Author Archives: 2Gofman3

Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

by 2Gofman3 Posted on May 12, 2016

Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

By on May 12, 2016 5:16 pmShare

Has the world’s largest charitable foundation started shifting away from fossil fuels?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sold off its $187 million stake in the oil giant BP sometime between September and December of 2015, according to a recent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move came after the foundation sold off $824 million in ExxonMobil stock, as disclosed last fall.

The foundation has been under pressure from climate activists demanding that it drop all investments in fossil fuel companies. The Guardian’s “Keep It in the Ground” campaign and the Gates Divest campaign have both been particularly dogged in focusing on Gates.

But the foundation has refused to comment on its investment decisions, so the significance of these recent oil-stock sell-offs is unclear. Bill Gates, the billionaire cofounder of Microsoft, has been skeptical of the fossil-fuel divestment movement and last year called it a “false solution.”

According to public records, the Gates Foundation held about $1.4 billion of investments in coal, oil, and gas companies at the start of 2014. Now it holds only about $200 million of those stocks, according to the Guardian — though it may have made new fossil fuel investments that haven’t been publicly disclosed.

Given the big troubles the coal industry is facing right now, and the volatility in the oil and gas sector, it’s the perfect time for investors like Gates to get out.

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Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

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Russian enviro who criticized Olympics sentenced to three years of forced labor

by 2Gofman3 Posted on February 15, 2014

Russian enviro who criticized Olympics sentenced to three years of forced labor

By

Oleg Kozirev / Human Rights Watch

Yevgeny Vitishko, in happier days.

An activist who coauthored a report cataloging the appalling environmental damage wreaked by Olympic construction will spend the next three years in a Russian penal colony.

Yevgeny Vitishko, a 40-year-old scientist, is ostensibly being punished for the crimes of spray-painting a fence and swearing in public. Vitishko was among seven members of Environmental Watch of the North Caucasus detained on the eve of the Olympics. An appeal of the decision to jail him for three years was rejected during a hearing that he couldn’t attend this week because he was imprisoned.

“The case against Vitishko has been politically motivated from the start,” said Yulia Gorbunova, a Human Rights Watch official in Russia. “When the authorities continued to harass him it became clear they were trying to silence and exact retribution against certain persistent critics of the preparations for the Olympics.”

IOC officials on Thursday sought “clarification” from Russian authorities on Vitishko’s incarceration. “We have raised this case in the past,” an IOC spokesman said.

As members of Pussy Riot recently learned, life in a Russian penal colony means being enslaved in inhumane conditions and forced to work. Nearly 600,000 people are serving sentences in such facilities.


Source
Russia: Justice Fails Environment Activist at Appeal, Human Rights Watch
Sochi Winter Olympics: IOC ask Russian authorities for explanation over Yevgeny Vitishko sentence, The Sydney Morning Herald

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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This Floating Marine Laboratory Aims to Make Ocean Exploration Cool Again

by 2Gofman3 Posted on November 13, 2013

In the 1960s and 70s, ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau and his Calypso crew served as heroes for many an intrepid youth. Ocean exploration was coming to a head with the recent development of the aqualung—the first personal scuba system—and underwater habitats were popping up around the world. In the years since, however, the ocean has lost a bit of its mystique for funders, governments and would-be explorers. Space became the sexy new frontier, causing nearly all the existing underwater labs to shut their dive pits for good.

A French team of ocean lovers and explorers, however, wants to change all of that. They are creating the SeaOrbiter, a new state-of-the-art floating marine laboratory. Two-thirds of the lab will be submerged in the water, giving divers an easy exit and reentry point and allowing guests and researchers to observe the underwater kingdom from their living and working quarters. SeaOrbiter will give scientists a 24-hour platform to conduct marine research, both above and below the water. Up to 22 people can live aboard the 170-foot tall vessel at one time, the Daily News reports, and it will be fueled by a combination of wind, solar and wave energy. Construction will begin in May 2014.

The SeaOrbiter’s primary purpose is for research, but more than that, the creators say they hope it will inspire young people to once again look towards to ocean for inspiration in their future careers and lives. As one of the creators lamented to Wired, “We have lost our sense of vision.”

More from Smithsonian.com:

Artist Explores the Deep in Underwater Wheel Chair 
Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the Second American to Orbit the Planet, Dies at 88

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This Floating Marine Laboratory Aims to Make Ocean Exploration Cool Again

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The 10 Saddest Government Goodbye Notes

by 2Gofman3 Posted on October 1, 2013

Mother Jones

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You probably haven’t heard, but the US government has shut down as of midnight on Tuesday, and it won’t re-open until President Barack Obama and Congress quit bickering over Obamacare. Online, some government agencies appear to be in denial about the shutdown—the US Mint is still tweeting about coin laser imprints, and GOP.gov is running normally. But most of them are shuttering their Twitter feeds and websites, and leaving sad goodbye notes. Without further ado, here are 10 of the most tragic:

1. The NASA’s Voyager 2 goes nihilistic.

2. The National Zoo promises that someone’s still feeding the animals. But, sorry folks. No pandacam!

3. USA.gov wins the politeness and optimism award.

4. The US Geological Survey doesn’t beat around the bush.

5. The Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade informs us that, until his interns come back, small businesses are screwed.

6. US Fish and Wildlife Service leaves duck-stamp enthusiasts hanging.

7. The NSA isn’t updating its site, but it’s probably still spying on you!

8. The National Archives and Records Administration is basically in chaos.

9. The Government Accountability Office takes the opportunity to remind Americans that it won’t be doing any government oversight while the government is shut down.

10. The White House thumbs its nose at Republicans.

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The 10 Saddest Government Goodbye Notes

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