Simon

The British prime minister David Cameron says he wants to ban social networking sites amid riots. This is what he said: "[...] when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. I have also asked the police if they need any other new powers. Police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using the BlackBerry Messenger service, a closed network, to organise riots. We've got to examine that and work out how to get ahead of them." I hope it's not just me who thinks that this is so much more scarier than the actual riots? What kind of disorder does he want to stop? Couldn't the government and the police just as easily use these extra new powers to stop environmental protests, social justice and democratization protests (like the ones in the Middle-east) and other protests directed at the government and the class system? The UK government and the country's police force is already targeting climate activists and labeling environmentalists as extremists. And Cameron seem to have support from other right-wingers. Louise Mensch, a Conservative MP, supports Cameron's ideas to limit internet-freedom. She said: "Common sense. If riot info and fear is spreading by Facebook & Twitter, shut them off for an hour or two, then restore. World won't implode," she said. "I don't have a problem with a brief temporary shutdown of social media just as I don't have a problem with a brief road or rail closure. If short, necessary and only used in an emergency, so what. We'd all survive if Twitter shut down for a short while during major riots." Excuse me, but a road closure is not the same thing as closing down social networking sites. A road closure doesn't stop people from communicating. But if you stop social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook you also stop the possibility for people to spread news and voice their opinions. I am sure countries like China, Iran and Syria applauds Cameron's "wisdom" when it comes to limiting his people's ability to communicate and network against the government... Also this:

Not really. I do think it would be a good idea. But I never get around to it. And it's also not so easy when you live in an apartment in the city.

The Facebook login/connect feature has now been fixed. I've also made some changes to the community startpage.

Yes I am using it and I really like it. But I wish more people would use it. At the moment its a bit boring over there. My profile: https://plus.google....258300962436117

Welcome to the forums! Hopefully you will have a great time here discussing various "green" and non-green topics. :)

Yeah, Political Science isn't the funniest subject. But it's interesting enough and I think it can fit perfectly with my Human Ecology studies.

I've also been jobless, although only during this summer. But in a few weeks I'll be a busy bee again when my Political Science studies starts.

What kind of errors did he have in his film? True, we all need to work together. But that doesn't mean we can't put most of the blame on the older generation. They should really take the responsibility for the mess they have created for the younger and future generations. They have lived a good and rich life on the climate killing fossil fuels and now they just cant retire and rely on the younger generation to fix the problem. If Al Gore is really serious about climate politics he should be more involved in various direct actions in the USA.

The petition is online and available so you can still sign it if you want. :)

Welcome to the forums! Hopefully you will have a great time here discussing various topics and learning new things. Thanks for joining! :)

Hello and welcome to the forums Beth! I really hope that this community can help you learn new and interesting things. And I am sure that you as a mom can share lots of interesting knowledge to the rest of us. See you in the forums! ;)

Here is another explanation why some people deny climate change: Cool dudes: The denial of climate change among conservative white males in the United States This study takes a look at climate denialism from a psychological point of view. They come to the conclusions that climate change denial is an example of "identity-protective cognition", mostly among "conservative white males". Other high-lights from the study: System-justifying tendencies lead to climate change denial. Climate change denial increased from 2001 to 2010. Conservative white males are more likely than other Americans to report climate change denial. Conservative white males who self-report understanding global warming very well are even more likely. It probably won't collapse tomorrow. Maybe in a few years time our world (the Western hemisphere) will look completely different. We can already see the devastating effects of climate change happening, mostly in poor countries that can't afford to adapt to a changing climate. I would personally say that the environmental organisations haven't been alarmist enough. True. The planet's climate has changed before. But this time man-made global warming is changing the climate much faster and on a scale never before seen. The consequences will not be pretty...

I am going to spam-promote another link to the main blog if you don't mind. Here is 15 ways under $30 to save energy. It's also worth noting that conserving energy is not just about reducing the electricity that you use in your home. Everything we do or consume today has in some way or another relied on energy in is process. For example, you can conserve energy by choosing to buy less clothes. You conserve energy by buying a smaller car instead of a gas-guzzling SUV. If you choose a diet which contains much less meat you are also conserving energy and helping the environment. What I am trying to say is that turning off the lights and changing your light bulbs is good. But it's far from enough. We must think about energy conservation in much bigger ways. :)

But we don't have to rely on only solar energy. As you probably know there are many different renewable energy solutions available to choose from. And we can't continue to increase our already huge energy footprint. We also have to reduce our energy usage and introduce energy efficiency programs in all sectors. The problem is not that we don't have the technology or that we lack money. Our Governments have had no problems paying trillions of dollars to the banks to keep our current climate-killing economic system breathing. Or like George Monbiot wrote: "The costs of a total energy replacement and conservation plan would be astronomical, the speed improbable. But the governments of the rich nations have already deployed a scheme like this for another purpose. A survey by the broadcasting network CNBC suggests that the US federal government has now spent $4.2 trillion in response to the financial crisis, more than the total spending on the second world war when adjusted for inflation. Do we want to be remembered as the generation that saved the banks and let the biosphere collapse?"

Exactly! Even people in the nuclear industry knows this. In light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster the Italian nuclear engineer and safety expert Cesare Silvi explained why he left his former pro-nuclear stance for solar and other renewable energy sources: “I soon came to the conclusion that neither international cooperation nor technological advancements would guarantee human societies to build and safely run nuclear reactors in all possible conditions on Earth (earthquakes, floods, droughts, tornadoes, wars, terrorism, climate change, tsunamis, pandemics, etc.). I am sadly reminded of this turning point in my life as I listen to the news about the earthquake, tsunami and extremely worrying nuclear crisis in Japan.”

I have added a proper menu here on the forums. You might have to click on your web browser's refresh button before you can see it properly. Just hover your mouse over the Green Blog logo and the menu will show up. I plan on adding the menu to the main Green Blog site in the coming days. Great! Yes, I've thought about importing the blog posts to the forum. But I am still considering the pro's and con's.

Yes! That feature is still here. You can find it in the top right corner right under the Reply button.

Sorry! Somehow I forgot to set the correct permissions on the new skin. It should work for everyone now. And more smileys will come. ;)

Hello and welcome to the forums! Hopefully this community can help you live a greener life. ;)

AJE reports that NASA has found signs of "flowing water on Mars": "NASA has said that its scientists had discovered fresh evidence that water is flowing on Mars during its warmest months, raising the likelihood that life could exist on the red planet. Recently analyzed images from the NASA Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has circled the planet, show dark finger-like features that extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, and fade in the winter. "This is the best evidence we have to date of a liquid water occurring today on Mars," said Philip Christensen, geophysicist at Arizona State University, in a NASA panel announcing the findings on Thursday. NASA scientists believe that if flowing, liquid water exists on Mars, it would be highly salty. That would explain why it would not freeze in the planet's cold temperatures." I would love to see man walk on Mars during my lifetime. Unfortunately I don't think that will happen due to mankind's obsession with wars back here at home. For example that the Obama administration is cutting the funding for NASA to be able to afford the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or how about these prioritizes: Air condition in the military costs more than NASA's entire budget and so does rust in the US Navy...

Okay, I have listened to some of your opinions and needs about the main skin being too white/bright or not fluid enough. So I've added a new skin that everyone can use if they somehow can't stand the current main design. The new skin is called "Overlay Green". You can easily switch to this new theme by looking at the bottom left corner and click on the "Change Theme" link and choose the "Overlay Green" skin from the drop-down list. Please let me know what you think of this new skin! :)

Hello Griffin and welcome to the forums! Hopefully you will be able to engage in some interesting discussions here. :)

Welcome to the forums Estefani! Hopefully you will have a great time here discussing various topics and meeting new people. :)

Welcome to the forums Cecil! I am sure you will be a good contributor on this forum. And thank you for joining! :)