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Reporter waxes poetic on pythons

Grist’s take on potential python proliferation is, of course, unsurpassable — but if it were to be surpassed, it would be by this article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Gotta love a paper that gives its reporter some editorial leeway for humor. Some of my favorite tidbits: Biologists estimate 30,000 nonnative giant snakes live in […]

Toxics report shows slight dip in U.S. releases overall, mercury releases up

The U.S. EPA’s 2006 Toxics Release Inventory just came out, showing a slight decline in total toxic chemicals released in the country, as well as a 17 percent increase in releases of mercury. Individual states showed mixed results, with Arizona’s total toxic releases shooting up by 52 percent from 2005 to 2006 due almost entirely […]

Gray wolves in northern Rocky Mountains lose endangered-species protections

Gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains will be removed from Endangered Species Act protections next month, the U.S. Fish and Wild Service announced Thursday. Management of the wolf population will be turned over to states on March 27. In states such as Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming where conservatives have shown rancor toward the predators […]

Nations launch new combined effort to save mountain gorillas

The three African nations that still have mountain gorilla populations have agreed to cooperate on a new plan to save the critically endangered primates. Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo hatched a 10-year program to enhance security in the parks and forests that the gorillas call home, as well as other measures. […]

Wolverine goes green in new movie

Marvel at this: X-Men Origins: Wolverine will be an environmentally friendly production. This fourth movie based on the Marvel Comics characters is currently being filmed in New Zealand, and the producers have agreed to work with the local Queenstown Lakes District Council on a "green screen" initiative. As part of the project, the council will […]

Sunscreen may be contributing to coral bleaching, Lake Mead could run out of water by 2021, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Réservez, S’il Vous Plait The Lotion in the Ocean Put Your Hyde in Park Dead Mead The Velorution Will Be Incentivized Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: My Three Sins The Wonder Down Under

Seeking ideas for good green listening

For my personal benefit, and I begrudgingly suppose for the benefit of others, too, I hereby disrupt your happy Gristmillery to ask for your most highly recommended, can't-live-without podcasts (besides Grist's, of course) on the topic of anything green, anything local ag, or anything activism-related. Do leave any suggestions in the comments section, with links, pretty please.

Notable quotable

“I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs. … I think this economy is down because we built too many houses, and the economy is adjusting.” — President George W. Bush, demonstrating his economic acumen

FCC must consider impact of communications towers on birds

A federal appeals court has made the call that the Federal Communications Commission must analyze the impact of new Gulf Coast communications towers on migratory birds. Green groups which sued over the birds’ flight plight point out that up to 50 million birds die annually from collisions with towers as they cross the Gulf of […]

Oil refinery in Texas explodes, four injured

An oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas, exploded Monday for as-yet-unknown reasons, injuring four workers and sending large plumes of smoke into the air. The explosion closed schools, shut down the nearby freeway, and shook buildings up to a few miles away. Fires at the facility were apparently extinguished as of Monday night, but the […]