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Madagascar pays a steep price for its political stagnation

Almost a year and a half since protests spurned a coup that removed democratically-elected President Marc Ravalomanana, Madagascar's political crisis continues to drag along. The government remains paralyzed and isolated, and formal development is...

Published Thu, Aug 08 2010 12:38 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Environment, Elections, Development

Putin co-pilots plane over wildfires - By Jennifer T. Parker

Criticisms leveled against Moscow's response to the raging wildfires are now obsolete. While Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov was roundly berated for grudgingly returning from his European vacation to deal with the fires, Vladimir Putin himself co-piloted...

Published Wed, Aug 08 2010 2:25 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Environment

Quiz: The world's deepest offshore oil-drilling platform sits in how many feet of water?

This week's quiz question: The world's deepest offshore oil-drilling platform sits in how many feet of water? Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE a) 5,280 feet (1mile) b) 6,600 feet (1.25 miles) c) 8,000 feet (1.5 miles) Answer after...

Published Wed, Jul 07 2010 3:21 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Environment, Energy, Oil, Oil / Energy Disaster / Problem / Shennanigans

Lula: Gringos should keep out of the Amazon

Lula being Lula : President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says no "gringo should stick their nose in where it does not belong." Silva was visiting Para state Tuesday, where the Belo Monte dam is planned. It would be the world's third-largest...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2010 10:49 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, Environment, Celebs

Australia: Where climate change can bring down a prime minister

It's often said of climate change that it won't be a major priority for governments until politicians are afraid of being voted out of office over it. Well that (sort of) just happened in Australia, where the ruling labor party unceremoniously...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2010 10:11 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Environment

Painting the Andes white

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 If you're the kind of interior decorator who spends weeks agonizing between "white zinfandel" and "baby's breath" for the dining room walls (two hues...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2010 2:46 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Environment, South America, Global Warming

Echoes of Bhopal

As Congress reconvenes the most recent of the BP executives' unenviable appointments in Washington this afternoon, a word about Tony Hayward's current inquisitor: California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, chair of the House Energy and Commerce...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2010 11:53 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Environment, South Asia, Energy, U.S. Congress, India, Oil, Oil / Energy Disaster / Problem / Shennanigans

Japan accused of bribery over whaling rights

It's no secret that Japan seeks an end to the longstanding moratorium on commercial whaling passed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. Nor is Japan a stranger to allegations that it's bribed other IWC members to vote for its...

Published Tue, Jun 06 2010 6:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Japan, Environment

Oiled birds: To clean or euthanize?

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Of all the photos documenting the effects of the oil spill (and there are some true stunners ), the images of oil-soaked pelicans are among the most arresting and disheartening...

Published Fri, Jun 06 2010 9:55 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Science & Technology, North America, Environment

How much do we really want to know about the oil industry?

Via Kate Mackenzie at the Financial Times , a graph charting the not terribly surprising impact the Gulf oil spill has had on BP's image, once among the best in the industry: It's from a firm called Covalence that calculates companies' ethical...

Published Fri, Jun 06 2010 2:36 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Science & Technology, North America, Africa, Environment, Energy, Oil, Oil / Energy Disaster / Problem / Shennanigans

BP pipeline hemorrhaging oil, similes

Plugging BP's catastrophic oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico, as you may have heard, is difficult. But how difficult, exactly? Nearly a month ago, BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay compared it to performing "open heart surgery at...

Published Fri, May 05 2010 4:58 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Environment, Energy, Oil, Oil / Energy Disaster / Problem / Shennanigans

Vladimir Putin hugs a polar bear

And for his next trick ... He has put a tiger to sleep, ridden bare-chested on horseback and even saved baby seals from being clubbed to death. Today it was the turn of polar bears to feature in Vladimir Putin’s latest animal adventure. The action-man...

Published Thu, Apr 04 2010 11:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Environment

Photo: Louisiana oil slick seen from space

The NASA sattelite image above terrifyingly shows both how big the Gulf of Mexico oil slick is -- compare it to the size of New Orleans -- and how close it's getting to the Louisiana coast. For more on the ongoing cleanup effort, see this week's...

Published Tue, Apr 04 2010 3:26 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Environment, Energy, Oil

Bad climate change argument watch: Eyjafjallajokull edition

Here at FP, we've frequently highlighted bogus arguments made by climate change skeptics , but environmentalists are certainly also capable of faulty logic and specious conclusions. In a new column for CNN, Alan Weisman, author of the bestselling...

Published Fri, Apr 04 2010 1:26 PM by FP Passport