It's Not Easy Being Green, But The People Demand It
If California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, recently passed by the state Assembly, California will become the first state in the U.S. to limit man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Schwarzenegger has said he will sign the bill, which, he said, will aid California's economy as well as its environment. While some manufacturers have criticized the bill, industry experts say it should not harm electric utilities, which are responsible for about one-fifth of California's emissions.
The Energy Action Coalition has teamed up with MTV to host a contest promoting renewable energy usage on college campuses. Students will try to convert their schools to 100 percent clean energy usage in exchange for prizes that include parties, cash grants, and a "green" renovation of student common space. Hip-hop artist Jay-Z launched the competition, called Break the Addiction Challenge, on the MTV show "Total Request Live." At least ten schools already buy all of their power from green sources.
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Thirty-eight protesters were arrested at an August 31 demonstration at Britain's biggest power station, many for weapons possession and criminal damage. Some 600 environmental activists gathered in an attempt to shut down the coal-fired Drax power plant, which produces seven percent of the UK's electricity, and is the nation's single largest source of industrial CO2 emissions.
Prepare To Face The Music
In what may be a first for a sovereign nation, an environmental disaster has inspired the government of the Ivory Coast to resign in disgrace. Two weeks ago an unnamed firm dumped toxic sludge at nine sites surrounding the capital of Abidjan, so protesters took to the streets. Their actions made it difficult for medical personnel to reach the casualties suffering from poison from inhaling the fumes. Three people died and 1,500 were injured.
Exxon will have to pay $92 million in environmental damages from the 1989 Valdez oil spill, according to demands from the Alaska Department of Law and the U.S. Department of Justice. These damages come in addition to those covered by a 1991 settlement for $900 million that allowed the state and federal governments to seek additional damages for unforeseen environmental consequences at later dates. Exxon Mobil is expected to contest the damages, as the company has previously said that it believes there are no environmental damages not covered in the earlier settlement.
The world's permafrost traps the equivalent of 100 years' worth of human-made carbon emissions, and, thanks to global warming, it's thawing, concludes a study published last week in the journal Nature. As it thaws, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Experts are calling the thawing permafrost a climate time bomb.
Even if the world's largest nations suddenly agree to start limiting carbon emissions, we won't be able to curb the damage already done to the global climate, according to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. So instead of spending so much time and money on preventing global warming, association president Frances Cairncross said Monday, world leaders should focus on preparing for the inevitable consequences of climate change.
Sorting Out Space
Strange quarks contribute to a proton's charge distribution with a surprising level of symmetry, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Physical Review Letters. The strange quark is one of the smallest and most mysterious of known subatomic particles, as it seems to come into existence inside the proton and then pop out of existence, said author Derek Leinweber. Thanks to this research, led by physicists at the University of Adelaide, other scientists around the world may completely change their experimental approach to studying the very, very small.