Today OnEarth

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death

The Editors — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:05:52 +0000

Settlement reached: As a result of a deal worked out with the federal government, BP has announced that it will spend more than $400 million to curb air pollution at its giant Whiting refinery -- the nation's sixth largest -- in northwest Indiana near Chicago. The settlement "could set a precedent for oil companies nationwide." Chicago Tribune

Shell's game: Oil company Shell's, er, burning desire to drill in the Arctic Ocean has gone from an "untouchable" notion, politically speaking, to an "inevitable" one. The company "has consumed seven years and $4 billion over two presidential administrations, overcoming a raft of environmental concerns, the opposition of a wily and unpredictable Inupiat Eskimo leader and the fallout from the BP disaster." New York Times

Shifting sands: Just in time for Memorial Day weekend: Your beach is disappearing! The U.S. Geological Survey has found that nearly 70 percent of beaches in New England and the Mid-Atlantic are eroding, and rapidly. The jury's still out on beaches further south and along the Gulf of Mexico, but one scientist notes that "some barrier beaches in Louisiana are eroding by 20-plus meters [65 feet] per year." Climate Central

Paper or paper?: Over the next 16 months, the city of Los Angeles will impose a ban on plastic bags at retail check-out counters. No word as of yet on the status of plastic injected into Nicole Kidman's cheekbones. Los Angeles Times

Worse than they thought: The amount of jet fuel spilled from a decades-old accident at New Mexico's Kirtland Air Force Base, previously estimated at 8 million gallons, has been revised upward -- to as much as 24 million gallons, twice the amount of oil spilled during the Exxon Valdez disaster. And it's headed for Albuquerque's water supply. Huffington Post

Hopeful forecast: New radio stations in coastal Bangladesh, broadcasting in local dialects, are being enlisted to warn residents about erratic and severe weather patterns, such as cyclones and flooding, that are thought to be related to global climate change. Christian Science Monitor

Cats in the cradle: Veterinarians at the National Zoo thought that a cheetah mama who had just delivered a baby with great difficulty still looked a little pudgy about the middle -- as in, two-more-cheetah-babies-worth-pudgy. But time was running out! Here, in classic journalistic "tick-tock" style, is the story of how the two unexpected kittens came into the world. Washington Post

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Eric Allix Rogers/Flickr

INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
In Each Shell a Story
Awesome Eclipse Video, Great Pacific Garbage Fibs, Mining Mongolia

Foot Power, Rio Beckons, Congress to Navy: Screw National Security, Burn Oil

The Editors — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:41:10 +0000

By The Editors

You sunk my (green) battleship!: The U.S. military has been a leader in the development of cleaner fuel sources in recent years -- in part because the top brass know that using less oil is smart for our national security. The Navy was all prepared for a two-day experiment running an aircraft carrier’s entire battlegroup on biofuels -- until the House Armed Services Committee stepped in last week and told the Pentagon: cut it out you hippies! Keep using fossil fuels instead, because that’s who’s funding our re-election campaigns. (OK, they didn’t say that last part, but you know it’s the reason.) Slate

Denial for dollars: Who’s picking up the tab for the groups behind this week’s gathering of climate change deniers in Chicago? About who you’d expect: ExxonMobil, the Koch Brothers, the right-wing Scaife family foundations -- all people with a huge vested interest in making sure we continue to burn as much fossil fuel as possible, consequences (and human civilization) be damned. DeSmogBlog

Fanning the flames: Lawmakers nationwide are starting to move toward stricter oversight of flame retardants and other toxic chemicals after an investigation documented industry efforts to distort science and manufacture fear and consumer demand for flame retardants (which don’t prevent fires, but do cause cancer) in furniture and electronics. Chicago Tribune

It’s the worst: Why is burning oil derived from tar sands more dangerous for the climate than other fossil fuels? An expert on the carbon footprint of transportation fuels explains. InsideClimate News

Go to Rio, Mr. President: That’s what the leaders of nearly two dozen environmental groups (including NRDC, which publishes OnEarth) are urging Barack Obama to do, a month before the Rio+20 Earth Summit opens in Rio de Janeiro. More than 130 presidents, prime ministers, and other heads of state have committed to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, but Obama isn’t yet on the list. Washington Post

Is this what they mean by “under water” real estate: New York City has more than 520 miles of shoreline and $2.3 trillion worth of property in low-lying areas. No wonder Mayor Michael Bloomberg is worried about sea-level rise. E&E News

Walk this way: Europe’s largest urban mall is about to get electricity from a very unexpected source: its customers’ feet. National Geographic

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Jai Mansson/Flickr

The Barnstormer
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
Solar Skirmish, Bed Bugs Lose Bite, Save the Rainforest (from Bad Legislation)

Awesome Eclipse Video, Great Pacific Garbage Fibs, Mining Mongolia

The Editors — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:46:45 +0000

By The Editors

All that you touch: This absolutely mind-bending timelapse video of Sunday's annular solar eclipse will remind you how incredibly small and fragile this pale blue dot called Earth really is. Still, we can't help but wish this footage was set to Pink Floyd. Cory Poole

Mongol minerals: Mongolia, the mysterious land of Ghengis Khan and nomadic herders tucked precariously between China and Russia, boasts the fastest-growing economy in the world. This is due entirely to the vast copper, coal, and gold reserves that are being voraciously exploited by international mining companies. It should come as no surprise that the boom comes along with some pretty severe environmental problems (sound familiar, North Dakota?) NPR Morning Edition

Phony, not forgery: So it turns out that Peter Gleick, the scientist who admitted to tricking the Heartland Institute "think" tank in order to obtain internal documents that exposed all kinds of organizational malfaesance, didn't forge any of the documents after all, as Heartland claimed. Don't hold your breathe for an apology -- Heartland's too busy trying to stop the bleeding from its horribly offensive billboard campaign comparing people concerned about climate change to the Unabomber. The Guardian

Low flow: When the waters of the Colorado River were divied up for states' use, the impacts of climate change weren't given much thought. As more frequent and more severe droughts make less water available, someone is going to have to come up with some creative new ways to determine water rights. Experts and policymakers are looking Down Under for possible solutions, which include water "auctions." High Country News

China syndrome: Remember how the Chinese government clamped down on air pollution right before the 2008 Summer Olympics? Apparently during those few weeks of clean air, the cardiovascular systems of Beijing residents greatly improved. New York Times

Nuclear war-head: After three years atop the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko -- known for his aggressive and outspoken leadership style -- is stepping down. Jaczko approved the first new reactors in decades but also opposed reliscensing some older plants, making him a controversial figure to say the least. The Hill

Pigs in shit: When a Humane Society activist goes undercover working at a Wyoming pig farm, you're going to expect some ugly reports. But nothing could prepare you for the truly appalling reality of what happens inside the Wyoming Premium facility. Warning: if you watch this video, you will be turned off bacon (factory-farmed bacon, at least) for the rest of your life. Which, obviously, is the point. Huffington Post

Rubbish: The story of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is prone to exaggeration and misinformed alarmism. Here's a worthwhile debunking of some of the most common myths -- like that notorious photo of a guy canoeing through a mess of trash that isn't actually in the Pacific. io9

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
The Barnstormer

Fracking Envy, Apple Dumps Coal, Australia Gets Hotter

The Editors — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:01:27 +0000

By The Editors

Crime stoppers: Forget assembling the Avengers -- maybe all S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to do to protect the world from evil is plant more trees. A new study funded by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Science Foundation found that crime rates in neighborhoods with trees are significantly lower than in those without, which runs counter to the notion that vegetation gives criminals a place to hide. Baltimore Sun

The problems with Pebble: That gigantic gold mine they want to build up in the headwaters of Alaska's ecologically fragile Bristol Bay? Yeah, there could be some massive consequences there, the EPA warns. Los Angeles Times

Reality wins!: Like evolution, climate science has often been a tricky subject in the classroom. But that's starting to change as more educators and standard-setting groups come to an agreement about what kids need to learn on the subject. Daily Climate

Salvation or ruin: Some New York farmers who live near the Pennsylvania border look across the state line and envy the influx of cash that gas drilling has brought to their neighbors. But the moratorium on fracking in New York state may also prevent its farmers from experiencing a litany of disastrous agricultural consequences. Associated Press

Green apple: Everbody's favorite (well, OK, not everybody's favorite) gadget maker has promised to dump coal power in favor of renewable sources for its data centers. So you can feel a little less guilty about your next iPhone purchase. Grist

Crikey, it's hot: Australian researchers have reconstructed the continent's temperature data for the last 1,000 years and confirmed that, yes, it's getting hotter down under -- at a faster rate that can be explained by natural variation, pointing the finger at humans as the culprit. Insert "throw another so-and-so on the barby" joke here. Science Daily

Is your refrigerator running right now?: Probably, since it's kind of an important fixture. But some other devices can be unplugged when you're not using them, saving energy and money. Here are six gadgets you really don't need to keep juiced at all times. Mother Jones

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Mark Wassell/Flickr

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
The Barnstormer

Solar Skirmish, Bed Bugs Lose Bite, Save the Rainforest (from Bad Legislation)

The Editors — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:03:21 +0000

By The Editors

The Forest Code: Sounds like a Hunger Games sequel, right? But actually it’s a sweeping piece of legislation that would open vast swaths of Amazonian rainforest to ranching and farming. (As you might guess, Big Ag is in favor.) Now Brazil’s president is being urged to veto the bill, which would gut decades of effort to reduce deforestation. It’s an especially delicate political matter because Rio de Janeiro is hosting an international conference on sustainable development next month. The world, as they say, is watching. New York Times

Bed bugs, shmedbugs: Maybe New Yorkers can start to worry a little less about letting the bed bugs bite. For the first time since full-blown mattress panic gripped Gotham in 2004, complaints about the feared critters are beginning to slow, according to city stats. New York

It’s war!: OK, it’s a trade war, but still, the U.S. and China have come to blows over solar panels, of all things. Our government says the Chinese are “dumping” cheap solar panels on the U.S. market at below fair-market value in an attempt to undermine clean tech efforts on our shores, thus claiming the entire market for themselves. The Commerce Department responded Thursday with stiff tariffs of 31 percent and higher on Chinese-made panels. We’re sorry it had to come to this, but it’s nice to see recognition that clean energy development is worth fighting for. Los Angeles Times

Bomber billboard bias: Remember that Heartland Institute billboard from a couple weeks back comparing people concerned about climate change to the Unabomber? The group Forecast the Facts tried to strike back with a billboard of its own highlighting that some major corporations still give money to the thoroughly discredited “think” tank behind the first billboard. Of the two ad campaigns, guess which one got rejected? The Hill

Seafood fears: Don’t eat shellfish from South Korea. (How can you tell? Check the label on seafood packaging for country of origin.) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says too much South Korean shellfish is raised in polluted waters and full of a virus that causes acute gastroenteritis. Man, can you imagine how bad the shellfish from North Korea must be? Washington Post

Our starchy savior: We’re just going to go ahead and quote the headline on this one (not because we’re lazy, but because it’s so awesome): “The answer to our fuel woes might be monster sweet potatoes.” With melted mini-marshmallows on top? Please say there will be melted mini-marshmallows on top. Grist

Let it ride: It’s National Bike to Work Day! Did you break out the two-wheeler? Share your pics. NPR

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: CAREnergy

Foot Power, Rio Beckons, Congress to Navy: Screw National Security, Burn Oil
The Barnstormer
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile

Weekend Reads: Don't Frack & Drive, Sunny Blackouts, Zoo Poop

The Editors — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:41:57 +0000

By The Editors

Four greenreads to enjoy while fighting urges to stare directly into the solar eclipse.

Carl Zimmer at Yale Environment 360 on the connection between land and sea: A tree grows on an island. A bird sits in the tree and poops. The guano enriches the soil, trees, and leaves with nitrogen. The rain washes it all into the sea, where the nitrogen also fertilizes phytoplankton … which then help feed the rest of the food web. Sounds pretty simple. But Zimmer explains how we often fail to realize the intimate connections between land and sea ecosystems. “When people in the Pacific cut down native trees to plant coconut palms, they doubtless have no idea that they are affecting the lives of manta rays.”

Ian Urbina in the New York Times on fracking and driving: Fracking’s potential dangers don’t only lurk underground. They are also on the road. An exemption from highway safety rules allows natural gas workers to drive after working more than 14 hours, the limit for everyone else. No big shock that the drowsy drillers have been getting into a lot of auto accidents. “Just because you are on an oil field site does not make you any less vulnerable to the effects of fatigue!” wrote one oil service driver. And as the drilling industry booms, the fatality rates are rising. Timothy Roth narrowly escaped death last year when his fellow crewmember crashed into a pole. Two months later, after working 17 hours at a drill site, another co-worker of Roth’s crashed into a sign. This time Roth didn’t make it.

Timothy Ferris in National Geographic on solar storms warnings: A powerful solar storm struck the Earth’s atmosphere in 1859, temporarily shutting down some telegraph stations. But in today’s wired world, the same storm would “wreak the economic disruption of 20 Katrina-class hurricanes” with blackouts lasting for months on end. Geomagnetic flares can derange our GPSs, knock out satellites, and blow up the electric grid’s large transformers. Are we ready? The technology for forecasting solar storms is vastly improving, but as one NOAA scientist puts it: “Space weather is where terrestrial weather was 50 years ago.”

George Black at OnEarth about hot winters, home runs, and gay marriage: What does the rising support for gay marriage and the growing acceptance of climate change as fact have in common? George Black writes that basically, it comes down to taking a concept out of the abstract and into real life, i.e. your gay neighbor or relative, or in the case of climate change, wacky weather. “It’s a visceral part of your everyday reality. And you trust not only the message but the messenger.” One such messenger is meteorologist Paul Douglas. “He knows the value of homespun metaphor in demystifying complex questions such as the exact linkages between climate and specific weather events.” Douglas and those like him, Black writes, could be game-changers in the climate debate, because despite a few flubbed forecasts here and there, people listen to their weatherman.

Tired of reading yet? Watch this:

Ben Gruber for Reuters on running zoos on poop: Elephants at the Denver Zoo will soon be warming their own wading pools -- No, not by peeing in them but by defacating. The zoo is collecting all of the dung from its animals as well as the trash produced from its visitors and feeding it into a waste to energy system.

Image: Philippe Guillaume

Fracking Envy, Apple Dumps Coal, Australia Gets Hotter
Growing Pains: Scenes from the North Dakota Drilling Boom
Silencing Rattlesnakes, The Great Sand Rush, Seaworthy Mamas

Whoa Canada, Bad Vibrations, Attack of the Tiny Crabs

The Editors — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:49:13 +0000

By The Editors

On the defensive: In the wake of the conservative government's recent call to shut down a federally funded environmental research group, Peter Kent, the minister of Environment Canada, told opposition MPs that the environmental scientists would be accessible only to reporters who made "reasonable" requests. During the same session, Kent was asked to justify the $14 billion figure he cited as the reason Canada could no longer adhere to the Kyoto Protocol -- resulting in some subtle backpedaling by Kent. Canada.com

Lead, ballooning: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered its threshold for diagnosing lead poisoning in children, resulting in an immediate five-fold jump in the number of children considered at risk. The adjustment comes at the same time that budget cuts may end up reducing or eliminating programs that mitigate the problem. Huffington Post

Chilly reception: Native American groups are appealing an EPA permit granted to Shell Oil for drilling off Alaska's northern shore this summer, claiming that Arctic drilling helps contribute to global warming patterns that are devastating their communities. The EPA's earlier analysis of the operation had found "no significant impact," which a Shell Oil spokesperson cited in the company's defense. Anchorage Daily News

Wear & tear & fear: Congressional leaders are badgering workers at California's San Onofre nuclear power plant about the design of its steam generators, "in which hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water have been damaged by unexpected vibration and friction." The plant, which sits halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles, went offline three months ago when the tube wear was detected. Oh well, at least it's not in a heavily populated area or anything! MSNBC

Vanishing point: A powerful slideshow documents the effects of severe coastal erosion in Louisiana. “It tells a broader, deeper story about what’s happening to these people but also what’s happening to our coastline,” says one person associated with the project. "I mean, this is really a microcosm for a bigger issue.” CNN

You're out: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fired her environmental minister, Norbert Rottgen, after he led her party to an embarrassing defeat in a crucial regional election. What will now become of Merkel's plan to phase out nuclear energy in favor of renewable sources like wind and solar? Nobody knows, but get Tim Gunn to tell Rottgen it's time to go downstairs and get his suitcase; the cab's waiting outside! Reuters

Red invasion: Tiny, thumbnail-sized red crabs by the 100,000s have invaded residential neighborhoods in the Cayman Islands in an unusually intense annual migration. “They get in houses, into your AC system," says the deputy director of the Cayman Islands' Environment Department. "Anywhere there’s a gap, they’ll find it. They’re trying to get somewhere where they’ll live happily." Aren't we all, my friend. Aren't we all. Washington Post

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: djking/Flickr

Fracking Envy, Apple Dumps Coal, Australia Gets Hotter
Eco Porn: You'll Otterly Adore and Want to Adopt This Supercute Arctic Orphan (You Can't)
Herpes Killing Coral, Cleveland's Power Hitting, Bidder 70 Tossed in the Hole

Great Lakes De-iced, North Dakota Drilling, Check Out That Sexy Windmill

The Editors — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:43:25 +0000

By The Editors

Less ice, mo' problems: It's not just the Arctic that is suffering from declining ice. A recent study using satellite measurements shows that ice coverage on the Great Lakes has decreased by 71 percent in the past 40 years. That means serious ecosystem changes, from less protection for whitefish eggs to more favorable conditions for the spread of invasive species like zebra mussels. Great Lakes Echo

Dam Peru: A mammoth 2,200-megawatt hydroelectric dam project is threatening the way of life for the Ashaninkas, an indigenous people living in the Andes of Peru. Thousands of people could be displaced by dam projects that would actually send most of their power to neighboring Brazil. New York Times

Sexy windmill: NIMBY problems? Instead of putting up the typical white behemoths, try this Italian company's Hercules model. The sleek wooden design combines art with functionality, meaning maybe no one will complain about the view. Maybe. TreeHugger

Second to one: North Dakota has officially passed Alaska to claim the second-place spot on the list of oil-producing states. But it still can't mess with Texas, which remains atop the rankings. Grand Forks Herald

Race against climate change: About nine percent of the mammals living in the Western Hemisphere probably won't be able to migrate quickly enough as their ranges shift due to climate change, according to new research. Monkeys, shrews, and moles are among the critters that may see reductions in their population size. Larger animals such as elk and wolves are more likely to weather the storm. Seattle Times

April is the cruelest month: Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but last month clocked in as the fifth-hottest April since the 1880s, when record-keeping began. It's gonna be a long summer... Climate Central

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Enessere

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
In Each Shell a Story

Surf's Up, Hawaii!, Saudi Sun Power, Fuel-Efficient Ferrari?

The Editors — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:20:59 +0000

By The Editors

Paradise, Lost: Better book your Hawaiian vacation sooner rather than later. A new USGS report found most of the beaches on Hawaii, Oahu, and Maui are eroding away, having lost about 9 percent of their sandy coasts over the past century. Worse yet, the islands have only begun to say aloha to the effects of sea level rise. New York Times

Symptoms may include nausea and gas: Western Pennsylvania residents -- including many doctors and nurses -- are mysteriously falling ill. Many blame the local fracking wells, which are sending noxious fumes through local neighborhoods, businesses, and even health clinics. The Pennsylvania Department of Health, however, doesn't seem interested in seeing whether there's a connection. NPR Morning Edition, Star-Gazette

Solar superpower: Two things Saudi Arabia has a lot of: oil and sunshine. The desert country is the world's largest exporter of oil and is now planning to invest $109 billion in solar capacity, with the goal of powering more than a third of its energy demand with photovoltaics and solar thermal plants. The aspiring “Kingdom of Sustainable Energy” is eager to replace domestic oil consumption with solar because they lose income on any oil they burn and don't export to us petrol-thirsty Americans. Energy Collective

Electric highway: China wins another round in the heavyweight clean energy fight. While the U.S. has dithered on transmission solutions, the Chinese are building a massive 800-kilovolt (for you non-energy geeks, that's a whole lotta volts) power line that will cart wind- and solar-generated electricity over 1,300 miles from energy farms to the communities who will consume it. Earth2Tech

Money where mouth is: Alert the politicians: The American public is -- We repeat, is -- willing to pay more for clean energy. A 2011 survey by folks at Harvard and Yale found the average U.S. citizen would pay $162 more annually for the country to be able to get 80 percent of its power from "clean energy" sources by 2035. New York Times

Killing coal: Coal continues its long, slow descent to irrelevance. American electricity generation from the dirty rock dropped 19 percent over the past year. Today coal provides 36 percent of U.S. electricity. So much for "America's Power." Climate Progress

The fast and the fuel efficient: The Italian automaker standard for luxurious -- and wicked fast -- cars is going green. Ferrari is rolling out a hybrid version of the Enzo, one of its "glitziest" models, which will cut fuel consumption by about 40 percent. The price tag? A mere $850,000, give or take. The Guardian

Mistruth in advertising: Another day ... another stupid billboard attempt to misguide Americans on energy issues. This time, it compares President Obama to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in regard to gas prices. The unabomber was unavailable for comment. Climate Progress

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Makena G

Anatomy Lessons
Fracking Envy, Apple Dumps Coal, Australia Gets Hotter
In North Dakota and Nationwide, A Boom in Health Problems Accompanies Fracking

Silencing Rattlesnakes, The Great Sand Rush, Seaworthy Mamas

The Editors — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:53:48 +0000

By The Editors

Rio? Rio Who?: Next month really important people are getting together to talk about really important environmental issues. You know, like that pesky lil' problem called climate change. The United States, however, might not even show. What's up with that? Grist

Parliamentary propaganda: When David Cameron became Britain's Prime Minister two years ago, he said he'd lead the "greenest government ever." To um prove it, he went to the Arctic and played with some adorable huskies. Since then, there has been little husky- or tree-hugging to speak of. The Independent

Right foot green: You may have seen the popular Toms canvas shoes on the feet of many an idealistic young person. The company's business model is that a pair of shoes is donated for every pair bought. This seems like a great idea, but does it work? Mother Jones

Rattles falling ssssilent: Soon North America's most venomous snake may no longer strike fear in the hearts of hikers. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the eastern rattlesnake is slithering closer and closer to extinction. Reuters

Shiny pipe dreams?: Capturing and storing carbon before it wreaks havoc in the atmosphere is one strategy that might allow us to burn fossil fuels without the consequences. The problem? It's really, really expensive. But one project in Norway is trying to make at least the capturing part cheap and easy. The Economist

Pump perspective: Gasoline may be more expensive than we'd like right now, but how do our prices stack up against the rest of the world's? Let's just say we've got it easy compared to some countries. Bloomberg

The sand rush: Apparently, the new money is in sand. Natural gas companies are setting off to Wisconsin and Minnesota to mine the states' abundant supplies of franking sand, which they use in fracking activities. Wall Street Journal

Marine mamas: In honor of Mother's Day, here's a tribute to some seaworthy moms. Ocean Portal

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia Commons

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
Foot Power, Rio Beckons, Congress to Navy: Screw National Security, Burn Oil
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees

Transit Cuts, Scary Super Weeds, Better Water Use: Fracking or Fighting Fires?

The Editors — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:37:09 +0000

By The Editors

Bus blues: Cities like Pittsburgh and Boston are having to make drastic cuts in bus and train service as the economic crisis continues to provide them with lower-than-expected tax revenues. For an extra dose of irony, these cuts come at a time when demand for transit is on the increase, due to high fuel costs and … you guessed it … the economic crisis. The Transport Politic

Trashed: The amount of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has increased 100-fold over the past four decades. Just another sign, as Julia Whitty wrote in the cover story to our spring issue, that we’re close to pushing the oceans past the point of no return. MSNBC

Fight fire with … fracking?: Colorado is facing a terrible drought and fire season. Seems like a good time to save up the state’s dwindling water supply, no? Or the oil and gas industry could just pour it all into underground wells for hydraulic fracturing. Guess which way they’re going. Boulder Weekly

Panel power: Big box chain stores aren’t all bad. They’re giving solar panel installers a way to reach customers who want to harness clean energy right from their rooftops. Too bad most of those solar panels are being made in China, where the clean tech industry is thriving thanks to stronger government support than we’re willing to provide here in the States. New York Times

Paging the Avengers: Hey Cap and Iron Man, we’ve got the plot for your inevitable sequel: “super weeds” that have become well-nigh invulnerable to common herbicides are taking over U.S. farmland, choking agriculture, and endangering our food supply. (Maybe Doctor Doom’s behind it?) If only it were fiction. Instead of sending in the Superfriends, a national summit of weed experts convened in Washington this week seeking solutions to the super weed invasion. Top of the list for farmers: stop relying on so many chemicals. Reuters

Speaking of which ...: Maybe since the super weed problem has already reached a crisis point, we shouldn’t do anything to make it, you know, worse. In other words, channeling Samuel L. Jackson/Nick Fury here: Sir, please put down the new superpowerful herbicide. Wired

Blowhards: Why is it so easy to compare industry propagandists (sorry, “think” tanks) to supervillains sometimes? Oh, maybe because they conspire to do things like … launch anti-wind energy PR campaigns for the benefit of their corporate masters with no regard for the public good. The Guardian

Love train: Need something inspiring on this Friday morning to hold you over until the weekend? Here’s a baby bear conga line. You’re welcome. Buzzfeed

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Chuck Coker/Flickr

The Barnstormer
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
Awesome Eclipse Video, Great Pacific Garbage Fibs, Mining Mongolia

Weekend Reads: Space Mirrors, the Electric Future, High School Heroes

The Editors — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:14:44 +0000

By The Editors

Five greenreads to discuss with mom over brunch and a bouquet.

Michael Specter in The New Yorker on geo-engineering and climate change: After a volcano spewed tremendous amounts of sulfur dioxide in 1991, a mirror-like gas formation took shape in the atmosphere. For the next two years, it reflected 10 percent of incoming sunlight back into space. This got some scientists thinking. Could they stave off global warming by deliberately piping certain chemicals into the sky? The strategy is risky for sure and just one of many geo-engineering schemes that “range from plausible to absurd." Such drastic ideas might become more attractive, however, as we face the consequences of our other planetary alteration -- you know, the one resulting from excessively burning fossil fuels. And if we do fail to curb emissions in time, ambitious feats of technology may be our only resort. “The last thing I would ever want,” says geophysicist Hugh Hunt, “is for the project I have been working on to be implemented."

Michael Hawthorne in the Chicago Tribune on the testing of flame retardants: Firemaster 550 was supposed to be a new kind of flame retardant, one that wouldn’t wind up in the environment, in breast milk, and in babies’ bodies like its predecessor had. Turns out Firemaster 550 isn’t so hot after all, according to documents retrieved by Hawthorne, and neither is the law meant to protect us from dangerous chemicals. Companies can sell products without proving their safety and guard manufacturing formulas as trade secrets. Meanwhile, it’s nearly impossible for the EPA to ban chemicals already on the market -- not even asbestos, a known carcinogen. "By the time the scientific community catches up to one chemical, industry moves on to another and they go back to their playbook of delay and denial,” says toxicologist Deborah Rice. Hawthorne compares the situation to a game of Whac-A-Mole. And with 84,000 industrials chemicals on the market, the EPA has got a lot of moles to whack.

Tom Philpott in MotherJones about Universities as PR agents for Big Ag: The relationship between Big Ag and academia has gotten quite cozy, with industry names appearing on campus buildings and filling the rosters of university advisory boards. Additionally, Philpott writes, “Professors have morphed into something that looks a lot like house researchers for the agrichemical industry.” But not only are Agribiz giants, companies such as Monsanto and Cargill, funding studies (and at times, barring the unflattering results from publication), they are also dipping into the public relations departments of schools. Essentially, Philpott finds, companies are paying universities to conduct the R&D as well as the marketing for their products, everything from genetically modified crops to better baby formulas.

Katherine Ellison in The Atlantic on teenagers suing the government over climate change: Do high schoolers have a shot at forcing the government to take action against global warming? Under the “public trust doctrine,” a group of California students are demanding a cut in national carbon-dioxide emissions by at least 6 percent every year starting in 2013. The Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit last year that asserted greenhouse gas emissions were a “public nuisance.” Even so, 17-year-old Alec Loorz is hopeful. "I used to play a lot of video games, and goof off, and get sent to the office at school," he says. "But once I realized it was my generation that was going to be the first to really be affected by climate change, I made up my mind to do something about it." Good luck, kid!

Michelle Nijhuis at OnEarth interviews Robert Redford on the ever-dwindling Colorado River:‪‪ Robert Redford has often portrayed western icons -- the Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson -- on screen, but his latest work focuses on saving one: the Colorado River. Thanks to dams and water withdrawals, the once mighty river now rarely reaches the sea. “I went down into that area and saw the cracked earth,” Redford tells Nijhuis. “I saw what was happening to what used to be marshland -- that it was just drying up.” The eclectic group of westerners profiled in his new documentary Watershed, however, are working to change that, addressing from different angles how we are squandering one of the country's greatest natural resources.‬‬

Tired of reading yet? Watch this:

James West and Tim McDonnell for the Climate Desk on greening the electric grid: The Climate Desk takes a trip to a new-age apartment where appliances talk to utilities and each other while serving their master: you, the homeowner. By making it easy to consume less energy, smart metering could save customers money and reduce electricity’s carbon footprint, but until we update our aging grid, this scenario will remain science fiction.

Image: NASA

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Hansen's Warning, Turtle Dove Triage, Japan's Nuclear Jitters

The Editors — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:02:00 +0000

By The Editors

Apocalypse soon: Canada's tar sands "contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history," says James Hansen in an impassioned -- and sure-to-draw-criticism -- op-ed. To burn this fuel source in its entirety on top of all the other dirty fuel we're burning, he says, would spell . . . well, pretty much the end of everything. "Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk." Stop mincing words, Jim! New York Times

Grain trust: For tens of millions of people living in South and Southeast Asia, rice isn't just a staple: it's a food they literally can't live without. But according to a new report by the World Bank, global warming could reduce agricultural productivity in the region by as much as half over the next three decades. At a workshop in Bangkok, climatologists and agricultural experts recently got together and shared ideas on how best to tackle the problem. National Geographic

For the birds: Turtle doves are dying. Their numbers have declined by more than 90 percent over the last four decades, and the bird, which was once widespread across the UK, has all but disappeared from its shores. Now Britain's Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds is collaborating with other conservationist groups to foster new habitat for these migratory beauties -- fave symbols of poets and troubadors -- by introducing new plants to turtle dove "hotspots" that are rich in the seeds they love to eat. The Guardian

Agit-crop: "Occupy the Farm" activists in northern California -- bearing signs stating that "Resistance is Fertile" (nice touch, that) -- are engaged in a standoff with local authorities after having cut through chain link fences to till soil and plant crops on land owned by the University of California, Berkeley. The future of the land in Albany, CA, has been the subject of debate over the years, between those who would see it used for agricultural study and urban farming and those who would see it sold to developers. San Francisco Chronicle

Atomic anxieties: Japan -- for very understandable historic reasons -- has had a complicated relationship with the idea of nuclear power, a relationship that only grew more complicated after the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown in 2011. Now many in the country are rethinking their nuclear future, a shift that some worry may mean the unwelcome return of dirtier fuel sources. Time

D'oh!: The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to cut more than half a million dollars worth of funding toward the creation of a new climate website under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "After all," quips writer Andrew Leonard, "who needs more information about the climate? It’s not like there’s been anything weird going on with the weather lately." Here's your punch line, folks: On the day of the vote, NOAA announced that the U.S. had just undergone the warmest 12-month period in its recorded history. Salon

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Lucky Bugs, Carbon-Free Computing, Hottest Year Ever

The Editors — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:36:48 +0000

By The Editors

Dolphin disaster: Terrible things are happening off the coast of Peru: dolphins are dying, pelicans are starving, are now tourists are being warned to stay away from the beaches. What's causing it? No one knows -- or no one's telling. Mother Jones

The power of believing: Maybe climate change denial isn't so rampant after all? A recent report found that only one in 10 Americans actually denies the existence of human-caused climate change, and more than 70 percent believe global warming should be a political priority. Ecopolitology

Hot potato: Land-locked Idaho may not have to worry about sea-level rise, but global warming could inundate parts of the state nonetheless. Changes in precipitation patterns and temperature are making it difficult for authorities to manage water runoff and flows through dams, which could bring about many a future flood. Idaho Statesman

One animal's trash ...: The unfortunate poster children of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are albatross chicks with plastic-filled bellies. But some animals are actually benefiting from the ocean's ever-expanding collection of floating plastic. New research shows certain insects are adapting their behavior in response to the trash. A species of water skater, for instance, now lays its eggs on the seemingly endless bits of plastic. Unfortunately, the insect population boom could put pressure on the rest of the Pacific food chain. The Guardian

Green Windows: Microsoft has pledged to go entirely carbon neutral beginning in 2013. Washington Post

Hottest. Year. Ever.: The hottest 12-month period ever recorded occured from May 2011 through April 2012, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The records go back to 1895, but the top ten warmest periods have all happened since the late 1990s. Wunderground

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Climate Quakes, Grolar Bears, Meteorologists Gone Mad

The Editors — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:35:02 +0000

By The Editors

Shaky outlook: Most scientists consider connecting climate with seismic activity a "third rail" subject -- stay clear! But in a new book, one British geologist is making a lengthy and well-researched case that abrubt climate change can trigger earthquakes and volanic eruptions. Yale Environment 360

Fortunate 500: ExxonMobil is sitting atop this year's Fortune 500 list of the country's richest corporations. Two other oil companies -- Chevron and ConocoPhillips -- snagged the third and fourth slots. But still, they like totally need tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks. Um, not! The Hill

Don't mess with Texas Canada: After years of rejecting TransCanada's offers, a Texas family finally agreed to lease land on its farm for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. But instead of following through with the $21,000 deal, TransCanada reneged and took the land through eminent domain. New York Times

Gas goes boom: The shale gas boom may have states like Colorado raking in big revenue, but apparently, not enough for safety regulators to hire adequate numbers of inspectors. One safety worker, for instance, logs more than 400 miles a day in his truck as he tries to check the 12,000 wells that fall under his personal responsibility. NPR Morning Edition

Don't believe the weatherman: The general public gets most of its climate-related news from meteorologists at local television stations. Unfortunately, only 19 percent of those shiny-faced map-pointers accept the established science that human activity is driving climate change. InsideClimateNews

Arctic fever: The "grolar bear," a hybrid of a polar bear and a grizzly (which perhaps you recognize from our award-winning cover), is just one of the many faces of Arctic change being fretted over at Montreal's International Polar Year gatherings. Edmonton Journal

Economy class hybrids: David Roberts would like to replace the family minivan with something roomy and fuel efficient, but he has a problem: he ain't rich. His analysis of making a environmentally responsible driving decision -- along with thoughtful comments from readers -- is a welcome departure from most "green car" journalism that tends to treat a $30K purchase as if it's a mere speed bump. Grist

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Beastie Boy Activism, Tiny Lizard vs. Big Oil, Disturbing Gulf Photos

The Editors — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:08:45 +0000

By The Editors

RIP MCA: Beastie Boy Adam Yaunch passed away Friday after battling cancer. Although his political activism for a free Tibet is better known than his support for environmental causes, fans remember that MCA supported Flow -- a water crisis documentary that made one Nestle representative so angry that she stormed out of a film festival her company had paid for. Grist

The flotsam finally arrives: After a year of floating across the Pacific, debris from Japan's 2010 tsunami has hit Alaska. Soccer balls, motorcycles, buoys, Styrofoam, drums, and all sorts of other junk are washing up in Kodiak, Yakutat, Sitka, and Craig. Although the debris isn't radioactive, it's still a pain to clean up. Anchorage Daily News

Say cheese, BP: BP likely won't be using the latest Deepwater Horizon disaster pics in the company's sunny commercials. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, Greenpeace has received about 100 government photographs documenting the spill's impact on endangered species, such as loggerhead turtles, that are, well, awful. Consider this the opposite of eco-porn. Mother Jones

No love for lizards: Declaring an animal endangered isn't usually a big deal -- unless, of course, the species stands in the way of business interests. Such is the case of the only remaining sagebrush lizard in the Southwest. The dunes that the reptile calls home are on prime oil and gas drilling lands. Washington Post

The bigger, the better: Big trees aren't just awesome to behold. They help take care of the forest dwellers living beneath their large canopies. Researchers are realizing how key the giants among us are critical for habitats, carbon storage, and fire suppression. New York Times

About face: Once reliant on nuclear energy for more than a third of its electricity, Japan will be nuke-power free by the end of the month. All it took for the pro-nuclear country to turn on the power source was a tsunami, a few meltdowns at Fukushima, and a wave of public outcry against the dangers the nation's 54 plants pose. The Economist

Full sun required: The artists behind the Carmichael Collective want you to think of everyday street features as you would plants. They created Urban Plant Tags (basically giant versions of the little plastic tags you stick in your garden and flower beds to keep track of where you've planted seeds) to make people stop and think about their built environment. Carmichael Collective

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Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
Fracking Envy, Apple Dumps Coal, Australia Gets Hotter

The Great Meat Debate, Test Your Climate IQ, New Fracking Rules

The Editors — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:59:58 +0000

By The Editors

Hoard of the rings: A visit to the tree-ring lab at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory provides a peek into climate change going back thousands of years -- recorded in the very wood. By studying samples from trees across the world, scientists have learned a lot about our fairly recent past, including the existence of decades-long megadroughts that have parched North America over the past millennium. In fact, the tree ring data shows that we’re living in a time when water is particularly plentiful -- something we can’t necessarily count on in the future. Gives new meaning to the importance of staying hydrated. Climate Central

That’s fracked up: Last year, Wyoming's governor convinced the Environmental Protection Agency to postpone an announcement that would have linked hydraulic fracturing to groundwater contamination in his state, giving officials in Wyoming (which relies heavily on oil and gas revenues) a chance to try to debunk the finding and plan a PR blitz against the EPA. Whose side are they on, again? Associated Press

Speaking of fracking...: The Interior Department is expected to issue new rules for shale gas drilling on public lands today, “setting standards that proponents of tougher regulation hope will provide a blueprint for drilling oversight nationwide.” Reuters

Dinnertime conversation: Is it ethical to eat meat? The NYT’s Ethicist ran a contest asking readers to make the case, and the winners, chosen by some very big names in food, are in. One recurring argument that didn’t make the cut: it’s a free country. Try a little harder, people. New York Times

The wrong kind of fat burning: America’s obesity crisis means we burn an extra $5 billion in jet fuel and $4 billion more in gasoline than we would if we all weighed what they did back in the Mad Men era. (It’s not just the 1960s ties that were skinnier, you know.) May we suggest everyone get out and walk a little more? Green Car Reports

The humans go marching one by one: As our population has exploded, human civilization has started to organize itself less like that of our closest living relatives (gorillas, chimps, etc., which live in very small groups) and more like densely populated ant and termite colonies, which have to deal with issues of public health, infrastructure, mass transit, animal domestication, warfare, and slavery. Forget the Matrix -- apparently we’re all living in a giant ant farm. Discovery News

But will he tweet?: “It is hard enough to be an expectant father without being captured, blindfolded and sewn into a harness affixed with a satellite transmitter that will track your every move.” Amen to that. The bright spot: this expectant father was an osprey in New York’s Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge, and starting in June, we’ll all be able to follow his hunting trips and annual flights south on a new website, jamaicabayosprey.org. Can’t wait to check his Facebook status. New York Times

Pop quiz time!: Are you smarter than a 10th grader on climate change? Test your knowledge with 15 questions used in a national survey of teenagers to test their global warming knowledge (25 percent passed, compared to 30 percent of adults). Your humble correspondent managed an A -- good thing, or he might have had to consider a new career path. PBS Newshour

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The Barnstormer

Weekend Reads: Meat Wars, Wispy Cloud Science, Fathering a Wolf Girl

The Editors — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:45:31 +0000

By The Editors

Five greenreads to read by the light of a supermoon.

Justin Gillis in the New York Times on cloudy skies and climate denial: Climate change deniers are looking to the clouds for an argument against curbing our fossil-fuel burning lifestyles. High heat-trapping clouds and low light-reflecting clouds keep the Earth’s temperature in balance, but how climate change will alter their arrangement in the sky is currently nebulous. And it’s to this uncertainty that skeptics cling a “dangerous alibi for inaction.” Their reasoning, which the majority of climate scientists find flawed, is that on a warming planet, less high-flying clouds will allow excess heat to escape. “If I’m right, we’ll have saved money” says Richard Lindze, who proposed the theory. “If I’m wrong, we’ll know it in 50 years and can do something.” Except by then, of course, we would be as good as cooked.

Tom Knudson in The Sacramento Bee on killing wildlife to protect livestock: Gary Strader knew it was wrong to bury the golden eagles he killed in snares he set for coyotes, but that’s what his boss at the USDA told him to do. The collateral damage of the Wildlife Service’s lethal and indiscriminate tactics (cyanide bombs, snares, vice-like traps, etc.) for protecting agriculture doesn't just include endangered eagles. “A list could fill a field guide,” writes Knudson. “Many [animals] are off-limits to hunters and trappers. And some species, including swift foxes, kit foxes and river otter, are the focus of conservation and restoration efforts.” In his investigation, Knudson finds the agency has a history of secrecy and is often unapologetic -- even after snapping the spine of the family dog.

Michael Lemonick at Climate Central on the climate change and tree rings: Trees have a lot to say, holding long forgotten and unrecorded tales about the planet in their trunks. “They let us reconstruct climate around the world, in both space and time,” says a scientist at Columbia University’s “Tree Ring Lab.” But the science isn’t as simple as counting circles, and reading a tree’s diary of global temperatures through their ring widths and wood densities is hard word work. Still, their stories are worth a listen. “If crushing droughts were surprisingly common at a time when humans weren’t causing climate change,” writes Lemonick. “The threat is even more ominous now that we are.

David Gessner at OnEarth on raising a wild child: When it comes to children, doom and gloom environmental messages can backfire, scaring them into the seemingly safer and more secure world indoors. On a trip to the woods with his daughter, Gessner realizes parents could ease up a little on structured environmental lessons. “When we are young we naturally seek out secret places: we build forts, find shortcuts through the woods, climb trees. This is not environmentalism, but instinct.” The best way to nurture a child’s relationship with nature, he finds, is to let her discover the wild on her own.

Ariel Kaminer in the New York Times Magazine on the ethics of eating meat: Could you justify your carnivorous ways in 600 words or less? After holding a contest for the best argument for or against consuming meat, Kaminer received more than 3,000 entries of varying dietary and ethical philosophies -- The range of angry responses to the competition itself was equally diverse (as well as hilarious). “Though there were major disagreements among the approaches that most people took,” said Andrew Light, one of the five essay judges. “Everyone -- committed omnivores, guilty omnivores and charitable vegetarians -- agreed that food choices are moral choices.” And the winning argument? Basically, it's not what you eat, but how consuming it affects the rest of the living world. The devil's in the details, whether you're chewing on a free-range cow or a pesticide-laden apple.

Tired of reading yet? Watch this:

Hari Sreenivasan for PBS NewsHour on climate change in the classroom: New national education standards, which help set curricula for public schools, link climate change to human activity i.e. the burning of fossil fuels. This is putting teachers in a tough spot because some parents get upset about their kids learning actual science.

Image: Andrea

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The Barnstormer

Polar Bear Endurance Challenge, Sayonara Satellites, West Wing Walking

The Editors — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:30:47 +0000

By The Editors

Take that, Phelps: Polar bears can swim wicked far -- like, 30 miles is easy, and 96 miles is common. One female bear tracked by a USGS study swam nearly 220 miles over 10 days. Such marathon aquatic skills will come in handy as Arctic ice melts and distances across open water expand. Reuters

Hot for teacher: The new national education standards, which help set curricula for public school classrooms, link climate change to human activity. This puts science teachers in a tough spot because some parents get upset about their children learning actual science. PBS News Hour

Happy ending!: Once upon a time in a 2008 documentary called Food, Inc., Carole Morison's poultry factory farm raised...er, produced broiler birds for Perdue. The chickens' conditions horrified/disgusted/nauseated many viewers. Today, Morison and her husband run a humane, pastured egg operation on their beautiful Bird's Eye View farm on 14 acres in Maryland. Grist

Frack King: The guy that brought us hydrofracking (or popularized it, at least) has been ousted from the company he co-founded. The board of Chesapeake Energy booted Aubrey McClendon, the outspoken leader who did more than anyone to unleash the country's natural gas boom, from the chairmanship. Apparently, shareholder outcry has been mounting over some shady fiscal arrangements. The Hill, Politico

Blowing hot air: Attention media outlets: that study about Texas wind farms did in no way state that wind farms are causing global climate change. USA Today

Dreary forecast: We're losing satellites fast. NASA and other government agencies are shutting down and delaying (or cancelling) launches of our "Earth observing systems," due mostly to lack of funding and Congressional disinterest. So what exactly do these orbiters do? Oh, just help predict hurricanes, issue tornado warnings, track earthquakes, monitor sea level rise, and detect all kinds of other severe weather -- No big whoop. New York Times

Life on the rails: As trains cart more and more coal across the Northwest to seaside ports for export (see "Coal on a Roll," Fall 2010), communities along the tracks are fearing the consequences -- horrible traffic, unhealthy air, noise pollution, and all sorts of other awful things. The Daily Climate

Climate connection: What are you doing this Saturday? Why not "connect the dots" between climate change and extreme weather events with the folks at 350.org and other environmental groups? Events are planned all around the world. Huffington Post

The Jed Barlet spin: Watch, laugh, and cringe as the West Wing cast reunites to promote pedestrianism (and also pokes fun at the gas price "debate" that never seems to die in D.C.) Funny or Die

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Skink Explosion, Palm Oil Problems, Government Kill Team

The Editors — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:57:39 +0000

By The Editors

Lethal force: A shadowy wing of the U.S. Department of Agriculture known as Wildlife Services kills millions of animals each year for the stated purpose of protecting livestock and the public -- sometimes using inhumane or downright cruel practices to do so. The agency has killed 1 million coyotes in the West just since 2000, and collateral damage has extended to federally protected species such as the golden and bald eagles. Sacramento Bee

Good news, bad news: The diligent efforts of an undergraduate student digging through long-dead specimens in museum closets led to a surprising discovery: the Caribbean doesn't have six species of skink (a little lizard), as originally thought. It has 39. Great news for biodiversity, until it became clear that at least 16 of the newly described species are most likely extinct already. New York Times

Palm oil problems: Two-thirds of all the forests in Indonesia outside of protected areas are leased to palm oil companies, according to a new report. And if things continue as they are, intact forest will cover only 4 percent of the remaining land. TreeHugger

Cuddly climate change victim: The Australian government has officially listed the Koala bear as "threatened," thanks to urban expansion into koala habitats and climate change. Though populations are tough to track, koala numbers have dropped as much as 40 percent in some areas. Seems even the cutest of creatures can't catch a break when it comes to global warming. Inhabitat

An American Fukushima?: Coastal energy facilities in the U.S. are at risk from rising seas and storm surges, and yet authorities like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission aren't even considering the latest data and projections. Why not? Even after the Fukushima disaster, "In the U.S., a policy of ignorance prevails." Climate Central

Paging Captain Sullenberger: Collisions between birds and airplanes have risen about 400 percent since 1990. Bad for birds, bad for people: there have been 23 fatalities in that period blamed on wildlife collisions, and $650 million in damages are caused every year. Live Science

Global warming homer?: A Fox baseball broadcaster caused a minor firestorm by claiming climate change is making home runs more likely. Could he possibly have had a point? (Short answer: probably not.) But kudos to someone at Fox for acknowledging climate change, even in a flawed way. Daily Climate

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Cloud Cuckoo Land, ExxonMobil's Pull, Pigeons' Built-in GPS

The Editors — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:45:39 +0000

By The Editors

Head in the clouds: The newest arrow in the climate-change dissenters' dwindling quiver: The clouds will save us! Richard S. Lindzen, a meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the leading proponent of a theory positing that clouds -- which can have a cooling or warming effect, depending on how they shift -- will all line up perfectly to obviate the need for global action. The usual suspects from the worlds of politics and pseudoscience have lined up behind him. Sounds like a safe bet! New York Times

Friends in high places: An excerpt from Steve Coll's new book about ExxonMobil, Private Empire (reviewed here for OnEarth.org), details the degree to which the giant oil company was involved in Indonesia's bloody Aceh conflict more than a decade ago -- and how its close ties to the administration of George W. Bush gave it unusual power for a private company when it came to dealing with the Indonesian government. Salon

Avian Einsteins: Homing pigeons have highly developed senses of the earth's magnetic field, and may employ something very much like quantum mechanics in their amazing navigational feats, say scientists. "Light striking the [birds'] retina seems to stimulate chemical reactions that produce pairs of molecules with electrons that are 'entangled,' meaning they share certain quantum properties," they write, making pigeons sound terrifyingly Terminator-like. Smithsonian

Fast-tracking triage: The Obama Administration is announcing that it will speed up efforts to put in place new equipment designed to prevent blowouts at offshore drilling sites. The fast-tracking of new approvals is in response to "vulnerabilities exposed" by the inability of either industry or government to cap the 2010 Deepwater Horizon well until such time as millions of gallons of oil had already leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. Houston Chronicle

The hard sell, ennobled: A windmill-powered Chevy dealership in Southfield, Michigan, is bucking trends by selling as many as two dozen Volts per month, as opposed to the one -- or even fewer -- per month being sold by most dealerships. How are they doing it? By patiently explaining to customers the myriad benefits that can come from owning Chevy's electric car, instead of simply shrugging their shoulders and moving on to the next car on the lot whenever someone has a question or a concern. Forbes

Taking a (kick)stand: London bicyclists are emerging as a passionate -- and effective -- voting bloc in the city's upcoming mayoral election, which is now just days away. Despite the "teeming rain" (don't you just love Britishisms like that one?), 10,000 cyclists showed up on Saturday for a massive protest ride demanding better cycling facilities. The Guardian

Recycled buildings: A new study suggests that the best way to make a building green isn't to build it that way from scratch, but rather to retrofit an existing structure. Though many in the green building field have long believed this to be true, this is the first major report to lend credence to their view. "In general, this study finds that building reuse almost always yields better results than new construction," says one sustainability expert. Seattle Times

Flippers of fear: A lone dolphin in the shallow wetlands off of Huntington Beach, California, seems to be having trouble assimilating with members of his pack, who reject him by whacking him with their fins every time he attempts to rejoin them. One scientist sees the whole episode as a heartbreaking instance of cetacean bullying. "Dolphins can be very aggressive toward each other," says the researcher. "They do have a dark side." Los Angeles Times

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Whale Woes, Sacred Solar, Wonder Women

The Editors — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:58:47 +0000

By The Editors

Buzz kill: The killer whale is one of the most powerful predators in the world, but sometimes it’s no match for one very tiny foe: the mosquito. Two orcas, at two different SeaWorld locations, died after apparently catching encephalitis from the insect. Killer whales and mosquitos typically don’t mix in the wild, but in shallow pools on land, the big mammals are prime targets for the bloodsuckers. Grist

Nightmare on Elm Street: A cluster of birth defects in children living on the same street in Kent, England has mothers blaming the weed killer atrazine. And who's helping the parents in their case against the pesticide's manufacturers? None other than famed activist Erin Brockovich. London Daily Mail

Up in smoke: Thanks to new technology, we're way better at burning trash than we used to be. This would be great, except that burning trash may still bad for the environment. The Economist

A sticky situation: Honeybees have been struggling to rebound after parasitic mites ravaged their populations, but after this year's mild winter, the mites may be poised for another attack. The parasites love the warm weather, and experts say we could have an instant replay of the colony collapses of 2010. Morning Sentinal

A warm breeze: Wind power takes many blows from critics, from killing birds and bats to being unreliable. Now, new research suggests that large-scale wind farms might warm up local climates. Reuters

Let there be light!: Converting the masses to believe in the benefits of green energy can be a daunting task. But to get a little help, one energy company is turning to God. 1st Light is pairing up with St. Benedict Catholic Church in what could be a win-win partnership for everyone. The church receives a donation each time one of their parishioners installs a solar power system. Amen to that. SmartPlanet

Too much tech?: Climate negotiations aren't known for being extraordinarily efficient or um, successful. But as the Rio+20 summit approaches, some already worry that there's far too much focus on technological solutions to climate change and too little emphasis on large-scale political and social changes. Let the squabbling begin! SciDevNet

Run, iPhone, run: The excuse to delay working out because your iPod, iPhone, or Blackberry is out of juice no longer cuts it. With the nPower PEG device, you can charge your gadgets with the energy your body expends while you charge along the road or atop a treadmill. Audubon Magazine

The other Doras: Famous explorers, from Shackleton to James Cameron, are pretty awesome, but why are they usually men? Here are eight women explorers you should know about. Our Amazing Planet

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Ed Shippel/Wikimedia Commons

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
In Each Shell a Story

Attack of the Nuke-Loving Sea Creatures, Food Fears, Bison are Back

The Editors — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:23:29 +0000

By The Editors

Food fears: Worried about the new case of mad cow disease found in California earlier this week? Don’t be. There are plenty of food safety issues -- from E. coli to contaminated milk -- that should be much higher on your list of concerns. Associated Press

Home (again) on the range: Purebred bison descended from one of Montana’s last wild herds had a homecoming this week, returning to a prairie pasture that has been without the West’s iconic animal for 140 years. New York Times

Worse than we thought: Thanks to the warming atmosphere, the earth’s water cycle (meaning evaporation and precipitation) is speeding up twice as fast as climate models predicted, according to a new paper in Science. What’s that mean? More droughts and more floods. Mother Jones

Architectural marvel: A building that will “eat” smog? An aluminum company has developed a new coating for its building panels that will suck in airborne pollutants and transform them into harmless substances. The technology is getting its first tryout on an electronics recycling facility in North Carolina. Talking Points Memo

Not a SyFy Channel movie: Jellyfish-like sea creatures called salp are swarming a southern California nuclear plant, clogging screens used to filter coolant water and requiring the reactors to reduce power generation. Why do we feel like some producer is pitching this film to Michael Bay right now? Los Angeles Times

Green to the end: Our favorite headline of the week: “Environmental movement has one foot in the grave.” Instead of yet another story bemoaning the demise of environmentalism, though (news flash: we’re still here), this one’s about the increase in green burial practices. E&E

The war on trees: A former employee of the nation’s largest outdoor advertising company describes in court papers how he was instructed to kill trees that blocked the view of billboards and how he carried out his deadly mission -- often with a machete. Fair Warning

Spare the broiler: Chickens do most of their productive egg-laying in their early years. So what’s a locavore with a backyard coop to do when his or her chickens get long in the, er, beak (assuming you’re not into eating them, of course)? Chicken retirement homes! It will surprise no fan of Portlandia where this story is datelined. New York Times

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Eric Vondy/Flickr

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
The Barnstormer

Weekend Reads: Rooster Retirement, Music on Ice, Koalas and Chlamydia

The Editors — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:18:22 +0000

By The Editors

Five greenreads to enjoy while constructing your maypole:

Lee Van Der Voo in the New York Times on retirement plans for chickens: What do you do when your hen is too old to lay eggs but too much of a pet to eat for dinner? Send it to a retirement home, of course. In Portland, urban coops are popular but a 3-chicken limit can lead to some tough decisions. To the rescue are livestock sanctuaries that deal with “end-of-life issues” for barnyard birds. “He said he had no problem with killing chickens, and he eats meat. But in this case he just could not do it,” writes Van Der Voo about one urban farmer. Apparently, the two chickens he needed to get rid of were BFFs.

J.B. MacKinnon in Orion Magazine on the true nature of nature: With lives filled with traffic jams, smartphone screens, and 24-hour news cycles, we often equate an escape to the great outdoors with finding peace. MacKinnon disagrees with this assessment, writing that the reality of nature is typically a violent one. In an essay, he writes, “The idea that nature is a bittersweet and sometimes forbidding place is not, as they say, currently trending.” Humans come to romanticize and deify nature only when they’ve ridded it of the creatures and circumstances that could harm them. Currently, “nature is not a temple, but a ruin. A beautiful ruin, but a ruin all the same.”

Le Anne Schreiber at OnEarth on the sounds (and now silence) of ice: When the first thin ice sheet covers the lake outside her house, Schreiber skips rocks off the glassy surface and listens. She calls it “Chime Day.” Over the course of a winter, a frozen lake can ring, creak, and roar like an instrument. “Most of the sounds, from chimes to thunder, are percussive, with the ice serving as a tympanum to disperse the vibrations." For Schreiber, the lakes’ sounds are small consolation to the shoreline activities she enjoys in other seasons. But during this year’s record-warm winter, Chime Day never came. And it’s the music she misses.

Mark Jenkins in National Geographic on coexisting with koalas: Australia’s iconic koalas barely escaped extinction last century. While no longer hunted for their fur, they face a new threat: urbanization. Jenkins meets up with one volunteer north of Brisbane as she saves a koala caught on a barbed-wire fence, one of many city dangers. “Despite their huggable, stuffed-animal appearance, koalas can be ferocious when resisting capture. They’ll growl, flail, fight, and bite like angry raccoons.” Planting eucalyptus trees, lowering speed limits, and creating wildlife corridors might boost numbers, but at the top of the preservation to-do list? Developing a vaccine for chlamydia, a rampant koala killer.

Tired of reading yet? Listen to this:

Dan Charles for NPR on finding balance between safe salads and clean streams: After E coli-tainted spinach from California's Salinas Valley killed and sickened people six years ago, strict safety measures kept wildlife away from produce. But some farmers think the rules went too far.

Image: Vanessa Hall

Foot Power, Rio Beckons, Congress to Navy: Screw National Security, Burn Oil
The Barnstormer
The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature

Ted Nugent Ban, the Cleanest Cars, Cage-Free Burger King

The Editors — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:07:31 +0000

By The Editors

Campaign climate: In a lengthy interview with Jann Wenner, President Obama vows to fight climate change, insists that he's not hiding from the issue, and says it will be part of his 2012 campaign. Climate blogger Joe Romm says: "I'll believe it when I see it." Rolling Stone, Climate Progress

Clean car map: Whether your electric vehicle is better for the climate than a high-mpg hybrid or a convential car depends entirely on where you plug in, with some areas drawing more electricity from coal-fired plants than others. An exhaustive new report tells you exactly which cars are most climate friendly, wherever you live. Climate Central

Neighborhood watch: Rooftop solar installations face a new hurdle: neighbors. Homeowners associations, which tend to have aesthetic regulations so severe they would make Dear Leader wince, are battling homeowners who dream of harnessing the sun's energy. Washington Post

The comeback kernel: Remember when corn-based ethanol was all the rage, but then many realized it was an environmental and economic failure (see "The Corn Mob," Summer 2010)? Well, the home-grown alternative fuel, which is supported by a huge ag lobby, is starting to rally. NPR Morning Edition

Bad breath: The American Lung Association's annual report finds that 40 percent of Americans regularly breathe unhealthy air. The Hill

Having it my way: There will be no more cages and crates for animals in the Burger King supply chain. The fast-food chain says it will get all of its eggs from cage-free chickens and all of its pork from crate-free pigs by 2017. No word on where the Whopper will come from. Happy, antibiotic- and growth-hormone-free, pasture-raised cows, perhaps? Hey, one can hope. Los Angeles Times, NPR Morning Edition

Motor City Madman: Aging rocker, outspoken conservative activist, and sportsman hunter Ted Nugent shot one bear too many on a trip to Alaska, violating a conservation law. The Nooge pleaded guilty and apologized. He is banned from hunting in Alaska or on federal forestland for a year. Reuters

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Epiclectic/Flickr

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
Foot Power, Rio Beckons, Congress to Navy: Screw National Security, Burn Oil
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees

Mad Cow: It's Back!, Shoot the Swans, Recycling's Dark Side

The Editors — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:31:04 +0000

By The Editors

Bovine brains: Mad cow disease has resurfaced in the U.S. for the first time since 2006. Officials say the animal -- the fourth in the country ever to test positive for the disease -- was on its way to human mouths when it died on a California farm, and that the case's discovery shows that protective measures are working. Even so, many minds find the discovery unsettling. Los Angeles Times

Climate policy FAIL: The International Energy Agency says the world's governments are missing the chance to do something about climate change. At a meeting in London today, high-level energy ministers are in for a scolding from the IEA, which says that without drastic measures the world is on track for a disastrous 6°C of warming by the end of the century. The Guardian

The Mannley Cup: The European Geosciences Union is honoring climate science eminence Michael Mann with the Oeschger Medal. While Mann's "hockey stick" work is his most widely known achievement, the medal is for a lifetime of contribution to his field. RealClimate

Post-game strategy: The Olympics will take up a lot of room, but after the summer games, London will try to fill the space in sustainably. On the site of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the city plans to build 8,000 carbon-free homes. E2B Pulse

Mute swan song: Michigan is telling residents around the Great Lakes to start shooting swans. Invasive mute swans -- not to be confused with native trumpeter swans -- are apparently bird bullies, ecologically forcing out other animals and intimidating human inhabitants. Great Lakes Echo

Criminal intent: The government has filed the first criminal charges arising from the BP oil spill two years after the disaster. A former engineer, Kurt Mix, is charged with obstruction of justice for erasing text messages regarding the extent of the leaking oil. More charges are likely to follow. New York Times

Nuclear fault line: Japan's nuclear watchdog agency says the Tsuruga nuclear plant in the northwestern part of the country may be sitting directly on top of an active fault line. All but one of Japan's nuclear reactors are offline following last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami. File the discovery under "probably should have checked into this a while ago." Reuters

Sagging silicon: The price of a kilogram of polysilicon was $475 four years ago. By the end of 2012, the material used to make solar photovoltaic panels will fall to around $22. The market is glutted with polysilicon, causing big problems for manufacturers of the raw material but easing profit margins a bit for the makers of solar panels themselves. Bloomberg

Boiling West: In March, it was the eastern part of the U.S. that smashed heat records. April, however, has belonged to the West. In just the past week, temps out West have broken 746 daily record highs, with many locations recording the highest ever April temperatures. Climate Central

Stop recycling?: No, keep recycling. But the practice, a pillar of the modern environmental movement, does have a dark side. It allows manufactures "to market overconsumption as environmentalism." Rising recycling rates tend to mirror skyrocketing consumption rates for disposable yet recyclable stuff. The thing is ... these products don't always get recycled. Forbes

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Geraint Rowland/Flickr

INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
In Each Shell a Story
On This Earth, a Shadow Falls

Solar Slowdown, Pursuing the White Whale, Franken-Corn Rises

The Editors — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:06:53 +0000

By The Editors

Not so fast: A group of Native American tribes is urging the Obama administration to reconsider its full-steam-ahead plan to embark on a number of solar-energy projects in the Mojave Desert of California and Arizona, based on the discovery of unknown artifacts that suggest the presence of an ancient cremation site. And the law is on their side. Los Angeles Times

Unfriended: San Diego's main water agency has taken to the Internet in its campaign to pressure a consortium of water-controlling municipalities to lower its prices. Hey Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, you don't bring water to a flame war! New York Times

Puzzling "progress": We're burning through the earth's natural resources faster than ever before -- a dirty and unsustainable business that ought to be making our lives worse, right? Except humanity has never been richer, longer-lived or more comfortable. Ezra Klein explores what has been called the "environmentalist's paradox." Washington Post

Moby Dick, eat your heart out: A male all-white killer whale has been spotted off of Russia's Pacific coast. Nicknamed "Iceberg" by the scientists who have been tracking him, he's the world's only known white, male orca. “In many ways, Iceberg is a symbol of all that is pure, wild, and extraordinarily exciting about what is out there in the ocean waiting to be discovered," says one scientist. Slate, CNN

China's emerging car culture: The Chinese auto industry is exploding. "Despite pollution and road congestion, Chinese consumers seem to be positively aching to join the car-owning society, and are increasingly able to afford to do so," writes an observer -- who points out that sales of SUVs, to note just one sector, have gone from 350,000 five years ago to as high as 2 million in the last year. The Economist

It's not the grime, it's the cover-up: As London nears a highly contentious mayoral election, some are accusing the city's current mayor, Boris Johnson, of masking the city's bad air with pollution suppressants that paint "a rosier picture of the air quality" as it's being measured by monitors. The Guardian

Scary stalks: A new, Dow Agrosciences-created biotech corn -- with the unbelievably creepy dystopian-sci-fi-thriller name of "Enlist" -- may be corn farmers' best hope against invasive super-weeds that threaten to wipe out their crops. But on the eve of its regulatory approval, some farmers and environmentalists worry that its herbicidal properties could cause unforeseen damage -- and that it could even end up strengthening the resistance of the very weeds it's supposed to be killing. Reuters

Rare finds, right at home: Carol Kaesuk Yoon found a moth on her Bellingham, Washington, windowsill that wasn't supposed to be there. In fact, it wasn't supposed to be anywhere in North America. There have been other finds around her yard, too, of species whose presence in her part of the world is unexplainable. But the most unusual thing about it, she theorizes, is that it isn't unusual at all -- it happens every day, everywhere. New York Times

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Chazz Layne/Flickr

The Barnstormer
Solar Skirmish, Bed Bugs Lose Bite, Save the Rainforest (from Bad Legislation)
Surf's Up, Hawaii!, Saudi Sun Power, Fuel-Efficient Ferrari?

Bad Idea Bikinis, Leather Leftovers, Unfrozen Planet

The Editors — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:33:12 +0000

By The Editors

Green fatigue: In case you didn't notice, yesterday was Earth Day. Over the last 42 years, the day has sparked meaningful action on issues like air and water pollution, acid rain, and recycling, but as going green has gone mainstream, climate change may be getting the shaft when it comes to protests. Climate Central

You can recycle that?: Did you know you can add the bounce back into old tennis balls? In fact, you can recycle almost anything (with a little extra effort on your part). Scientific American

Hot or not: The final installment of Frozen Planet aired last night (with OnEarth recapping every step of the way). Showing scenes of rapidly melting glaciers and sea ice, the episode has drawn criticism for not discussing why the poles are warming. While one director said nature documentaries are no place for "political" messages, environmentalist Bill McKibben quipped, "It’s kind of like doing a powerful documentary about lung cancer and leaving out the part about the cigarettes." New York Times

Dipsticks taking dips: Add compostable bikinis and solar-panel swimsuits to the list of stupid "green" products that exist. Summer may be just around the corner, but don't be a fool in the pool. Grist

Walking the walk: Conservationists and researchers just finished a 1,000-mile trek through Florida in an effort to document, and to eventually save, the state's remaining wildlands. Hiking through saw grass and swamps, however, will be easy compared to convincing Floridians to create a wildlife corridor from the Everglades to Okefenokee Swamp. NPR

House of straw: The first little piggie may have been wise after all. Several straw houses built recently have tested remarkably well. A byproduct of farming, straw is apparently cheap, compactable, and sturdy (the power of wolf breath notwithstanding). The Ecologist

Leather lips: Making leather leaves behind a lot of scraps, which have until recently, been trashed. Now scientists are trying to salvage the extra skin by turning it into collagen, a valuable protein used in medical and cosmetic materials. Environmental Health News

Cabin in the canopy: Love treehouses? Check out this one in Canada, but good luck finding it in the forest. The location is secret (which makes it even cooler). Laughing Squid

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Sashomasho

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
INFOGRAPHIC: What a Blind Scientist Sees
In Each Shell a Story

BP Gets Off Scot-Free, Did Climate Cause the Crucible?, Sweat the Skeptics

The Editors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:27:07 +0000

By The Editors

Fines don’t matter: In an op-ed also published in the New York Times, investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten reflects on the two-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the lack of any real consequences for the company responsible. The risky gambles and ill-advised decisions that led to the largest accidental oil spill in U.S. history, the deaths of 11 workers, and untold economic and environmental damage resulted in no criminal prosecutions -- only fines and monetary settlements that, while substantial, mean little to a corporation that collected more than $375 billion in 2011, pocketing $26 billion in profits. ProPublica

Al Gore’s a witch!: Did climate change cause the 1692 Salem witch trials? A new paper suggests that dramatic changes in weather patterns throughout history have coincided with hysteria about the supernatural. Finally, an explanation for the Twilight craze we can get behind. The Salem News

Gas glut: The boom in natural gas drilling, coupled with warm winter temperatures that reduced fuel needs, means the U.S. has too much of the stuff. Time for the “Redneck OPEC” (not our term!) to take action. Sounds like a plot on Justified. NPR

Don't sweat it: Turns out, it’s really not that hard to get people to accept the science behind global warming. Just raise the thermostat a little bit before you talk to skeptics. They’ll come around. New York Times

Clean tech cuts: Federal spending on green technology is rapidly disappearing, and Congress is prepared to let critical support expire. That means more companies founded during the government’s clean tech investment boom are likely to go bankrupt. But not to worry, those massive subsidies for the century-old fossil fuel industry are still going great. Los Angeles Times

Be your own trash can: What if food packaging wasn’t just biodegradable, but actually edible? Scientists are working on it. (Of course they are.) ABC Canberra

Melon-choly: Kate Sheppard is in Vietnam reporting about climate adaptation from a part of the world that’s likely to see devastating impacts earlier than the U.S. In her first dispatch, she explains how watermelon growers on the country’s southeastern coast have had to change their crops due to shifting weather patterns. Mother Jones

Rocky weather: And now here's something we think you'll really like … a squirrel’s illustrated thoughts on these lovely April temperatures we’ve been having. It’s nuts! The Awl

Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: "Examination of a Witch"

BP Ponys Up, Hit the Beach (While You Still Can!), Baby Cheetahs Cheat Death
Great Lakes De-iced, North Dakota Drilling, Check Out That Sexy Windmill
Transit Cuts, Scary Super Weeds, Better Water Use: Fracking or Fighting Fires?

Weekend Reads: Wise Old Octopus, Species Saviors, Happy Anniversary, BP!

The Editors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:34:09 +0000

By The Editors

Five greenreads to discuss around the organic beer keg at your Earth Day party.

Megan Gambino in Smithsonian on nature and national security: What safety lessons can we learn from octopuses, ground squirrels, and centipedes? Plenty says Rafe Sagarin in his new book about handling terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and infectious disease the way nature does: with flexibility. He tells Gambino, “People should follow the principles of the octopus, which are to sense changes in the environment using as many sensors as possible and to respond to those changes with as many different strategies as possible.” Whether you’re a first responder or a business manager, his advice is the same. Instead of trying to predict the future, keep an open mind in the present. And focus on learning from successes not failure -- which isn’t an option in the natural world, where usually if you fail ... you die.

Susan Freinkel in the Washington Post on eating plastic: Since 1958, The FDA has approved over 3,000 chemicals that leach into food from its packaging. “On the premise that the dose makes the poison,” Freinkel writes, “the agency has approved a number of potentially hazardous substances for food-contact uses.” Basically, at less than 0.5 parts per billion, the chemical is in the clear. But what would be the Recommended Daily Allowances for phthalates, formaldehyde, or BPA? How do certain “indirect additives” interact with our hormones and with each other? More and more studies are answering some of these questions for some suspect chemicals, but when the food (and the plastic) is already being served, consumers have had to do their own risk analysis.

Julia Whitty in Mother Jones on the power of one: What does it take to save an endangered species (and the ecosytem that may depend it)? Sometimes it's just the stubborn dedication of one person answers Whitty, as she recalls times spent with Enriqueta Velarde on Mexico’s Rasa Island. The biologist has been studying and saving seabirds there for more than 30 years. “Velarde was part of a widely and thinly dispersed bunch of like-minded misfits, frequently women, who travel to earth's last hinterlands and guard their wilderness nests with near-mythical ferocity.” Among other “keystone humans” are Jane Goodall and George Perkins Marsh. Together the methodical work of these scientists has given humanity the tools to not only correct our mistakes, Whitty writes, but to truly connect with nature.

David Gessner at OnEarth on the Gulf Spill’s two-year anniversary: At the time of BP’s 3-month-long oil spill, many scientists said it’d be a couple years before we’d know the blowout’s full environmental impact. Two years on, Gessner checks in with Bethany Kraft of the Ocean Conservancy on what we’ve learned (and haven’t) since the disaster. Despite what BP commercials have told you, all is not well. Dolphins are dying, corals are sick, and the fate of the region’s dwindling crab population remains a question mark, as do the industry and jobs that depend on it. “I’m concerned that we still have so much to learn about the impacts of the disaster, and I fear that we aren’t any better prepared to address technological disasters than we were two years ago.”

Dave Gardetta in Los Angeles Magazine on the true price of parking: Downtown Los Angeles has the highest density of parking spaces in the world, with the city adding about 1,000 new ones each year. In fact, the city makes garages mandatory with just about every new building. A single spot can cost between $40,000 and $140,000 to build. So even in a city where empty spaces are everywhere, free parking is a fantasy. “We valet at Macy’s and at the dentist, at Christmas parties and Oscar shindigs,” and are constantly paying for permits, passes, and violations. But the costs of parking in LA are higher still, Gardetta writes, when considering the rampant, city-sanctioned corruption, absence of street vitality, aesthetic blight, and lost opportunities for local businesses to entice window shoppers to their stores.

Tired of reading yet? Watch this:

Dahr Jamail for Al Jazeera on the Gulf’s soiled food chain: Fish with lesions, oil-filled lobsters, and mutant shrimp sound pretty unappetizing, but according to the government, seafood lovers have nothing to worry about -- fishermen and scientists think otherwise.

Image: Morten Brekkevold

The Barnstormer
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
Solar Skirmish, Bed Bugs Lose Bite, Save the Rainforest (from Bad Legislation)