Wednesday-Night

UN takes first steps on road to new Kyoto
Thousands of delegates will take part in crunch meetings on global warming in the next two weeks
20 November
Obama brings US in from the cold
In a landmark speech, the next president pledges to revive Kyoto Protocol and end American isolationism over climate change
UN talks on climate change solutions […]

We were glad to be reminded of this wonderful Long Johns clip  about how it all began - laughter truly is the best medicine
Financial Times Report on World Economy

A light at the end of the tunnel?

(The Economist) THE dithering has ended. After a week in which the financial system almost ground to a halt, […]

Sahel Africans Face Hunger Despite Bumper Harvest
(Planet Ark/Reuters) DAKAR - Poor people in Africa’s arid Sahel region will go without food despite bumper harvests this year, as wild price moves on world markets put staple cereals beyond many families’ budgets, aid agencies say. Prices of imported foods have ballooned in recent years, pushing up […]

More on oil See also Wednesday-Night.com Alberta and Oil Notes
With oil prices in retreat, OPEC struggles to maintain unity
The credit crisis is hurting the ability of producers to finance new developments, and crimping high-cost producers, like those developing tar sands or deep water offshore fields, who need prices of $60 to $80 a barrel […]

More on Water and on Wednesday-Night.com     
Thirst a powerful slide show on water
Water: A finite resource (with pictures and graphs)
Although water covers 75 percent of the world’s surface, 97.5 percent of the earth’s water is salt water; of the remaining 2.5 percent, most is locked away as groundwater or in glaciers.
Water for Food, […]

L’Obama, ossia L’avvento del Messia - an opera seria in three acts Wonderful send-up, although some points a bit belabored; many comments are worth reading as well.
Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years
In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established […]

Background on UN Convention of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Real Climate - Climate science from climate scientists Arctic & Antarctic

Photograph: Louise Murray/Science Photo Library
EU urges action to exploit Arctic oil and gas
Nov 20 2008 23:07
European Union policymakers have called for a concerted international effort to exploit the Arctic’s oil and gas resources […]

Background Canadian Arctic Sovereignty prepared by staff of the Parliamentary Information and Research Service (PIRS) of the Library of Parliament
David Jones: Canada’s claim to the Northwest Passage
More on the Arctic 
Moving beyond Arctic sovereignty
Much of the discussion about Canada and the Far North focuses on “Arctic sovereignty.” And in the minds of many, this evokes […]

See also Vice President (R) Sarah Palin

The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla Dick Cavett on “the serial syntax-killer from Wasilla High”
11 November
Palin Defends Herself in Fox Interview
In her first national television interview since the election, Gov. Sarah Palin delivered a lengthy post-mortem of the presidential campaign, criticizing the media, her campaign handlers and the aides […]

Cities and growth
The problems—and benefits—of urbanisation on a vast scale
the world’s urban population has risen from 1.6 billion to 3.3 billion, and over the next 30 years cities in the developing world are set to grow by an extra 2 billion. But many governments have become doubtful of their ability to cope with urbanisation on […]