
Dohahahaha...ha?: If climate negotiators come to an agreement and nobody's around to pay attention, does it make a sound? The Doha negotiations ended with little to show, and a review of the UN-led IPCC climate reports shows that for the last two decades, the reports have actually downplayed risks. In short, we're in no way prepared for climate change, which would almost be funny, if it weren't terrifying. Climate Central
See no evil, taste no evil: If you can't see pollution, it doesn't exist, right? That seems to have been the thinking of EPA officials who let companies dump waste into underground aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country. It's cool, we didn't need that drinking water or anything. Oh, wait… ProPublica
Puma reprieve: Costa Rica has become the first Latin American country to ban sport hunting. The conservation proposal came to the country's Congress by a popular initiative, and the new law will fine hunters up to $3,000 (not so bad?) or send them to prison for up to four months (pretty bad). Reuters
Lessons learned: Schools across the country are learning the hard way that building a LEED-certified building does not guarantee energy savings. Turns out, you actually have to pick the right features (light sensors, reflective roofs and the like) and run the building in an energy-efficient way! We know, we know, you thought this was going to be easy. USATODAY
Lessons learned, hopefully: Oh, good, there's a nuclear power plant in Japan sitting on a fault line. Authorities are considering ordering the Japan Atomic Power Co. to decommission the facility. The Telegraph
City of Six Hours of Mandated Dark: Paris could require businesses to turn off their lights from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. in order to save energy. No longer living in the City of Lights, Parisians who want to pick up a buttery, buttery croissant on the way to their early shift will have to buy it in the dark. How chic. FastCoExist
Brave Hungry World: Global Trends 2030, a new report from the National Intelligence Council, imagines a bunch of dire futures for the world. Relevant to our interests: demand for food and water will rise as global population grows, and climate change could only make that worse. National Intelligence Council
Mootown: Is putting "the largest urban farm" on 140 acres in the middle of Detroit a fabulous idea or a callous land grab? Now that urban agriculture is getting serious in the Motor City, some people are having second thoughts. New York Times Green Blog
Cold-blooded Obama: President Obama doesn't just have a fish named after him. He now has a lizard namesake, too. The Obamadon is no longer with us, but was once a foot long and enjoyed eating insects and plants. The scientists that named the reptile claims it was an apolitical choice because "liberals will think it's an honor, conservatives can say, 'Well, it's some wretched extinct lizard.'" U.S. News
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Flickr/wordyeti
















