A recent viral video of a diver swimming through a sea of plastic is a stark reminder of what we are doing to the world’s oceans. We’ve been reporting on this issue since 2012, watching the development of a massive gyre of plastic forming in the Pacific Ocean, devastating wildlife in the Midway Atolls. “About Read More…
Tag: waste
Earth’s Economy Glorifies Waste, Exploitation, Debt, Expediency, & Magical Thinking
Humanity appears to default to magical thinking when faced with untenable situations that demand systemic change. How would extraterrestrial anthropologists characterize Earth’s dominant socio-economic system? It’s not difficult to imagine their dismaying report: “Earth’s economy glorifies waste. Its economists rejoice when a product is disposed as waste and replaced with a new product. This waste is Read More…
While American Infrastructure Crumbles, Pentagon Wastes $28 Million On The Wrong Kind Of Camouflage
The Pentagon overspent between $26 and $28 million on useless camouflage for the Afghan National Army (ANA), a government watchdog study found. Conducted by the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the study not only found that between November 2008 and January 2017 the Defense Department purchased uniforms for the ANA without ensuring the suitability of Read More…
Pentagon Denies Trying To Shelve Study That Found $125 Billion In Waste
The Defense Department on Tuesday denied it tried to quash a 2015 study that found it could save $125 billion in noncombat administrative programs but admitted it has so far only found a small fraction of those savings. As Stars and Stripes’ Travis Tritten reports (via Military.com), the department hopes to save $7.9 billion during Read More…
Pentagon Buries Evidence of $125 Billion in Waste
The Pentagon’s goal was simple, empower the Defense Business Board (DBB), a federal advisory panel of corporate executives, to retain consultants to identify potential cost savings in the Department of Defense’s $580 billion budget. But, when the DBB study revealed a “clear path to saving over $125 billion,” a level of waste which spoke to Read More…
US Navy Plans To Release 20,000 Tons Of Explosives, Heavy Metals Into Pacific Ocean
Several times a year, the US publicizes its “war games,” both domestic and abroad, allowing the massive, heavily-funded US military to showcase its might, develop new strategies, and test combat readiness. Yet, ignored all too often is the environmental impact of these exercises which, since World War I, have left behind tons of bombs, heavy Read More…