Wednesday-Night

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We have the great joy of the presence of our son Marc and his brilliant wife Jean from Singapore. Sadly, this is the last week of their summer holiday in Québec. We hope that you will be with us to enjoy their company and observations - no doubt […]

July 23
Arctic has 90bn barrels of crude
(FT) The Arctic holds as much as 90bn barrels of undiscovered oil and has as much undiscovered gas as all the reserves known to exist in Russia, US government scientists have said in the first governmental assessment of the region’s resources.
The report is likely to add impetus to the […]

See also Inland Waters Biodiversity and The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the University of Guelph Canada’s Aquatic Environments

Photo of the Coorong and Lower Lakes Ramsar site, around Goolwa.
July 25
Rising demands threaten wetlands
The recent surge in demand for food and biofuel has increased the risks facing the world’s wetlands, warn scientists.
A declaration by 700 […]

June 27, 2008
It’s impossible not to be moved by a plea to end someone’s suffering — but the arguments against assisted suicide are ultimately more compelling
Margaret Somerville,The Ottawa Citizen
Moreover, “secular cathedrals” — our parliaments and courts — have replaced our religious ones. That has resulted in the legalization of societal ethical and moral debates, including […]

Exploring Mars
Historic pictures sent from Mars
June 26
Martian soil appears able to support life
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Flabbergasted” NASA scientists said on Thursday that Martian soil appeared to contain the requirements to support life, although more work would be needed to prove it.
Scientists working on the Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which has already found ice […]

11 June 2008
65,000 computers for Colombian schoolchildren (Full text in Spanish only)
An agreement signed between Colombia and the OLPC Foundation will provide 65,000 schoolchildren with laptops.
4 January 2008
It grieves us to see The Economist’s review of one of our favorite development projects, but we take heart in the conclusion that “Mr. Negroponte’s vision […]

June 5
The Race for Survival
(Newsweek June 9) Enlisting endangered species in the fight against global warming is either a brilliant tactical maneuver—or an arrogant abuse of the law.
… And it certainly isn’t any part of Kempthorne’s plan for the polar bear to save the Earth. That was Siegel’s idea: that the law requires […]

Genetically modified oilseed rape, one of the four main commercial GM crops. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty
Background: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; SciDevnet GM crops and Agriculture & Environment; Monsanto vs Percy Schmeiser
Related posts and Food on Wednesday-night.com

May 24
Sowing seeds of discontent
Since the dawn of civilization, farmers have saved seeds from the harvest and […]

May 22
MDA working with Mars spacecraft
(The Gazette) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. said yesterday its engineers are supporting the Phoenix Mars spacecraft, expected to land Sunday on the red planet.
Engineers from MDA’s information systems group are working with the weather and robotics systems on NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft, which was designed and built by the Lockheed […]

AIRSHIP
George Monbiot in The Guardian
If there is a God, he’s not green. Otherwise airships would take off
Many will cite the Hindenburg, but flying without harming the planet is possible. These craft are worth developing
Of all the charges levelled against environmentalists, perhaps the most unfair is the accusation that we are opposed to technological […]