China premier: economic environment 'complicated'

BEIJING — China's economic health still faces threats from the halting global recovery, but Beijing has no plans to make major changes to its economic policies, Premier Wen Jiabao said in a report posted on the central government's website Sunday.

China rebounded quickly from the global crisis on the strength of massive stimulus spending and record bank lending. But Communist leaders, who expect Europe's debt crisis to hurt demand for Chinese goods, say the recovery is still vulnerable to a downturn in trade.

"Right now our economic situation is good, but the domestic and international economic environment is very complicated," Wen was quoted as saying in the report.

China must "work to promote stable and relatively fast domestic economic growth, restructure the economy and manage inflation expectations to ensure the government's goals for 2010 are met."

Imagination Creates Ford's Most Engaging Experiential Environment to Date at the 2010 North American International Auto Show

DETROIT, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagination, the global brand communications agency, has created an unprecedented array of hands-on, virtual, and digital experiences to greet visitors to the expansive Ford environment at the North American International Auto Show when it opens to the public on Saturday, January 16.

Visitors who opt to enjoy all of the experiences at the Ford exhibit will find they can spend over three hours learning about the company's outstanding range of vehicles. The experience will continue at home, where visitors can log on to a website to download unique souvenirs they create on the show floor. With the exception of the vehicles, everything visitors see, hear, and experience has been created by Imagination, Ford's global auto show experience partner.

Among the highlights at the show:

* Choreographed assembly line robots will bring Ford's green and innovation stories to life, demonstrating to visitors the precision engineering that ensures Ford EcoBoost engines deliver greater power and consume less gas.
* Visitors can try Ford's "self-parking cars" in person, experiencing how Active Park Assist™ offers faultless parallel parking without a human hand touching the steering wheel.
* The Next-Generation Ford Focus will have its world premiere, and visitors can interact with a range of experiences that demonstrate the new vehicle's outstanding driving dynamics, and animate its techno-talented nature.

DNR chief to lead new state environmental department

Department of Natural Resources director Rebecca Humphries has been picked to lead the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment — the new department slated to form next week when the DNR and Department of Environmental Quality merge.

The combination of the departments, described as a streamlining measure, was ordered last October in an executive order from Gov. Granholm.

The appointment of Humphries drew praise from environmental groups.

In a statement released before the governor’s formal announcement Chris Kolb, president of the Michigan Environmental Council called Humphries “… a proven leader with a strong commitment to the protection and sound management of the state’s natural resources,” but added, “… the real challenge is to find stable, secure funding sources to ensure that these ‘Pure Michigan’ resources continue to be the foundation of a strong economy and high quality of life.”

In a special report to the Kalamazoo Gazette earlier this week Chris Killian reported that some of the 3,700 workers in these departments are uneasy about the transition which may involve cuts to programs and jobs

Dying for the environment

The Obama administration has restarted a controversial intelligence program designed to monitor the purported effects of global warming. According to the New York Times, the program operated throughout the Clinton years but was suspended by the George W. Bush administration. It has been restarted recently with backing from senior Obama administration officials, including CIA Director Leon Panetta. Little is known publicly about the program, called MEDEA (Measurements of Earth Data for Environmental Analysis). However, the New York Times portrays it as innocuous.

In an article earlier this month, the Old Grey Lady's readers were assured that the program "has little or no impact on regular intelligence gathering," as it will re-purpose existing "secret information" (mainly satellite photos of the Earth's poles) or make use of underused resources. This information is supposed to help scientists monitor, for example, icebergs floating far away from human reach so they can gauge the impact of climate change. Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences and also a member of MEDEA, was quoted as saying the program is "basically free."

Lebanon’s Environment Inaction May Affect Entire Region

The year 2009 was bleak for Lebanon’s environmental track record, according to the country’s Daily Star.

Despite the impressive action of IndyACT, Lebanon’s delegation brought little effect at December’s COP 15 climate change summit; they were not able to accomplish much of anything insofar as solving the many serious environmental issues that now plague the country.

These issues include ones like serious forest fires, the destruction of Lebanon’s remaining cedar groves and forests, some of which date back to biblical times; and serious damage to Lebanon’s coastline due to pollution and eroding beaches which could become worse if a planned Dubai-type island project is undertaken Pollution to the country’s fresh water supplies.