Much before the jump, with Greece, the Ukraine, Russia, Latin America, Pakistan, India, China, Japan, and Fukushimapocalypse Now!, and the latest environmental alarms , all after the jump.
We begin with global stories, first from MercoPress:
Pope Francis condemns unfettered capitalism as a “new tyranny’ and calls for renewed Church
Pope Francis called for renewal of the Roman Catholic Church and attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny”, urging global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality in the first major work he has authored alone as pontiff.
No sooner had the Vatican pronounced than research confirmed. From the Financial Express:
Ethics may destroy career growth in financial services: Economist Intelligence Unit
Financial services industry recognises the importance of ethics at work but a majority of the executives feel that strict adherence to ethical standards hampers their career progression, claims a global survey.
From Channel NewsAsia Singapore, a setback for the capitalist regime the Pope ponders:
Trade diplomats fail to reach pre-summit deal: WTO chief
Negotiators holding marathon talks in Geneva have failed to produce a deal to put on the table at a crunch summit next week, World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo said on Tuesday.
More from the London Telegraph, with the usual spin:
Global free trade talks collapse
A global free trade deal fell through after more than a decade of talks that could have given the world economy a $1 trillion boost
From NHK WORLD, another pact on the fast track:
TPP closure by year-end up to ministers
Chief negotiators involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks have made much progress, but differences remain in key areas. The decision on whether to conclude the pact by year-end has been postponed till a ministerial meeting in December.
Chief delegates from the 12 nations finished their 6-day talks on Sunday. They confirmed their understanding in some categories, such as government procurement.
More from Techdirt:
US TPP Negotiators Accused Of Bullying; Refusing To Budge On Ridiculous IP And Corporate Sovereignty Demands
from the i’m-sorry-for-my-country’s-insane-negotiators dept
EurActiv covers another pact:
Leaked document shows EU fear of inferiority in US trade talks
The European Commission fears Europe’s relative economic weakness and division caused by the upcoming European Parliament elections could spark an ACTA-style popular rejection of a trade agreement with the US, according to a leaked internal EU document.
The document obtained by the EU-critical Danish publication Notat reveals that the Commission held a secret meeting on Friday (22 November) with representatives of the 28 EU member states.
During the meeting, the Commission said that the EU needed a “radically different” communication strategy on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) compared to what has been done for past trade initiatives.
And on to the U.S., via Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
US consumer confidence grows gloomier in November
US consumer confidence, which plummeted in October amid the partial government shutdown, continued to slide in November, a closely watched report said on Tuesday.
From My Budget 360, Fed-up?:
The frightening lack of accounting transparency in the student loan market: New York Fed has student loan debt at $1.027 trillion while Fed Board of Governors in Washington has it at $1.214 trillion.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore covers a change in meds:
Research slows on mental health drugs as investment shrinks
Research into medications to treat mental health disorders, which affect almost a quarter of the US population, has slowed as major pharmaceutical companies cut back investment in this area, psychiatrists say.
Romenesko brings us the austerian face of the Brave New Journalism:
Oregon newspaper chain will no longer provide health insurance to employees
Bend (OR) Bulletin parent Western Communications told employees Monday that it can no longer afford to provide health benefits and that the company-sponsored insurance plan will end on January 1. (Western owns six papers in Oregon and two in California. The 28,000-circulation Bulletin is its flagship paper.)
China Daily covers an Asian arrival:
Furniture maker chooses Virginia for first US plant
Virginia’s furniture-making history helped it entice a Chinese furniture maker to open its first US factory in the state, fending off challenges from three other states, an official with the state’s economic development group said.
The London Telegraph weighs in with an uptick:
US house prices rise at fastest rate since 2006
A closely watched index of US house prices posts its biggest year-on-year rise since February 2006
On to Europe, starting with anxieties from EUobserver:
Brussels on guard over UK’s Romania, Bulgaria plan
Reported UK plans to curb the future rights of Romanians and Bulgarians has put the European Commission on guard.
Restrictions imposed on citizens from Bulgaria and Romania in eight EU member states – including the UK, France and Germany – come to an end on 1 January 2014.
New Europe covers a countercurrent:
In 2012, most of the EU citizens moved in another EU country for work-related reasons
Commission upholds free movement of people
The European Commission adopted a policy paper to support the free movement of people within the EU
From CNNMoney, fee movement replacing free movement:
Europe’s golden visas lure rich Chinese
A growing number of wealthy foreigners are buying their way into Europe as hard-pressed countries trade their passports for cash.
Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus, which have suffered the most from the region’s prolonged recession, are offering visas to foreigners who buy real estate. The goal is to lure investment and strengthen battered European economies.
Financial Sense looks at the likely winners:
Take the Money and Run: China’s Ill-Gotten Wealth Flees Overseas
The front door is covered with official pronouncements of “the China Dream” and blustery demands of hegemony, but the back door is choked with members of the financial/political Elite fleeing China and taking their wealth with them
On to Britain with an austerian body count from The Independent:
Winter freeze led to 31,000 extra deaths last year – against a backdrop of soaring energy prices
The Big Six energy firms and the Government came under fresh criticism today as new figures showed that more than 31,000 people died needlessly during last winter’s freezing weather.
About 10,000 of the deaths are estimated to be the result of cold houses, as people struggled to heat their homes in the coldest winter for nearly 50 years, against a backdrop of soaring energy prices.
From EUbusiness, fear of the Roma in London:
Britain to crackdown on benefit tourism
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday announced a tightening of migrant benefit rules due to concerns over migration levels from Bulgaria and Romania when restrictions are lifted on January 1.
The Independent covers crony capitalism:
Revealed: Goldman Sachs clients’ £12m Royal Mail coup
Goldman Sachs may have provided the Government with a “knockdown” valuation of the Royal Mail – losing the taxpayer more than £1bn when it was privatised last month, according to critics.
Yet the giant US investment bank has proved remarkable adept at deciding when to cash in shares in the historic institution on behalf of its clients.
Ireland next, with more austerian reality from the Irish Times:
Growing Up in Ireland survey says financial difficulties are ‘pervasive and persistent’
Two-thirds of families with children feel ‘significant effect’ from downturn, study finds
To Holland and a wing-trimming proposed via DutchNews.nl:
Coalition takes on bankers’ bonuses, limits them to 20% of salary
Finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Tuesday presented his plans for financial sector pay to parliament, including a 20% ceiling on bankers’ bonuses in the Netherlands.
The minister aims to bring to an end the ‘perverse stimuli’ of enormous bonuses, Dijsselbloem said in an interview with tv broadcaster RTL Z.
DutchNews.nl again, with a Dutch treat:
Dutch pensioners are best off, and just 1.4% live in poverty: OECD
Dutch pensioners enjoy a proportionately higher pension than the over 65s in any other developed country, according to new research from the OECD.
On average, Dutch pensioners have an income of 91.4% of their average salary, the Paris-based body said in a new report. The OECD average is 58%, while within the European Union the figure is slightly higher at 60%.
In Germany, a different picture via Deutsche Welle:
OECD report highlights danger of German poverty in old age
Despite Germany’s reputation as an economic hub, low-income workers in the country face a significant danger of poverty in old age. A survey showed German retirees face a sharp drop in earnings upon retirement.
More from TheLocal.de:
Poverty rises despite more people in work
As figures show an increase in poverty despite record employment rates, and the potential new government argues about a universal minimum wage, German job centres are suing employers for paying less than €2 an hour.
A French error next, with the London Telegraph:
IMF says French downgrade was wrong
Olivier Blanchard, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist, denies there is an increased risk that France will be unable to pay debt
A crackdown in the making from the Associated Press:
Prostitution: France wants to punish clients
France’s government is pushing one of Europe’s toughest laws against prostitution and sex trafficking, and other countries are watching closely. Advocates hope that a draft French law going to parliament Wednesday will help change long-held attitudes toward the world’s oldest profession _ by punishing the customer and protecting the prostitute.
While Pierre Moscovici commences wooing, via TheLocal.fr:
Paris ‘can rival London’ as Chinese business hub
Paris could challenge London as a Chinese business hub, France’s finance minister said on Tuesday, adding that upcoming deals would increase Chinese currency use in the French capital.
Switzerland next, an a loss contemplated by TheLocal.ch:
Valais glaciers to largely vanish: cantonal report
In less than a century the mountain canton of Valais is expected to lose virtually all of its glaciers, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The swaths of “eternal snow” — including one known internationally for its year-round skiing near Zermatt — currently cover 15 percent of the area of the canton straddling a section of the Swiss Alps.
On to Portugal with an austerian victory from El País:
Portugal’s top court approves extension of civil servants’ working week
Ruling coincides with approval of 2014 state budget
Labor leader “stupefied” at decicion which justifies increased workload as being in the public interest
From Europe Online, a bitter prescription:
Portugal to approve toughest austerity budget in decades
The Portuguese parliament was Tuesday due to approve the country’s toughest austerity budget in decades, amid concerns that legal challenges could endanger the country’s economic recovery.
The 2014 budget foresees savings worth 3.9 billion euros (5.3 billion dollars) – or 2.3 per cent of Portugal’s gross domestic product (GDP). The measures include salary cuts of up to 12 per cent for government employees earning more than 675 euros a month.
The Portugal News covers an austerian agenda:
Praise for Government structural reform plan
Proposed plans for the reform of the Portuguese state structures are “well designed” with the only drawback being the slow progress of implementation, said António Saraiva, President of CIP, the Portuguese Industrial Confederation on Monday following a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas.
The Portugal News again, with one response:
Unions occupy ministries
Unions leaders from the Communist-backed CGTP trade union confederation have occupied the Portuguese ministries of economy, health, environment and finances, union spokeswoman Célia Silva, told Lusa News Agency on Tuesday.
More from euronews:
Thousands protest in Portugal against austerity budget for 2014
It is a day of “national outrage, protest and struggle” in Portugal. That’s how the country’s biggest union referred to the rallies and demos which have been organised across the country in response to the 2014 budget which was passed on Tuesday.
Italy next, and austerity reality from ANSAmed:
Italy’s ‘precarious’ workers risk poverty in old age, OECD
Short-term contracts, joblessness reduces retirement savings
Europe Online covers a vote to come:
Italian Senate to vote on Berlusconi’s expulsion Wednesday night
Italy’s Senate is planning an evening vote Wednesday on the expulsion of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, said the speaker of the upper chamber, Pietro Grasso.
Discussions are to start at 7 pm, Grasso said Tuesday. Berlusconi’s allies were expected to repeat attempts to have the final decision postponed, but rival parties were unlikely to agree.
Reuters has the pre-emptive move:
Berlusconi breaks with government ahead of Italy Senate showdown
Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right party declared on Tuesday it would vote against Italy’s 2014 budget, confirming its break with the ruling coalition a day before the Senate moves to expel the media tycoon over a tax fraud conviction.
From TheLocal.it, more austerian reality:
Italy’s ‘temp’ workers risk poverty in old age
Millions of Italians in short-term jobs or those with sporadic contracts that offer few benefits could end up in poverty in old age, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a report on Tuesday.
While Spiegel covers an urban fall:
The Great Sell-Off: Milan Mired in Crisis of Money and Spirit
The days when Milan could call itself a bastion of growth and progress in Italy seem to be gone. As the crisis swells the ranks of the poor, members of the city’s business elite are jockeying for foreign investors while squabbling with courts over various legal entanglements.
And EUbusiness covers help from outside:
Italy, Russia unveil billion-euro fund at summit
Italy and Russia unveiled a 1-billion-euro joint investment fund on Tuesday as President Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Italy to discuss boosting business ties.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore covers another outside move:
China, Eastern Europe pledge to boost ties, heed EU rules
China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries pledged on Tuesday to boost two-way investment and trade, insisting that EU regulations will be met.
And The Guardian reports discontent:
Bulgarian students lead wave of protest
Young people occupying institutions all over the country amid growing anger over corruption and unemployment
After the jump, Greek meltdown continues, Ukrainian discontent, Russian woes, Latin American developments, the latest from India and Pakistan, Chinese Reaganomics, and the latest Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Our first Greek item comes from ANSAmed:
Crisis: Greece; exports show growth fatigue, Elstat says
After posting a decline for a second consecutive month
From EUbusiness, hints of yet more bailout funds [and the inevitable strings]:
Euro-Parliament chief in favour of more aid to Greece
European Parliament President Martin Schulz said Tuesday he was in favour of providing additional aid to Greece if the debt-wracked country achieves a primary surplus.
To Vima sets a deadline:
Samaras wants to complete troika negotiations by end of December
The Prime Minister discussed Greek debt and EU presidency with President of European Parliament Schulz
The Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met with the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz, with who he discussed tackling the Greek debt problem and the upcoming Greek presidency of the EU at the start of 2014.
More austerity demanded, from Neos Kosmos:
Samaras prods ministers on reforms
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has urged key ministers to redouble their efforts to meet economic reform targets
From To Vima again, delusions at the top:
Stournaras refuses to believe that the Greek people are “overtaxed”!
Minister of Finances was invited by to explain and defend his financial policies and overall strategy
The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras appeared on Yannis Pretenderis’ late evening chat show on Mega Channel, where he had the opportunity to explain and defend his plans.
RT rectifies an insult:
WHO admits ‘erroneous’ claim half of new HIV cases in Greece ‘self-inflicted for cash’
The WHO report, ‘Review of Social Determinants and the Health Divide in the WHO European Region’, has estimated a “significant” rise in Greece’s HIV rates in the past five years. In its initial report, it said that about half of new HIV infections are self-inflicted “to enable people to receive benefits of 700 euro per month and faster admission on to drug-substitution programs.”
To Vima reports that the doctor isn’t in:
EOPYY doctor union extends strike to next Tuesday
Doctors escalate strike action as Ministry of Health appears to have decided upon healthcare dismissals
The union of EOPYY doctors has decided to extend its strike until next Tuesday, the 3rd of December, in reaction to the Ministry of Health’s dismissal plans. The doctors and administrative employees are holding a protest outside the Ministry of Health.
One good reason for their action from Greek Reporter:
WHO Predicts 26,000 Dismissals in Greek Health System
The World Health Organization (WHO) announces that there are major impacts in Greek health-system due to financial crisis. The report of WHO, predicts huge cuts and thousands of layoffs in public health sector. This data is connected to the layoffs in all sectors and concerns the doctors and nursing staff of all categories.
EnetEnglish.gr raises questions in another action:
Serious allegations raised about university staff dismissals scheme
Two officials who questioned staff data removed from committee by education minister
Education Minister Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos removes two senior officials from a committee when they asked to cross check personnel files of university administrative staff to establish if they lied about entering civil service via examinations
More from To Vima:
Administrative employees will decide whether universities reopen
Rectors and Senates have approved of Ministry’s proposal – NTUA employees lean towards rejecting offer
Administrative employees will decide whether universities reopen
After the Ministry of Education revised its dismissal and suspension plans, the administrative employees at the University of Athens are rumored to vote in favor of reopening the institution at their 11am general assembly. The University’s management and Senate members explained that the revised proposal offered greater protection for the vast majority of current and former employees.
From Kathimerini English, ensuring Praetorian employment:
New jobs found for most municipal police officers
The vast majority of almost 3,000 members of the municipal police who were yanked from their positions in the summer are to be given jobs in the regular force, as prison guards or helping collect taxes, the government announced Tuesday.
Kathimerini English notes some aren’t included:
Greek foster care system failing children
There is little to look forward to in an institution for children removed by authorities from parents who are abusive, in jail, addicted to drugs or otherwise unable to care them. Yet in Greece, the foster care system, which has provided such a necessary alternative in so many parts of the world for children under the state’s care, remains almost inactive as a result of complex bureaucracy and a shortage of staff at the relevant authorities.
ANSAmed covers the latest sell-out:
Privatizations: Greece, today bids for Asteras
Hotel group on the coast south of Athens
From EnetEnglish.gr, leniency in the extreme:
Army major gets suspended sentence for illegal arms possession
Police also found Golden Dawn and junta material in his home
Major (51) was commander of the 32nd mechanised infantry brigade in Volos – one of the most important units in the country’s special forces
An army commander found with illegally held guns and ammunition, as well as junta and Golden Dawn propaganda, in his home has been sentenced by to 20 months’ imprisonment suspended for three years.
Kathimerini English covers another Golden Dawn case:
Suspect in Fyssas murder case expresses regret
The man who is alleged to have made the phone call that precipitated the murder of rapper Pavlos Fyssas by a Golden Dawn member in September told magistrates on Tuesday that he had not intended for anyone to be hurt and that he did not want anything to do with the neo-Nazi party.
For our last Greek item, ANA-MPA makes the grade:
Japonica Partners says Greece has accomplished an A+ performance
Japonica Partners, an entrepreneurial investment firm that makes concentrated investments in underperforming global special situations which recently completed a tender offer for the purchase of Greek state bonds, on Tuesday underlined the investment interest of Greece.
On to the Ukraine, with protestation via euronews:
Students in Ukraine threaten indefinite national strike
Thousands of students in Kiev walked out of their classes and marched through the city centre to join a pro-European rally in the capital’s Independence Square.
It was part of a national strike by students across Ukraine. Their intention, they say is to remain on the streets until Friday when the Vilnius summit will begin. They have added their collective voice to calls for the government to sign the Association Agreement with the EU.
Russia next, and a cloudy horizon from Financial Sense:
IMF Forecasts Russian Economic Slowdown
Questions arise over the long-term viability of the Russian economy after the IMF downgrading of Russia’s GDP forecast from an estimated 2.5 to 1.5 percent in 2013 and 3.25 to 3 percent in 2014. This followed an internal forecast from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, which slashed the country’s predicted growth rate to 2.5 percent through 2030.
The Toronto Globe and Mail has baggage:
Outrage as Russian government rents out Red Square to Louis Vuitton
Vladimir Lenin wanted to be buried beside his mother in his St. Petersburg. But since he isn’t, someone should check whether lying on Red Square beside an oversized Louis Vuitton suitcase does indeed have him spinning in his tomb.
Latin American next, with the moonshine blues from Bloomberg:
Brazil Ethanol Needs to Fall Below 60% of Fuel to Boost Demand
Ethanol prices in Brazil, the world’s second-biggest producer, need to fall below 60 percent of gasoline costs for motorists to switch to the biofuel, boosting domestic demand, according to consultants Datagro Ltd.
Brazil’s flex-fuel cars can be filled up with either pure ethanol or a blend of the biofuel and gasoline. While price parity is reached when ethanol is at 67 percent to 69.4 percent the price of the gasoline blend, as the biofuel burns faster, consumers will need even lower prices to switch back to using ethanol, Plinio Nastari, president of the Barueri, Sao Paulo-based Datagro said in an interview in London today.
MercoPress covers a Chilean shift:
Chile turns left again
The Leftist coalition candidate Michelle Bachelet won 47% of the votes in the presidential elections held on 17 November while her rightist rival Evelyn Matthei got just 25% votes.
Off to Australia with a threatening headline from the Irish Times:
‘Threat of recession’ looms over Australia
Country ‘complacent in prosperity’
The Hindu takes us to India and buddies in bellicosity:
From economic ties to strategic partnership
For a politically rising Japan that is beginning to shed its pacifist blinkers, India is central to both its economic-revival and security-building strategies.
On on to China with more bellicosity from International Business Times:
China To Engage In ‘Six Inevitable Wars’ Involving U.S., Japan, India And More, According To Pro-Government Chinese Newspaper
From Bloomberg, an alarm sounds:
Record Spread Blowout Sparks Mini-Crisis Warning: China Credit
Chinese companies’ borrowing costs are climbing at a record pace relative to the government’s, increasing the risk of defaults and prompting state newspapers to warn of a limited debt crisis.
From Xinhua, yet another diagnostic of neoliberalism:
China’s Supreme Court opens trial on Internet giants
The case between Chinese Internet giants Qihoo 360 and Tencent over monopolies and unfair practices opened at the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) on Tuesday.
Antivirus software developer Qihoo 360 and China’s largest Internet company, Tencent, have been engaged in a protracted legal war since 2010, attracting great public interest. The trial can be observed by the public through various media including newspapers, TV programs and the Internet.
From South China Morning Post, a dismal prognosis:
OECD adds its voice to those saying Hong Kong port set for steady decline
Hong Kong’s deep-sea port is set to go into steady decline as mainland terminals catch up, a new report by an international club of developed economies says.
From Xinhua, another market metastasis:
China “open” on Paris offshore RMB market
A senior Chinese official said here on Tuesday that China holds “an open attitude” toward the development of the Paris offshore RMB market following the conclusion of the first China-France high-level economic and financial dialogue.
From SINA English, more marketeering:
China c.bank says to rely on reform, not loose policy, to underpin growth
China will rely on market-based reforms to unleash fresh growth drivers to support the economy, not ultra-loose policies, central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan said on Tuesday.
China’s economic growth is within a “reasonable range” while inflation and employment remain generally steady as the government pushes structural changes, Zhou said in a speech at a financial forum.
Bloomberg and an effort to slow a bubble:
China’s Nanjing, Hangzhou Raise Second Home Down Payment to 70%
China’s eastern cities of Nanjing and Hangzhou raised the minimum down payment required for second homes to 70 percent from 60 percent as more cities tighten property policies because of surging prices.
The cities will continue to ban mortgage lending for third homes and will maintain a 30 percent down payment for buyers of first homes, the central bank’s Nanjing and Hangzhou branches said in separate statements on their websites yesterday. Nanjing will increase housing land supply by 10 percent from the average in the past five years, the city’s housing authority said in a statement yesterday.
The Guardian notes a contraindication:
China slowdown triggers profit warnings at Remy Cointreau and Hugo Boss
Shares in premium cognac maker and German fashion house slide amid flagging sales in Chinese economy
Straight on to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
First, this from Jiji Press:
2nd Round of N-Fuel Removal Begins at Fukushima No. 4 Reactor
Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday began the second round of work to remove nuclear fuel from the No. 4 reactor building’s spent fuel pool at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 power station.
In the process to remove 22 spent fuel assemblies that is expected take about a week, TEPCO will first place the assemblies into a special container using a crane. They will then be transferred to a “common pool” at the nuclear power plant, which was severely damaged by the huge tsunami triggered by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011.
And eyes from abroad via the Japan Daily Press:
UN nuclear agency reviews Fukushima situation for the second time
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has started the second review of the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to be able to update the international community on the issues and challenges that they are facing. The primary concern is the storage of the contaminated water at the plant and the removal of the fuel assemblies from the No. 4 reactor building.
Jiji Press limits payouts:
N-Accident Compensation for Farmland Limited to Evacuation Zones
The central government and nuclear accident-affected local municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture agreed to limit the scope of farmland compensation to evacuation zones near Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture.
And for our final Fukushimoid, this from the Asahi Shimbun:
Fukushima accident has ripple effect in worldwide nuclear industry
The Fukushima nuclear crisis is creating business opportunities for Britain’s nuclear industry, helping Germany shutter its nuclear reactors and leaving questions over the future of Japan’s nuclear fuel recycling ambitions.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore emulates elsewhere in Asia:
Pakistan launches largest nuclear power project
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday launched the construction of the country’s biggest atomic power plant and vowed to pursue further projects to make nuclear the largest energy source.
OilPrice covers a troublesome move:
Canada to Build World’s Largest Artificial Lake District to Store Oil Sand Waste
About 30 artificial lakes may be built in Canada’s oil sand rich province of Alberta by the time companies currently extracting heavy crude from the area finish their work, as they plan to flood abandoned mines with a mix of tailings and fresh water.
As does The Guardian:
Oil extraction to take place in proposed Amazon tribe reserve
Company slated to start producing in the next few days, but indigenous peoples’ lives are at risk
Peru’s state agency promoting oil and gas operations has announced that by the end of this month oil will be produced from new deposits in a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon near the border with Ecuador.
For our final item, Uncle Sam, passing gas from the Associated Press:
Study: US spewing 50% more methane than EPA says
The United States is spewing 50 percent more methane — a potent heat-trapping gas — than the federal government estimates, a new comprehensive scientific study says. Much of it is coming from just three states: Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
That means methane may be a bigger global warming issue than thought, scientists say. Methane is 21 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the most abundant global warming gas, although it doesn’t stay in the air as long.
