The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Josh Sanburn Monday, Sept. 06, 2010

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    Scotland-based Cairn Energy announced Aug. 24 that it had discovered small amounts of gas off the western coast of Greenland, an area that many believe to be the last great frontier in the quest for natural resources. This summer's Gulf of Mexico disaster has left environmentalists wary, though. So despite the fact that Cairn has yet to find any crude, Greenpeace dispatched a ship in an attempt to disrupt future offshore drilling. Greenland's waters are relatively untouched, and wells drilled in the past have proved dry. However, Cairn says it has found "early indications of a working hydrocarbon system" in Baffin Bay.

    * | What They're Taxing in Philadelphia: Bloggers in the City of Brotherly Love will now be required to pay $50 a year (or a onetime flat fee of $300) for a "business-privilege license," as well as taxes on any blog-related profits. Although the license fee applies only to websites that host ads or otherwise generate revenue, it doesn't differentiate between highly profitable sites and those that earn just a few dollars a year. Naturally, Web writers are up in arms, though the city points out that it treats traditional freelance writers the same way.

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