Groups condemn UW plan to perform abortions

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Posted on 7th January 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 1/7/2009

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anti-abortion groups condemned a University of Wisconsin plan to provide second-trimester abortions at a Madison clinic and questioned whether it was legal.

UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette said its gynecologists plan to begin performing abortions for patients between 13 and 22 weeks pregnant at the Madison Surgery Center. She said the plan needs final approval from the center’s board, which could take action this month.

The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based conservative Christian legal group, publicized the plan and sent a letter asking UW officials to stop it. The group said the plan might violate a state law that prohibits state or federal money from being used to pay doctors or clinics to perform abortions.

Brunette acknowledged state-paid doctors working for the university would provide the services but she said its lawyers were comfortable the plan is legal. She said the abortions themselves would be paid for by insurance and patient fees, not public money.

ADF lawyer Thomas Bowman said the group was researching the arrangement and would “take quick legal action in the event that any legal violations are uncovered.”

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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

University of Madison Football “carbon-neutral”

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Posted on 20th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/20/2008 3:09 AM

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin designated next weekend’s homecoming football game with Illinois as “carbon-neutral.” The university will use an anonymous donation to buy carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange to offset estimated game-day carbon dioxide emissions. When credits are purchased, the money is invested in green projects.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), is the world’s first and North America’s only active voluntary, legally binding integrated trading system to reduce emissions of all six major greenhouse gases (GHGs), with offset projects worldwide.

Members of the Chicago Climate Exchange sign a legally binding agreement to reduce their emissions, and in exchange for this agreement, the companies are issued credits, which they may use or sell. Companies which don’t use all their credits can sell them to other companies which have not been able to reach the necessary state of efficiency, thereby reducing overall emissions by maintaining a “cap” on total emissions.

Money raised through the sale of carbon credits are used for projects like the expansion of wind farms. Some questionable uses remain in practice such as the burning off of methane in parts of the country, which does keep greenhouse gases out of the environment, but is not the most ideal solution to the problem.

The Chicago Climate Exchange has taken a proactive stand on global warming, although some maintain that it supports the argument against government regulation of greenhouse gases as companies voluntarily comply. Participating companies receive the added benefit of being able to promote themselves as “green companies”.

CCX employs independent verification, includes six greenhouse gases, and has been trading greenhouse gas emission allowances since 2003.

It will be interesting to see how carbon credit trading impacts the economy as new specialties such as “carbon emission auditing” arise, taking us into a new future impacted by global warming.