Author: postMigrator

Published on Monday, September 29, 2008 by The Washington Post
Bottled Water at Issue in Great Lakes; Conservation and Commerce Clash

by Kari Lydersen

CHICAGO – Even as a 10-year campaign to block wholesale export of Great Lakes water came to a successful conclusion in Congress last week, some legislators and environmentalists vowed to continue their fight to close a “bottled-water loophole,” a campaign that taps into a national debate over sales of H2O in disposable containers.

[Water from aquifers that feed Huron and the other Great Lakes is exempted from export regulations when it’s in containers of less than 5.7 gallons. (By John L. Russell — Associated Press)]Water from aquifers that feed Huron and the other Great Lakes is exempted from export regulations when it’s in containers of less than 5.7 gallons. (By John L. Russell — Associated Press)
A provision of the Great Lakes Compact allows water to be diverted from the basin if it is in containers holding less than 5.7 gallons. The question is whether bottling water from the aquifers that feed the lakes, the largest repository of fresh water on Earth, should be seen as ordinary human consumption, commercial production, or export of a treasured natural resource.
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WATCH THIS CRAP! Water is Life-& the Great Lakes are probably the largest fresh-water reserve on Earth. Monied interests have been licking their lips over the Great Lakes Ecosystems for years now-from bottled-water outfits to utilities in arid climates.

ASW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2008 6:01 PM

CONTACT: Food and Water Watch
Jon Keesecker or Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch (202) 683-2500
Great Lakes Compact Passes the U.S. House, International Coalition of Water Advocates Calls for Additional Protections for Great Lakes

WASHINGTON – September 24 – On Tuesday, the U.S. House passed the Great Lakes Compact, which aims to ban diversion of Great Lakes water. Hailed as a landmark conservation bill by many, the Compact will ultimately fail to stop corporations from withdrawing and selling water as a commodity. Despite efforts launched by an international coalition lead by Food & Water Watch and the Council of Canadians to ensure a more comprehensive agreement, the Great Lakes Compact passed the U.S. House yesterday by a vote of 390 to 25.
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Europe warms fast: Med drier, north ever wetter

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE48R4GU20080928

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“Chemical equator” divides hemispheres: scientists
Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:29pm EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Scientists have discovered a “chemical Equator” that divides the polluted air of the Northern Hemisphere from the largely uncontaminated atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere.

Researchers from Britain’s University of York found evidence for an atmospheric chemical line about 50 kilometers (30 miles) wide in cloudless skies in the Western Pacific, with levels of carbon monoxide four times higher on the northern side.

The discovery will provide clues to help scientists model simulations of the movement of pollutants in the atmosphere more accurately, and to assess the impact of pollution on climate, the researchers said in a statement in Singapore on Tuesday.

Previously, scientists believed that a cloudy Pacific region where the trade winds meet formed a barrier between the Northern Hemisphere and the clearer air of the Southern Hemisphere.

“Powerful storms may act as pumps, lifting highly polluted air from the surface to high in the atmosphere where pollutants will remain longer and may have a global influence,” said Dr Jacqueline Hamilton, of the University of York.

(Reporting by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by David Fogarty)

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