http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2006 by the authors Sun, 29 Oct 2006 04:28:30 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-465512 Several recent photos of the long-term damage that this oil spill has caused to the Mediterranean can be found here <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/middle_east_lebanon_oil_spill_clean_up/html/1.stm"><b>by clicking here</b></a> 465512@blogcritics.org Sun, 29 Oct 2006 04:28:30 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-430419 Ruvy maybe we could colaborate on an article on your research. Thanks again... 430419@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:50:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-430341 WOW Ruvy, thanks for the input. I wonder when the rest of the world is going to catch up to BlogCritics? 430341@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Aug 2006 18:02:55 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-430337 Jet, this came with no URL or nuthin' so I only know that this takes a more "Israeli" look at the environmental damage... Environment: The ´Other´ Aftermath of War 16:05 Aug 20, '06 / 26 Av 5766 by Hana Levi Julian In the aftermath of war, environmental damage to both Israel and Lebanon has started a new war &ndash; the struggle to preserve the ecology of both countries. Environmentalists and other scientists are beginning to deal with the "other" aftermath of the war -- the effect on the land and sea and how that will affect those who live there. Thousands of acres of Galilee forest were blackened and destroyed in Katyusha-ignited conflagrations, along with the animals and plants which so enriched the region. Israeli farmers, rangers, firefighters and nature lovers point out the raw bald spots on the landscape where thousands of acres of green forests once stood, in the wake of raging blazes sparked by the rocket attacks launched by the Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon. More than 600 fires decimated the landscape across the north. Forests will need to be replanted on the Naftali Mountains overlooking Kiryat Shmona, in Biriya near Tzfat and in Beit Keshet in the central Galilee, to the tune of several million shekels, according to JNF officials. Environmental experts from the United Nations and European Union plan to visit the region in the near future to see what can be done to repair the damage. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INPPAA) will shortly begin to assess the damage as well. Meanwhile, seabed contamination along the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon is affecting turtles, tuna and other marine life. Pure white sand on the coastal beaches is now toxic from an oil slick that resulted when Israel bombed a fuel installation south of Beirut. The 10,000-ton oil spill damaged some 85 miles (140 kilometers) of shoreline along the Lebanese coastal waters and the life that flourished within, according to the Lebanese environmental organization "Green Line." The United Nations estimated that the coast of Syria was affected as well. Lebanon will receive technical assistance from international maritime agencies and the United Nations to help clear away the oil spill, according to a report by the Associated Press. Senior officials from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the European Union met last week near Athens to discuss the disaster and agreed at the meeting to seek international funding to contain the slick, which they say could threaten Cyprus, Turkey and Greece. Experts said the operation could cost more than $65 million. A high price has been exacted from both land and sea by the war. The precise total is as yet unknown, but it is clear that the destruction is long-lasting and in some cases, perhaps permanent &ndash; especially the loss of Israeli's trees. "Natural woodlands require dozens of years to recover," noted INNPPA ecologist Didi Kaplan. The organization, in the past, has taken the "natural" approach, allowing the forests to heal themselves. "It is not just a matter of direct damage during the course of the fire. Tens of thousands of dunams of grassland were burned on the edges of the Golan Heights. I assume that the antelope that live in the area fled, but their source of food for the coming months has been damaged." The threat of landslides in the coming winter will force the organization to intervene at least somewhat. Kaplan said, however, she expects the Golan Heights to recover after the winter rains. 430337@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:52:25 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-426320 Considering that this story's been out of the mind't eye for a while I looked for an update and to my suprise, but not surprised, nothing has been done if the Swiss website ReliefWeb is indication. As of aug 12... <i> An oil slick caused by damage to a power plant during an Israeli bombardment has now polluted over 150 km of the Lebanese coastline and has spread north into Syrian waters. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) sent two experts to Syria on Aug. 8 to evaluate the consequences of the spill, but clean-up of what has been called the worst environmental disaster in Lebanon's history has so far proved difficult because of the conflict.</i> 426320@blogcritics.org Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:59:38 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-425871 Have you noticed that when NBC news zooms in on the Med to do a close up on Lebanon and Israel that you can see how huge that oil slick is? 425871@blogcritics.org Sat, 12 Aug 2006 15:11:54 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-423065 Thanks PETI, I considered putting this in the political section, but it's an environmental issue and I was afraid the political blame game would sidetrack the issue of how urgent it is to get this problem cleaned up and NOW! 423065@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 23:19:10 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-423027 I might point out that this is the most read and commented article in the Sci section. I hadn't heard about this at all until I stumbled across your article, Im going to go try and find more about it, great article! I would think you would get a lot more readers in the politics section... 423027@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 21:32:02 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-422436 I guess I'd rather have this than 1000 mindless "OOHHHHH ZAC IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTES!!!!" 422436@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 17:16:17 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-422435 Thank you Ruvy and John. It's sort of on the line of a writer for "Newsweek", You know the magazine's selling millions of copies, but if no one leaves a letter to the editor about it, you wonder if anyone's really reading it, or skipping it over to get to the next article. Alas the thoughts of a paranoid insecure writer... Carus deus, quis have ego commissio? Jet 422435@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 17:14:43 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-422425 Jet- The number of comments on an article is no measure of worth. It's easy to write something that a lot of people can get argumentative about. It's a no-brainer. The deeper the article, the more well-written, the less people can target it and the more they have to think. John 422425@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 16:47:18 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421905 If folks are copying your work elsewhere, consider it a compliment, Jet. You have uncovered an angle that no one else was looking at - the eye of the artist, eh? Also consider what Blog Critics concentrates on - American culture. News come in later, a far second. 421905@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 06:12:35 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421857 Why is it that the fewer comments I get on an article, the more it's copied word for word somewhere else? What's the old saying about being loved everywhere but in your own homeland? 421857@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Aug 2006 02:49:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421768 The ABC Evening news finally got around to doing a story on this tonight! About time... 421768@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 20:18:43 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421514 From the few comments I've gotten here Ruvy, I doubt many people care, but I'll keep pluggin' away. Be safe my friend Jet 421514@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 03:54:36 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421512 Jet, you are one of the very few to notice the environmental damage this war is causing. All wars cause environmental damage. I suspect that the damage caused here is purposeful, and even though it is not the intent of the commanders of the IDF, I see the Hand of G-d behind a lot of what is going on here. It is not an issue of saving whales or turtles - there will have to be a HUGE envrionmental cleanup here in the not too distant future. 421512@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 03:37:44 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421505 Look at the photo again Nugget, that's not just a couple cans of oil! We're talking barrels. 421505@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:51:22 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421504 Nugget, I'm talking about the ecosystem of the eastern third of the Med Sea and the coastlines of Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, not just a couple of stupid turtles. Fishermen depend on that water for their livelihoods and the tourist industries is a big part of the economy in that part of the world. What's your problem? 421504@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:48:02 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421502 Okay Ruvy, I was just concerned for your safety. I do consider you a friend you know? 421502@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:45:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421499 hey jet why don't you pick up some trash on your street or something, and spare us the "turtles are dying a million miles away" sentiment. 421499@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:38:15 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421498 If HizbAllah can hit Tel Aviv, they can hit here. But that is unlikely, considering how many Arab villages are around me... That wasn't my intent in moving here, but an unintented benefit I'll not turn down. I've got to emphasize to you that folks here do not have the same environment concerns that Americans or Europeans might. This is the Middle East, not the Middle West. 421498@blogcritics.org Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:27:58 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421450 Ruvy 14-Sorry about that, I'm reading with one eye tied behind my back. Glad you're still with us. Do their missiles have the range to reach you? 421450@blogcritics.org Sat, 5 Aug 2006 22:37:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421409 Gush Dan (not Dam) is about the size of Delaware or smaller and has a huge concentration of people and industries. It is toward the coast and I moved away from it, not towards it. There are terrible pollution problems here. One out of ten Israelis is an astmatic. Asthma comes from allergic reactions to pollution of various kinds (including cigarette smoke), and from allergic reactions to cockroaches. And HizbAllah (and Syria) has missiles capable of hitting Gush Dan. 421409@blogcritics.org Sat, 5 Aug 2006 19:10:42 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421161 Okay, obviously serious didn't work, what else can I write a satire about? 421161@blogcritics.org Sat, 5 Aug 2006 00:44:27 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/04/075531.php#comment-421064 Uh Ruby-You okay? Just how big is the Gush Dam and how close to it are you? 421064@blogcritics.org Fri, 4 Aug 2006 20:41:28 EDT