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Readers write in about violent fires, violently bad puns, and more

  Dear Editor: How significant is the difference between one idiot burning a building full of rare plant tissues, research, writing, curricula, slides, and books all regarding the worthy goal of a better understanding of the natural world and the idiot who burns a church because it is occupied by a group of people they […]

Vader, Cheney, same same

The brilliant series of pieces on Dick (Vader) Cheney continues with the latest installment about destroying salmon runs for partisan purposes, making the western U.S. look like a pincushion punctured with drilling rigs, and unleashing the hounds of hell (snowmobiles) throughout Yosemite.

Dick Cheney -- truly an execrable almost-human being.

John Ashcroft, Where Are You?

Bald eagle soars off threatened-species list, cockfighting banned Two momentous avian occasions occurred this week: on Wednesday, the Louisiana legislature banned cockfighting, making it the last state in the U.S. to do so. And yesterday, federal officials confirmed the removal of Endangered Species Act protections for the iconic bald eagle. First, the cocks: by a […]

The Tahoe Blues

Blaze rages around Lake Tahoe; blame game begins in earnest What’s to blame for the raging fire that has burned more than 200 homes near California’s South Lake Tahoe? Try the homogenous stands of white fir planted post-clear-cut by 20th-century miners. Or was it this year’s low-snow winter and current drought? Perhaps criticism should be […]

Defends herself at a hill hearing, poorly

You’ve probably heard that ex-EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman was up on the hill on Monday, defending herself against accusations that she misled New Yorkers about the dangers of air pollution following the 9/11 attacks. It was about what you’d expect: despite an EPA Inspector General report containing definitive proof that Whitman was logrolled by […]

Calling All Working Assets Customers

Grist made the list — now we need your votes Dearest Working Assets customers: did you know your conscientious phone and credit card spending can support your conscientious web habits? Grist is on the list of groups Working Assets donates to, and we need your help making the moola materialize. Please assign points to Grist […]

Alito Bit More Critter-Hating

Supreme Court sides with developers on Endangered Species Act case Like a tormented parent with two kids in a spelling bee, environmentalists watched in horror this week as the U.S. Supreme Court judged the relative heft of two federal eco-laws. The case in question pitted green groups against the National Association of Home Builders. At […]

In Black, climate-conscious youth jazz band, answers questions

In Black. Photos courtesy In Black What work do you do? We are in a jazz band called In Black. We are Carson, Christian, Langston, Lati, and Lauren, and we’re all ages 14 to 16. This week, In Black is doing a Solutions Tour in Southern California to promote awareness of climate change and how […]

China trumps U.S. as biggest CO2 polluter, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: And They’re Off Canary You Hear Me Now? Be Still Our Beating Hearts Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Gameboys Search Engine Engine Search Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: The Hand That Feeds Pay for the Rays […]

Canary You Hear Me Now?

Climate change a contributor to Darfur crisis, says U.N. report A United Nations Environment Program report says brutal conflicts in Sudan are tied to the effects of climate change, including severe drought. Competition over scarce resources, including water, timber, oil, and land, could spark more fighting unless the issues are addressed, says the report: “Ignoring […]