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Dying For a Change

Pollution causes some 40 percent of deaths worldwide, says new research Here’s one small reason to join the save-the-environment cause: new research indicates that some 40 percent of deaths worldwide are a direct effect of air, water, and soil pollution. Dirty air contributes to cancer and birth defects; unclean water accounts for 80 percent of […]

I guess the headline says it all

Via Brian Beutler (The Other WunderkindTM), I notice that longtime Bush loyalist and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson has used his inexplicably granted space on the Washington Post op-ed page to support a cap-and-trade system, prompting me to throw up in my mouth a little. The column offends on so many levels that one hardly […]

Giuliani does not plan to fight the Climate’s War on Us

A frequently overlooked element of the energy/climate debate — most debates about big issues, really — is opportunity cost. That is to say, there’s a limited stock of national attention and money, and if you argue that a large portion should to go one set of issues, you are implicitly arguing that proportionately less should […]

But what about the economy?

According to David Pimentel and his team of researchers, water, air, and soil pollution cause 40% of all deaths worldwide. (via Hugg)

Things I learned from the L.A. Times piece on Dingell

Rep. John Dingell is Polish stock — his immigrant grandfather changed the name from Dzieglewicz. Who knew?

Aussie guitarist John Butler on nukes, dickheads, and common sense

The John Butler Trio: (L to R) Shannon Birchall, John Butler, and Michael Barker. Photo: Marty Philbey For the record, John Butler hates the word “environmentalism.” Actually, he’s sick of all the “-isms.” The Australian jam-band musician is more interested in the interconnectedness of problems, in why humans do the things we do. “Lack of […]

Hillary Clinton tells Grist about her environmental plans, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: How Green Is Your Candidate? Flo Nays Bring in the Reserves Someone Alert Ben and Jerry With Safety Like This, Who Needs Danger? Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Something For the Boys The Weigh of All Flesh Listify Me

Underwater Update

Tidal turbines in New York’s East River halted temporarily for repairs The company experimenting with underwater electricity turbines in New York’s East River has found that the river’s currents are powerful. Too powerful, if you want to get picky about it: the river sheared off several blades on the 20-foot-tall turbines, and has stressed the […]

Newsweek’s cover story deserves Pulitzer — and global action

Newsweek's Sharon Begley and Scott Johnson should get the Pulitzer Prize for last week's Newsweek cover story, "Slaughter in the Jungle." It was the most moving story of the year and clearly based on truly intrepid reportage. More importantly, I hope it provokes action to stop this brutal global slaughter of wildlife.

Scott Johnson went into the rainforest in the war-torn Congo, home to much of Africa's remaining 700 mountain gorillas. Miles from the nearest town, he discovered and recorded the worst massacre of gorillas in more than 25 years.

The rangers found the first corpse less than a hundred yards away, in a grove of vines and crooked thicket. The mammoth gorilla lay on her side, a small pink tongue protruding slightly from her lips. She was pregnant and her breasts were engorged with milk for the baby that now lay dead inside her womb ... They have not been killed for their meat or their pelts or their internal organs. In fact, no one is quite sure why they've been killed.

Be sure to check out Johnson's astonishing photos of the gorillas. What makes them so powerful, I think, is that they capture our commonality with our fellow creatures: in life, the gorillas seem inspired by the same needs and emotions as we are; in death, their poses and deep, mournful expressions evoke a crucifixion -- in this case, they are sacrifices to human greed, violence, and apathy.

It's clear, however, that whatever the facts and the tragedy of this assassination are, the gorillas are looking extinction in the eye because of many of the same threats that are menacing wildlife around the world.

Friday music blogging: Gonzales

Wow, I sure am glad it’s Friday. I’m exhausted. Not the kind of exhausted where you want music that will re-energize you, but the kind of exhausted where you want something nice and soothing to help you turn off and unload the week’s worries. Solo Piano, an album by an artist known cryptically as Gonzales, […]