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"Endangered Spaces blog" - 5 new articles

1. Climate Change is Harder on Women
2. Pests are Moving North as Earth Warms
3. Toxic Lake Viewed from Space
4. Give Thanks to a Veteran Today
5. Nuclear Power Plants are Not Sustainable
6. More Recent Articles

Climate Change is Harder on Women

Women are disproportionately burdened with the impacts of climate change. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) released a new report, State of World Population 2009, that takes a closer look at this imbalance:

• Girls drop out of school to help their mothers, who must work harder to secure food, water, and energy for their homes.
• As climate change affects their livelihoods, women feel the financial burden and often must take on extra jobs to support their families.
• This cycle of deprivation, poverty, and inequality undermines the social capital needed to deal effectively with climate change.

As global leaders join forces to combat climate change, it is important for them to keep these gender considerations in mind when developing climate adaptation policies. Women and men should be contributing equally to the solution so that one group is not faced with more challenges.

Think about how your mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, and friends are affected by climate change around the world, and how they are adapting to it. Share your story with us on the Climate Board, encourage the women you know to share theirs, and tell us how It’s Getting Personal.

Pests are Moving North as Earth Warms

Some unforeseen problems caused by global warming:

Almost 2000 jellyfish species have increased in population, expanded their range northward and now appear earlier in the year.

Ticks that transmit Lyme disease have spread northward into Canada, once too cold for them.

Giant squid have reached British Columbia in Canada, threatening fisheries along much of the western North American coast.

Mosquitoes carrying malaria are now found in South Korea, the Papua New Guinea highlands, places previously not warm enough for them.

Bark beetles expanded their range and have devastated forests across North America and Canada.

A microscopic parasite flourishing in warmer water is spreading a deadly disease among salmon in Alaska.

Toxic Lake Viewed from Space

In 1955, copper mining in the area expanded with the opening of the Berkeley Pit. The mine took advantage of the existing subterranean drainage and pump network to lower groundwater until 1982, when a new owner suspended operations.

After the pumps were turned off, water from the surrounding rock basin began seeping into the pit. By the time an astronaut on the International Space Station took this picture on August 2, 2006, water in the pit was more than 275 meters (900 feet) deep. The water, with high concentrations of copper, arsenic and other metals, is highly acidic and toxic to life.

The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology estimates the Butte hill produced more than $48 billion in mineral wealth. The costs included 2,300 deaths from mining accidents, not including chronic illness sparked by mine exposure.

The site is the largest Superfund environmental clean-up project in the country! This Superfund site has become a tourist attraction, complete with gift shop.

Give Thanks to a Veteran Today

They Did Their Share

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years.

In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.

Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk.
All of them did their share.

No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.

Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died.
What they did, we can’t repay.

We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Nuclear Power Plants are Not Sustainable

Read about the bailout at UCS: Nuclear Energy Industry Wish List Would Hurt Taxpayers | Union of Concerned Scientists

Excerpt:

. . . the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) . . . released a proposal asking for billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies and radical changes to the federal regulatory process that would shift even more risks and costs from the industry to the public (emphasis mine) . . . . . . . At the heart of NEI's proposal is the implicit admission that the industry cannot compete in the private sector market without massive financial support from taxpayers and reduced liability for cost overruns and safety hazards.

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