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Snippets from the news

• British government using food crisis to clear the way for GM crops. • Shortage of ships would delay offshore drilling. • Group suing U.S. Coast Guard to protect endangered whales from getting hit. • Americans’ love affair with driving is slowing down. • U.S. House overrides Bush’s farm bill veto, again.

Bush calls for offshore oil drilling, prez candidates spar on energy issues, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Man in the Middle Putting Lipstick on a Rig Pump Up the Volume Transmission: Impracticable Wolong, Fare Well? Lord, Hear Our PR Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Wee, Wee, Wee All the Way Home Till Stuff Do Us Part Our […]

Massachusetts town could be first to build offshore wind farm in U.S.

The town of Hull, Mass., is aiming to build what would be the first offshore wind farm in the United States about a mile and a half off their coast. Other offshore wind projects in the U.S. have met varying degrees of resistance, most notably the Cape Wind project slated for Nantucket Sound that’s been […]

Snippets from the news

• Feds cut back climate research trips — to save fuel. • Residents of proposed U.K. eco-towns could be fined for driving. • Lobsters fall prey to war on mosquitoes. • Germany approves new climate legislation. • Polar bear sighted in Iceland.

Jellyfish are everywhere, and that’s not a good thing

Photo: Neil Harmon The natural cycle of Mediterranean jellyfish populations is to swell every 12 years, plateau for four to six years, then subside. But massive groups of gelatinous jellies have been showing up for the past eight years, and they show no sign of flagging. In fact, jellies are proliferating worldwide, and that makes […]

Snippets from the news

• How do religious leaders address high gas prices? • Portland and New York City try out no-car zones. • U.S. supermarkets not doing enough to protect fish. • Tory leader David Cameron won’t back off the green. • Brazil environment minister backs Amazon soy ban. • Japan says carbon-emissions goals won’t be made at […]

Canadian lakes set to be reclassified as mining-waste dumps

Sixteen lakes across Canada are set to be quietly reclassified as allowable areas for mines to dump toxic waste. While Canadian law technically disallows chucking harmful substances into fish habitat, lakes can be reclassified as “tailings impoundment areas” under a little-known subsection of mining effluent regulations. With a lake at their disposal (literally), mining companies […]

Snippets from the news

• Brazil’s biofuel industry accused of worker exploitation. • With a new kit, turn your car into a hybrid. • Group seeks emergency protection for 32 species. • Oil companies allowed to annoy polar bears. • Intel spins off solar energy technology. • Teeny-tiny delivery vehicle to be unveiled.

Snippets from the news

• Endangered turtles show up in Texas. • International talks in Bonn end with, as usual, scant progress. • Bank of America donates $1 million to Conservation International. • Exxon quits the gas business. • Lions at Kenya park at risk of extinction. • Ron Paul drops out.

Deep-sea squid and octopi full of human-made chemicals

Human-made chemicals have snuck on down into the ocean depths, showing up in the tissues of deep-sea cephalopods, says new research. In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers found various persistent organic pollutants — including PCBs and DDT — in nine species of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. “The […]