Stickin' it to the porcupine caribou in the Arctic Refuge. Photo: Ken Whitten, Wilderness Society. Oil companies are closing in on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a crushing blow to those who have fought for some 25 years to preserve the unspoiled Alaskan wildland, the Senate voted today to clear the way for oil and gas drilling within the Arctic Refuge. By a 51-49 vote, they rejected an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that would have stripped from a budget bill a provision that assumes the government will raise revenue from drilling in the refuge's coastal plain. Opening …

Riki Ott. What work do you do? What's your job title? For the past seven years -- 1998 to 2004 -- I researched and wrote a book, Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Now I'm an author/activist/scientist on book tour. Titles: Well, I have been bestowed numerous titles by others. For example, "pain in the ass" by Alyeska, the consortium that operates and (supposedly) maintains the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. "Thorn in our side" by Arctic Power, the main lobbying group trying to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Propagandist" just recently by …

Evangelical leaders rally to fight global warming Following its adoption of an environmental platform in October, the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group of 51 denominations, has scheduled two meetings in the Washington, D.C., area to focus on global warming. To be attended by influential religious leaders, scientists, politicians, and members of international aid agencies, the meetings will highlight the relationship between climate change and the ideals of Christian stewardship. The group may release a statement throwing its powerful political backing behind efforts to curb global warming, and discussions on the topic are expected to draw major political figures …

New voices join chorus pushing Bush to act on climate change At this point it's getting hard to keep track, but a couple more notable folks have joined the ranks of those calling on the Bush administration, either implicitly or explicitly, to act on global warming. Perhaps most unexpected is James Baker, former secretary of state and Bush family consigliere, who helped President Bush triumph in Florida in 2000. "It may surprise you a little bit, but maybe it's because I'm a hunter and a fisherman, but I think we need to pay a little more attention to what we …

Dear Umbra, My power company (Florida Power and Light) sent me a letter asking me to choose its Sunshine Energy program, which, for an additional $9.75 a month, helps support the building of a 150-kilowatt solar facility in Florida. Do you think I should do it? LindaCoral Springs, Fla. Dearest Linda, Yes. And I am herewith going to foist my plans for 2005 upon all the rest of you: They involve deemphasizing insignificant widgets and reemphasizing energy conservation, greenhouse-gas reduction, and overall efficiency improvements in our daily lives. Won't you please fund me? Photo: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Now that …

"It's not a hardship to drive it. It's fun." -- George Shultz, former Secretary of State, referring to his Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that uses much less gasoline than a conventional vehicle, at the second annual summit of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, February 11. I found this nugget in my inbox, tucked into the recent issue of @stanford, "a monthly newsletter of campus news and research," in the "Heard on Campus" segment (I am an alum of the law school). How great to hear another respected Republican foreign policy leader touting the benefits of cleaner and …

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 …

It's a dirty secret in the blog world that occasionally bloggers will recommend that their readers read something that they themselves have not read. (Gasp.) But not this blog! At least, not any more! Or rather, at least not this time! Yesterday I was going to recommend "Bringing Society Back into the Climate Debate" (PDF), a new paper by Roger Pielke Jr. and Daniel Sarewitz (found via their excellent Prometheus science blog). But then I realized that it's a PDF, it's wonky, it's written in dry academic language, and y'all would never read it. And really, how could I expect …

Lower IQs in mercury-exposed children cost U.S. billions, study says The effects of mercury on fetal development are costing the U.S. economy $8.7 billion a year, says a new study. Some 317,000 to 637,000 children born in the U.S. each year have been exposed to unsafe mercury levels in the womb, and many of them sustain diminished IQs, researchers reported in a National Institutes of Health journal. Using methods from studies on the economic impacts of lead exposure -- similar to those of mercury contamination -- researchers were able to calculate that even a 1.6-point decline in IQ could result …

Schwarzenegger returns with new, revamped solar initiative Yesterday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) joined state senators from both parties to introduce a new version of his solar plan. What David Hochschild of Vote Solar called "the most ambitious solar initiative ever proposed in the United States" would offer substantial rebates to homeowners who install solar panels, require big developers to offer solar as an option (10 percent of customers tend to opt for it if it's offered), and extend a program of solar-energy tax credits. Last year's "million solar roofs" initiative was defeated after developers objected to a provision mandating …