Blair bypasses Bush, appeals to Texas for global-warming aid British Prime Minister Tony Blair's quixotic mission to convert the Bush administration from staunch believers in "more research" on global warming to actual movers on the issue has thus far proved unsuccessful. So Blair is diversifying his strategy. One tactic is to bypass the decision maker in chief and play ball with lower-level operatives, among them the oil big-wigs in President Bush's home state. (British representatives are also chatting up members of Congress, state officials, and enviro groups.) Blair's hope is that there will be a trickle-down effect if U.S. energy …

Smart, eco-friendly design making inroads in the business community The seminal 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, inspired a slogan for 21st century designers: "Pollution is a symbol of design failure." They proposed that every material used in manufacturing should be capable of either biodegrading harmlessly into the soil or returning with no loss of quality into the manufacturing process. More and more businesses are embracing the C2C concept, for economic as well as environmental reasons. Office design company Herman Miller Inc. hopes to have 50 percent …

Oft-villified sneaker behemoth Nike has introduced five new styles that tread a little lighter on the earth. Part of a new line called Nike Considered, the casual shoes and boots are part of the company's effort to examine ways to reduce waste, eliminate toxic substances, and follow their image consultants' advice to atone for that whole small-children-working-in-sweatshops-in-foreign-countries thing: Among other changes, the Nike Considered shoes are largely made with materials found within 200 miles of the factory, to cut down on fuel consumption in transporting them. The leather comes from a tannery that recycles wastewater to ensure that no toxins …

Readers who found our interview with John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods, interesting, may also be interested in this Forbes story on Whole Foods, which focuses on the "food-as-porn" marketing and business strategy of the growing (mostly) organic giant. (Via Green Life)

U.S. plans to subsidize four new Chinese nuke plants A nearly $5 billion proposed loan package from the U.S. government to British-owned Westinghouse Electric Corp. to build four massive nuclear reactors in China is encountering a flurry of objections. The objections are not about the nuclear waste that would result, or reactors' vulnerability to terrorist attacks and catastrophic accidents. The problem? "British-owned." As Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) put it, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which would provide the loans and loan guarantees, "is funded by U.S. tax dollars; they should be supporting U.S. companies. I'm not against U.S. jobs, but shouldn't …

To continue the conversation about the ostensible "death of environmentalism," we invited four next-generation leaders to discuss the issue with one another via email. Herewith, in almost real time, we are publishing their thoughts in our pages. All the participants are fellows with the Environmental Leadership Program, which works with emerging activists and professionals to inspire social and political change. So is environmentalism bound for the morgue, or alive and kicking? Stay tuned this week to find out. Most recent post of the day. From: Torri EstradaTo: Stephen Moret, Swati Prakash, Thompson SmithSubject: Getting the ball rollingTuesday, Feb. 22, 2005, …

Okay, sorry I put that song in your head. This NYT story is interesting: Apparently McDonald's entrance into the fresh fruit and veggie market -- driven by pressure to offer healthier options, salads and such -- has made it, almost overnight, one of the biggest players in the $80 billion American produce industry. Two bits from the story, one funny, one significant:The funny bit: Mr. Donahue conceded that the Shaker salads "did not resonate with customers" in part because customers did not like the idea of eating salad from a plastic cup. The significant bit, tucked away (sigh) at the …

Russian factories hatch plans to make money from Kyoto Businesses in the Russian town of Archangel have big plans for capitalizing on the Kyoto Protocol. Under the treaty, more-developed countries can help meet their commitments by financing cleaner technologies in dirty facilities elsewhere, like the ones in Archangel. Vadim Eremeev of Archangel's Energy Efficiency Fund is blunt: "It's no secret that we see Kyoto as cheap money to help us modernize. There's huge scope for that across Russia." Taking another strategy, Archangel Pulp and Paper mill has set a voluntary goal of cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions by 12 percent, even …

Pension fund pressures companies to be more responsible on climate The California Public Employees' Retirement System -- the largest public pension fund in the U.S., an economic powerhouse with some $182.9 billion in assets -- voted Monday to use its significant clout to help fight global warming. Specifically, CalPERS is asking companies in the Financial Times 500 to disclose investment info related to their carbon emissions, requesting that auto manufacturers reveal their emission-reduction plans, and demanding that utilities report the risks associated with their greenhouse-gas releases. Lest the fund be ignored, it appears to be making an example of automakers …

Canadian businesses find boon in Kyoto Canadian renewable-energy companies are anxiously awaiting Feb. 16. That's the day the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, and with Canada's target of a 6 percent cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2010, companies selling green, low-or-no-emissions technology are expecting to see quite a bit of their own green. "What's happening -- which is a very pivotal change and I think timely -- is that we're broadening our visibility," says unwitting punster Art Aylesworth of Carmanah Technologies Inc., which develops solar-powered lighting systems. David Demers, whose company's technology allows engines to run on alternative …