Much happening, and a very long post today, including some ominous environmental developments after the jump.
The Greek meltdown continues, and the Troika is out for blood, while Japan’s economy stalls and the government creates the framework for a national security state — and both China and Japan are creating parallels to the institutions of the world’s reigning national security state, the U.S.A, including their own spankin’ new national security councils.
We’re playing with the relatively limited typographical options, hence the change. [We're not quite happy with either of the two options. . .]
We begin at home with a four-alarm alert from Business Insider:
Moody’s Cuts Ratings For Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Credit
Moody’s has downgraded the credit ratings for notes issued by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and BNY Mellon, citing updated views of government support and issues within the banks themselves.
From Common Dreams and U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan, a breath of fresh air:
Federal Judge Slams DoJ for Not Prosecuting Wall Street Execs
The “’too big to jail excuse’ is mindboggling in what it says about the department’s disregard of fundamental legal principles,” said Rakoff
From MarketWatch, a chuckle:
J.P. Morgan tweet idea gone horribly wrong: #AskJPM
J.P. Morgan Chase as set to host a Twitter conversation on career advice with Jimmy Lee, a vice chairman and one of Wall Street’s top deal makers. But it cancelled the session after a massive backlash: The hashtag #ASKJPM that was supposed to field questions solicited hundreds of snarky comments from every corner of the globe.
From USA TODAY, an unbalancing act:
U.S. trade deficit widens 8% in September
The U.S. trade deficit widened in September as imports increased to the highest level in 10 months while exports slipped.
Sky News notes a pronouncement:
Fed Nominee Says Economy Still Needs Support
In Senate confirmation hearings, Janet Yellen alludes to agreement with the Federal Reserve’s bond buying and low interest rates.
From the Christian Science Monitor, yet another good argument for single-payer:
Businesses cut full-time workers to meet Obamacare mandate, study says
A study of small businesses found that many are cutting full-time workers or worker hours to comply with Obamacare. Franchises are making the biggest cuts.
Form the Oakland Tribune, dashing hopes:
Gov. Brown to UC: Don’t count on state for another budget increase
Gov. Jerry Brown handed the University of California and its new president, Janet Napolitano, what he called “a reality sandwich” on Thursday, saying it’s unlikely state politicians will give the system the extra funding it wants for next year.
From Salon, Christian compassion. Or not:
Arizona prison horror: “Critically ill” inmates told to “pray” for healing
“To say that I’m terrified would be an understatement. But I simply do not know what to do,” one inmate writes
Techdirt raises faint [feint?] hopes:
Congress May Not Be So Eager To Simply Hand Over Its Own Authority To The Obama Administration To Approve TPP
from the a-good-sign dept
From the Washington Post, an ax falls:
Lockheed Martin to cut 4,000 jobs
Defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin announced Thursday that it would eliminate 4,000 jobs and close several facilities in an effort to cut costs in a climate of reduced federal spending.
From IllinoisTimes, the ultimate neoliberal indignity for Honest Abe:
Mayor talks with company about Oak Ridge
StoneMor Partners, a Pennsylvania based cemetery company, has been quietly talking with Springfield Mayor Mike Houston and other top city officials about taking over management of Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Calling StoneMor “a good company,” Houston acknowledged Tuesday that he has spoken with no other firms about taking over cemetery operations. He has said that the city plans to issue a request for proposals aimed at soliciting bids to privatize Abraham Lincoln’s final resting place. The city council must approve any management deal
Up to Canada for something we’d like to see here from the Toronto Globe and Mail:
Conservatives take first step on unbundling cable channels
Canadian Heritage Minister Shelley Glover is taking the first step towards forcing television service providers to let subscribers pay for only those channels they want.
From CBC, an exception:
Canadian tourism declines despite world travel boom
Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing businesses, yet the number of international travellers to Canada has declined 20 per cent since 2000, according to a report from Deloitte & Touche.
Oh, and what about our ongoing coverage Toronto Mayor Bob Ford?
The following brief press encounter [NSFW] is all we’ve got to say on the matter:
Off to Europe with the Japan Times:
Eurozone recovery grinds to a near halt; tough slog lies ahead
The recovery from recession in the 17-country eurozone nearly came to a grinding halt in the third-quarter, raising concerns that the region faces a long slog back from its five-year economic crisis.
But the eurobankster raises hopes, via EUbusiness:
ECB survey sees lower eurozone inflation, higher growth
Eurozone inflation will remain below target in the next years, while growth will gather momentum, according to a new survey published by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
But it’s not just “lower inflation,” reports The Guardian:
Deflation fears stalk eurozone as Spain reports fall in prices
Economists fear low inflation plus high unemployment and the economic malaise may drag eurozone towards Japan-style slump
Some austerity at the top from MercoPress:
EU approves 2014 budget 7% lower; 62bn Euros to stimulate growth and jobs
The European Union has clinched a deal on a sharply trimmed 2014 budget after a marathon 16-hour session ending a long dispute over how best to spend taxpayers’ money. After decades of growth, next year’s EU budget is set to be around 7% lower than this year’s at 135.5 billion Euros in contributions by member states.
Reuters reports resistance from the primary beneficiary:
Germany challenges use of euro zone cash to repair banks
Germany challenged a central plank of plans to forge a banking union in the euro zone on Thursday, arguing against the use of the currency bloc’s funds to help lenders exposed as dangerously weak by health checks next year.
On to Britain and a falling ax from BBC News:
Barclays plans to cut 1,700 jobs Barclays sign
Barclays is cutting 1,700 jobs from across its branch network in the UK, saying it is in response to changes in the way people use the bank.
Ireland next, with EUobserver:
Ireland becomes first euro country to quit bailout programme
Ireland will become the first eurozone country to exit a bailout programme, after deciding that it will not request a temporary credit line when its €85 billion rescue ends.
A declaration from Michael Noonan delivered by TheJournal.ie:
“The purpose of the programme was actually to exit the programme” – Noonan
The Finance Minster says that Ireland’s decision not to take a post-bailout credit line was because this was a “benign” time. The Troika say Ireland is in a “strong position”.
From DutchNews.nl, a Dutch coming out?:
The Dutch economy is out of recession – just
The Dutch economy managed to creep out of recession and grew by 0.1% in the third quarter of this year compared with Q2, according to new estimates from the national statistics office CBS on Thursday.
Germany next, with eviction notices in the wind via Spiegel:
Exit Clause: Merkel’s Partners Want Broke Countries Out of Euro
Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the next government to be unified on its EU policy, but her sister party is resorting to populism. Bavaria’s Christian Social Union wants tougher provisions against deficit offenders and the ability to drive them out of the euro zone.
From EUbusiness, heightened interest in lack of interest:
Germany feeling pinch of low interest rates
Banks and insurers in Germany are increasingly feeling the negative side-effects of ultra-low interest rates, the German central bank or Bundesbank warned on Thursday.
Europe Online delivers a German ax blow:
German energy giant RWE to cut 6,750 jobs
German energy giant RWE AG is to cut 6,750 jobs, around 10 per cent of its workforce, by 2016 amid falling profits, a company source said Thursday
BBC News delivers another:
Volkswagen recalls 2.6 million cars
German carmaker Volkswagen has announced a recall of about 2.6 million cars worldwide, including 640,000 in China, a crucial growth market.
France next, with a raging alarm from the London Telegraph:
French officials warn of social tinderbox as economy contracts again
Francois Hollande called on France to judge him on his success in “bending the curve in unemployment”, but this has come back to haunt him
BBC News takes a slice of the commons:
France sells stake in jet engine firm Safran
The French government is selling a 3.6% stake in jet engine maker Safran worth 937m euros ($1.3bn). The government will remain Safran’s biggest shareholder with a stake of more than 22%.
And Reuters delivers a major blow:
French economy contracts 0.1 percent in setback for Hollande
France’s economy unexpectedly returned to contraction in the third quarter as investment dropped, dealing a new blow to President Francois Hollande’s efforts to revive the euro zone’s second biggest economy.
New Europe delivers another:
Electorate looking for radical political solutions to get them out of the crisis
Poll: French want parliament dissolved or PM change
And France 24 has numbers:
Hollande’s popularity hits new low of 15%
After falling to a record low of 26 percent in October, approval for French President François Hollande has collapsed even further, with a poll published Thursday giving him just 15 percent support.
Spain next, with The Local.es, reaching for favorable comparison:
Spain doing better than ‘stagnant’ France
For the first time in nearly five years, the Spanish economy is outperforming that of France, official French figures released on Thursday show.
El País cofers a blessing:
Europe endorses Spain’s exit from bailout program
Economy minister heralds January end to 18-month banking rescue plan
From thinkSPAIN, another emergence:
CAM bank boss pays 1.5-million-euro bail release and leaves prison
HEAD of the now-defunct CAM bank Roberto López Abad has paid a 1.5-million-euro bail release to get out of jail.
El País covers an action against an action:
Madrid mayor gives cleaning companies strike ultimatum
Botella says contractors have 48 hours to cut a deal and meet minimum services in capital’s streets
The Portugal News brings us the same old story with the same old beneficiaries at a time when everyone else has been bled dry:
Rich get richer
The number of multi-millionaires in Portugal soared by more than 10 percent in 2012 alone, while their fortunes swelled even further (11.8 percent), a report by Swiss bank UBS has revealed. The definition of multi-millionaire for the purpose of the study is a person who has a fortune of 25 million euros or more.
El País notes continuing emergence:
Portuguese economy grows for second quarter in a row
GDP rises 0.2 percent in the period July-September as the IMF suggests the need for yet more wage cuts
The Portugal News looks at the victimology:
More than half of Portuguese on some form of benefits
While taxes show no signs of decreasing and wages remain stagnant at best, resulting in widespread social unrest, it has now emerged that the number of Portuguese receiving taxpayer-funded handouts has risen to 57 percent of the total number of the country’s inhabitants.
The Portugal News again, with a note of caution:
House prices fall in September, but optimism remains
While the Portuguese residential market has in modern history often accompanied trends established elsewhere in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom and Germany, it has so far failed to match the spiralling house prices recorded in 2013 over much of northern Europe.
Italy takes a hit, from Europe Online:
Italy posts ninth straight quarter of negative GDP growth
Italy suffered negative growth in the third quarter of the year, official data showed Thursday, confounding earlier expectations that the country would finally exit from a record-length recession.
From Corriere della Sera, the Baron of Bunga Bunga strikes out with Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano:
Berlusconi’s Crucial Rome Meeting with Alfano
Forty-eight hours for reflection. PD warns expulsion from Senate will not be postponed. Former PM’s lawyer rules out request for pardon
From Bulgaria, out-of-sight/out-of-mind with the Associated Press:
Hungarian capital bans homeless from public areas
Budapest’s city council has banned the homeless from living in many public areas of the city, including playgrounds, train stations, cemeteries, and the Hungarian capital’s largest park.
The decision was made possible by a constitutional amendment adopted in March which allows municipalities to ban homeless from public places for security, health and other reasons. A similar law had been earlier declared anti-constitutional by Hungary’s highest court.
After the jump, Greek tensions, Latin American warnings, Indian economic woes, onrushing Chinese neoliberalism amidst mixed signals, Japanese downslides, environmental alarm bells, and the lastest chapter of Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Eurocratic Greek anxieties from EUobserver:
Greece returns to haunt euro ministers
Eurozone finance ministers will meet on Thursday (14 November) with the currency union’s four bailout programmes dominating an otherwise quiet agenda. Officials are, once again, becoming frustrated by Greece. The Greek government and its creditors are “billions apart” on the country’s 2014 budget, an EU official with knowledge of the programmes told reporters earlier this week.
A Troikan admonishment from Reuters:
Greece must step up effort to find 2014 budget gap financing: Eurogroup head
Greece must step up efforts to reach an agreement with international lenders on how to close a 2 billion euro ($2.68 billion) financing gap in its 2014 budget, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday.
And a sardonic take from Vangelis Papavasiliou of Eleftherotypia:
Unnamed Eurocrat’s reply on November 12 to a question on how long it would take to get agreement between the troika and the Greek government: “We’ll return from ski slopes if there’s an agreement.”
Greek Reporter gives us a cockeyed optimist:
Stournaras Says Troika Will Pay Up
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the country’s international lenders are on the verge of giving up demands for more austerity measures in return for continued aid and will come through with the money anyway, including a pending one billion euro ($1.37 billion) installment that had been held up while the two sides negotiated how to close a looming gap of as much as 2.9 billion euros in the 2014 budget.
From Kathimerini English, a declaration:
SYRIZA government would block EU decisions, says Tsipras
A SYRIZA government would block any European Union decision requiring unanimity in a bid to force Greece’s lenders to improve the terms of the country’s bailout, leftist leader Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday.
SYRIZA’s stance takes on added meaning with this from Kathemerini English. Note particularly that the Golden Dawn neofascists retaining the numjber three spot, well ahead of the once powerful social democrats of PASOK:
Poll gives SYRIZA narrow lead over New Democracy
An opinion poll published on Tuesday gives SYRIZA a 0.5 percentage point lead over New Democracy.
The Pulse RC survey for the weekly To Pontiki newspaper puts the leftist opposition party of Alexis Tsipras on 22 percent, against 21.5 percent for the conservative coalition leaders.
Golden Dawn, currently under investigation for alleged anti-immigrant violence and other criminal activity, has 10.5 percent, followed by PASOK on 6.5, the Communist Party on 5, Independent Greeks on 4.5 and Democratic Left on 3 percent.
Some other and more ominous numbers, from To Vima:
ELSTAT: August rate of unemployment estimated at 27.3%
Youth unemployment climbs to 60.6% rate – Highest rates of unemployment in Northern Greece and Attica
The rate of youth unemployment climbed to 60.6%, while the rate for the 25-34 age group climbed to 37.4%. Unemployment continues to affect women harder than men, with a 31.4% unemployment rate compared to 24.3% for men.
EnetEnglish.gr with other ominous numbers:
Court rejects application to suspend university staff dismissals
Council of State says dismissal of 1,349 administrative staff can go ahead
Council of State rules measure that will see Athens University lose almost 40% of its non-teaching staff is in line with the country’s obligations under its loan and austerity memorandum with the troika
The country’s supreme administrative court has rejected an application to have the government’s decision to remove 1,349 university administrative staff from their positions, under the so-called mobility schemes.
From To Vima, another day, another strike:
ADEDY holds nationwide public sector walkout and protest rally
Civil servants, ERT employees, university administrative staff and school guards gather at Propylaea
The country’s largest public sector union ADEDY is continuing its actions against the government’s suspension measure with a three-hour walk out and demonstration rally at the Propylaea at 1pm.
Keep Talking Greece covers another kind of direct action:
Athens: fired school guard attacks Minister
It was certainly not a good idea for the minister responsible for the mass lay-offs in Greek public sector to make an appearance near protesting school guards. Hardly had Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Minister for Administrative Reform got off his car outside the Interior Ministry in downtown Athens, when the group of angry protesters started to chant “Thug! Thug!” Within minutes, a man moved towards the minister, allegedly with raised fists.
From EnetEnglish.gr, rejecting austerity for some:
MPs to vote to keep salaries and expenses at existing levels
Average salary for MPs in 2014 will be €5,805 per month if draft house budget passes
Although draft budget foresees spending €142m to run parliament in 2014, €6.8m less than this year, MPs salaries and expenses are to remain untouched
Keep Talking Greece contrasts:
Greece’s two-class society: civil servants still earn more than employees in the private sector
And EurActiv delivers a rebuke:
EU court issues ruling against Greece for ‘inhuman treatment’ of refugees
The European Court of Justice issued today (14 November) a ruling slamming Greece for mistreating asylum seekers.
From Russia, Spiegel covers protected thuggery:
Viral Vigilantism: Russian Neo-Nazis Take Gay Bashing Online
A Russian neo-Nazi who films attacks on gay men and posts the clips on social networks has a growing following and encourages others to imitate his methods. Although he is known to the authorities, they have long turned a blind eye to his activities.
A quick trip to Egypt and a missing person report from the London Telegraph:
Tutankhamun’s sister goes missing
Alert issued after ‘Daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten’ – Tutankhamun’s sister – is stolen alongside hundreds of other exhibits in Egypt
Latin America next, and a bad report card via MercoPress:
Business climate in Latam receives ‘unfavorable’ assessment from Brazil’s leading foundation
The business climate (ICE) in Uruguay was down in the third quarter of the year, which means the country dropped from position 5 to 7 in the ranking of the eleven economies contemplated in the index elaborated by the Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation and Germany’s respected IFO.
Followed by Argentinian hemorrhaging from Quartz:
Argentina’s central bank is losing more than $1 billion a month
The country’s international reserves, which it uses to trade with other central banks and shore up debt, have dropped beneath $33 billion. The current $32.7 billion reading is the lowest in almost six years. It’s less than the international reserves of Romania, Nigeria, Angola, or Lebanon.
India next, pressing charges in the collapse of a major commodities exchange via the Financial Express:
RoC finds NSEL board guilty of Companies Act violations
The preliminary report prepared by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) has listed at least 15 instances of violations of the Companies Act by the board of directors of the National Spot Exchange (NSEL). According to the report, the directors failed in their fiduciary duties at a time when the financial statements of the company clearly showed an unusual rise in profits.
The Economic Times finds vexation:
No easy answers to high retail inflation: P Chidambaram
As retail inflation crossed the double-digit mark, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government is looking at various suggestions to cool prices but there were no easy answers to the problem.
Non-vegetating grocery prices from the Times of India:
Onion prices up 278%, tomato 122% in one year
Inflation as measured by the wholesale price index soared to an eight-month high of 7% year-on-year in October on the back of spiralling vegetable prices, raising the prospect of an increase in interest rates when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reviews monetary policy mid-December.
More troublesome numbers from the Financial Express:
Bank NPAs: Net bad loans of 40 banks soar 38 pct to Rs 1.3 trillion in H1
The net bad assets of the 40 listed banks have jumped 38 per cent to Rs 1,28,533 crore during the first half of this fiscal, from Rs 93,109 crore at the end of the last fiscal, and is likely to cross Rs 1.5 lakh crore by the end of the fiscal, says a study.
From Firstpost, when all else fails, FTA!:
Time to take forward India-UK free trade pact: Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron today said the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK needs to progress.
More disappointing numbers [for owners] from the Times of India:
Indian rental returns among lowest globally
The return on investment on residential properties through rentals in tier 1 cities in India is among the lowest in the world. The rental yields in Delhi are the lowest at around 2% while Mumbai fares better at 3.5%.
China next, with neoliberal semantics from People’s Daily:
China puts market in the middle
The role of the market in China has officially switched from “basic” to “decisive”, and is key to understanding the reform agenda
Want China Times provides an assessment:
China’s reforms may be painful in short term: UBS researcher
Pu Yonghao, UBS’s head of Asia research, says China may experience a period of economic hardship over the next two to three years after the third plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee in Beijing approved key reforms, reports the Chinese-language Shanghai Securities News.
And Yale Environment 360 presents a quandary:
China at Crossroads: Balancing
After three decades of unbridled economic growth and mounting ecological problems, China and its new leadership face a key challenge: cleaning up the dirty air, polluted water, and tainted food supplies that are fueling widespread discontent among the country’s burgeoning middle class.
Bloomberg News considers a shift:
China State Companies’ Dominance Tested by Market Pledge
China’s state-owned companies, coddled by cheap credit and sheltered monopolies for years, face a less comfortable future after Communist Party leaders pledged to give market forces a bigger role in the economy.
And the Global Times covers a land rush:
Rise seen in offshore property investment
The total investment in overseas property by Chinese investors rose by 25 percent year-on-year by the end of the third quarter, a global real estate consultancy said in a report e-mailed to the Global Times Thursday.
From the South China Morning Post, a program on hold:
Leaders remain undecided on property tax
Pilot schemes launched in 2011 in Shanghai and Chongqing are unlikely to be extended to other cities for time being, reform planner says
From the Economic Times, the curious case of Wen Ruchun, sole daughter of former supremo Wen Jiabao:
JPMorgan Chase’s China strategy: Tie up with a company run by the PM Wen Jiabao’s daughter
To promote its standing in China, JPMorgan Chase turned to a seemingly obscure consulting firm run by a 32-year-old executive named Lily Chang. Chang’s firm, which received a $75,000-a-month contract from JPMorgan, appeared to have only two employees.
Japan next, with disappointment from BBC News:
Japan’s economic growth slows down
Economic growth in Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, slowed to 0.5% in the July-to-September period, down from 0.9% in the previous quarter.
More from JapanToday:
Abenomics at one year: Growth to slow as challenges mount
A year after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took financial markets by storm with promises to end two decades of deflation and tepid growth, the economy is expected to slow sharply, highlighting the challenges facing “Abenomics” in ensuring a durable recovery.
More negative numbers from Jiji Press:
Starting Salaries Fall for 2 Straight Years in Japan
The average monthly starting salary for new university graduates in Japan in 2013 fell 0.8 pct from the previous year to 198,000 yen, down for the second consecutive year, labor ministry data showed Thursday.
From Jiji Press, banksters seek divorce from gansters:
Japan Bank Industry Unveils Steps to Prevent Gang Loans
The Japanese Bankers Association announced on Thursday measures to prevent member banks from extending loans to mobsters through consumer credit and other finance affiliates.
More from the Mainichi:
Banks’ business affairs with gangs ‘everywhere’: megabank officials
Mizuho Bank president’s confession in the Diet that the bank itself has transactions with gangsters apart from loans through its group company is echoed by other megabank officials, indicating the difficulties for financial institutions to completely cut any business ties with antisocial forces.
Jiji Press taps a digital vein:
Japan Eyes Consumption Tax on Content Sold by Foreign Firms
The Japanese government’s Tax Commission at a meeting on Thursday agreed to impose the consumption tax on digital content sold online by foreign-based companies.
Jiji Press again, terms and conditions may apply:
Japan Mulling Import Quotas for “Sensitive” Items under TPP
Japan is considering proposing special import quotas for rice and other “sensitive” agricultural items under the envisioned Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, informed sources said Thursday.
From the Japan Times, Orwellian edits:
History texts to get official spin
Abe’s LDP wants ‘self-condemning’ views of contentious points revised
The revision is in line with calls by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to instill a sense of national pride in students and correct what some LDP members call a “self-condemning” view of historical events, including the Nanjing Massacre and wartime sex slaves.
And so to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
A non-leaked leak from the Mainichi:
TEPCO confirms water leaks around Fukushima reactor for first time
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has confirmed two water leaks from piping in the No. 1 reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, company officials said. This is the first time the utility has located water leaks around the plant’s damaged reactors since hydrogen explosions occurred at the plant in March 2011.
More from the Asahi Shimbun:
Photo confirms water leaks from Fukushima reactor containment vessel
A camera installed on a remote-controlled device captured the first direct evidence that water is leaking from a containment vessel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The Japan Times awaits a very difficult effort:
Risky fuel removal about to start
The decades-long decommissioning process at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant is about to take what Tokyo Electric Power Co. says is “an important step,” as the utility starts removing fuel rod assemblies from the spent fuel pool high up in reactor building 4 sometime this month.
More from JapanToday:
Some spent fuel rods at Fukushima were damaged before 2011 disaster
Three of the spent fuel assemblies due to be carefully plucked from the crippled Japanese nuclear plant at Fukushima in a hazardous year-long operation were damaged even before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out the facility.
Radioactively generated red ink from the Japan Daily Press:
Japanese government plans to borrow another $30 billion for Fukushima cleanup
The Japanese central government is reportedly set to borrow some US$30 billion for the continuing cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power facility and the surrounding areas affected by the radiation.
USA TODAY gives us our first environmental story:
Destruction of Brazil’s Amazon jumps 28%
Environmentalists blame the increase on a loosening of Brazil’s environmental laws.
Quartz covers deforestation:
The world has lost almost six Californias worth of forest since 2000
The world lost the trees on some 2.3 million square kilometers (0.9 million square miles) of land, while trees grew back or were planted on roughly 0.8 million sq km.
From International Science Times, thermogenic alterations in avian mating dates:
Migrating Birds Affected By Global Warming: Newer Generations Are Nesting and Hatching Earlier
CNN issues a red alert:
CO2 causing oceans to acidify at ‘unprecedented’ rate, scientists warn
The world’s oceans have become 26% more acidic since the start of the Industrial Revolution and continue to acidify at an “unprecedented rate,” threatening marine ecosystems, aquaculture and the societies that rely on them, scientists say.
Nature’s News Blog has consequences:
Ocean acidification could trigger economic devastation
Coral reefs, shellfish, and even top predators such as tuna could be devastated as human carbon-dioxide emissions continue to acidify the world’s oceans. These and other impacts of anthropogenic ocean acidification are laid out in a new expert assessment, released today.
Our final item comes from the Hindu, with Obama gaming the system:
U.S. to oppose mechanism to fund climate change adaptation in poor nations
In an internal briefing paper, accessed by “The Hindu”, U.S. tells negotiators to delay emission cut commitments and not to agree on any time line for funds
