News headlines in March 2013, page 2
OP-ED: Falling Gasoline Use Means U.S. Can Just Say No to New Pipelines and Food-to-Fuel
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Mar 29 (IPS) - Freeing America from its dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world is an admirable goal, but many of the proposed solutions - including the push for more home-grown biofuels and for the construction of the new Keystone XL pipeline to transport Canadian tar sands oil to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast - are harmful and simply unnecessary.
"Crowdfunding" Gives Boost to Renewables in U.S.
- Inter Press Service
ATLANTA, Georgia, Mar 29 (IPS) - A U.S. company called Mosaic has unveiled a new way for citizens to use the Internet to invest in specific solar energy projects around the country.
Zimbabwe Struggling to Pay Laid-Off Workers
- Inter Press Service
HARARE, Mar 29 (IPS) - As former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe employees went to the Labour Court in Harare this week hoping for a ruling in favour of the finalisation of their retrenchment packages, the country's public and private sectors continue to lay off workers without paying the promised compensation.
Putting Food Security on the Calendar
- Inter Press Service
JAKARTA, Mar 29 (IPS) - Last October, at the beginning of Indonesia's rainy season, a 37-year-old farmer named Herinurdin took a leap of faith. Instead of planting corn in his entire 1.3-hectare rainfed farm in the Sukabumi town of West Java, as his family had done for generations, he sowed 1,600 square metres worth of rice instead.
Inhospitable Flows the Nile
- Inter Press Service
CAIRO, Mar 29 (IPS) - A 4,200-year-old relief in the Tomb of Mereruka in Sakkara depicts the staggering array of fish that once inhabited the Nile River and its wetlands. Ancient Egyptian fishermen with linen nets haul in their bounty, including the sacred Oxyrhynchus, a snub-nosed fish that was captured and nurtured but never eaten.
Chile’s Bachelet Will Try to Win Over Social Movement
- Inter Press Service
SANTIAGO, Mar 28 (IPS) - Michelle Bachelet, who hopes to win a second presidential term in Chile, will have to win over the growing social movement that has been heavily critical of the current right-wing administration and disillusioned with 20 years of government by the centre-left coalition.
Q&A: Portugal Neglects Undocumented Immigrants with AIDS
- Inter Press Service
LISBON, Mar 28 (IPS) - In 1996, Luís Mendão was shocked to learn that he had contracted HIV/AIDS, and that the infection was advanced because of the late diagnosis. Racing against time, he began to put his affairs in order and to get ready to face his death.
U.S. Pesticide Approval Process “Grievously Flawed”
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Mar 28 (IPS) - An environment group here is warning that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a key government regulator, may have been haphazardly approving thousands of pesticides for decades, some of which pose risks to both human and environmental health.
U.S. Fourth Graders Fight to Bring Home Deported Classmate
- Inter Press Service
BERKELEY, California, Mar 28 (IPS) - Rodrigo Javier Diaz Guzman was a fairly typical Berkeley, California kid. He loved playing baseball and video games, enjoyed school and got good grades, watched Ninjago on TV, and ate take-out burritos and Chinese food whenever he could.
Canada Pulls Out of U.N. Body to Fight Desertification
- Inter Press Service
UXBRIDGE, Canada, Mar 28 (IPS) - Canada is pulling out of the United Nations convention that fights droughts in Africa next year, making it the only country in the world not participating in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).