Articles by Matt Metzner

Credit: Kasai Direct For many casual observers, conflict in the heart of Africa is a return to the norm. What is occurring now is far from what has happened in the past, as a new rebel group has taken control of the capital city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu state. Rebel control of the city extends well beyond the displacement and death of thousands of people, leaving behind it global political and economic consequences. The International Rescue Committee estimates t...

Credit: AZflyfishing.com Today, the United States and Mexico will sign a landmark treaty on freshwater resources in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada, along with the Mexican States of Baja California and Sonora, have approved the treaty that will distribute freshwater from the Colorado River. The Colorado River supplies freshwater for seven states and Northern Mexico according to allocations made in the Colorado Riv...

Credit: Ricksblogz.com British Petroleum (BP) has agreed with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to plead guilty to eleven felony charges of misconduct and negligence relating to eleven deaths on the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The settlement agreement also includes $4.5 billion of payments over the course of five years to resolve all criminal claims, an additional $525 million over three years of securities violations, an...

Credit: BikeSD San Diego Bike Commuter is encouraging San Diegans to use their bicycles as a primary mode of transportation around the city. The group established a website SDBikeCommuter.com that provides a forum for bikers in the city and a biker discount program at local businesses. SDBikeCommuter.com partners with local businesses around San Diego and asks them to offer discounts on food, beer, etc. when you roll into their business on a bike. The participating businesses pay a $50 fee tha...

Credit: KQED The California Cap-and-Trade Program Greenhouse Gas Allowance Auction opened online today. The landmark online market allows California covered entities, opt-in entities, and voluntarily associated entities to participate in the auction. The auction program is the trade portion of the cap-and-trade system devised under the 2006 bill, AB 32. Under a cap and trade system, emitters are given allowances of greenhouse gases that they may opt to use or sell. The auction creates the mark...

Credit: KQED The California Cap-and-Trade Program Greenhouse Gas Allowance Auction opened online today. The landmark online market allows California covered entities, opt-in entities, and voluntarily associated entities to participate in the auction. The auction program is the trade portion of the cap-and-trade system devised under the 2006 bill, AB 32. Under a cap and trade system, emitters are given allowances of greenhouse gases that they may opt to use or sell. The auction creates the mark...

Credit: Disputed Waters Several southwestern states and Mexico are nearing a water sharing agreement regarding the Colorado River. The agreement would share the surplus water stored in Lake Powell and Lake Mead along with a water shortage burden felt more harshly the further south the water travels. The new agreement would serve multiple purposes for Mexico. Since 2010 when an earthquake damaged their irrigation system, Mexico has stored portions of their water supply in Lake Mead. The new agr...

Credit: USMC California State Parks have perpetuated in a state of disarray during the course of 2012 with the announcement that many will be closed, then remain open, and now will have a new director. Retired Major General Anthony Jackson of Fallbrook will take the place of Janelle Beland who has sat as the Acting Director of California Parks following the resignation of Ruth Coleman. Prior to her resignation, the Director of California Parks had buried $54 million in surplus funds over the c...

Credit: CS Monitor On Friday leaders from both houses of Congress and the president are set to begin fiscal cliff negotiations, including taxes and governmental spending. Prior to meeting with a congressional delegation, the president is spending two days in talks with labor leaders business executives. Yesterday and today's meetings are far from the first time the administration has courted influential individuals leading into their fiscal cliff negotiations. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geith...