"Holy Indian reservation roulette wheels Batman! The newly launched Republic Report, an anti-corruption blog focusing on how self-interested dollars are warping the public-interest responsibilities of America's democratic institutions has actually hired convicted felon Jack Abramoff to be one of its lead bloggers."

"Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes and preserving open space as part of a United Nations-led conspiracy to deny property rights and herd citizens toward cities."

"An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger."

"Publication of a landmark government study probing whether diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in miners -- already 20 years in the making — has been delayed by industry and congressional insistence on seeing study data and documents before the public does."

"Russian scientists have drilled into the vast, dark and never-
before-touched Lake Vostok 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica, the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti said Monday."

"“Yesterday, our scientists stopped drilling at the depth of 3,768 meters and reached the surface of the subglacial lake,” the news agency quoted a source as saying. The team had “finally managed to pierce” the ice sheet into Vostok, the source said.

"The Chinese government said on Monday it will ban the country's airlines from participating in a European Union scheme to charge for carbon emissions from flights into and out of Europe and ban airlines from charging customers extra because of the EU plan."

Chris Buckley reports for Reuters February 6 2012.
[21]
SEE ALSO:

"Opponents Of EU Airline CO2 Scheme To Meet In Moscow" (Reuters) [22]

"By 2030, The Global Middle Class Is Expected To Grow By Two-Thirds. That’S 3 Billion More Shoppers. They'll All Want Access To Goods, Including Water, Wheat, Coffee and Oil. Is There Enough for Everybody? Can Business Satisfy Demand and Avoid Hitting 'Peak Everything?'"

Bloomberg News had the story February 7, 2012. [27]

"A coalition of environmentalists, outdoor enthusiasts and wildlife advocates have filed a federal lawsuit to block a project by the artist Christo that would drape fabric canopies along a long stretch of the Arkansas River in Colorado."

"Ivanpah Valley, Calif. -- Construction cranes rise like storks 40 stories above the Mojave Desert. In their midst, the 'power tower' emerges, wrapped in scaffolding and looking like a multistage rocket."