While You Were Sleeping

The gist of what you may have missed.

by KellyAnne McGuire, July 27, 2009

The Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth largest lake, has been reduced to a tenth of its former size. In mid-July, space images from the European Space Agency showed the lake in various stages of shrinkage over the last three years. A result of the Soviet Union diverting its rivers in the 1960s, the Aral Sea now has about 15,000 acres of unusable salty and toxic-laden lake bed. Sandstorms throw this into the air, causing increased rates of lung disease and cancer in the region. While most of the sea is expected to disappear by 2020, the northern part will be preserved by a dam funded by the World Bank.
Source: www.wired.com

Months of volatile markets have caused many to wonder if speculative buying, instead of supply and demand, is affecting crude oil prices. Speculators create a demand by buying oil at a certain price in the expectation of rising prices. This drives the price per barrel up regardless of consumer demand. According to the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, 70 percent of the market is now speculators, with most of the trading being done by large investors, such as companies and college endowments. Regulation loopholes—such as foreign market trading—create concerns that there is no accountability for traders’ effect on the market. Proponents of legislation hope that by regulating essential commodities markets, such as oil, consumer prices will stabilize.
Sources: New York Times, National Public Radio

In the past, developers used housing divisions built around golf courses as a selling point. A new trend is to build developments adjacent to working, and sometimes organic, farms. Parcels of land may be only a few acres each, but access to the farm of many acres—whether for scenic value or produce—is an incentive for many homebuyers. Developers of one project in South Burlington, Vermont, are hoping to sell homes from $200,000 to $700,000 each. Communities following this model are sprouting up in suburbs across the nation.
Source: New York Times

Global banking firm Goldman Sachs reported in July the largest earnings quarter in its 140-year history: $3.44 billion. The profit comes after a $12.9 billion dollar bailout from the government last September, of which they have recently paid back $10 billion. Goldman Sach’s new top lobbyist is Michael Paese, former top staffer for Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, under which the bailouts occurred, had previously worked as a chief executive at the firm. Former Goldman lobbyist Mark Patterson is now chief of staff at the Treasury Department, and former Goldman Chairman Steve Friedman is now the chairman of the New York Federal Reserve.
Sources: Washington Examiner, New York Times, Reuters