Tag Archives: greenhouse gases

Obama Denounces Iran Attack / The Carbon Capture Challenge / Native American Art

Posted on by

President Obama denounces a terrorist attack on a mosque in Iran. Reducing greenhouse gases is going to take more than cap-and-trade. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosts a town hall meeting to discuss the release of the first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. Read our handbook on U.S. media law. The U.S. gives Jordan vehicles to help in its fight to protect intellectual property. Global citizens speak up about climate change. And finally, explore a photo gallery of Native American art.

Obama Denounces Iran Attack
(mobile version)
President Obama denounces a bombing attack targeting Iranian civilians in Chabahar as “disgraceful and cowardly” and says those who carried out the attack must be held accountable. “The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship during Ashura is a despicable offense,” Obama says.

The Challenge of Carbon Capture
(mobile version)
Cap-and-trade and renewable energy alone likely won’t be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This reality has prompted governments and companies to increasingly look for new and unconventional solutions to the climate problem.

A Diplomacy, Development Review
(mobile version)
A newly released internal study of the U.S. State Department lays out a plan for better coordinating U.S. responses to crises, conflicts and natural disasters around the world. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, unveiled the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which suggests changes in organization, coordination with other U.S. government agencies, and implementation of overseas programs.

Media Law Handbook
What are the privileges and responsibilities of a free press? In Media Law Handbook, Professor Jane Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, explores how free societies answer this question.

Protecting Intellectual Property in Jordan
The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement donates ten vehicles to the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization headquarters to contribute to Jordan’s robust intellectual property rights enforcement regime.

Global Messages: Climate Change
America.gov asked people around the world to write a message to world leaders about climate change. We received responses from all corners of the globe. Read their messages.

Photo Gallery: Native American Art
(mobile version)
The artistic traditions of American Indians convey the resilience of the United States’ indigenous peoples. Thanks to the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program, which installs art in U.S. diplomatic posts, global audiences can enjoy the talents of many American artists — tribal and otherwise. Explore the work in this photo gallery. At right, a portrait of the legendary Sioux chief Jack Red Cloud.

USAID's Shah in Pakistan, an American Freed, and Crime Fighters' Need for Speed

Posted on by

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah returns from Pakistan and announces a $50 million increase in U.S. aid. An American held in North Korea is freed and faster boats help in fighting crime and terrorism. Read about a new volcano threat to air travel and some new educational breakthroughs. Finally, cap-and-trade to reduce greenhouse gases is alive and well in the western United States and Canada.  

Pakistan Flood Damage “Astronomical”
With 20 million people affected by Pakistan’s floods, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said that an even larger international humanitarian response is needed.  After returning from Pakistan, Shah said “the scale and the scope of this natural disaster is astronomical.”  Shah announced the Obama administration is providing $50 million in new funding.  That funding brings the U.S. humanitarian assistance in response to the flooding to more than $200 million, in addition to in-kind and technical assistance such as the use of U.S. aircraft to rescue flood victims and deliver relief supplies. 

North Korea Releases Imprisoned American
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, following two days of talks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, secured the pardon of an American who had been imprisoned for seven months by the North Korean regime. Carter and the 31-year-old American, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, boarded a flight August 27 for Boston, which is Gomes’ home. 

Fighting Crime, Terrorism with Faster Boats
The United States donated four police patrol boats to the Philippine maritime police through a program that helps foreign governments develop professional law enforcement capacity to protect human rights and fight corruption, transnational crime and terrorism.  The four boats will also aid in rescues at sea, said U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. The International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) currently offers training in 38 countries.

Remember That Volcano in Iceland?
Remember the disruption to air traffic caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in Iceland?  Volcanic eruptions on Russia’s Kamchatka Penninsula, the Kurile Islands or Alaska could similarly affect air space in Russia, Japan, Canada and the United States. In response to the need to rapidly detect volcanic threats, U.S. and Russian scientists formed the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team in 1993. 

Building a Classroom Across an Ocean
Online collaboration between U.S. and Egyptian architecture students and professors is building real-world skills and friendships. The first student project — a public space and hotel near the Pyramids of Giza – involved 50 third-year architecture students in Cairo.

Islamic College Launched in California
Zaytuna College held its inaugural classes August 24 and aims to become America’s first four-year, accredited, Islamic institution of higher learning. It grew out of the Zaytuna Institute, which was founded in 1996. Zaytuna focuses on renewing Islam’s intellectual tradition while placing it in the context of American society.

Western States Take Aim at Greenhouse Gases
A comprehensive strategy was released last month for the Western Climate Initiative, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions through carbon dioxide emissions trading and various clean energy policies. With 11 states and Canadian provinces signed up, it is poised to become the most comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade market in the U.S. so far. Left, power plants such as this one in New Mexico must cap their emissions when the WCI takes effect in 2012.