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July, 2009
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What's Happening: Cash for Clunkers Already Running Out of Cash, Fish Stocks Recover, and more
TOP STORY
'Clunkers' Program Is Running Out of Cash
"The government's "cash for clunkers" program, aimed at boosting stagnant auto sales, is almost out of money, putting its future in question, according to sources familiar with the effort. Passed by Congress in late June to help the flagging U.S. auto industry and launched just a week ago, the $1 billion program gives vouchers worth up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in gas-guzzling cars for more fuel-efficient models. The highly publicized effort was scheduled to run until Nov. 1, or until money ran out. It was not expected to run out of cash so quickly. [Washington Post]
Related:
- Cash For Clunkers To Be Suspended [Associated Press - Huffington Post]
RECOMMENDED READING
Fish Stocks Recover as Conservation Measures Take Effect
"Global efforts to combat overfishing are starting to turn the tide to allow some fish stocks to recover, new analysis shows. Research...
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Could jellyfish slow climate change?
Jellyfish have long been seen as a harbinger of climate change, and so have received quite a negative reputation (at least in my mind). Imagine my surprise, then, at reading an article published July 30 in the journal Nature that says these creatures might actually help mitigate climate change.
Jellies are like the weeds of the ocean. They are fairly resistant to changing environments, so as carbon pollution causes ocean waters to warm up and to become more acidic--a process that kills more sensitive organisms like coral and plankton-- jellyfish have moved in and taken over emptying habitats. In droves.
In recent years, cnidarians have been seen cruising up the Hudson River during triathalons, swarming beaches in Spain, and drifting far north, off the coast of Ireland. But the Nature study suggests there may be another side to these mobs, other than ruining your summer holiday. As the hordes pulse their way through the ocean current, they might also be stirring the sea, in the same... -
What's Happening: Polluted Beaches, Eco-Therapy, and more
TOP STORY
Beach Pollution Still Nationwide Problem
"Raw sewage and other pollution continued to foul American beaches in 2008. For the fourth year in a row, more than 20,000 beach closing days were reported in the USA, according to a report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in Washington, D.C. 'Storm water and sewage runoff are the biggest sources for the contamination,' says Nancy Stoner, NRDC's water program co-director. The report monitored beaches along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, along with those in the Great Lakes states." [USA Today]
Related:
- Testing the Waters 2009 Report [NRDC]
RECOMMENDED READING
Thinning Cloud Cover Over Oceans Speeds Global Warming
"Thinning clouds over the ocean exacerbate global warming by leading to more rapid temperature increases, according to the results of a new study...The effect clouds have on climate has been something of a mystery to atmospheric scientists, with some researchers hoping they would provide a ...
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Surf Alert: Bacterial Breaks
"Know before you go" is the surfer's mantra. Lifeguards in Hawaii, my home base, advise watching from shore for half an hour—the time it takes to see at least one set of full-size waves—before you decide to get wet. Next: "When in doubt, don't go out." But sometimes there are threats in the water you can't see, such as bacteria.
Having suffered ear and respiratory infections from polluted waters, as well as suppurating "volcano" sores from staph in coral cuts, I am motivated to pick waves that are clean in every sense. But how to know? A good place to start is by checking your favorite breaks in NRDC's annual state-by-state "Testing the Waters" report, and, good news for waveriders, the 2009 edition broke today.
It's summer in the northern hemisphere, and Hawaii's south shores are pumping. I'm a Honolulu local, so here's what I learned, thanks to NRDC's redaction of state water testing data, about my favorite surf spots in Town.
Bummers
No surprise, but still a drag: Point P...
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What's Happening: Humans Causing Wildlife Cancer, 6th Great Extinction, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Do Humans Play a Role in Causing Deadly Wildlife Cancers?
"A wide array of species [are] afflicted by a range of cancers, according to a paper published in the July edition of Nature Reviews Cancer. 'Wildlife Cancer: a conservation perspective,' summarizes mounting evidence of human's contribution to carcinogenesis in wild-animal populations across the globe, thanks to man-made toxins dumped into wildlife's natural habitats." [Newsweek]
U.S. and China Sign Memorandum on Climate Change
"The United States and China, the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, signed an agreement on Tuesday that promises more cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment without setting firm goals...The document, released by the State Department, did not set any firm targets but reiterated support for a 10-year cooperation deal signed last year by the Bush administration and created a new climate change policy "dialogue" which would meet regularly. 'It is not an agre...
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Recycling Pays in NYC
It’s been endlessly debated, does recycling make economic sense? In New York City, back in 2002, Mayor Bloomberg proposed cuts to the city’s recycling budget, raising questions both here and around the nation as to whether recycling was a cost-effective strategy for dealing with municipal solid waste. Even after the Mayor and the New York City Council agreed to restore glass and plastic recycling collections for all households in 2004, and to enter into a long-term contract for the sorting and reselling of collected recyclables, some economic questions lingered.
So the Natural Resources Defense Council commissioned a study to compare costs in New York City associated with curbside collection for recycling versus for waste to be exported to out-of-state landfills and incinerators. What they found was that while citywide costs per ton for curbside collection and disposal of recyclables was higher than for refuse going to landfills and incinerators, the difference was small, rough...
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Hot dog lawsuit launched against Nathan's and others
Would you buy one of Nathan's world famous frankfurters if you had to read a warning label first? Before you head out to Coney Island this weekend consider that three New Jersey residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Nathan's Famous, Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer, Sara Lee, Con Agra Foods and Marathon Enterprises.
The lawsuit filed on July 22 by the non-profit Cancer Project states that the aforementioned companies fail to warn consumers of the inherent cancer risks associated with their hot dogs. The suit contends that packaging should include the following: "Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer."
"Just as tobacco causes lung cancer, processed meats are linked to colon cancer," says Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Cancer Project. "Companies that sell hot dogs are well aware of the danger, and their customers deserve the same information."
The lawsuit is based on the findings found in the American Institute for Cancer Research...
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Former industrial sites become parkland in the worst economic downturn in a century
Philadelphia is turning former industrial docks along the Deleware into parkland in a 7 mile stretch of the central Deleware in center city. Look up PennPraxis for details of this and many other initiatives going on in Philadelphia to make it the Greenest City in America.
This and many other programs are taking place in a poor city during the worst economic downturn in a century. I think the NRDC needs to re-evaluate how they rated America's major cities.
On the otherhand, don't bother, we Philadelphians will just prove NRDC wrong. Stay tuned.
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What's Happening: The Ocean's Surface, Wild West Fire Season Predicted, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Scientists Find a Microbe Haven at Ocean’s Surface
"Scientists are now discovering that the top hundredth-inch of the ocean...is home to an unusual menagerie of microbes. 'It’s really a distinct ecosystem of its own,' said Oliver Wurl, of Canada’s Institute of Ocean Sciences...This so-called sea-surface microlayer is important, scientists say, in part because it influences the chemistry of the ocean and the atmosphere...Dr. Cunliffe and his colleagues have identified bacteria in the microlayer that devour important chemicals like methane and carbon monoxide. The microlayer is also crucial to the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas." [New York Times]
Kenya To Build Africa's Biggest Windfarm
"One of the hottest places in the world is set to become the site of Africa's most ambitious venture in the battle against global warming. Some 365 giant wind turbines are to be installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya......
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Why We Need a Bold New Vision for Preserving Our Nation’s Wilderness
I have welcomed several promising signs coming out of the Obama Administration, from the president's push for clean energy to Interior Secretary Salazar's efforts to block oil and gas leasing near some of Utah's most stunning landscapes.
But there is still something I am waiting to see: a bold new vision for preserving America's wilderness.
Why does wilderness matter right now? It matters to me personally because I believe that our last public wilderness areas, with their rugged beauty, uncharted terrain, and ability to test human strength, are essential symbols of the American spirit.
But it also matters legally. According to the Wilderness Act of 1964, once a landscape has been altered by human development--including natural gas pipelines, oil drill heads, or roads for seismic thumper trucks--it can never become a protected wilderness area.
This is exactly the cynical calculus the Bush administration used to convert America's public lands into money-making ventures for a few energ...
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Protecting Our Oceans
Imagine a world without fish. It's closer than you think. And, it's not the legacy I want to leave for my children. As a Southern California resident and long-time ocean activist, I care deeply about the state of our sea and know we cannot take it for granted. It provides a wealth of economic, recreational and therapeutic benefits.
While issues like climate change and pollution seem to grab all the headlines, another equally dire problem lurks beneath the world's oceans. Or rather, it lurks above them, in party boats and rigs of all shapes and sizes that fish our waters to meet an ever-growing demand for fresh seafood. Our oceans cannot keep up with this pressure. The number of commercial fishing vessels and commercial fishing related revenue in Los Angeles County alone has decreased by over 50% since 1990. Some local fish populations are down 90% from their historical levels.
But, fish are in. Every doctor and health magazine seems to rave about their health benefits. And here ...
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What's Happening: Hydro Power vs. Fish, Dry Cleaning's Toxic Legacy, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Boom In Hydropower Pits Fish Against Climate
"The ability of the nation's aging hydroelectric dams to produce energy free of the curse of greenhouse gas emissions and Middle Eastern politics has suddenly made them financially attractive -- thanks to the new economics of climate change...Expanding hydropower is fraught with controversy, much of it stemming from the industry's history of turning wild rivers into industrialized reservoirs struggling to support their remaining fish. The emerging boom in hydroelectric power pits two competing ecological perils against each other: widespread fish extinctions and a warming planet." [Los Angeles Times]
Greenland Comes In From The Cold
"As world leaders grapple with the perils of climate change, there are parts of the globe where warmer temperatures are welcomed. Hardtalk presenter Stephen Sackur has just returned from Greenland where he found plenty of people eyeing opportunities amid the melting...
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Prepare for the Best: Thriving in Philadelphia's Green Future
The Dark Season closes around Philadelphia. Wolves howl, "Tough times coming!" Young professionals with good jobs study budget cuts, watch stocks flail. Career bureaucrats are laid off; college students wonder who's hiring. Old-timers remember when Philadelphia staggered through the terrible Depression years without jobs or dollars, while crime and hunger rose. Some districts here never escaped that Depression — they're still choosing between heating and eating.
As usual, the future will be different. Philadelphia's responses to global warming and market cooling, high fuel and food prices, health unsurance, mortgages, student debt and war will decide whether our future here becomes vastly better or vastly worse. Whether we're the Next Great City or Next Great Medieval Village. Imagine Philadelphia with one-tenth the oil and natural gas.
But to hell with tragedy. Let's quit dreading news. Take the Rocky road. There are Philadelphia solutions for every Philadelphia problem.
Imagine i...
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What's Happening: Cash For Clunkers Arrives, Missing Sunspots, and more
TOP STORY
Cash for Clunkers: Here’s What You Can Get
"They’re here: At last, the Transportation Department has published the rules for the cash-for-clunkers program which gives drivers of old cars a cash incentive to trade up for a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle. The basics: What old cars qualify? What can you get? How much do you get?" [Wall Street Journal]
RECOMMENDED READING
Is the Sun Missing Its Spots?
"Ever since Samuel Heinrich Schwabe...first noted in 1843 that sunspots burgeon and wane over a roughly 11-year cycle, scientists have carefully watched the Sun’s activity. In the latest lull, the Sun should have reached its calmest, least pockmarked state last fall. Indeed, last year marked the blankest year of the Sun in the last half-century — 266 days with not a single sunspot visible from Earth. Then, in the first four months of 2009, the Sun became even more blank, the pace of sunspots slowing more. 'It’s been as dead as a doornail,' David Hathaway, a solar p...
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What's Happening: NAACP Climate Fight, Saharan Solar, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
NAACP Resolves To Fight Climate Change
"The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People celebrated its centennial last week by jumping into the policy debate over global warming. Delegates at the storied civil rights organization’s annual meeting in New York voted to adopt a resolution supporting clean energy development, curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, and policies to foster green collar jobs." [Grist]
Massive Saharan Solar Project Leaves U.S. in Shade
"Large-scale solar power may still be a shimmering mirage on the desert's edge, but since last week, when a group of European companies laid out a half-trillion-dollar plan for a solar power plant in North Africa, it's a mirage with international financing...The real riddle is: What's taken so long? Particularly in the United States? American deserts receive almost as much sunshine as the Sahara, and they're more stable, politically, than Algeria or Morocco." [European Dispatch - Miller-McLune]...
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Smarten Up and Stop Idling
Prenatal exposure to combustion byproducts lowers children’s IQ, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH). New York City children, exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs,) the research (published in Pediatrics) showed, had full scale and verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower, respectively, than those of less exposed children.
PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. High PAH levels were defined as above the median of 2.26 nanograms per cubic meter (ng/m3).
“The decrease in full-scale IQ score among the more exposed children is similar to that seen with low-level lead exposure,” noted Dr. Frederica Perera, director of the Columbia Center. “This finding is of concern because IQ is an important predictor of future academic performance, and PAHs are widespread in urban env...
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What's Happening: Two More Climate Impact Studies, California Tsunami, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Two New Studies Show Climate Change...
...Could Put The Heat On California Crops
"The agricultural scientists who support California's $10-billion annual fruit and nut crop, the largest in the nation, [are fearful]. A new study from UC Davis, to be published today, found that the number of winter chilling hours, essential to the flowering of orchards, has declined as much as 30% since 1950 in large swaths of the Central Valley, where most of the tree crops are grown...By the end of the century, it says, 'areas where safe winter chill exists for growing walnuts, pistachios, peaches, apricots, plums and cherries are likely to almost completely disappear.'" [Los Angeles Times]
...Climate Change Threatens Colorado River Water Supply
"The Colorado River system -- which 30 million people depend on for drinking and irrigation water -- could fully deplete all of its reservoir storage by the middle of the century, a new University of Colorado study shows. Under the most d...
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What's Happening: India's Water Crisis, Warming Shrinking Fish, and more
TOP STORIES
India’s Thirst Drives Water To Crisis Level
"Persistent worries about water shortages on farms and in cities across India have been exacerbated this year by poor monsoon rains, which have been both late and scanty. India’s meteorological department reported last Friday that rainfall levels for the monsoon so far this year are 34 per cent below the long-term average. Swaths of northern India, including Punjab, have been hardest hit, with rainfall for the season 50 per cent below average." [Financial Times]
Fish Are Shrinking In Response To Global Warming
"Fish have lost half their average body mass and smaller species are making up a larger proportion of European fish stocks as a result of global warming, a study published Monday has found...Smaller fish tend to produce fewer eggs. They also provide less sustenance for predators—including humans—which could have significant implications for the food chain and ecosystem." [AFP - Grist]
VIDEO
Mapping Ameri...
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Battle in the Boreal-- Rekindling the Air Pollution Debate
Public meetings in Manitoba, Canada later this month will revisit the explosive issue of pollution controls at a big wood products plant in the Swan Valley.
Just as they were in the mid-'90s, battle lines are drawn between environmentalists, the US-based Louisiana Pacific Corporation (LP) and the Government of Manitoba.
That's because LP wants to permanently shut down the devices which control most toxic emissions from its plant, called "regenerative thermal oxidizers" or RTOs.
Manitoba's Minister of Conservation, Stan Struthers, quietly gave it permission to do so, temporarily, last January.
Struthers has since instructed the Clean Environment Commission (CEC), an arms-length advisory agency, to determine whether a permanent shutdown is justified.
Whether temporary or permanent, members of the environmental group, "Concerned Citizens of the Valley" are angry. One of them, Margaret Romak, notes that it was only after her group raised alarm bells about the Minister's approval of a temp... -
What's Happening: BC Wildfires, Grand Canyon Uranium Mining, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Chemicals That Eased One Woe Worsen Another: CFC Replacements Intensify Climate Concerns
"Scientists say the chemicals that helped solve the last global environmental crisis -- the hole in the ozone layer -- are making the current one worse. The chemicals, called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), were introduced widely in the 1990s to replace ozone-depleting gases used in air conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foam. They worked: The earth's protective shield seems to be recovering. But researchers say what's good for ozone is bad for climate change. In the atmosphere, these replacement chemicals act like "super" greenhouse gases, with a heat-trapping power that can be 4,470 times that of carbon dioxide. [Washington Post]
Utility Reverts To The Long Ago And Not-So-Far-Away
"Ever since cold Sierra meltwater first tumbled into the San Fernando Valley from the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Southland has been addicted to water from someplace else. But as the big straws t...
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What's Happening: Oregon Forests Saved, UK Plastic Bag Use Halved, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Obama Adminstration Drops Bush Logging Plan for Western Oregon
"The Obama administration is withdrawing a controversial Bush-era logging plan for millions of acres of federal forests in western Oregon...The plan, called the Western Oregon Plan Revisions, 'is based on a legally-indefensible process. It will not stand up in court,' [Interior Secretary Ken Salazar] said...That's a victory for conservationists and gives pause to rural Oregon counties who were hoping stepped-up logging would mean more revenue for them from federal timber receipts. The secretary said the administration would also review the recovery plan for the northern spotted owl, and they will ask a federal court to throw out the Bush administration's revisions to habitat set aside for the endangered bird." [Portland Oregonian]
Related:
- Obama Admin Scraps Logging Plan in Ore. Carbon Sinks [ClimateWire]
Its Economy in Shambles, The Midwest Goes Green
"Midwestern states have decided — somewhat belated...
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The Plight of the Fisheries
My concern for the fate of our Alaska Salmon and other species of fish revolves around our constant human need to harvest fish eggs, i.e., roe. *Roe stripping* is done for many reasons and one reason is for *caviar* in the lucrative (often international) food markets.
I regularly ask myself, "How much taking of fish eggs can the marine environment tolerate before there is a crash in the overall stock of fish"?
On its surface, roe stripping appears to be a waste of valuable fish resources and roe stripping essentially removes viable genetic material of harvested fish from the gene pool. Roe stripping seems to be a tragic waste of female fish. Humans cannot possibly re-create nature within fish hatcheries that the natural world provides freely for fish during their reproductive cycles. I believe roe stripping is highly detrimental to the marine environment.
For example, when I go into a sporting goods store and witness the amount of fish eggs in containers to be used as fish bait...
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Half-Baked Alaska: Palin’s Confused Vision of Energy & Environment
Now that Sarah Palin has announced her resignation as Governor of Alaska, you may wonder: What has she been doing? How will she fill her time? In an Op-Ed piece for The Washington Post, Palin kindly provided an answer. She's committed herself to a single task: confusing the American public on energy and environment.
On Tuesday, Palin's Op-Ed criticized Obama's cap and trade bill -- known as the American Clean Energy & Security Act, or ACES -- and refused to acknowledge the existence of climate change. The article so fully muddles the issues that the best thing one can hope for is that someone else wrote the article, and the Governor simply signed her name.
Behind all the bluster -- and the exclamations! that neatly turn fact into fiction -- are familiar phrases. She appeals to national independence, rising unemployment, taxes, supply side economics and God's creation. In so doing, she positions Democrats as enervating technocrats opposed to prosperity, and herself as rooted in a his... -
What's Happening OnEarth: Importing Green Jobs, Arctic Goo, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
"At Wal-Mart, Labeling to Reflect Green Intent"
Shoppers expect the tags on Wal-Mart items to have rock-bottom prices. In the future they may also have information about the product’s carbon footprint, the gallons of water used to create it, and the air pollution left in its wake. As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores is on a mission to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves. And it has recruited scholars, suppliers, and environmental groups to help it create an electronic indexing system to do that. The idea is to create a universal rating system that scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are over the course of their lives. [New York Times]
Related:
- Tagged: Wal-Mart’s Big Push for Eco-Labels [Wall Street Journal]
With Push Toward Renewable Energy, California Sets Pace for Solar Power
"A decade ago, only 500 rooftops in California boasted solar panels that harvest t...
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How to Teach Your Children About Climate Change -- Without Scaring Them
Written by Gary Braasch and Lynne Cherry
Are your children asking you about global climate change and wondering what they can do to help the polar bears? Are they feeling sad and scared? How can you comfort them, answer their questions and assure them that their world is not spinning out of control?
The key is empowerment and teaching kids how to be engaged citizens. Parents can explain global warming, encourage schools to teach the basics of science and help children participate in nature study. For example, scientists have correlated changes in when plants bloom, where plants and animals are found, and the timing of migrations with warming temperatures. Kids taking part in outdoor activities like Project Budburst and Audubon bird counts can take temperature readings and see these changes for themselves --and they can provide data for scientists to document the effects of global warming.
Once kids understand how scientists have discovered—and are continuing to discover--...
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What's Happening: Climate Changing Borders, Young Farmers, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Climate Change Could Redraw National Borders
"In the past, national borders were determined by war, revolution, or, as is the case with many former colonies, someone in a pith helmet doodling on a map. But in the 21st century, the job could be done by global warming...A shifting border in an unpopulated area between two stable democracies is unlikely to spark conflict, but climate change affects more than just Europe...melting glaciers are likely to play a role in the disputed sections of India’s borders with Pakistan and China." [Christian Science Monitor]
Dividing the Burden of CO2 Reduction
"With the developing world now generating half the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, one of the thorniest challenges facing climate change negotiators in Copenhagen will be apportioning national reduction targets in coming decades...The Princeton group’s [proposed] multi-stage formula estimates individual emissions based on lifestyle and income rather than per c...
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What's Happening: India's Late and Dry Monsoon, No More Krill Fishing, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
India Prays For Rain As Water Wars Break Out
"In Bhopal, and across much of northern India, a late monsoon and the driest June for 83 years are exacerbating the effects of a widespread drought and setting neighbour against neighbour in a desperate fight for survival. India's vast farming economy is on the verge of crisis. The lack of rain has hit northern areas most, but even in Mumbai, which has experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, authorities were forced to cut the water supply by 30% last week as levels in the lakes serving the city ran perilously low." [The Guardian]
Wind Projects at a Standstill
"The Obama administration has made offshore wind energy a priority and an important part of its plans to create jobs and combat climate change, but even such favorable political breezes have not been strong enough to propel the nation's first projects. The economy has intervened, and an unfamiliar federal approval process could hold up leading projects." [Wa...
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What's Happening: "Civilisation Will Collapse," Boiling Frogs, and more
TOP STORY
Report: Climate Change 'Will Cause Civilisation To Collapse'
"An effort on the scale of the Apollo mission that sent men to the Moon is needed if humanity is to have a fighting chance of surviving the ravages of climate change. The stakes are high, as, without sustainable growth, "billions of people will be condemned to poverty and much of civilisation will collapse".
var articleheadline = "The planet's future: Climate change 'will cause civilisation to collapse'";
This is the stark warning from the biggest single report to look at the future of the planet...Backed by a diverse range of leading organisations such as Unesco, the World Bank, the US army and the Rockefeller Foundation, the 2009 State of the Future report runs to 6,700 pages and draws on contributions from 2,700 experts around the globe." [The Independent]RECOMMENDED READING
Scientists Predict Wild Weather In The Year Ahead
"Climate scientists have warned of wild weather in the ...
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Ruminants roam where mowers and herbicides once ruled
Goats eat anything. Sheep, cows and horses aren’t bad either. And they’re low impact. Which is why this summer the Maryland State Highway Administration is renting a herd of goats and sheep to control invasive weeds in a wetland area. Their delicate hooves have a lighter step than the 7500-pound lawn mower which would leave deep ruts that could destroy the area’s hydrology and endanger the habitat of the endangered Bog Turtle.
It’s also why Seattle, which ranked first among large cities in NRDC’s Smarter Cities sustainability ranking, not only uses hydroelectric plants for 90 percent of its power, but goats rather than chemicals pesticides to clear brush and blackberries around substations. “Rent-a-ruminant” goats have been used by the University of Washington, road crews and the Navy as well.
Transportation departments in at least five states – Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and Oregon – have used goats and sheep to minimize roadside vegetatio...
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What's Happening: Senate Climate Deadline Slips, the Two Degree Solution?, and more
TOP STORY
Senate Climate Deadline Slips
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has bumped back the deadline until Sept. 28 for the six committees working on a comprehensive climate change and energy bill...Originally, Reid wanted the Environment and Public Works Committee and other panels that deal with tax, agriculture, energy and foreign relation issues to have their work done by Sept. 18. But the sheer size of the legislation, not to mention the difficult task of winning 60 votes on an issue that breaks along both regional and party lines, convinced the Nevada Democrat to give the committees a little bit more time. Reid is still sticking with his plan to get the legislation through the Senate in time for U.N. climate negotiations this December in Copenhagen, Denmark." [ClimateWire - New York Times]
Related:
- Boxer and Reid delay Senate action on climate bill until September [Grist]
RECOMMENDED READING
The Two-Degree Solution
"After years of resisting efforts to define a dangerous lev...
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Finally, Safe Food is the Main Course
Did you know that farms and food processors are inspected on average once every 10 years? No wonder there are so many instances of food contamination in the U.S., leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands hospitalized each year. Despite the toll, the federal government has shown no willingness to butt heads with the powerful food lobby and provide adequate protection for consumers and proper controls for industry, until now.
As profits and consumer confidence have plummeted with each new outbreak, the political climate has changed. So much so that in early June the House Energy and Commerce Committee reached unusual bipartisan consensus on the most sweeping reform of the food safety-system in at least 50 years.
At the center of the legislation is an effort to transform a slow and reactive government apparatus into a preventive food-safety system. The bill gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad new powers to regulate produce at the farm level and review co... -
What's Happening: Dengue in America, G8 Climate Mixed Messages, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Climate Change Could Boost U.S. Dengue Fever Cases
"Climate change could push dengue fever into all corners of the United States, as the mosquitoes that can carry the traditionally tropical virus survive warmer U.S. winters, researchers said on Wednesday...Two species of mosquitoes capable of transmitting dengue fever have been spotted in 28 states and Washington D.C., according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Cases of the disease have been reported in every U.S. state, but many of those are so-called imported cases where the patient was infected by mosquitoes elsewhere in the world. Dengue fever, a long-standing problem in tropical areas, was until recently rare in most of the United States, except along the Texas-Mexico border. That could be changing due to a range of factors including global warming, scientists at the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a report." [Reuters]
Major Nations Drop Goal Of Halving C02 By 2050
"Major natio...
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Where Do Your Bananas Come From?
We all know that many organic grocers in the US have identified some great fair-trade and pesticide-free suppliers overseas, Whole Foods being one of them. But did you know that they get their bananas from a university farm in Costa Rica?
So not only are they high-quality bananas, produced with minimal social and environmental impact, but students are learning to perfect their techniques by working on the on-campus banana farm!
See the short video clip below, and if you want to know more about EARTH University, here is the entire documentary.
We also got the chance to get some more insight from Richard Taylor, the EARTH University professor you see in the film. Read his interview with explore here.
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What's Happening: Tightening Food Safety Standards, Combative Senate Climate, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Combative Start to Senate Climate Hearings
"The Senate is holding its first hearings on pending climate change legislation, and disagreements among senators are stark. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and the chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, accused Republicans of blocking climate and energy solutions and perpetuating “a pattern of no — no, we can’t. No, we won’t.” Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican, fired back. “Once the American public realizes what this legislation will do to their wallets, they will soundly reject it,” he said." [Green, Inc. - New York Times] http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/combative-start-to-senate-climate-hearings/
Researchers Float Plan To Target Individual Carbon Emitters
"US researchers proposed Monday a new strategy to tackle the global climate dilemma: target the biggest polluters in a country, who also tend to be the wealthiest individuals. Unde...
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What's Happening: Clean Burning Wood Pellets, BPA in Food Packaging, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Coal Industry Sees Life or Death in Senate Climate Debate
"When people in the coal business talk about "the valley of death," they are referring to a grim place not located near any mine. It is an economic chasm that the industry fears awaits it if the Senate approves climate legislation similar to what passed the House. Although the House bill includes some help for coal, it also creates incentives for utilities to move away from polluting fuels. Industry advocates and independent analysts say that leaves coal with few options for a sustainable future." [Greenwire - New York Times]
Wood Pellets Catch Fire as Renewable Energy Source
"Some of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in the world are the wind, the sun -- and the lowly wood pellet. European utilities are snapping up the small combustible pellets to burn alongside coal in existing power plants. As a global marketplace emerges to feed their growing appetite for pellets, the Southeastern U.S. is...
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What's Happening: Climate Bill Q & A, Warming and Hunger, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
Millions Hungry As Warming Shifts Seasons
"In a new report, global aid agency Oxfam says impoverished communities...are already being hit hard by the effects of global warming, including increased drought. Without international funding to help them cope and tough targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the food, water, health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people will be put at even greater risk." [Reuters]
Related:
- Oxfam Details Economic Impacts of Warming [Green, Inc. - New York Times]
Report Shows Greater Peril for World's Threatened Animals, Plants
"The global crisis for endangered species is more serious than the financial meltdown, with numbers of imperiled animals and plants rising at record rates, scientists are warning in a report released today...The report, "Wildlife in a Changing World," estimates that 22 percent of known mammals are either facing the threat of extinction or are already extinct. It also found grea...
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Lessons From A River
This is a story of stories.
It is about one night on a river. It is a story about listening, about healing and about nature. This story is the reason I am here, now, talking to you.
A few weeks ago, I drove with my father up to the Catskill Mountains in northwest New York. We were to stay at The Brooklyn Club, an old fly fishing club tucked into the bank of the little branch of The Beaverkill River.
We had come with the expectation of chasing trout. And that we did. But it wasn't the fish that mattered; it was what happened in the quiet spaces in between.
To pull into the club is to settle back in time. There is no parking lot, no sign. The flag pole is still hewn from the same tree, the face of the cabin still worn past the recognition of red, and the spring still giving forth water so cold enough to make your teeth brittle.
In writing about this club, Sparse Grey Hackle, a famous angling author, called his story "The Lotus Eaters" for the way nothing ever changed. He's largely right. ... -
What's Happening: USDA Organic Called Out, and more
TOP STORY
Purity of Federal 'Organic' Label Is Questioned
"The government's turnaround, from prohibition to permission, came after a USDA program manager was lobbied by the formula makers and overruled her staff. That decision and others by a handful of USDA employees, along with an advisory board's approval of a growing list of non-organic ingredients, have helped numerous companies win a coveted green-and-white "USDA Organic" seal on an array of products.
Grated organic cheese, for example, contains wood starch to prevent clumping. Organic beer can be made from non-organic hops. Organic mock duck contains a synthetic ingredient that gives it an authentic, stringy texture.
Relaxation of the federal standards, and an explosion of consumer demand, have helped push the organics market into a $23 billion-a-year business, the fastest growing segment of the food industry." [Washington Post]
RECOMMENDED READING
Green Power Takes Root in the Chinese Desert
"As the United States takes its f...
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No Room For Tigers, and People
On a trip to Ranthambore National Park in northern India, I was able to speak with Belinda Wright, longtime conservationist and champion of tigers in India.
One thing she said really stuck with me - that there "doesn't seem to be much space in modern India for tigers." By that, she meant that humans looking to develop more land are encroaching on the Bengal tiger's natural habitat, ironically endangering their own fresh water sources.
Hear more about the crucial situation of the Bengal tiger in India in this documentary short from explore.org.
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NYC Looks Forward With the Help of a New Generation of Urban Planners
"You are important in the world of stewardship, whether it's stewarding a park or stewardship in a neighborhood." Vin Cipolla, President of the Municipal Arts Society of New York (MAS), spoke with encouragement when he addressed high school students at a recent award ceremony for the CITI Youth Program. With more than two million people in New York City under the age of 20, it's never too early to have a voice in shaping an urban vision for the city's future.
CITI Youth stands for Community Information Technology Initiative, a MAS project that takes high school students into the heart of urban planning, with maps as their guides. After learning how digital maps can be used as an important tool in community decision-making, students are placed as Map Technicians in paid internships with their community boards. Teenagers from the Bronx to the Lower East Side are finding that not only can they attend meetings and speak out about neighborhood development, but that they can also spread ...
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What's Happening: Farms in Subdivisions, Navy vs. the Florida Coast, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
ExxonMobil Continuing To Fund Climate Sceptic Groups
"The world's largest oil company is continuing to fund lobby groups that question the reality of global warming, despite a public pledge to cut support for such climate change denial, a new analysis shows. Company records show that ExxonMobil handed over hundreds of thousands of pounds to such lobby groups in 2008." [The Guardian]
Organic Farms as Subdivision Amenities
"From Vermont to central California, developers are creating subdivisions around organic farms to attract buyers...Increasingly, subdivisions, usually master-planned developments at which buyers buy home sites or raw land, have been treating farms as an amenity. “There are currently at least 200 projects that include agriculture as a key community component,” said Ed McMahon, a senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute." [New York Times]
Is a Coal Production Boom Imminent?
"Though the price of coal has plummeted in the downturn and i...
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A Goofy Way to Design Our Cities
Once upon a time, streets once belonged to everyone. They were a “commons” where people walked, biked, boarded streetcars, stopped for a conversations. It’s where kids played and dogs napped.
But that all changed during the second half of the 20th Century. Streets became the exclusive property of automobiles, and everybody else had better get out of the way, or else!
An old Disney cartoon, starring Goofy, shows how this Tragedy of the Street came to pass:
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Power On!
I’ve got a new kid. And with babies come lots of toys that require batteries: swings, mobiles, white noise machines, breast pumps, vibrating seats, bouncy seats to keep at grandma’s house. You get the picture. I’ve got an assortment of batteries in sizes that would rival a lingerie store.
Trouble is, used batteries = waste. In fact the EPA says Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year. Part of the problem is that batteries contain heavy metals that can be harmful to the environment when improperly discarded.
I could try rechargeable batteries, but I haven’t loved them in the past. When I’m in the field reporting a radio story, I need a reliable energy source. And I don’t always have a way to recharge batteries on the go. So I decided to find a way to recycle my Duracells and Energizers.
Turns out, the building where I teach at Columbia University’s School of Journalism has a bin for batteries. It’s located just outside of the student center... -
What's Happening: Solar West, Poisoned Patriots, and more
RECOMMENDED READING
U.S. Works To Speed Solar Energy Development In The West
"The Obama administration on Monday announced that it would put solar energy development in the West on a fast track, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signing an order that sets aside more than 1,000 square miles of public land for two years of study and environmental reviews. Although the clean-energy initiative identifies some 676,000 acres of federal land for study, more than half -- 351,000 acres in the Mojave Desert -- are in California." [Los Angeles Times]
EPA to Let California Set Own Auto Emissions Limits
"The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday granted California's request to set its own limits on greenhouse gases from autos -- a long-sought victory with limited impact now that the federal government has pledged to impose national limits. That decision grants California a waiver to impose a limit on the emissions from new cars, when no such rules now exist in federal law." [Washington Post...
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Pushing Produce into Urban Food Deserts
There is a new fruit stand on the corner near my home. I think it’s terrific, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t belong there. The cart appeared on the day the New York Times announced a new citywide effort to encourage street vendors to bring fresh vegetables and fruit to low-income neighborhoods that have been called “food deserts” because of the predominance of fast-food outlets offering high-fat, high-sugar fare and the dearth of healthful culinary fare. I fortunately live in a neighborhood with several grocery stores offering an abundance of fresh, healthy whole foods, all within a few blocks of my home. There are fast-food outlets within walking distance, too, but they are farther away than the healthy food places.
The city, according to reports, has approved 1,000 new mobile food carts for neighborhoods in the five boroughs that have long been isolated from traditional supermarkets, grocery stores and farmers’ markets offering fresh produce at reasonable prices. Resear...
Mowing the Lawn