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In a crisis, sleeves make the man

Big story on CNN.com today about the "flippant" emails of former FEMA chief Mike Brown during Katrina. Some of it is disturbing, some dull, some just silly.

Among the stories of bureaucratic sluggishness is this gem: "A few days later, [Brown's press secretary] Worthy advised Brown: 'Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working.'"

Passed on without comment

From a Harris Interactive survey:

GLBT consumers (51%) are significantly more interested in hybrid electric vehicles than their non-gay counterparts (34%) and feel that they are worth paying more money for.

(Via BB)

Oprah, light bulbs, and global warming

Well, I still haven't managed to find a copy of the whole show (where's the bit torrent community when I need it?), but I went and flipped through Oprah's "Global Warming 101" website and watched the video of Leo DiCaprio leading a tour of a green home. It's all quite good. I'll say, echoing Chris, that Oprah deserves enormous credit for bringing this issue to her huge audience in a way they can grasp. The combination of solid (if simplified) science and sexy celebrity is just the ticket. So kudos, Oprah.

That said, what really struck me is the jarring disjoint between the problem described -- a decades-long warming of the entire planet's atmosphere -- and the chipper suggestions of What You Can Do -- namely, switch out your light bulbs.

Rare good news about Environmental Illness/Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

Finally a bit of good news about Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (aka Environmental Illness). And you thought there was no such thing as good MCS news. Or, more likely, you didn't know much about MCS/EI. Anyway, if that's the case, you're hardly alone. Even many who have the condition don't know much about it.

First, a bit of background. MCS is a syndrome characterized by a range of adverse symptoms brought on by exposure to an equally broad array of chemicals, with symptoms usually appearing at exposure levels far below those that would affect the rest of the population. Symptoms vary enormously from person to person but often include severe headaches, confusion, memory loss, random food allergies, digestive issues, skin irritation, and more.

From a Sage Francis song

"I'm leaving naysayers stumped like rain forests"

Gotta love hip-hop.

It’s not meeting its own weak targets

In 2000, in response to worries that World Bank investments in extractive fossil-fuel projects were exacerbating poverty and degrading the environment, then-WB president James Wolfensohn conceived an independent review to investigate the legitimacy of the concerns. In 2001, he launched the review and appointed Emil Salim, former environment minister of Indonesia, to lead it. The Extractive Industries Review was completed in December 2003. The review confirmed the worst accusations of World Bank critics. Its recommendations were, at least in terms of the status quo, fairly radical, urging a substantial reduction in fossil-fuel investments and increase in renewable energy investments.

In September 2004, after several delays, World Bank management issued its formal response (press release; full PDF), rejecting most of the recommendations. In particular, it elected not to cease investing in fossil-fuel extraction.

To avoid unpleasant optics, management did pledge to increase investment in clean energy. Specifically, it pledged to increase such investments by 20% every fiscal year. So how's it doing with that?

According to Friends of the Earth (press release; full report), not so well:

The report finds that the World Bank, despite being tapped by the G8 countries to develop a framework for financing renewable energy sources, fell far short of its own target for increasing financial support for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Bank increased funding by only 7 percent, or $14 million, in fiscal year 2005 -- less than half its announced target of a 20 percent increase annually over the next five years.

The renewable and efficiency financing by the World Bank for fiscal year 2005 represents only 9 percent of all the Bank's financing in the energy sector. Meanwhile, the Bank continues to finance fossil fuel pipelines and is making a move back into destructive large dams for energy generation in developing countries.

Commander In Chief: First Disaster

Pop quiz, hotshot: Florida has just been hit by a category 3 hurricane. An oil tanker larger than the Exxon Valdez has suffered damage and threatens to leak its cargo. You've been advised of three options: 1) sink the ship and hope that the cold waters will congeal the oil, 2) bring the ship to port in Florida, or 3) direct the ship to another state that is not currently recovering from a disaster.

Of course, each option has its downsides: 1) The oil could congeal, or it could leak and cause a catastrophe along the entire eastern seaboard. If the plan does work, the tanker will probably eventually rust, leak and become a problem for future generations. 2) While Florida is the closet port, it doesn't need another disaster to deal with if an oil spill occurs. 3) While demonstrating sympathy for Floridians, you're putting more people at risk as the chance of a spill increases as the ship travels further from its current location.

What do you do?

If you're Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis), the first female president on ABC's Commander In Chief, you make the tough call and go with option two to minimize risk. But the Prez's nemesis, the Speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland), a Republican representing the state of Florida, teams up with the governor (and environmental groups!) to block the ship from coming to port. What ensues is a case of states' rights versus federal interests that highlights the risks associated with an oil-dependent economy. The Clean Water Act gets a mention as well.

I smell an Environmental Media Award nomination.

And for a second, I thought John Passacantando would have a cameo role, when the president was informed that the Greenpeace leadership was on the phone. Sadly, no John.

Have Your Lake and Deplete it Too

U.N. urges decisive action to save Africa’s lakes Africa’s 650-plus lakes are degrading at an astonishing rate, says the U.N., and protecting them is crucial to restoring the continent’s health and boosting its prosperity. The U.N. Environment Program’s new “Africa’s Lakes: An Atlas of Environmental Change” compares recent and past satellite images of the water […]

Char and Away

Salvage logging after fires harms forests, new report claims The Bush administration has oft trumpeted the benefits of postfire salvage logging — coincidentally, a practice of great financial benefit to timber companies. But a recent report by the American Lands Alliance claims salvage logging is harming national forests. Fire experts and other scientists analyzed historical […]

You Make Me Wanna Spout

Conservation agreement will help protect gray-whale lagoon in Mexico OK, stay calm. We don’t want to freak you out or anything, but we’ve got some … good news. Seems American and Mexican conservationists have united with local Mexican landholders to preserve a pristine gray-whale calving ground. The Laguna San Ignacio, an area of bird-friendly wetlands […]