New York Times (August 17)
China is both the world’s largest consumer of coal and the world’s largest producer of CO2 emissions. Encouragingly, that may be set to change. “The wretched air in China’s cities is forcing Chinese officials to change their energy policies. If they do a good job tackling local pollution, they could also have a big impact on climate change.” Details are still scarce, but could include a ban on the use of coal in urban areas by 2020.
Tags: Ban, China, Cities, Climate change, CO2 emissions, Coal, Consumer, Energy policies, Officials, Pollution, Producer, Urban areas
Wall Street Journal (July 8)
“Just when the Ukraine crisis makes clear that the need to diversify Europe’s gas supplies couldn’t be greater, Germany wants to ban fracking.” If Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks gets her way, “most forms of hydraulic fracking will be prohibited until 2021,” cutting Germans off from the estimated 2.3 trillion cubic meters of shale gas that lies within their border.
New York Times (December 31, 2013)
“The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is moving to lift Japan’s ban on the export of weapons…. It is doubtful that Japan or other Asian nations can resolve the many differences in the region by enhancing their military capabilities, which only aggravates a futile arms race.”
Tags: Abe, Arms race, Asia, Ban, Export, Government, Japan, Military capabilities, Weapons
New York Times (March 13)
New Yorkers will still be able to buy their supersized drinks. A court struck down Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large servings of sugary drinks, the day before it was to be enforced. “The big-drinks ban was ill conceived and poorly constructed from the start.” Instead, the Mayor should work to “impose a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks. Just as taxes helped cut the use of cigarettes, taxes could help cut the public’s indulgence in high-calorie, giant drinks.”
Tags: Ban, Bloomberg, Calories, Cigarettes, New York, Supersized, Tax
The Independent (April 11)
Starting today, women in France may no longer wear burka or other facial coverings in public. The “burka ban,” passed last October by the French Parliament, was “seen as a defence of women’s rights and a re-statement of the liberal and secular traditions of French society.” There is, however, concern that the law might lead to unrest. Some have called it Muslim baiting. Officials are taking steps to minimize conflict. Police have been ordered not to force women to remove their coverings, but rather to forward cases to the state prosecutor. A woman may be fined €150 for wearing a burka or other facial veil.
Starting today, women in France may no longer wear burka or other facial coverings in public. The “burka ban,” passed last October by the French Parliament, was “seen as a defence of women’s rights and a re-statement of the liberal and secular traditions of French society.” There is, however, concern that the law might lead to unrest. Some have called it Muslim baiting. Officials are taking steps to minimize conflict. Police have been ordered not to force women to remove their coverings, but rather to forward cases to the state prosecutor. A woman may be fined €150 for wearing a burka or other facial veil.
New York Times (April 10)
“Time is running out” for bluefin tuna, but an ingenious new hook may provide some relief. Commercial fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico, where the catch of bluefin is illegal, will now be required to use thinner hooks. The hooks still support yellowfin tuna and swordfish, but give way under the massive weight of a bluefin, thus preventing inadvertent bluefin catches. In just the last decade, the number of bluefin in the Atlantic and Mediterranean fell by over 60%. The New York Times lays the blame for the dwindling bluefin population on “vast overfishing fueled by Japan’s insatiable sushi appetite” and advocates a worldwide ban on the sale of bluefin to help stocks recover.
