifer runs dry and that combined with more frequent and severe drought cuts food production while raising prices leading us to potential famine? But hey, let's keep burning that TAR SAND Sludge and using the sand it is sucked from to bury our heads... Absolutely insane.

Nestle' Strikes Deal To Pump Unrestricted Amounts Of Water From Ontario Aquifer During Drought Conditions

"Nestlé's Chairman and former CEO once infamously declared that, "access to water should not be a public right." Nestlé has won a permit to drain an Ontario aquifer whenever it likes. Meanwhile, the surrounding communities which rely on the aquifer have by-laws to restrict their access to their own water during dry conditions in the summer. This just isn’t right, and groups are fighting back against Nestlé and the Ontario government office that handed out its permit in an environmental tribunal. It shouldn’t take a legal proceeding to force Nestlé to do the right thing. Let’s tell Nestlé that a community’s access to its own water supply is more important than any company's profits.

Tell Nestlé: Stop bottling Ontario’s water source during drought conditions.

Currently, Nestlé has a permit through 2017 to take about 1.1 million litres of water per day from Hillsburgh, Ontario for its bottling operations in nearby Aberfoyle -- even during drought conditions while there are by-laws on water use for households. SumOfUs.org is joining a number of groups that are fighting back against Nestlé.

Nestlé has been in the news a lot lately for attempting to profit from our natural resources. Last month, over 220,000 SumOfUs.org supporters signed our petition against Nestlé's greedy effort to patent the fennel flower, a cure-all medicinal remedy for millions of people in impoverished communities across the Middle East and Asia. Several days after we sent out our petition, a video emerged showing Nestlé’s Chairman claiming that the idea that water is a human right comes from “extremist” NGOs and that water should have a market value. Nestlé has dealt with NGOs and lost before -- the years-long boycott over Nestlé's dirty tactics to get mothers to stop breastfeeding and use baby formula -- which resulted in thousands of infant deaths from water-born illnesses -- was a historic success in corporate campaigning.

Nestlé’s appetite to commodify water and natural remedies is a recurring strategy by a corporation with a pattern of seeking to privatize and profit from traditional knowledge and our natural resources. By speaking out against the draining of our watersheds, you will be taking a stand against Nestlé’s strategy to profit off everything in nature.

Demand that Nestlé stop commodifying everything in nature. Stop draining Ontario's watershed to bottle water.

Thanks for all you do"

Also see:

Groups To Participate In Hearings On Nestle's Water Taking In Ontario

Please sign the petition to stop Nestle'from violating our human right to water.

UPDATE 6-6-13:Czech Floods...Floods in Central Europe... Floods in the Midwest... Monster Tornadoes...Heatwaves...Glacier Melting...Excessive Drought... Now, What Could Be The Reason? Really? People Are Still Asking That Question?

UPDATE: 6-6-13: Copters Pluck Families From Raging European Floods

The death toll so far has included eight people in the Czech Republic, five in Germany, two in Austria and one in Slovakia.

USTI NAD LABEM, Czech Republic — Families in southern Germany scrambled to their rooftops and were airlifted to safety by helicopter Wednesday after two levees broke and raging floodwaters swept through their village.

The drama in the southern German town of Deggendorf was being echoed in various degrees across vast tracts of central Europe. Authorities said at least 16 people have died and at least four others were missing in the surge of water overflowing river banks.

Thousands of people have had to be evacuated, chemical plants along the swollen rivers have been closing down hastily and emergency workers were bracing for new flood crests at cities along the mighty Danube and Elbe rivers.

The dpa news agency said helicopters started evacuating residents Wednesday after two levees along the Danube and Isar rivers broke and huge masses of water poured into the Bavarian village of Deggendorf.

Four farmers were rescued at the very last minute by helicopter as floods submerged their tractor, firefighter Alois Schraufstetter said, adding that water was nearly 10 feet high in the village.

"This is a life-threatening situation," he told dpa.

Photos: Historic floods submerge Europe

Related: German city submerged by 'dramatic' 500-year flood

Overall, the death toll included eight people in the Czech Republic, five in Germany, two in Austria and one in Slovakia. At least four other people were missing in the Czech Republic.

Related: Death toll climbs in European flooding

An emergency committee in the Czech capital of Prague said the water in the Elbe was expected to reach 36 feet early Thursday morning in the northern Czech Republic, almost four times its usual height.

Firefighters said more than 19,000 people were evacuated from the flooding in the Czech Republic. Floodwaters in the Elbe, after inundating parts of Prague, were now roaring north toward Germany, particularly the eastern city of Dresden.

In villages around Usti nad Labem, a northern Czech city of 100,000 people, police in boats were handing out drinking water and medicine to those who had not evacuated.

Alena Lacinova despaired at how much she would have to rebuild after watching the water wash into her home. In many places, even protective barriers were unable to stop the surge.

"At the moment, we have about 2.5 meters (8 feet) of water inside. The cellar and the house are flooded," she said, adding that she was expecting 3 more feet of water soon. "It's a pity for all those who have the same problem and have not enough money to fix it any time soon."



Surely the austerity measures forced upon people living in the EU will more than enough satisfy the funding needed to now HELP THEM.::::sarcasm:::: At least the government of Germany has made strides in renewable/solar energy much more so than the government here in the US that thinks these events are just "normal" because we are addicted to oil. However, the rate of transition to the rate of effect is quickly becoming unattainable... Question now is, will the EU now drown in its own austerity proving that these measures in the face of climate change are ill considered? Do you think there might be more important crises we need to be concerned with globally? How many more lives will have to be lost before the world comes together to truly face this crisis?



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Thousands Evacuated As Deadly Floods Swamp Europe



By Andy Eckardt and John Newland, NBC News

Floodwaters from heavy rains swamped five countries in Europe and threatened others, leaving at least six people dead and eight missing. Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have been affected, with officials in the Czech capital, Prague, closing the subway system, evacuating thousands of homes and warning other people not to come into the city. Slovakia and Hungary were preparing flood defenses on the Danube River. In Germany, rain levels that reached record highs in May contributed to widespread flooding across southern and eastern parts of the country.

In the southern state of Bavaria, more than 20,000 firefighters and other rescue workers were battling rising water levels, especially in the southeast. The historic cities of Passau and Rosenheim declared states of emergency.

Water in Passau, which is surrounded by three rivers, was at record levels, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said. "The situation is ... dramatic."

Snip

"This weekend saw many southern German towns struck particularly hard. "In the past three days, more than 400 liters of rain per square meter [about 10 gallons per square foot] were measured in many regions that border the Alps," meteorologist Klaus Lessmann from German public broadcaster ZDF said. The German Weather Service, DWD, reported Monday that Germany had not seen such extreme soil moisture in the past 50 years."

Also see:

Oklahoma A "War Zone" After Twisters And Floods/Floods In Central Europe/U.S. Midwest

India Heatwave Bringing Violence And Protest

San Antonio Floods

Torrential Rains Flood Athens

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I have been covering this here and elsewhere for more than seven plus years. See current posts on Arctic melting as well. Much time and work goes into this effort because I care about this world and the present and future and care that people have this information to be aware and empowered. Would really appreciate knowing I am not alone here.







Major Loss In Sea Ice Volume: It Does Effect You

Huge Hurricane Bears Down On U.S. East Coast: Will This Be Our Wake Up Call?

Satellite Data Shows Sea Level Rise

India: Poorest Monsoon Rains In Four Decades

Drought Leads to Natural Disaster In 26 States

Drought Hits Spain's Wheat Crop

Anthropogenic Climate Change Has Intensified The Global Water Cycle

Dry Weather/Overconsumption Drawing Down Lake Mead

Our Oceans Have Acidified More In The Last 200 Years Than The Previous 21,000 Years

Human Forcings On Climate Already A Factor In Mediterranean Droughts

Lake Erie's Toxic Algae Bloom Seen From Space

The Colorado River: Running Near Empty

Extreme Snowfall Blankets South Africa

Climate Change/Biodistress The Test Of Humanity

Severe Rains Pounds North Nigeria City

East Africa: Severe Drought Due To Climate Change

Island Nations Looking To Maintain Sovereignty If Lands Become Uninhabitable Due To Sea Level Rise

China Facing Worst Drought In Half A Century

When The Water Ends: Africa's Climate Conflict

Droughts, Floods And Food

Where Will The Climate Refugees Go?

Glacier Melt Across The World

Water Shortage In Southern Iraq Effects Two Million People

Drought And Desertification Worsening In Tibet

160 Syrian Villages Deserted Due To Climate Change

Brazil Drought Staunches Famed Iguazu Falls

Drought To Make Land Worldwide Uninhabitable

Species To Be Relocated As Rivers Dry Up In The UK

Australian Prime Minister Warned Over "Hell To Highwater" State

Devastating Drought Settles On The High Plains

World's Glaciers Shrink In Alps, Andes For 18th Year

Water Scarcity In The Sahel

2nd Largest Lake In Turkey No More Due To Climate Change/Waste

Spain Sweats Amid "Water Wars"

Cyprus Is Running Out Of Water

Ceremony Marks "Death" Of Australia's Greatest River

Central Africa's Lake Chad Is Disappearing

Floodwaters Ravage Illinois And Iowa As Drought Declared In California

African Glaciers Disappearing

Global Warming Is Shrinking The Great Lakes

Australia's Farms Thirst

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This is just a small sampling of news related to climate change events from this blog over the last seven years. It doesn't even make a dent in all of the global extreme events that have taken place beyond the norm that include record breaking wildfires in the Northwest US in 2011-2012 as well as Australia (the 2010 Russia wildfires have already been connected to climate change as have the floods in Pakistan and heat wave in Australia) floods, heat waves (2000-2010 was the hottest decade ever recorded with 2012 the hottest year ever recorded in the US) record breaking storms including hurricanes and cyclones, mega drought in the Amazon that has also been linked to human induced climate change due to their 1-100 year occurrence now being shortened to 1-5 years...

And yet, with all of this reality, with all of this evidence, with all of this damage to our environment, economy and loss of life and biodiversity, with 97% of scientists in agreement as to the cause... with it staring us down in our faces people still ask-gee, what could be doing this? Well, the answer is us regardless of what paid shills and oil executives tell you and the sooner we fess up to it the sooner we can get down to doing the moral thing to make sure our children and grandchildren have a world that isn't totally destroyed. The emissions poured into our atmosphere over the last century are now being seen. The more we continue to pour into the atmosphere now only amplifies those effects in the future.

So many voices crying in the wilderness as it is being deforested around us and yet so much silence. So much fear in admitting we screwed up. Is PRIDE truly to be our downfall? Is our world and our water not worth more than pride?

Source Of Life Running Out: Water Scientists

Source OF Life Running Out: Water Scientists

"The majority of people on Earth people will face severe water shortages within a generation or two if pollution and waste continues unabated, scientists warned at a conference in Bonn Friday.

"This handicap will be self-inflicted and is, we believe entirely avoidable," read a document entitled The Bonn Declaration issued at the close of the four-day international huddle.

The conference sought to assess the evidence of Man's impact on freshwater resources, which constitute only 2.5 percent of the total volume of water on Earth.

Currently, an estimated third of the world's seven million people has limited access to adequate fresh water, according to conference delegates.

"In the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the nine billion people on Earth will be living under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water," said the declaration.

The nine billion mark is widely projected to be reached from about 2040.

"We are flying the red flag out of our conference here," Charles Vorosmarty, co-chairman of the Global Water System Project research body that hosted the meeting, said in a teleconference from Bonn.

"These self-inflicted wounds have long-term legacy effects that are not easy to turn around."

The declaration points out that humanity uses an area the size of South America to grow crops and another the size of Africa to raise livestock.

Two-thirds of major river deltas are sinking due to groundwater extraction, and tens of thousands of large dams are distorting natural river flows on which ecosystems have depended for millennia.

Much damage is being done by river pollution from sewer drainage or agricultural fertiliser and pesticide use.

Already, about a billion people around the world are dependent on finite water supplies being depleted at a fast rate, said Vorosmarty, who made a plea for more financial and technical resources for research.

"We're not making the requisite commitments to creating observational networks and satellite systems that can measure the state of water," he said.

"Increasingly, we are flying blind and finding it very difficult to figure where we are and where we're going and whether the things we are doing are making a difference."

end of excerpt.

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Are we going to just let it happen?

We do have some choices:

We can continue to allow corporations with the direct help of governments to continue polluting our waterways until they are all toxic and unfit for human or any other species' consumption...



Or we could continue to allow corporations with the direct help of governments to privatize all of our water systems thus taking control of a human right and public trust to jack up prices while decreasing quality and safety beyond what the poor can afford to limit access even more...Afterall, look at all the pretty Coke cans we can make...





Or we can continue to be gluttonous not thinking of anything but the here and now nor caring where our water comes from until we turn on our faucets and nothing comes out...



Or we could dig deep inside us and find the moral courage and respect for this life liquid that will enable us to fight back and protect and preserve our water for us and generations to come...







What do you think we should choose?

Obama's Arctic Strategy Sets Off A Climate Time Bomb

Obama's Arctic Strategy Sets Off A Climate Time Bomb

US National Strategy for the Arctic Region prioritises corporate 'economic opportunities' at the expense of everyone else

One week ago, the Obama administration launched its National Strategy for the Arctic Region, outlining the government's strategic priorities over the next 10 years. The release of the strategy came about a week after the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President at the White House Complex hosted a briefing with international Arctic scientists.

Despite giving lip service to the values of environmental conservation, the new document focuses on how the US can manage the exploitation of the region's vast untapped oil, gas and mineral resources in cooperation with other Arctic powers.

US hinges success of Arctic strategy on diminishing sea ice

At the heart of the White House's new Arctic strategy is an elementary but devastating contradiction between what President Obama, in the document's preamble, describes as seeking "to make the most of the emerging economic opportunities in the region" due to the rapid loss of Arctic summer sea ice, and recognising "the need to protect and conserve this unique, valuable, and changing environment."

Despite repeated references to "preservation" and "conservation", the strategy fails to outline any specific steps that would be explored to mitigate or prevent the disappearance of the Arctic sea ice due to intensifying global warming. Instead, the document from the outset aims to:

"... position the United States to respond effectively to challenges and emerging opportunities arising from significant increases in Arctic activity due to the diminishment of sea ice and the emergence of a new Arctic environment."

In other words, far from being designed to prevent catastrophe, the success of the new strategy is premised precisely on the disappearance of the Arctic summer sea ice.Z

The document identifies three main US objectives in the region: advancing US "security interests" by increasing US military and commercial penetration "through, under, and over the airspace and waters of the Arctic"; pursuing "responsible Arctic region stewardship" by continuing to "conserve its resources"; and strengthening international cooperation to advance "collective interests" and "shared Arctic state prosperity" - all the while, somhow working to "protect the Arctic environment."

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Anyone who has been paying attention and isn't blinded by partisan politics to what is happening in the Arctic has pieced this puzzle together already regarding why we are not seeing action on the climate crisis.

As was already covered:

Ocean Acidification Poised To Radically Effect Arctic

Arctic Melting Tipping Point That Should Matter To You

The Arctic, Humanity's Barometer

Major Loss In Arctic Sea Ice Volume-It Does Effect You

And here:

Our Carbon Debt, Our Moral Duty

To continue to allow politicians and corporations in these countries involved (and that includes the Harper Govt. in Canada) to control our fate and the fate of our children by being totally indifferent to the moral consequences of their folly and false choices is irresponsible and immoral.

Please read the information at the links provided and consider the other information that will be added here. Where profit and control is concerned there is no such thing as Obama, Bush or any of them really being on your side. Only this time they are exacerbating a global catastrophe. What will wake people up? An ARCTIC WAR? Russia already planted their flag. DO you really trust that what has happened in the Middle East cannot happen here?

It is time to ask yourself : WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO TO SAVE HER AND YOURSELF?

What of the species that live there and the indigenous people who have survived there for centuries?

America's First Climate Refugees..." It's Happening Now...The Village Is Sinking"

Let them drown so Shell can get at the oil?

Is this what we've become?

State Department Gives Favorable Assessment Of Keystone XL (written by a Transcanada Rep)

Let's keep pumping tar sands exacerbating the very melting that will facilitate drilling and sucking up more oil to keep the positive feedbacks going... after all, GOLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE, no? How many Hurricane Sandys will it take? How many famines?

And you thought John Kerry was different?

Arctic Council Fiddles While Region Melts



China Eyes Arctic Riches As It Obtains "Observer" Status On Arctic Council

Ice is melting away at a record-breaking rate in the Arctic, exposing valuable natural resources and opening up new shipping routes. Measurements taken last August found levels of Arctic sea ice were at their lowest levels since satellites began measuring the ice in 1979.

China doesn't own any Arctic territory - in fact, its northernmost point is more than 1,400km south of the Arctic Circle. But it's nevertheless taking a strong interest in the region, building a physical presence there and using diplomacy and trade ties to gain a foothold.

China’s actions in the region have paid off as it, along with five other non-Arctic states, have been granted permanent observer status to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of eight countries with Arctic territory.

Gaining observer status does not allow China any voting rights on the Arctic Council. But it does give it sway in an increasingly important region. Not only does the shrinking ice have climate implications; warming temperatures at the poles have raised the possibility of access to as much as 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

end of excerpt

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Militarization Of The Arctic-"We Have To Rethink How War Is Fought"

By John Robles

As the Arctic ice continues to melt and resources slowly begin to be available the West has decided to begin the militarization of the Arctic zone in a bid to gain control over the precious resources. In an interview with the John Robles of the Voice of Russia Agenta Nordberg, Vice Chair of the Swedish Peace Council gives her views on the issue and also comments on the militarization of Sweden, Norway and the North and the NATO expansion into “neutral” areas.

Robles: I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about NATO, in the Arctic, in particular, can you tell our listeners about the radar installations and satellite communications equipment they have set up in Norway and in Scandinavia?

Norberg: Well, I’m not a technician but I can tell you that recently it was published: a book the Satellite War by Bård Wormdal – a journalist at Norwegian radio. And it was a very important book, it was published in 2011.

I invited him to Stockholm in October when we had a day about the Arctic and the situation in the Arctic and what he says is you have to change your whole idea of how war is conducted. War is conducted via satellite and via radar installations.

And for instance, to make it clear, to understand what we should understand is: that the war on Libya, the former year, was conducted via satellite from Svalbard. This is very dangerous because, this island, the Svalbard Islands are a peace area undersigned by 14 different nations but Norway has allowed the United States of America to deploy radar installations, and in connection with the satellite they are conducting war. This is a quite new understanding of how war is conducted.

Robles: NATO and the US, they claim that their missiles, that are now surrounding Russia and their radar installations all over the world, that these are somehow a defensive shield.

Norberg: You have to differ between all these: the national missile defense, they call it. The Vardo radar close to the Russian border is one installation, and there are also those in Poland and in Turkey, and they will also be deployed in Romania it is a missiles shield. It is one thing.

The other thing are all the other radars and satellites which are informing the pilots and the war planes how to bomb and where to bomb. I have a globe here in front of me and it is almost all covered by US radar installations for different purposes. So, you have this national missile shield, which they claim is for defense, and it is an offensive weapon. It can be used as defensive but it can as well be used as an offensive weapon. And one of those radars are installed just outside the Russian border in Vardo.

I’ve been rather surprised when I’ve met Russian scientists and visitors in Stockholm, last year in October, I arranged a seminar as I mentioned about the Arctic, and the Russian representative, he didn’t agree with me that this was a dangerous situation. The only one who agreed with me was Bård Wormdal, the journalist who had written the book Satellite War.

There seems to be lack of understanding about the installations surrounding the Russian border, that is my opinion. And I think it is rather dangerous.

Robles: Why did the Russian expert disagree with you?

Norberg: Because he said that the Vardo radar is not dangerous, and I disagreed with him. And also Bård Wormdal disagreed with him.

This Vardo radar, a few kilometers outside Russian border, is rather dangerous because it is in the missile defense system, so called missile defense system. So, I think he was not aware of this. We disagreed rather strong on this matter and that’s why I’m very happy that you called me so I can tell this.

Robles: There hasn’t been much news about that. Now, as far as NATO and the Arctic in the north and Scandinavia and Canada, can you give us some details about NATO’s plans and their current activities, especially in the Arctic, as it is opening up, and resources are becoming available that were not available before?

Norberg: Then I think I will drift back to Sweden because during the last years, starting with 2007, there’ve been huge war maneuvers on the Swedish and Norwegian soil, with all NATO, and specifically the American State participating in huge maneuvers in the north.

They were called for instance: Nordic Air Meet in 2007 where a lot of countries took part, and then in 2009, it was Loyal Arrow: history’s largest air maneuver in the northern part of Sweden and Norway, and also Finland was the area. And then it continued with the Cold Response №1, a winter maneuver in the northern part of Sweden and northern Norway. And it continued in March 2012 with the Cold Response №2 with 16,500 soldiers from 15 different countries. And then after this you had last autumn a huge maneuver in the north called Nordic Air Meet №2.

So, there are ongoing military war games and some Russian military has protested, specifically against Cold Response №2.

Nobody in Sweden would have known about this unless 5 Norwegian personnel crashed into Kebnekaise, a mountain in the northern Sweden, we would never have known about these 16,500 troop military maneuver.

So, it is ongoing, not on daily basis, but certainly every year it is about two huge maneuvers in the north, and even in the south, in the Baltic. And this should be highlighted I think.

Robles: Now… Sweden as I understand is a neutral country, one point: how does Sweden officially explain that they allowed these installations? And do you think all these maneuvers are designed to intimidate Russia or to try to exercise sovereignty on the Arctic? And in that regard, what moves have they made to try to establish their own sovereignty over Arctic areas that were in dispute?

Norberg: Well, when we drift to Arctic I think there are two things going on here. When they are interviewed, those who are in charge of these maneuvers, they always answer that this is for the Arctic. They openly express this. These maneuvers are for the Arctic and the resources which will be available when the ice is melting.

Agneta Nordberg is Vice Chair of the Swedish Peace Council, Member of Steering Committee in International Peace Bureau(IPB) and on the board of directors Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

Images of ColdResponse2:







I fear that once the Arctic is truly opened up we as a species will once again fail to do what is right in understanding our place and the consequences of our actions and more will die for our love of money. I hope I am proven wrong.

Drop In U.S. Underground Water Levels Has Accelerated:USGS

Drop In U.S. Underground Water Levels Has Accelerated:USGS

By Environment Correspondent Deborah Zabarenko

(Reuters) - Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The accelerated decline in the subterranean reservoirs is due to a combination of factors, most of them linked to rising population in the United States, according to Leonard Konikow, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

The big rise in water use started in 1950, at the time of an economic boom and the spread of U.S. suburbs. However, the steep increase in water use and the drop in groundwater levels that followed World War 2 were eclipsed by the changes during the first years of the 21st century, the study showed.

As consumers, farms and industry used more water starting in 2000, aquifers were also affected by climate changes, with less rain and snow filtering underground to replenish what was being pumped out, Konikow said in a telephone interview from Reston, Virginia.

Depletion of groundwater can cause land to subside, cut yields from existing wells, and diminish the flow of water from springs and streams.

Agricultural irrigation is the biggest user of water from aquifers in the United States, though the energy industry, including oil and coal extraction, is also a big user.

The USGS study looked at 40 different aquifers from 1900 through 2008 and found that the historical average of groundwater depletion - the amount the underground reservoirs lost each year - was 7.5 million acre-feet (9.2 cubic kilometers).

From 2000 to 2008, the average was 20.2 million acre-feet (25 cubic kilometers) a year. (An acre-foot is the volume of water needed to cover an acre to the depth of one foot.)

One of the best-known aquifers, the High Plains Aquifer, also known as the Oglala, had the highest levels of groundwater depletion starting in the 1960s. It lies beneath parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, where water demand from agriculture is high and where recent drought has hit hard.

end of excerpt

Also See:

Ogallala Aquifer In Texas Panhandle Suffers Big Drop

Wow, a 19 foot drop in one year! This is totally unsustainable. Irrigation practices as well as what is being grown is also key in conserving water. And this is part of the problem we see in the US with farmers also now having to fight corporations for water for fracking. Fracking needs to be BANNED. There is nothing good about it.

For Farms in the West, Oil Wells Are Thirsty Rivals

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If you think this is only happening in Africa, Asia and the Middle East you are mistaken. We here in the U.S. are just as vulnerable to water scarcity and its effects as anyone else on this planet. Millions living in developing countries have been dealing with this for decades. Does it have to happen to the US before anything gets done?

How much hydro fracking will be allowed in the US when coming to the choice of having energy or food? Will solar panels look better when bread costs 20 dollars a loaf and our entire water supply is toxic as our climate has truly reached the point of no return?

There is one main message here beyond climate change, mismanagement, old infrastructure, political stalemate, privatization, pollution, etc...

WE HAVE GOT TO CONSERVE WHAT WE HAVE OR WE WON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE.

You can only dig so deep.







The Midwest Drought that is now in its third year has subsided a bit in some areas but is still extreme in states over the Ogallala aquifer as shown by the drought map above. This is a serious issue that we should be seeing on our news and on every front page of every newspaper. This concerns not only the present but the future of our national water supply and our ability to feed ourselves and the world! In twenty years time or perhaps even sooner this aquifer will be dry.

Millions of people will be without drinking water or water for agriculture. No food, no economy, no life. It is a fool's errand to continue thinking that with a rising population added to the reality of climate change that is part of what is now happening in the Midwest which is worse now than the dustbowl (because we are also not seeing replenishing of snowpack particularly in the Rockies that feed rivers) that we can use this water at its current pace living only in the here and now.

We all know this is real and that it needs to be addressed. Above all the graphs and technical jargon however, it comes down to us to have the foresight and vision as people who care about the present and future to have the moral courage to do what is right. Make no mistake about it, this does touch all of us economically, socially, and spiritually.

What will we do when the well runs dry? We won't need to find out if we act now.

* Conserve

* Call for Sustainable Agriculture practices to be employed with an end to subsidies to industrial agriculture that strips land and force feeds us GM monoculture seeds and chemicals that strip soil nutrients

* Demand political will on all levels to address this as it should be addressed in supporting biodiversity and climate change initiatives

* Support alternative energy initiatives to wean us off fossil fuels that use huge amounts of water

. And, work with nature and listen to the land. We as a species have become arrogant in our pursuit to dominate nature when we are just one part of her. When we remember this and put that respect into action we can make it whole again. But we are running out of time and water to wake up to our own participation in this crisis.