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Dow Chemical evades legal responsibility for chemical spill in India

In 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were killed by the effects of a cyanide leak from a U.S.-owned pesticide plant. The plant owner, Union Carbide Corp., was bought by Dow Chemical in 2001; since then, Dow has evaded responsibility for cleaning up the more than 9,000 tons of chemicals still affecting soil and […]

Gray whale killed by Makah tribe members in surprise hunt

Photo: bbum A gray whale was harpooned off the coast of Washington state this weekend in a surprise hunt by members of the Makah tribe. The tribe does have hard-won treaty rights to conduct whale hunts, but this weekend’s kill was not sanctioned since the tribe has not yet succeeded in obtaining a necessary waiver […]

U.S. study says two-thirds of polar bears will be gone by 2050

The U.S. Geological Survey released a grim study of polar bears on Friday, concluding that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will be gone by 2050. Polar bears in Alaska and other areas outside the very far north will be most out of luck, according to the study; it forecasts that precisely zero polar bears […]

Greenland ice melting faster than predicted

Guess it ends with a bang after all: The Greenland ice cap is melting so quickly that it is triggering earthquakes as pieces of ice several cubic kilometres in size break off. Scientists monitoring events this summer say the acceleration could be catastrophic in terms of sea-level rise and make predictions this February by the […]

Friday music blogging: The Apples in Stereo

I’ve found a theme song for Grist! The Apples in Stereo are 15-year veterans of the Elephant Six collective down in Georgia — chipper lo-fi psych pop stuff. This is from their new album New Magnetic Wonder. I’ve never been a huge follower of that scene, but I like this new album well enough, and […]

Harassment reports against fishing observers double

In just one year, attacks have doubled on government observers contracted to collect catch and bycatch information from commercial fishing fleets.

Observers are the only independent source of data we have for tracking catches, monitoring quotas and recording harmful activity. They're contracted under NOAA, an agency within the Department of Commerce that conducts environmental research.

But the agency has ceased collecting data on reports of harassment or interference, supposedly because it lacks resources to investigate these matters.

Without observers, we truly have no way of knowing whether laws implemented to protect sea life and habitat are followed. So we've got observers in place to protect marine life, but who's protecting the observers?

Study shows that urban dwellings have less pavement per unit than suburban homes

Here's an interesting tidbit from the ever-geekalicious Todd Litman: a chart comparing average impervious surface per household in urban vs. suburban settings.

As you can see, large single-family lots -- the sort of homes that are surrounded by greenery -- actually require the most pavement overall. Apparently, it takes an awful lot of road space to get a homeowner to and from that exurban McMansion. (Take that, sprawl!)

Cleaning up Great Lakes will boost regional economy, says report

Environmentalists love nothing more than trying to bring down the economy. So it’s really kind of a bugger that environmental measures often end up helping the economy: A plan to clean up and protect the Great Lakes environment would boost the regional economy by more than twice its $26 billion price tag, according to a […]

AASHE awards campus sustainability leaders

A number of campuses across the country received high marks for their eco-efforts this week. The Campus Sustainability Leadership Award, presented by AASHE (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), "recognize[s] institutions that have demonstrated an outstanding overall commitment to sustainability in their governance and administration, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture, […]

‘Bill Moyers Journal’ on religious resistance to mountaintop-removal mining

The upcoming episode of Bill Moyers Journal reports on evangelical Christians in West Virginia who are fighting against the scourge of mountaintop-removal mining. Check PBS listings for airtimes in your ‘hood. This episode follows up on a 2006 Moyers special, Is God Green?. Our own David Roberts interviewed Moyers about it last year. Have you […]