State of the Ocean–Another Threat For The Planet

June 22, 2011 Leave a comment

This should be of the greatest of concern to us in South Florida.

A high-level international workshop convened by IPSO met at the University of Oxford earlier this year. It was the first inter-disciplinary international meeting of marine scientists of its kind and was designed to consider the cumulative impact of multiple stressors on the ocean, including warming, acidification, and overfishing.

The 3 day workshop, co-sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), looked at the latest science across different disciplines.

The 27 participants from 18 organisations in 6 countries produced a grave assessment of current threats — and a stark conclusion about future risks to marine and human life if the current trajectory of damage continues: that the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.

via State of the Ocean.org – Solutions: New Report: International Earth System expert workshop on ocean impacts and stresses.

Filed under Environment, Florida

Coral Gables Debt Surge–Take Note, Interest Rates Will Stay Low

June 22, 2011 Leave a comment

One justification for the Debt Surge in Coral Gables for its so-called Renaissance is that the city will lose a window opportunity of low interest rates.  This is nonsensical since interest will stay low for a long time, and the dange of overspending on the Renaissance projects is far greater that the rush to refinance now.

The following is from today’s Federal Reserve statement:

To promote the ongoing economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent.  The Committee continues to anticipate that economic conditions–including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run–are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period.

via FRB: Press Release–FOMC statement–June 22, 2011.

Filed under Coral Gables, Finance, Government

Is This a Radical View by the Commissioner?–The Commission Should Decide

June 20, 2011 Leave a comment

One option should be to not spend all of the money and not borrow all of the $22 amount proposed.  It is terrible financial management to borrow the money and then decide how to spend it, like a giant slush fund.  This is terrible city management.

Going forward, it will be up to the City Commission — not the manager — to establish priorities for the NRP money. I remain optimistic that the city commission will be pragmatic rather than fanciful in its use of the NRP funds.

via Letter: Gables spending plan bloated with needless projects – Coral Gables – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Coral Gables, Finance

Nuclear Accident Waiting to Happen–U.S. Nuclear Regulators “Repeatedly” Weaken Safety Rules or are “Simply Failing to Enforce Them” | ThinkProgress

June 20, 2011 Leave a comment

Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.

The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety — and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.

The AP has a blockbuster study of the NRC’s nuclear regulatory ‘oversight.’

via AP Bombshell: U.S. Nuclear Regulators “Repeatedly” Weaken Safety Rules or are “Simply Failing to Enforce Them” | ThinkProgress.

Filed under Coral Gables

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