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Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels often focus on one or more current geopolitical events. The latest one, Arctic Drift, is no different, centering on a worldwide financial crisis in 2011, coupled with global warming woes.

The bad guy of the story, Mitchell Goyette, is a Canadian energy tycoon with a public facade of green technology and renewable resource businesses. However, his dark underbelly conceals heavy involvement in oil and natural gas.

The United States faces a financial meltdown, aggravated by the threat of an international boycott if the country does not decrease its carbon dioxide emissions from coal fired power plants. Canada holds the key to America’s salvation in the form or an enormous wealth of natural gas reserves.

The sitting American president, who in 2011 is neither Democratic nor Republican but an independent, hopes to use Canadian natural gas to replace coal for producing electricity and even for powering cars converted to run on natural gas.

However, Goyette is in a perfect position to take advantage of the United State’s desperate gamble, and he does so without conscience. To the Canadian public, Goyette is an environmental hero who invests millions in wind power and carbon sequestration. Unbeknownst to the masses, he’s unscrupulously involved in every dirty industry that will make him more money, in particular the oil sands of Athabasca, Alberta, and the Melville natural gas fields of the Canadian Arctic, over which he has full control.

Promising the U.S. government a nearly unlimited supply of the Melville natural gas to help solve the American energy crisis, and consequently also the financial crisis brought on by soaring oil prices, Goyette underhandedly signs a secret deal with the Chinese to instead sell them the gas at 10% above market value, with no intention of keeping his word to the U.S.

(In reality, it seems a little farfetched that the American government would not have had an iron-clad, legally binding, written contract in place for a deal of this magnitude and importance. But it makes for a good story.)

But Goyette’s double-dealing with China and the U.S. pales in comparison to some of his other crimes, which include political assassination, intentional dumping of toxic waste that kills humans and wildlife, theft, vandalizing, bribery of high ranking officials, and worst of all, nearly instigating a war between Canada and the U.S.

Of course, what Goyette fails to take into consideration is Dirk Pitt, the hero of twenty novels by Clive Cussler, including this most recent installment. In the end, Pitt manages to wreak havoc with all of Goyette’s ill-willed plans.

Arctic Drift is a seamless joint effort between Clive Cussler and son, Dirk Cussler. It is difficult to tell their penmanship apart. Whatever sections of the book were written by Dirk Cussler, he did an outstanding job of emulating his father’s inimitable style. (Oxymoron intended!)

Arctic Drift is a thrilling read in classic Clive Cussler style. You will not be disappointed. It may not be the edge-of-your-seat non-stop action from cover-to-cover as in some of the older Cussler works, but it’s still an exciting, intriguing and brilliantly written story that keeps your attention and makes you want to keep reading. The thugs are as smart as they are sinister, and the heroes as pure as Arctic ice.

Britt Hellman lives in Western North Carolina with her spouse and three children. She operates her own copywriting company from her house. Clive Cussler has been one of her favorite authors since reading his Trojan Odyssey, a Dirk Pitt Novel, in 2003. She writes reviews like this one on Arctic Drift for the fun of sharing that excitement.

When any individual is struck with an asbestos related disease, it is imperative that the family contact a firm of asbestos lawyers as soon as possible. There are some serious implications to such a diagnosis, one of which is that there were many companies that knowingly (even today) expose their employees to the risk of asbestosis or mesothelioma despite the current laws.

These companies are ultimately responsible for paying not just the medical bills and often funeral expenses of a victim but are also responsible for compensating the families for their loss, pain, and suffering. It is a far cry from reversing the wrong that was done, but it the best the law can allow for.

There are some asbestos lawyers that believe that there should be a category of law known as criminally negligent asbestos exposure. This notion has been brought to the table many times and has been struck down by politicians protecting big business. However, the laws have been extended to include the mandated payment of medical bills for any family member related to an employee that became ill through second hand exposure.

Asbestos lawyers are fighting for the rights of those who have become stricken with the illnesses related to exposure. Most of these illnesses, including mesothelioma, are fatal. The need for higher penalties for any company operating with illegal exposure should be much higher. However, if the limits are too high, then only a few families will be helped.

Asbestos lawyers can help a family financially recover from the devastating loss of a family member and protect that family member from being rejected from medical care. If it is necessary, a good attorney can take a case to the court room and fight it out to the letter of the law.

Most asbestos cases are settled out of court because of the very obvious wrongdoing on the company…apos;s part. The medical conditions contracted via asbestos are only contracted this way. It is very hard to disprove that the condition didn…apos;t come from asbestos. A solid work history can prove that the exposure happened within a particular company, especially if there are numerous other cases against that company.

Asbestosis and mesothelioma do not develop overnight. In fact, it takes as long as 30 years from exposure to illness to strike. Nor do they develop from everyday activities. They are caused by exposure through the workplace environment. Asbestos lawyers are there to help ensure that any company who has placed profits ahead of people is held accountable.

If you or your family suspect that you may be an asbestos victim and were put in this position by a manufacturer or workplace, you may want to pursue a mesothelioma lawsuit, large sums of money are awarded in these cases. Victims have many rights, but there is a Statutes of Limitation that you need to concern yourself with.

The Kyoto Protocol states that signatory nations should be on the forefront when it comes to taking measures to lower emissions of greenhouse gases. As was suggested by the protocol, this lowering is to be achieved by the methods of carbon trading and carbon offset.

Certain financial instruments known as carbon credits are sold and bought in markets worldwide in the carbon trading system. Buying one carbon credit allows you to release one ton of carbon dioxide or an equal amount of other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Buying and selling carbon credits helps in effectively dealing with global warming, and the system is useful in several ways.

The fundamental advantage of making use of carbon credits is that it restricts the overall global greenhouse emissions. Organizations causing atmospheric pollution are made to pay for their activities while ones taking positive steps are rewarded. Hence this strategy leads companies and administrations to adopt eco friendly processes that check the emission of greenhouse gases.

A free trading mechanism for carbon credits in the global market enables organizations to easily follow the system. Trading is easy under this system as the rules and procedures are clear and simple, and this results in its popularity and efficacy.

Another advantage of carbon credits is that they not only penalize firms with excessive emissions, but also incentivize companies with greener processes. This means that even if a company has emissions below its allocated quota, it will be motivated to work upon further reductions in its emissions so that it can make a profit by selling carbon credits in the market. Hence, this system leads to a cleaner and greener environment.

A majority of nations across the world have welcomed and accepted the method of carbon credits trading, and this is probably its greatest advantage. Inability to generate considerable support and acceptance lead to the failure of several projects. As carbon credits have gained worldwide acceptance, they can go a long way to ensure that our environment is made cleaner and greener.

Learn more about Carbon Credits and Carbon Trading to get a deeper understanding on how you can help in saving the environment. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

Carbon offsetting is a system of balancing the uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gases being made by people and organizations throughout the world. In this method, you take measures to mitigate whatever adverse effects your emissions have had on the atmosphere by preventing atmospheric pollution in some other place in the world. Thus a proper balance can be maintained in levels of emission across the world, which will help in preventing greater damage to the environment.

In theory, spearheading or taking part in green campaigns in your locality, planting saplings in your backyard, or doing anything that will neutralize the harmful effects of CO2 and other toxic gases in the atmosphere, are effective ways to engage in carbon offsetting. But since this is usually not possible, the carbon offset system was suggested as a good alternative where you can offer financial aid to a company in order to neutralize whatever harm you have done to the environment. That company puts your money in eco-friendly schemes running across the world.

Companies and states take major initiatives in carbon offsetting and under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, the developing nations are usually paid by the developed nations for keeping the overall rate of emissions within prescribed limits.

The opponents of the system are of the view that the issue of damage to the environment done by individuals is not addressed by carbon offset. In both carbon offsetting and carbon trading, you pay for the harm you caused rather than actually preventing it.

But the people who advocate these methods claim that in carbon trading, financial benefits are enough to encourage organizations to look for an eco-centric approach in running their business. Similarly, carbon offset allows individuals to present themselves as eco friendly in their community and help in creating awareness about the issue. People have been inspired to try out carbon offset as several public figures have endorsed and embraced it. The system has obtained tremendous success over the years, with a lot of people embracing it and admitting its potential in helping the environment.

Discover more about Carbon Trading and Carbon Offset and get a deeper understanding on how you can help in saving the environment. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

Carbon credits and carbon trading are hot topics for debates and conventions on environmental issues, but most of us are not fully acquainted with these terms. In the system of carbon trading, regulations are put on greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and the pre-decided emission limits are then distributed across countries, which have to control the greenhouse gas emissions from the various industries and business units operating within them.

Carbon credits are given to industrial units and governments throughout the world, which authorizes the owner to discharge a limited quantity of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the air. One carbon credit means one ton of carbon dioxide released in the environment. This implies companies and industries can indulge in buying and selling of carbon credits depending upon their respective levels of emissions, thereby maintaining the whole world’s emission level within safe limits.

This system requires that corporations pay a huge sum for greenhouse gas emissions that go beyond tolerable limits, and this penalty on them is executed by making purchase of carbon credits compulsory for them. However, this is a quid pro quo trade where selling and buying of carbon credits are done simultaneously by low and high emission firms. Hence the balance in global economy is sustained, while organizations with low emission records earn profits. This motivates companies to fund green processes as well and gradually the net greenhouse gases emissions start going down.

By permitting the carbon credits to be traded freely on exchanges, it can be made sure that regardless of the size of the organization, eco-friendly operational methods are always rewarded and can be easily monetized. This trading strategy ensures immediate and substantial rewards for organizations with a low emission history. Moreover, with countries and their administration engaged with the concept, national governments on their part would have to ask local companies to decrease emissions, and thus these governments would be pulled out of their traditional stance of indifference towards environmental issues.

Other alternatives like carbon tax are also implemented in some countries of the world, which brings to book high emission organizations rather than financially rewarding the low emission ones. The effectiveness of such schemes is still an issue of debate.

So far carbon trading has been most successful as a method and within a short period has been able to successfully address the problem of high carbon emissions. The carbon trading business has witnessed remarkable growth in the past few years, and this proves beyond doubt that the system is effective.

Discover more about Carbon Credits and Carbon Trading to get a deeper understanding on how you can help in saving the environment. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service