The Scottsdale Blog

More People Moving to Arizona

by John O'Leary

If global warming is really occurring and the seas rise, it would appear that more people will be moving to Arizona because I sure wouldn't want to move to the coast of Florida based on this data!

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Science Daily — The first global study to identify populations at greatest risk from rising sea levels and more intense cyclones linked to climate change will be published next month in the peer-reviewed journal Environment and Urbanization. The research shows that 634 million people — one tenth of the global population — live in coastal areas that lie within just ten metres above sea level.  It calls for action to limit the effects of climate change, to help people migrate away from risk and to modify urban settlements to reduce their vulnerability. But it warns that this will require enforceable regulations and economic incentives, both of which depend on political will, funding and human capital. Source: International Institute for Environment and Development

Can't smoke in your garden?

by John O'Leary

Well, this isn't exactly from Arizona but from across the pond in Sweden.  However, I find this very interesting in that a woman is getting sued by her neighbor because she smokes - in her own garden.  This in spite of the fact that she is trying accomodate him by keeping 20 feet away from his property line.  Good walls make good neighbors but smoke knows no boundaries...

AKARP, Sweden, March 9 (UPI)

A Swedish woman has been sued for smoking in her own garden.

Her neighbor in Akarp in southern Sweden, a lawyer, demands 15,000 kroner ($2,000) in damages for her previous smoking plus another 2,000 kroner ($280) every time she lights up in the future, The Local reported. She has received a district court summons to respond to his complaint.

"It makes me sad and angry," the 49-year-old single mom told Aftonbladet. "Should somebody else be able to control my life?"

The woman said she has already made concessions to her neighbor's dislike of cigarette smoke, including picking a spot to light up that is more than 20 feet from his property.

In court filings, the lawyer complains that he is hit with cigarette smoke every time he enters or leaves his house and has been unable to open his windows.