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POPSAmerica Buying Big Slices of South America I like the idea of private conservation (better than no conservation at all), but I can also see a scenario in which the rich lay claim to the increasingly scarce resources of the future, such as water (and oil of course i.e Iraq.) I guess only the future will tell, if the rich intend to 'share'.
12
POPSWetland thrives beneath the Antarctic Ice This is actually an entire new world, possibly preserving ancient life. The complex system that has apparently existed unseen beneath the Antarctic ice sheet is another great example of truth being much more exciting than fiction.
11
POPSRising sea levels will change face of America
The Environmental Protection Agency's calculation projects a land loss of about 22,000 square miles. The EPA, which studied only the Eastern and Gulf coasts, found that Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and South Carolina would lose the most land. But even inland areas like Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia also have slivers of at-risk land, according to the EPA. This past summer's flooding of subways in New York could become far more regular, even an everyday occurrence, with the projected sea rise, other scientists said. And New Orleans' Katrina experience and the daily loss of Louisiana wetlands — which serve as a barrier that weakens hurricanes — are previews of what's to come there. Florida faces a serious public health risk from rising salt water tainting drinking water wells, said Joel Scheraga, the EPA's director of global change research. And the farm-rich San Joaquin Delta in California faces serious salt water flooding problems
6
POPSWhy do cats hate getting wet? We had a tuxedo cat who loved playing in the wading pool. He slapped at the water coming out of the faucets. I've heard that breed likes water. He was fun to watch.
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POPSPlanning the Future of Rwanda "A bit perversely, the genocide itself has become a sort of psychic engine for development, the glimpse of darkness that inspires the light" Capital of Rwanda: Kigali Population in 1990: 7 million Killed in the 1994 genocide: 800,000 Population today: 9.7 million Estimated population in 2030: 20 million Urban population in 1990: 5.3% Urban population in 2003: 21.8% Kigali annual growth rate: 7–9% Kigali population in informal settlements: 83% Average per-capita annual income: $280 Population with regular access to electricity: 5% Projected population with access to electricity in 2011: 10%
5
POPSDon't Let Oil Drills Ruin One of Alaska's Treasures
I am strongly opposed to oil and gas drilling in Teshekpuk Lake area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). One of the most important wetlands in the Arctic, the Teshekpuk Lake region provides habitat for a million birds, including threatened species like the Spectacled Eider, as well as the 45,000-member Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd. The draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could lead to the opening of this ecologically important wetland habitat to lease sales. The region's Native residents have expressed strong opposition to the plan. I ask you to not open the Teshekpuk Lake area to drilling for oil and gas. I also ask that the BLM protect the full range of the area's values, from subsistence to recreation to the health of fish and wildlife populations. Such a decision is the only appropriate one for this globally important wetland habitat. Thank you for your consideration.
4
POPSWhy Not Build a Lowe's Store In The Everglades? 
The 18,000-square-mile "River of Grass" is not a swamp but a unique and vital ecosystem. In 2000, Florida and federal government embarked on a $10 billion, 20-year project to restore the Everglades: This project would work to fix a half-century's worth of draining, diversion and other damage that development had wreaked on one of the world's most delicate but vital eco-systems, and return it to something like its original state. But post-9/11, the Everglades fell down the priority list of the Bush Administration and Congress alike. Today the project is less than half finished, years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Last year Congress had to override President Bush's veto of a $20 billion water preservation bill that included a sorely needed $2 billion for the Everglades. Letting Lowe's build beyond the UDB could diminish the urgency of the Everglades and welcome more developers to push their way in. This is the time to step up and push back!
3
POPSPredicting (but not preventing) Catastrophism Ivor and his team sought tenaciously—at times desperately—to have their warnings heeded by government officials. Nobody listened. "A slow-moving Category 3 hurricane or larger will flood the city. There will be between 17 and 20 feet of standing water, and New Orleans as we now know it will no longer exist." —Ivor van Heerden, October 29, 2004