Relating to this post: One good argument for using public policy to aggressively push alternative fuels and regulate environmental quality is that affordable oil is running out. There is, of course, much dispute over when Hubbert's peak will be reached, or whether it already has been. Some even believe that new technologies will continue to enable us to extract oil from more and more obscure places, ensuring steady supply. Unlikely. Four good posts to read on oil: Joel Makower says Hubbert's peak is here, drawing on a letter from an anonymous oil company employee on EnergyBulletin. Then, there's Kevin Drum, …

Great post over on greenState about the power and implications of the E.U.'s new REACH regulations (it stands for "Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals"). As Grist readers -- but few in the U.S. public -- probably know, very few of the 30,000 some chemicals on the market have been tested for safety. We're testing them -- you, me, our children -- right now, by using them. REACH says that companies must test chemicals, and publicly post the results, before putting them on the market. Naturally, this scares the shit out of chemical companies, and they're doing everything they can …

In this post, Jamais Cascio argues (among other things) that Kyoto will be a boon to African countries, because of the treaty's Clean Development Mechanism, which, as explained well here, allows companies and countries to build or fund clean energy projects in developing countries in exchange for carbon-emissions credits that can be traded on the open market. He points to this story, which describes several possible projects in South Africa that stand to benefit. But South Africa is somewhat anomalous in Africa, in terms of stability and economic development. What of poorer, less stable African countries? An AFP article makes …

I found this piece in the CSR frustratingly sketchy and inconclusive. It makes the somewhat obvious point that restrictive environmental regulations stimulate the growth of industries and technologies that meliorate environmental impacts. Pass a law that says coal-fired power plants have to install scrubbers, the scrubber industry benefits. So for that class of industries and technologies, environmental regulations do not, contra the anti-Kyoto crowd, suppress economic development. But that gets us nowhere. As the author acknowledges: Of course, green technology represents only a small part of the nation's economy. Gauging whether stricter environmental regulation helps - or hurts - the …

Today, Northwest Environment Watch released their annual Cascadia Scorecard. If you live in the Northwest -- or care about it -- you should give it a read. Launched in 2004, the Cascadia Scorecard charts the Pacific Northwest's success at creating a sustainable economy and way of life. The 2005 Scorecard gives a concise update on how Cascadia ranks in seven key trends--health, economy, population, energy, sprawl, forests, and pollution--but hones in on one of the most critical issues facing the region: energy. It details the weaknesses of the region's energy system and argues that Cascadia can achieve true security, and …

An extraordinary piece of writing by Alex Steffen over on Worldchanging. If you are looking for a reasonably comprehensive but concise description of the problem in which we -- that is, humanity -- find ourselves, now you know where to find it. Required reading.

It's difficult to work up outrage these days, I know. But still. Republicans have long had a hard on for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's never made any sense -- the amount of oil we could get is a tiny fraction of what we need, and it's 10 years out in the future. It will do nothing to reduce energy prices or dependence on foreign oil. Now it turns out that even the oil companies themselves don't think it's worth it. A Bush adviser says the major oil companies have a dimmer view of the refuge's prospects …

An intriguing story on Japan's increasing development and production of biodegradable plastics. In 2000, production of such plastics stood at slightly more than 2,000 tons. "It will increase to 50,000 tons this year and to 200,000 tons in 2010," the official [of the Biodegradable Plastics Society] said. ...  "Biodegradable plastics will account for about 10 percent of the market in around 2020." Cool.

Congrats to the Washington Post, winner of the 2005 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting for their series on lead in D.C. water pipes. Details, and the other winners, below the fold. Beginning in January 2004, Washington Post journalists David Nakamura, Carol D. Leonnig, D'Vera Cohn, Craig Timberg, Monte Reel, Sarah Cohen and Jo Becker began reporting and publishing more than 200 articles alerting local residents to dangerously high levels of lead in tap water. Their continuing investigation ultimately resulted in the firing of James Buford, director of the District of Columbia Department of Public Health, and revealed that water …

Last week, Daily Grist reported -- somewhat tongue in cheek -- that China had surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest overall consumer. It's all part of our ongoing obsession with China's boggling growth, which is, from the environmentalist's point of view, probably the single most significant socioeconomic trend in the world right now. We've gotten several letters since then yelling at us for being "anti-China." You see, China has four times as many people as the U.S., so on a per capita basis, Americans consume much, much more and produce much, much more waste. Yes, yes, Americans are the …