whatever i feel like.

Chile's Patagonia might come the next.

2011-05-21T16:47:00.000+09:00

BEIJING — The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectricproject and a symbol of China’s confidence in risky technological solutions, is troubled by urgent pollution and geologic problems, a high-level government body acknowledged Thursday.

Central China Hit by Drought, as Reservoirs Become ‘Dead Water’ (May 17, 2011)
Green Column: Hydropower’s Resurgence and the Controversy Around It (May 16, 2011)

The statement came as technicians were certifying the very last of the dam’s array of generators as suitable for hydroelectric generation, the final step in a contentious 19-year effort to complete the project in defiance of domestic and international concerns over its safety as well as threats to the environment, displaced people, historical areas and natural beauty.

According to official figures, the venture cost China about $23 billion, but outside experts estimate it may have cost double that amount. The dam has been plagued by reports of floating archipelagoes of garbage, carpets of algae and landslides on the banks along the vast expanse of still water since the 600-foot-tall dam on the Yangtze River was completed in 2006. Critics also have complained that the government has fallen far short of its goals in helping to resettle the 1.4 million people displaced by the rising waters behind the dam.

China’s State Council, a coordinating body often likened to the United States president’s cabinet, said in a vague statement that the project suffered from a wide range of serious problems. “Although the Three Gorges project provides huge comprehensive benefits, urgent problems must be resolved regarding the smooth relocation of residents, ecological protection and geological disaster prevention,” the statement said.

The huge dam is meeting the government’s goal of producing pollution-free electric power, the government said, generating 84 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year. But critics say the sheer weight of water backed up in the 410-mile-long reservoir behind the dam has increased the danger of earthquakes and landslides. The government has acknowledged that risk, but denied that the project played any role in China’s powerful May 2008 quake in Sichuan Province, in which at least 87,000 people died.

Environmentalists say the lake has become a repository for the waste dumped by cities and industries.

Even the dam’s ability to regulate the notoriously changeable flow of the 3,900-mile-long Yangtze, one of China’s two major rivers, has been called into question. Faced with a historic drought this spring, cities downstream of the dam have been unable to accommodate oceangoing vessels that usually visit their ports, and about 400,000 residents of Hubei Province lost access to drinking water this month.

Although no link has been proved, critics say the dam has changed regional water tables, contributing to the shortage.

The government statement on the dam was released after a meeting led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, seen by many outsiders as more responsive to average citizens’ complaints than many others in the nation’s leadership. The statement said that some problems were anticipated during the dam’s construction, but that others “arose because of new demands posed by economic and social development.”

China’s rulers may be most concerned by the impact of the dam on the displaced masses, many of whom appear to have failed to rebuild their lives after being evicted from the land covered by the reservoir. By 2020, the statement promised, displaced residents would enjoy living standards equal to those who had not been displaced.

The Three Gorges project has been dogged by skeptics, even within China’s bureaucracy, since it was approved in 1992. Environmentalists said it would destroy a stunning landscape of limestone cliffs regarded as one of the world’s most scenic sites, and skeptics warned that the new lake would lead to geologic and pollution problems.

Orville Schell, an environmental expert who leads the Asia Society’s Center on United States-China Relations, said he hoped that the government’s statement signaled a commitment to address the dam’s problems.

“There’s a kind of a balance sheet of benefits and liabilities that have come out of this project,” Mr. Schell said. “My sense is that the Chinese government is getting better and better at collecting information about things like this.” He added, “They know if they don’t fix these problems there will be dire consequences.”

A version of this article appeared in print on May 20, 2011, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: China Admits ‘Urgent Problems’ With Massive Dam on Yangtze.

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2011-05-21T15:46:00.000+09:00

Environmental record

[edit]Water usage (India, U.S., U.K.)

PepsiCo’s usage of water was the subject of controversy in India in the early and mid 2000s in part because of the company’s alleged impact on water usage in a country where water shortages are a perennial issue. In this setting, PepsiCo was perceived by India-based environmental organizations as a company that diverted water to manufacture a discretionary product, making it a target for critics at the time.^[68]

As a result, in 2003 PepsiCo launched a country-wide program to achieve a “positive water balance” in India by 2009.^[69] In 2007, PepsiCo’s CEO Indra Nooyi made a trip to India to address water usage practices in the country, prompting prior critic Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), to note that PepsiCo "seem(s) to be doing something serious about water now."^[68]According to the company’s 2009 corporate citizenship report,^[62] as well as media reports at the time,^[67] the company (in 2009) replenished nearly six billion liters of water within India, exceeding the aggregate water intake of approximately five billion liters by PepsiCo’s India manufacturing facilities.^[62]

Water usage concerns have arisen at times in other countries in which PepsiCo operates. In the U.S., water shortages in certain regions resulted in increased scrutiny on the company’s production facilities, which were cited in media reports as being among the largest water users in cities facing drought - such as Atlanta, Georgia.^[70]^[71] In response, the company formed partnerships with non-profit organizations such as the Earth Institute and Water.org, and in 2009 began cleaning new Gatorade bottles with purified air instead of rinsing with water, among other water conservation practices.^[72] In the United Kingdom, also in response to regional drought conditions, PepsiCo snacks brand Walkers' reduced water usage at its largest potato chip facility by 45 percent between the years 2001 and 2008. In doing so, the factory employed machinery which captured the water naturally contained in potatoes, and used that water to largely offset the need to bring in outside water to the factory.^[73]^[74]

As a result of water reduction practices and efficiency improvements, PepsiCo in 2009 saved more than 12 billion liters of water worldwide,^[75] compared to its 2006 water usage. Environmental advocacy organizations including the Natural Resources Defense Council and individual critics such as Rocky Anderson (mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah) voiced concerns in 2009, noting that the company could conserve additional water by refraining from the production of discretionary products such as Aquafina.^[76] The company maintained its positioning of bottled water as “healthy and convenient”, while also beginning to partially offset environmental impacts of such products through alternate means, including packaging weight reduction.^[76]

[edit]Pesticide regulation (India)

PepsiCo’s India operations were met with substantial resistance in 2003 and again in 2006, when an environmental organization in New Delhi made the claim that, based on its research, it believed that the levels of pesticides in PepsiCo (along with those from rival Coca-Cola Company), exceeded a set of proposed safety standards on soft drink ingredients that had been developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards.^[77] PepsiCo denied the allegations, and India's health ministry has also dismissed the allegations - both questioning the accuracy of the data compiled by the CSE, as it was tested by its own internal laboratories without being verified by outside peer review.^[78]^[79] The ensuing dispute prompted a short-lived ban on the sale of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Company soft drinks within India's southwestern state of Kerala in 2006;^[80] however this ban was reversed by the Kerala High Court one month later.^[81]

In November, 2010, the Supreme Court of India invalidated a criminal complaint filed against PepsiCo India by the Kerala government, on the basis that the beverages did meet local standards at the time of the allegations. The court ruling stated that the “percentage of pesticides” found in the tested beverages was “within the tolerance limits subsequently prescribed in respect of such product,” since at the time of testing “there was no provision governing pesticide adulteration in cold drinks.”^[82]^[83] In 2010, PepsiCo was among the 12 multinational companies that displayed “the most impressive corporate social responsibility credentials in emerging markets”, as determined by the U.S. Department of State.^[84] PepsiCo's India unit received recognition on the basis of its water conservation and safety practices and corresponding results.^[85]

wikipedia.

木製自転車、何気に自転車最高時速！

2011-05-21T15:12:00.000+09:00

英_ 完全に木製の自転車、最速記録！チェーンやホイール部分を含め、全パーツを種々の木から作った自転車、しかも結構かっこいい。ブラジル旅行後の2009年６月から個人で製作。時速は48.3km, 重さ32kg.

http://t.co/G7U7WNp

木の自転車に関して。僕は、木や竹で出来た楽器を愛します。古代から、金属や青銅から作った楽器は存在しますが、金管楽器というものは歴史が浅い様です。ドイツで発明され、先ずフランスで使用が始まりました。それ以前は、フルートもサックスも木製だったのです。　‥「軍隊」は「金管」ですね。

穀物の市場価格。グローバル化する生活環境、政治。

2011-05-21T02:39:00.000+09:00

FAO世界食物農業計画は「市場価格の高騰に応え、今年の小麦生産量は3.4%の上昇」と発表。しかし08-09年の豊作量には及ばず。欧州小麦は4%増産。ロシア32.5%,ウクライナ27.1%,カザフ56.2%増産が効いている。逆に言えば、西欧南欧は酷い収穫なのだろうか‥。　つづく‥

つづき‥急激な在庫量低下による、穀物供給の引き締め。国際穀物委員会に拠ると、増産にも関わらず、３年連続で在庫量は落ちるという。その原因は、トウモロコシの大量エタノール燃料使用、高果糖トウモロコシ甘味料の生産、という結論。モロコシ価格の高騰は、エタノール使用に抑制を与える　‥つづく

つづき‥だろうと述べている。輸出額が70%上昇した点を強調するが、実際には石油価格の高騰に、穀物市場は左右されている、とも語る。 _CTA Agritrade.

2011-05-21T02:22:00.000+09:00

Global wheat production to increase but cereal markets remain tight

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The FAO projects that global wheat production will grow 3.4% in 2011 in response to high global prices. However, this will ‘still be below the bumper harvest of 2008 and 2009’. Wheat production in the EU is forecast to increase 4%, with a major bounce-back in production in Russia (+32.5%), Ukraine (+27.1%) and Kazakhstan (+56.2%).
In terms of the overall supply and demand balance, FAO confirms a ‘tightening of the global cereal supply and demand balance in 2010/11’, with ‘a sharp drawdown of world stocks’. According to the International Grains Council, ‘inventories will fall for a third consecutive season in 2011-12’, despite these production increases. This is in part attributed to greater use of maize by ethanol plants in the US and for the manufacture of high-fructose corn syrup in the face of high world sugar prices. Rising prices, however, are likely to place limitations on the use of maize for ethanol production.
This underlying situation is reflected in a 70% increase in cereal export prices since February 2010. However, cereals markets are subject to considerable price volatility, in part linked to the role played by speculators and in part linked to varying fears over oil prices.
Press reports indicate the EU wheat market is also ‘extremely tight’.

Source

FAO, ‘Global wheat production to increase in 2011’, summary of the March 2011 edition of FAO’sCrop Prospects and Food Situation report, 23 March 2011
In English:
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/53813/icode/
In French:
http://www.fao.org/news/story/fr/item/53813/icode/
FAO ‘Crop Prospects and Food Situation’, full text, Report no. 1, March 2011
http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al977e/al977e00.pdf
CommodAfrica.com, ‘La FAO prévoit une augmentation de la production mondiale de blé en 2011’, 23 March 2011 (in French)
http://www.commodafrica.com/fr/actualites/matieres_premieres/faoproducti...
Agrimoney.com, ‘World corn stocks to fall again in 2011-12 – IGC’, 24 February 2011
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/world-corn-stocks-to-fall-again-in-2011-12...
Agrimoney.com, ‘Black Sea states to lead rise in world wheat crop’, 23 March 2011
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/black-sea-states-to-lead-rise-in-world-whe...
Agrimoney.com, ‘Grain stocks to dip further despite record harvest’, 24 March 2011
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/grain-stocks-to-dip-further-despite-record...
Agrimoney.com, ‘Bargain hunting buyers tighten EU wheat supplies’, 17 March 2011
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/bargain-hunting-buyers-tighten-eu-wheat-su...

Editorial comment

In recent months, EU wheat exporters have been regaining markets in north Africa that were previously lost to Black Sea wheat exporters. However, wheat production increases of 13.5m, 5.6m and 3.8m tonnes in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine respectively are likely to result in increased competition on north African markets in the coming year. While north African food import needs are increasing as a result of political unrest, this increased competition for north African markets could see EU wheat exports to sub-Saharan African markets increasing once more, given the projected 5.5m-tonne increase in EU wheat production.

This situation raises important issues related to cereals-sector trade policies in sub-Saharan Africa, given governments’ efforts across the region to stimulate cereals production, and the complex links between different cereals markets (wheat, maize, millet). There is likely therefore to be an intensification of discussions on the use of trade-policy tools in the ongoing EPA negotiations, in view of the potential growing commercial interest of EU cereals and cereal-product exporters in sub-Saharan African markets.

Agritrade News Update – May 2011

300 Malaysians protest 'radiation' plant. マレーシアで放射性物質に反対。

2011-05-20T19:11:00.000+09:00

http://bit.ly/leFJaW　

タイの長引く観光落ち込み、田舎の農家は保険。

2011-05-20T17:21:00.000+09:00

Thailand_ 08年の民主行動党による空港閉鎖以来、観光産業に陰りが出ている様です。その後も左派の民主活動、政治紛争(もうすぐ選挙)、主要ショッピング・モール取り壊し。タイの観光産業比率はGDPの6%、しかし全就業者の20%近く。ベトナムへ客足が逃れています。一方で、中国からの客足は伸びている様です。中国依存はアジア全域の共通問題かもしれません。タイ人の妻と結婚し、米国に暮らす米国人は更なる落ち込みの可能性も懸念。ただ、タイは恵まれた土地で、最悪の場合でも、田舎に暮らす家族は農漁業を営んでいるので、それが保険になっている様だ、と語る。

Rural farms as insurance, Thailand's Tourism downturn.

2011-05-20T17:13:00.000+09:00

http://bit.ly/hjmb6A articled by Steve.

Bhutan's Sky blue! ブータンの空は青！

2011-05-19T23:37:00.000+09:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aminul/225855826/

severe realities.

2011-05-19T17:03:00.002+09:00

the states we're in. Home after the tsunami and then back to Tokyo.http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/home-

Folk Musica Peruano ペルーのフォルクローレ

2011-05-18T22:53:00.000+09:00

I feel more familiar with the Peruvian cultures, economy and society, since after 311. http://youtu.be/GIXE-5NrC3o

海外へ出て行く農業。

2011-05-18T22:23:00.002+09:00

米中他の同様の動きに植民地化ではと警戒してましたが、バングラとなると話は別ですね。

既に日本も動いている模様。http://bit.ly/esVvOm

Bangladesh rents African land to boost food output http://t.co/IeWgXfc _ Bangkok Post

日本政府・企業も、海外で土地を借り、農業生産という道を考えているかもしれない。先ほどの、バングラデシュの記事は非常に興味深い内容だと思います。タイの英字紙の報道でした。　
英文　http://t.co/IeWgXfc

Bangladesh_ バングラデシュ政府は、アフリカのウガンダ・タンザニア両国に４万ヘクタールの土地を借り、企業が農業運営。タンザニアでは更に１万ヘクタールを借りる予定。バングラデシュは四月に米価格が50%値上がりし危機。現地では25,000人の雇用と８割の生産増が見込まれる。

2011-05-18T22:08:00.001+09:00

Bad Panda News: World’s Oldest “Kicks Bucket”, While Scottish Loan In Doubt

The world’s oldest panda, born in 1977, has died, reports Global Times:

http://bit.ly/jcCsJT

インドネシア「マグロ漁、エサにイルカの肉？？」 pt.2

2011-05-18T21:34:00.000+09:00

　欧州市場への影響を懸念

米国を拠点に活動する２団体が、インドネシアの遠洋マグロ漁業に、イルカの肉を使用している
という主張に関して。（詳細はpt.1を参照に）

米国はインドネシア・マグロの主要輸入国ではないが、インドネシア政府は欧州で波紋を起こす
のでは、と懸念している。欧州では、インドネシア・マグロは日本・韓国に次ぐ供給量。
主張しているNGO団体の拠点は米国だが、欧州にも強いプレッシャーを掛けることが出来る、
と語る、インドネシア海洋漁業省。

「彼らの行為が、インドネシア・マグロ市場に混乱をもたらし、攻撃を続けるのであれば、西部・
中部・太平洋漁業委員会、南半球マグロ漁業委員会の会議に、問題を持ち込む」、と自信を
もって語っている。

インドネシアはここ数年、マグロ輸出量を伸長させていた。2008年には 490,942トン、09年541,303
トン、10年577,430トン。

インドネシア英字紙　ジャカルタ・ポスト 5/18

Indonesia 'Dolphin meat for fishing Tuna' pt.2

2011-05-18T20:36:00.000+09:00

RI fears disruption to tuna sales after dolphin allegations

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 05/18/2011 3:49 PM | Business

A | A | A |

Indonesian authorities have expressed concerns that allegations its longline vessels use dolphins meat as bait in tuna fishing could disrupt the local tuna export industry.

The allegations were made recently by the US-based Friends of the Sea organization and Earth Island Institute, which release Dolphin Safe labels for tuna products, indicating that tuna has been caught without harming or killing dolphins.

While the US is not Indonesia's main tuna export destination, authorities have warned that the accusation could harm Indonesia's tuna markets in other countries, especially Europe.

Until now, the Euro zone has been among Indonesia's top export destinations for Indonesian tuna products after Japan and South Korea.

"The NGOs [that made the allegations] are US-based, but they can put strong pressure on Europe," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry fishery resources director Agus Apun Budhiman said Wednesday in Jakarta.

"We don't want these allegations to disrupt our tuna sales ... If they continue to attack, we'll take this case to the annual tuna meetings," he said.

Agus was referring to the annual meetings of the West and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna.

He said he was confident the commissions would support Indonesia in the case given the country's important position in the global tuna production, with its waters, especially the Banda Sea, being the world's "tuna barn".

Indonesia has enjoyed an increase in tuna exports along with increases in tuna production over the past few years.

In 2008, Indonesia produced 490,942 tons of tuna; in 2009 it produced 541,303 tons; and in 2010, 577,430 tons.

Whale fisheries often cause discussion even within the Japanese. most claim it is our tradition and it is in fact much different from the whale fishing of the Vikings. also they insist that Japanese never waste them. not only taking their oils out of the bodies, but eating them all. their insists come from the indigenous religious custom.

In fact, most people in Japan get annoyed with the protests against whale-fishing. some even insist the Americans and the Europeans never have a right to claim stopping the whale-fishing, as long as they eat beefs and porks. since it is against the traditional Japanese custom.

It may sounds as propaganda to you. because the Japanese are famous for their food-wasting habits, perhaps the worst together with the Americans. i like to believe there are more people who oppose to our common habits of wasting foods both in the states and Japan than i expect.

I know there are so many Vegetarian people in the USA and Europe, who protest against the mass consuming custom of today. but only the medias do not much focus on them at least in Japan. and that is the reason the Japanese get unfair feelings about your claiming,

Indonesia 'Dolphin meat for fishing Tuna?' pt.1

2011-05-18T19:54:00.000+09:00

RI fishermen do not use dolphin meat to catch tuna: Govt

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 05/18/2011 2:15 PM | Business

A | A | A |

Indonesia has denied allegations that some of its longline vessels fishing for tuna used dolphin meat as bait.

"[Groups] have alleged that our longline vessels intentionally capture dolphins and use the meat for bait. But the pictures they used as evidence are of sharks, not dolphins," Maritime and Fisheries Ministry

fisheries resources director Agus Apun Budhiman said Wednesday in Jakarta.

"We have held a meeting with related associations and they said no such thing happens. Anyone who understands how to fish for tuna knows there is no way dolphins are captured to be used as bait for tuna," he said.

The allegations, Agus said, were made by the US-based Friends of the Sea and Earth Island Institute.

The groups had warned that US buyers would stop purchasing tuna from Indonesia if it failed to certify its tuna products as "Dolphin Safe", he said.

Agus also said that if the two organizations continued making such allegations, Indonesia would take the case to the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

「イルカ肉をマグロの釣りエサに？！」　政府は否定するが‥

2011-05-18T19:21:00.000+09:00

米国を拠点に活動する"フレンズ・オヴ・シー"、"アース・アイランド"が、
「インドネシアの遠洋漁業は、マグロ漁でイルカ肉をエサにしている。」
と、写真付きで訴えかけた。

この主張に対し、インドネシア政府は、「写真に写っているのはサメ。イルカの
肉なんか使っていませんよ！」、と否定している。

"フレンズ・オヴ・シー＆アース"の代表は、「きちんと、説明をして頂けなければ、
米国でインドネシア産のマグロ不買運動に持ち込みますよ。」、と応じている。

インドネシア政府は、「もしこの２団体が、こういう訴えを続けるならば、西部・中部・
太平洋漁業委員会（WCPFC）の年次会議に、持ち込みますよ。」、との返答。

インドネシア英字紙　ジャカルタ・ポスト 05/18

<私は考える>

クジラ、イルカに対して欧米の多くの国は、異常に敏感な反応を起こします。
日本で育った多くの人には、共感しにくい、馴染みの薄い事情かもしれません。
共感する人もいるとは思いますが。

個人的には、欧米の意見に同調を感じています。暗い海の中で、唯一、人間の
心を救ってくれる者たち、それが、クジラ・イルカ、だという考え神話に共感を覚
えるからです。

なぜ、牛をガツガツ食べる人間が、クジラ・イルカに関しては敏感なのか。
「牛の食用を止めろ！」という声も、欧米には実際は多いのです。ただ、メディア
が伝えないだけです。　その為に、「なぜ、クジラ漁はいけないのか？不公平だ。」
という意識が生じています。

世界一、ベジタリアン・穀物オンリーな人が多いのは、アフリカやインドだと思います。
でも、その次に、米国が来るはずです。誰かが、情報を遮っているのです。