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Winning water

Any list of top environmental NGOs in India has the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) near the top.  They have coupled research-based innovations with action on the ground. Their forward looking work on rainwater harvesting builds on the fundamental insight that water management, and not water scarcity per se, is the critical difference in many situations. Through in no small measure CSE's efforts, the Indian water strategy now takes rainwater harvesting seriously.

CSE just had its 25 year record of research, practice, and lobbying recognized internationally with this week's announcement they will receive the 2005 Stockholm Water Prize. The prestigous award, and its $150,000 prize, will be awarded to CSE director Sunita Narain this August at World Water Week, held every summer in Stockholm.

Umbra on talking about environmentalism without being preachy

Dear Umbra, Since you’re the closest thing to Miss Manners that the environmental community has, I’d like to ask for your etiquette advice. I was recently on vacation with some friends and friends of friends and was disturbed by the lack of environmental awareness. For example: the 30-mile round-trips to get a takeout latte. Really. […]

What to make of Ford?

You got this, but then again, you got this. What's an enviro who thinks of the world in terms of black and white, good and evil, supposed to do?

Clark Williams-Derry

Cars that get five hundred miles per gallon?  According to this piece by LA Times editorialist Max Boot, it's possible using today's technology, including plug-in hybrids and "flexible fuel" vehicles that run on both petroleum and biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Now, I'm inclined to agree with the editorial's main points:  North America's petroleum dependence is a profound strategic and economic vulnerability; and we can make our transportation system much, much more fuel efficient using existing technologies--and without waiting decades for new technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells, to catch on.

But what about this statement:  "How to do better? Biking to work or taking the train isn't the answer. Even if Americans drive less, global oil demand will surge because of breakneck growth in India and China."

What on earth is he talking about?

Blown away

With a drop in recycling rates, Chicago is wondering: how come no one cares anymore? The city's "blue bag" program, introduced in 1995, sells bags for recyclables that are collected alongside regular trash. Last year, 90,000 tons filtered through, compared to 126,000 in 2000.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Mayor Richard Daley says it's not working because Chicagoans are apathetic. (Way to inspire 'em, Dick!) Critics, meanwhile, say the method is inconvenient, the bags break, and people think their goods -- and goodwill -- are just bound for the trash compactor. Oh yeah, and much of the waste has been recycled right into a field in Indiana.

One Chicago TV station offers an interesting comparison between recycling in the Windy City and the Big Apple. How's it going in your neck of the woods?  

 

Behind Enemy Livestock

Ranchers, greens unite to fight oil and gas wells in West Ranchers and environmentalists have traditionally gone together like chocolate and, uh, people who really hate chocolate. But of late, they have been overlooking past tussles to fight a common enemy: increasingly ubiquitous oil and gas drilling in the Western U.S. The ranchers say the […]

Solar death ray

Yes, you read that right.

(Via Judith Lewis)

What’s the Arctic Refuge worth to you?

In my experience, environmentalists are ... uh, how to put this delicately ... not very politically pragmatic. So, here's a thought experiment.

Imagine that, for whatever reason, the Republicans' current effort to drill in the Arctic Refuge was defeated, and the Refuge was taken off the table.

Now imagine, further, that Bush and the Republicans approached the major environmental organizations and their backers in Congress and offered a deal. They said, for instance, "if you let us get drills into ANWR, we'll sign onto Kyoto."

Would you do it?

What would you take in exchange for drilling in the Refuge? Click "read more" and vote in the poll.

Feebates in the U.K.

Just like Canada, the United Kingdom is seriously considering vehicle feebates, reports the invaluable newsletter Green Budget News.

To recap, feebates (sometimes called "freebates") are a great way to harness market forces to encourage energy efficiency and discourage pollution. The article above gives a good explanation of how they'd work:

The proposal would require owners of more polluting vehicles to pay an extra levy, while drivers of environmentally friendly cars would reap the benefits and receive a grant as a reward for buying fuel-efficient vehicles.

So people who buy gas guzzlers pay a fee that's refunded to people who buy gas-sippers--creating a powerful incentive for continual improvements to automobile efficiency.

One of the great features of feebates is that they pay for themselves -- taxpayers don't even get involved.  In fact, the UK proposal is to use feebates to replace the existing vehicle excise duty, which apparently has had little effect on consumers' vehicle choices.

And by the way -- I can't recommend Green Budget News enough. Almost every article holds some fragmentary insight into tax shifting and market oriented sustainability. And while it's focused on the European Union, it's chock full of ideas that could be adopted in this part of the world as well. The current edition of the newsletter, which is published by Green Budget Germany, also contains informative updates on congestion pricing in Scotland and Austria and vehicle, pollution, and energy taxes in Denmark.

Kristof’s blog

Did you know that Nicholas Kristof has a blog? As far as I can tell he's the only NYT columnist with one (hosted on the NYT site, anyway). It's a neat idea, though rather clunky and difficult to navigate in practice. The idea is that he can use this quasi-blog to interact with readers, but it mostly seems to involve just printing reader letters.

Regardless, go here and scroll down to the bottom two posts, which consist of letters on his execrable column on environmentalism. Most take him to task, justly. He does not respond.