Green News Blog 22 May 08
Added On: 22/05/2008
2 RatingsBag charge plan hits US airline
American Airlines is to become the first major US carrier to charge passengers to check in a first bag, and is retiring 75 older jets that have poorer fuel economy to try to reduce fuel costs and the planes' environmental impact. This is in a bid to manage their current profit loss in the first 3 months of this year due to rising fuel prices.
We think this new policy will be imitated by other US and European domestic airlines over the next few months as consumer spending on travel falls and fuel prices rise. Interesting times for the aviation industry!
LA workers swap cars for subway
In Los Angeles, the rising price of petrol is prompting people to travel to work by train rather than by car. According to figures from the city's subway system, the number of passengers increased by more than 14% in the first three months of 2008.
This is a trend that is being mirrored in the UK as fuel reaches it's highest prices ever, but can the straining public transport system really provide a realistic alternative for the millions that still drive?
Cocaine use 'destroys rainforest'
The British and Colombian governments have launched a joint drive to highlight the environmental damage caused by cocaine use.
Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos Calderon said taking it was seen as a "victimless crime" in Europe but it was devastating his country.
Some 2.2 million hectares of rainforest had been lost to cocaine production over the last 20 years, he added. Alex james, the former bass player from the UK band Blur, has pledged support and was the presenter and investigator in a TV program on the issue.
Good on him! The man has hoovered up more charlie than Tony Montana, it's great to see him working to tackle the problem. Cocaine use is still on the increase in Europe so it's an ever-present problem.
Italian City of Naples faces 'disaster measures'
The Naples rubbish crisis will be treated as a natural disaster, Italy's prime minister has said, unveiling a series of emergency measures.
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said landfill sites will be classified as of strategic national interest, guarded by soldiers. Angry residents have taken to burning the piles of rotting waste, which have littered the streets for months.
The continuing crisis has been blamed on the mafia, as illegal dumping and control of the waste management by organized crime reached breaking point. Corruption and mismanagement are being cited as the catalysts for the current problems, and the Italian government faces a court action from the EU.
How the situation can be allowed to continue for so many years is baffling, surely questions should be asked of the current government, and their relation to the organized crime syndicates that are being blamed?
Leave a comment