John Coate's Page

What Power Looks Like is a fascinating and I think important piece from David Rothkopf, the author of a new book called Superclass. He describes the super elite group of people who have vastly more influence and power than I think most of us can really grasp, except in the most abstract way. I think it is important to those of us who want a sustainable world that lives by different rules so to speak. It rings true for me, not because I a… Continue

Sometimes taxes are a useful form of social engineering. From an article in the New York Times:

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag…

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We all know how clearcutting causes erosion and we've all seen the pictures. But this, from the Seattle Times, is pretty much the poster pic for it. This is a Weyerhaeuser site in southeastern Washington. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/syndication/2004076441.html

Cameco Corp and their subsidy Crow Butte Reseources (CBR), a Canadian mining company, operates a huge uranium mine at Crow Butte in northern Nebraska, just south of the Pine Ridge Reservation. They just received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to expand their operation by 70%. The local people, who live in the poorest region in America, were given no input into the process. Last week, their petition for NRC to hold hearings about the health effects of the mine and its expan… Continue