· December, 2006

Stories about Environment from December, 2006

Russia, Belarus: “Gazilla”

  30 December 2006

There's a distinct sense of deja vu this New Year's Eve: Gazprom, Russia's largest (and state-controlled) company and the world's biggest extractor of natural gas, is in the spotlight again, both locally (due to an ambitious and controversial construction project in St. Petersburg) and internationally (due to a dispute over...

Trinidad & Tobago: Smeltdown

  30 December 2006

The Trinidad and Tobago government's decision to re-locate a controversial aluminium smelter project prompts Jeremy Taylor to raise numerous questions about some key development decisions taken by the current administration: “Would we really need a rapid-rail system costing TT$15 billion if a bit more common sense was applied to the...

Nigeria: who is to blame?

  28 December 2006

Chxta's World discusses the tragedy that claimed more that 200 lives in Nigeria, “Concerning the avoidable tragedy that played out in Abule-Egba, it is pertinent to note that there are many factors involved, and all of them are/were totally avoidable. I will like to point some of these factors out...

Trinidad & Tobago: The smelter moves

  27 December 2006

As Trinidad and Tobago's caves into the protests against the establishment of an aluminium smelter in a community in south-western Trinidad — and moves the project to another part of the country — Taran Rampersad starts thinking that “it has become necessary to become vocal.”

Jamaica: Development and apathy

  26 December 2006

Pondering the debate in Jamaica over proposed development for bauxite in Cockpit Country, AliceClaire asks: “Really, which is worse: our myopic vision and planning or a largely, and surprisingly, dormant civil society that let's too many things slide right on by them?“

Libya:A view into the blogging scene

  25 December 2006

The Libyan blogosphere is rich and diverse, but quietly apolitical. I'm constantly surprised at how it has sprouted during the last three years. It may have less bloggers than other countries, but the fact that some people are actually blogging is a miracle per se. Libyans blog from inside Libya...

Philippines: Learning from Seoul City Planners

  22 December 2006

Urbano dela Cruz writes about South Korean capital Seoul's bold restoration of a river and a park by demolishing a highway in the city centre. The blogger says that Manila city should learn from Seoul's example.

Guyane: Forest In Danger from Gold Digging

  21 December 2006

Blada.com (Fr) points to a Mongabay.com english-speaking series on the French Guianese environment and says: “Illegal gold digging is threatening the forest, biodiversity and indigenous populations of French Guiana. The biggest European tropical forest is invaded by clandestine gold diggers.” The site also deplores that France –of which Guyane is...

China: Xinjiang 2021

  21 December 2006

Michael from the opposite end of China blogs about his wild speculation of Xinjiang in 2021. The post was written in response to a call by neweurasia.net.

Bermuda: Ritz Carlton to be approved?

  21 December 2006

A “nine-storey monstrosity, in the shape of the proposed new Ritz-Carlton hotel” may soon be erected in the City of Hamilton. A Limey in Bermuda shares his thoughts on the subject in the context of Bermuda's current planning laws.

Barbados: Greenland Dump Ill-Advised

  21 December 2006

Hans G. Machel guest authors at Barbados Free Press, criticizing the government's plans to continue to spend millions of dollars on an “ill-fated site” for mass garbage disposal.

Ukraine: Chernobyl Rumors

  20 December 2006

MoldovAnn writes about the most recent Chernobyl scare: “One guy had a chance to check the news on the internet before dinner, and read a report that a wall on the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant had collapsed, releasing a bunch of radioactive dust into the air. The report advised to...