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Tectonics puts things in perspective

One of the reasons it's hard to get people to worry about climate change is that it's often considered a long-term problem. Hell, even I have trouble getting worked up about it some days, and I'm paid to do so.

So I was intrigued by this note from a scientist I'd contacted for a story: "Whereas your group is focusing on short-term trends such as climate change and global warming, we are investigating the long-term effects of plate tectonics ... Whereas climate change happens on a time scale of a few hundred years, the formation and breakup of continents takes millions of years."

See, it's all in how you look at it.

More Alito

Well, there isn't much out there specifically on Alito's environmental record. It's fairly clear where he's coming from, though.

This is a classically Bushian (Roveian?) maneuver. Alito is a big fat red flag on the abortion issue, waved in front of both sides' bulls. You can bet the sturm und drang of the coming weeks will focus almost exclusively on abortion and other social-conservative issues. This is the fight the Angry White Men of Bush's base want, and it's a fight for which abortion-rights defenders are perpetually geared up.

Meanwhile, as Brad Plumer astutely notes, the real story here is that Alito is a favorite of the business community. As with his constitution-in-exile brethren, he can be expected to take every opportunity to limit the ability of Congress to regulate the private sector. No doubt he has deep philosophical justifications for this pattern of rulings, but of course in practice he'll just be another soldier in the corporatist army. The political party he'll be enabling has no interest in small or limited government.

It's possible to imagine Bush nominating a business-friendly judge that isn't hardcore on social-conservative issues -- indeed, it could be argued that both Roberts and Miers fit that bill. But can you imagine Bush nominating someone who's hardcore on social-conservative issues but soft on federalism, the commerce clause, and other biz-related issues? The question answers itself.

Why the Republican base allows itself to be played again and again by an administration whose central and only real allegiance is to corporate cronyism is an enduring mystery. But progressives shouldn't take their eye off the ball.

(It's worth noting that not everyone thinks federal regulation is necessary to protect the environment. Some folks think it does more harm than good. But if you, along with most mainstream greens -- indeed, most of the American public -- believe the excesses of capitalism require some restraint, it's fair to characterize Alito as anti-environmental.)

Su Thieda, EarthCorps program director, answers questionsSu Thieda, EarthCorps program director, ans

Su Thieda. What work do you do? I am director of programs for EarthCorps. What does your organization do? EarthCorps’ mission is to build global community through local environmental service. EarthCorps restores native habitat while training young leaders and engaging volunteers in hands-on environmental service. On a day-to-day basis, EarthCorps crews can be found in […]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Gaggin’

China’s economic boom leading to dreadful air quality China’s zooming economy is a wonder of the modern world, but the eco-toll is becoming increasingly severe. Acid rain affects about a third of the country, approximately 70 percent of its lakes and rivers are polluted, and more than 400,000 Chinese a year are estimated to die […]

The Old Munitions and the Sea

U.S. Army dumped heaps of chemical weapons in Davy Jones’ locker Between 1944 and 1970, the U.S. Army secretly dumped about 64 million pounds of chemical warfare agents, plus over 400,000 mustard-gas-filled munitions, off several state shores — and more than that in the waters around 11 other nations. A fair amount of the dumping […]

Submit your thoughts on the latest SCOTUS nominee

Well, Bush has done what he always does when he's in trouble: Made a move designed to be maximally divisive, maximally partisan. The nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court is a declaration of war, an explicit statement that Bush intends to stand with the Angry White Men of the far right to the very end.

Much has already been said about Alito's retrograde positions on abortion and commerce-clause related matters. I'm reading around for news on his environmental record. But we can probably guess, right?

If you know of environment-related Alito cases, describe them in comments. More later.

Update [2005-10-31 10:55:17 by David Roberts]: Here's some good info from EarthJustice.

Update [2005-10-31 11:8:3 by David Roberts]: Good collection of links on Alito from Scott Lemieux.

Update [2005-10-31 11:28:11 by David Roberts]: As always, tons of great info on Wikipedia and SCOTUSblog.

Brazil/Seattle

One easy way to get rid of a tire is to toss it over a bridge. In Costa Rica, crocodiles can be seen sunning themselves amid thousands of discarded tires. Not an option here in Seattle where stopping on a bridge long enough to hurl a tire will cause a traffic jam.

I took a load of junk to Seattle's north end transfer station the other day. An employee was standing at the entrance to brief clientele on Seattle's new recycling ordinance. Apparently, it is no longer adequate to voluntarily point-sort our trash and laboriously drag multiple containers to the curb every week to protect our environment and lower the cost of waste disposal. Our wise leaders have decided it's time to take it to another level and make it illegal not to recycle. Why? According to the official site, this ordinance "aims" to save residents and businesses as much as $2 million a year, enforcement "with consequences" beginning January 1, 2006. Contractors will not pick up garbage cans that have "significant" amounts of recyclables.

Mayor on a Vespa

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has gone one better than those governors who've been feeling so smug about giving up their SUVs. He's tooling around town on a Vespa.

Help the oil companies spend their lucre, won’t you?

At a press conference this afternoon, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton came up with another creative reason to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling: The oil companies need some place to invest their record profits!

(Or so I'm inferring from this E&ENews PM headline "ANWR: Oil industry needs places to invest profits, Norton says." I can't get the full story because I have no subscription.)

Why not spend the rest of Friday afternoon thinking of better ways for the oil companies to spend their profits? Leave your bright ideas in comments or send them to Sec. Norton.

Readers talk back about synthetics in organic food, gay jokes, and snottiness

  Re: O Brother, Where Artificial Thou? Dear Editor: I am skeptical of the sturm und drang surrounding the 38 “synthetic ingredients” that the National Organic Standards Board allows in processed foods that wear the “USDA Certified Organic” label. Of the three examples cited in your article [xanthan gum, ammonium bicarbonate, and ethylene], none is […]