Read this post in English Abril 2010: Deepwater Horizon, fuga de petróleo en el golfo de México. Durante tres meses, el petróleo fluye sin cesar. Este fue el mayor derrame de petróleo en la historia del oro negro. La explosión mata a 11 hombres. El derrame causó daño ambiental en los hábitats marinos y en …
Tag: environment
Apr 06
El Agua: Ganancias vs Humanidad
Read this post in English Uno de los temas que me ha interesado cada vez más ha sido la inaccesibilidad del agua y la privatización del agua. El último par de semanas, he estado siguiendo el Consejo Mundial del Agua y el Foro Mundial del Agua, los cuales se establecieron con el fin de abordar …
Apr 05
Myanmar and the Politics of Tourism
Several months ago I wrote a post on the future of tourism in Myanmar (better known as Burma), which many groups were hoping to capitalize on in the coming years. Myanmar has been largely untouched by tourists thanks to a combination of government restrictions and sanctions imposed by countries like the US, and now that …
Apr 05
Simply Brilliant
Renewable energy is the wave of the future. Eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and relying solely on renewable energy sources would be a boon for our environment unlike anything we have ever seen. However, even the United States, a very advanced nation, only satisfies 11% of its electricity needs through renewable resources. Simply put, …
Apr 04
Gobiernos Locales Esenciales en el Problema del Agua
El otro día que estaba sentada en mi clase de Economía Política, mi profesor dio una respuesta muy sencilla de por qué surgen diferencias de desarrollo económico entre países: LAS INSTITUCIONES. Por supuesto, esta respuesta no es una epifanía, sino que más bien es una realización de lo que algunos países realmente carecen. Quizás no …
Mar 30
Fukushima vs Deepwater Horizon: political reactions
April 2010: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. During three months, oil flows unabated. This is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of oil extraction. The explosion kills 11 men. The spill caused extensive environmental damage to marine and wildlife habitats, as well as economic damage to the fishing and tourism industries. March 2011: …
Mar 29
Local Governments Essential In Water Problem
As I sat in my Political Economics class the other day, my professor gave a very simple answer to differences in economic development between countries: INSTITUTIONS. Of course, this answer is not an epiphany by any means, but rather it is a realization of what some countries really do lack. We may not think about …
Mar 28
Unsustainable Consumerism Part 2- Production
In my last post I introduced the concept of the materials economy. We took a look at the ridiculous rate at which the American consumer is driving the destruction and exploitation of our planet’s natural resources and native cultures. These themes will perfectly translate into this post’s discussion of the second step in the materials …
Mar 27
Unsustainable Consumerism Part 1 – Extraction
It’s been about a year and a half since I bought a new pair of running shoes, three times the “recommended” usage time frame. Now there is only slight wear and tear, but what makes me, as a consumer, feel that I am doing something wrong by not buying the latest style or most updated …
Mar 22
Policy Balancing Act
Have you ever imagined being the President of the United States? I haven’t really, it stresses me out just thinking about the competing responsibilities. Maybe you’ve been a die-hard environmentalist, or a strong businesswoman, or an unfailing pacifist up until your inauguration, but no matter how true you are to your convictions there will be …