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Sky Blue

It is the year 2142. Earth has suffered severe ecological damage due to billions of humans inhabiting the planet. The sky is black and acid rain has been pouring down for a century.

Fortunately, for some, a sanctuary was constructed: Ecoban, a living city genetically engineered to house an elite society. As with many cities, Ecoban exists thanks to the tireless work of an impoverished underclass -- the Diggers. But the very city that they strenuously work to keep alive is killing them. Mercury and sulfur are poisoning their environment, and children are being born blind. So it is up to Ecoban's creator, along with a group of rebel Diggers, to restore balance to the world, to once again see the blue sky -- but at the cost of Ecoban and its inhabitants.

States of grace, states of confusion

Which states use the least gasoline?  Which ones have the best gas-conservation trends? Probably not who you'd think, at least for the latter question.

Based on Federal Highway Administration data covering 2001 through 2003, residents of New York State use the least gasoline, person for person, of any U.S. state: about 0.8 gallons per person per day, vs. the national average of 1.2 gallons per person. That's to be expected: New York City--which makes up a sizable chunk of the state's population--is among the densest cities in the country, which allows many of its residents to get by perfectly well without cars, except for the occasional taxicab.

The runners-up to New York were: Hawaii--with high priced gas and surprisingly dense Honolulu--at .9 gallons per person per day; Rhode Island--dominated by urban Providence--at one daily gallon per capita; and Illinois--which has a significant share of residents in urban Chicago and its dense inner suburbs--with 1.1 gallons. Oregon, Washington, and Idaho rank 8th, 12th, and 17th, respectively, in per capita gas consumption; but all three states are close to the national average.

The states that use the most gas are either predominantly rural, have particularly sprawling cities, or both. Wyoming residents use the most gasoline (1.8 gallons per person per day), followed by residents of Georgia, South Carolina, and Vermont at about 1.5 gallons per capita.

Now, for the trend lines -- over the long term, which states are going in the right direction? If you guessed Nevada, you hit the jackpot.

Journalistic balance at Scientific American

OMFG. You have to read this note from the editors of Scientific American. It is a thing of beauty.

Neon lights will shine for you

Here in the Northwest, this winter's lack of rain and snow has people muttering about two things: the inevitable drought this summer, and the lack of good skiing right now. Welp, enterprising ski bums in countries including England, Japan, and the Netherlands have found a way around this exact problem: indoor slopes.

Oddly, the U.S. has managed to survive without this concept -- until now. Xanadu, an impossibly gigantic indoor theme park planned for New Jersey's Meadowlands, will include such a hill (and also a chocolate waterfall, but I digress). Despite critics who say the project will damage wetlands, increase traffic, and cause air pollution, the complex got a go-ahead permit last week.

Life is never simple in Jersey, though. A whole brouhaha having to do with nearby Giants stadium might slow things down, giving opponents another chance to howl. Stay tuned.

Grist Grows Up, Moves Out, Gets Real Job

Coming soon: Grist HTML emails with pictures and pretty colors All right, all right, we get it. Text emails are sooo 1998. To get with the times, in April we will be launching a snazzy HTML version of our Grist emails — with pictures and pretty colors and everything! Of course, the emails will still […]

Just One Day Out of Life, It Would Be So Nice

World Water Day celebrated by U.N., few others In case you haven’t heard — and you haven’t — today is World Water Day, an annual holiday aimed at drawing attention to alarming stats about global water needs, encouraging world leaders to take action, and otherwise passing by unnoticed. But today isn’t just any old World […]

The Strife Aquatic

Concerns about sea critters grow as ocean noise levels increase As the world’s shipping traffic more than sextupled between 1948 and 1998, scientists say the oceans’ noise levels have increased by some 15 decibels — and as the impact of decibels is calculated exponentially, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Researchers worry about the possible threat […]

Benefit to Be Tied

EPA ignores own research in creating mercury rule The U.S. EPA may have grossly underestimated the health benefits of mercury-emission reductions, according to a study commissioned by, uh, the EPA. When the Bush administration’s new mercury rule was released last week, administration officials claimed that it would yield only $50 million a year in health […]

Diesel or hybrid? How about both?

Wired News has reported that General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, and Ford are working on diesel-hybrid prototypes.

According to Charlie Freese, executive engineering director at GM Powertrain:

... many factors that make diesel engines more efficient include operating unthrottled and more efficient oxidizing of fuel. Diesel engines also have a higher compression ratio, and the heavier diesel fuel has a higher energy density ... diesel and hybrid technologies have synergies because hybrid systems reduce fuel consumption by relying on the electric motor while idling and during acceleration of stop-and-go traffic. Diesel engines are optimized for hauling heavy loads and for steady-speed highway driving.

Now, longtime Grist readers will know that Umbra has had some harsh words when it comes to diesel (but not biodiesel and SVO though). While responding to a reader asking if a higher gas mileage diesel car is better than a less-particulate-emitting gasoline engine, she offered the following analogy:

Let's recall some stale high school stereotypes: the cruel football player and the catty cheerleader. Diesel oil is the football player -- big, strong, lunk-headed, unwashed, and mean. Gasoline is the cheerleader: slimmer, well-groomed, and socially manipulative. They're both toxic to the school atmosphere, but people are more inclined to avoid the bully, because he is more immediately physically hazardous.

Umbra sums up her article by saying, "... all diesel cars are considered 'inferior' in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's Green Book." But what would Umbra think of a diesel hybrid engine? Here's what Dan Benjamin, an analyst at ABI Research, had to say:

"Can hybrid engines help (reduce) diesel emissions? Absolutely," Benjamin said. Although diesel vehicle manufacturers will likely add filters or catalytic converters to reduce emissions, "hybrid systems can cut emissions by eliminating situations where NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions are at their very worst," according to Benjamin. Meeting California's tougher emissions requirements, which have been adopted by four other states, presents more of a challenge, Benjamin said.

So maybe those nasties Umbra is worried about won't be as much as a concern. What say you?

Tamayo-Paced

Honduras forest activists slow deforestation In central Honduras, where deforestation is widespread, poor farmers and rural residents under the leadership of Roman Catholic priest Andres Tamayo have had a string of successes in their struggle to save the pine forests that sustain them (or used to). The activists say Honduras’ forests have been poorly managed […]