Citizen Cartwright

On climate change, another 'wakeup call'

Global carbon dioxide emissions from energy use hit a new record in 2010, according to the International Energy Agency.

World leaders agreed last year that big cuts in emissions are needed to limit the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

But "the world has edged incredibly close to the level of emissions that should not be reached until 2020 if the 2 degrees Celsius target is to be attained" says IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.

As far as leaders who are trying to do something about climate change, The New York Times reported over the weekend that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Clinton — the former with billions of dollars and the latter with "billions of friends" — are working together on a climate initiative focused on cities.

Cyber sabotage as an act of war

The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage by another country can constitute an act of war — a finding that for the first time opens the door for the United States to respond using traditional military force, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Pentagon's first formal cyber strategy, unclassified portions of which are expected to be made public next month, is intended as a warning to potential adversaries of the consequences of attacking the United States in this way. "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," says a military official.

Just this last weekend, Lockheed Martin Corp., manufacturer of the F-16 fighter jet and the Pentagon's top supplier as far as sales, reported that it had been the victim of a "tenacious" cyberattack on its network.

At the Pentagon, an interest in 'mini-weapons'

A new generation of weaponry is in the works in clandestine laboratories across the country that puts a priority on small technologies that will be more precise, less likely to cause civilian casualties and cheaper in tough budgetary times, the Los Angeles Times reports.

For example, a mini-cruise missile is being designed to fit into a soldier's backpack, be fired from a mortar and search the battlefield for enemy targets. And an invisible mist using nanocrystals is being developed to spray on enemy fighters and make them shine brightly in night-vision goggles.

The government is abandoning the food pyramid

For the last two decades, the food pyramid has been the government's guide to healthy eating. But it's been criticized as too confusing.

So the Obama administration is about to unveil on Thursday a plate-shaped symbol to take its place.

The new bottom line for eating healthy: Half your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables.

An advance against hospital acquired infections

The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday the first antibiotic in a quarter century to combat a deadly bacterium linked to intestinal infections that people often get when they're in the hospital.

The bacterium sickens about 500,000 Americans a year and kills about 30,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The medication, fidaxomicin, will be sold under the name Dificid.

Also in the news

After Japan disaster, Germany is first major power to renounce nuclear energy

In a shift, Russia agrees to try to persuade Gadhafi to go

Yemen edging closer to civil war

Federal enforcers targeting top executives on health fraud

With the IRS stepping up tax audits, what you need to know

Note to readers

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, Citizen Cartwright will publish next on Tuesday, May 31.

Have a great day!

Hey, what do you want from Citizen Cartwright?

So, of course, Citizen Cartwright is written for informed and want-to-be-informed citizens. A question: What do you want to be informed about? Pretty much anything related to political figures?

For example, should Citizen Cartwright have run items about the separation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver and the subsequent disclosure of his "love child?" Citizen Cartwright gave those stories a pass, because Schwarzenegger was a former governor whose political career presumably was over, making his personal life irrelevant to the citizens of his state (unless he'd misused state funds).

Please tell Citizen Cartwright what you want to read here. Even a comment as brief as "Schwarzenegger yes" or "Schwarzenegger no" will be helpful.

Pakistan is letting the CIA search bin Laden's compound

The agency will use infrared cameras, X-ray equipment and other devices to look for items embedded behind walls, inside safes and under floors, The Washington Post says.

Meanwhile, documents already seized from the compound show that bin Laden and his aides discussed making a deal with Pakistan in which al Qaeda would exchange protection inside Pakistan for a pledge not to attack the country, The New York Times reports.

It's the first suggestion that bin Laden considered Pakistan’s government amenable to a bargain that would ensure the safety of top al Qaeda leaders, the Times says.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan on Friday to repair the U.S.-Pakistan relationship in the wake of the bin Laden raid.

Following the money, Libya style

Moammar Gadhafi has stashed billions in Libyan oil revenues with financial institutions on Wall Street and in Europe, according to a document made public Thursday by the international advocacy group Global Witness.

“Qaddafi makes no distinction between his personal assets and the resources of the country,” Global Witness quotes the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court as saying.