Uncategorized

Biodiversity loss accelerating

Mongabay has posted an interview with Dr. Peter Raven, one of the world's preeminent biodiversity experts. It's a real good read. Although too long for most American's to tolerate, Grist readers should have no problem with it.

The interview is at the bottom of the article. I suggest going straight to it. If you read the prologue first you may commit suicide before the interview, which is upbeat and hopeful. Then go back and read the prologue because it is informative.

Setting a standard for other candidates, perhaps?

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced this week that his campaign is going carbon neutral. “Global warming is an emergency and we can’t wait until the next president is elected to take action,” said Edwards in a press release. “Each of us can take responsibility in small ways to make a big difference. I encourage […]

A step closer to trains replacing plane journeys

A Morocco-Spain Chunnel will provide a land rail link between Africa and Europe.

John McGrath asks if a China-Africa link will follow, and then a railway across the Bering Strait.

Maybe in the long run we can link most of the world by rail, and save plane journeys for Australia, New Zealand, other islands, and major emergencies. That would be a nice end run around the difficult problem of air travel emissions.

Two things that aren’t green, but rule

Just to give you some respite from all the, you know, earth-this earth-that:

A new Gore idea

Short but intriguing: Former US Vice-President Al Gore called on Tuesday for Kyoto countries to bring forward by two years the start date of a new global warming treaty, to 2010, given the urgency of the global warming problem. ….. The United States pulled out of the pact on the basis of the possible costs […]

Public divided over whether costly steps are needed

From the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA):

An international poll finds widespread agreement that climate change is a pressing problem. This majority, however, divides over whether the problem of global warming is urgent enough to require immediate, costly measures or whether more modest efforts are sufficient.

Read the rest at their website. One data point: 39 percent of Americans think global warming is an important threat, 46 percent think it is a critical threat, only 17 percent think it is not important at all.

A reminder

Grist.org seeks an enterprising, sharp-witted, D.C.-based reporter to track and break environmental news in the political and policy arenas. We are seeking to hire an outstanding candidate as soon as possible. Job description: Grist’s political reporter will combine the best of the old and new media. From the old media: a dedication to accuracy, double-checking […]

Yeah, you heard me

Yes, you heard me right. Kudos to Fox News:

A teasing hint

Toward the end of an article on John Dingell’s ongoing CAFE obstructionism and the prospects of a cap-and-trade system getting through his committee, The Hill drops this tantalizing tidbit: It is a complex enough issue that Dingell has sought and received from Pelosi an extension on the July deadline to produce legislation, one lobbyist said. […]

Not in hog heaven

This piece in the New York Times should be of particular interest to environmentalists, because the pig industry is one of the most environmentally destructive in the nation. In addition to the need for massive regulation of the seas of manure these factory hog farms generate -- which often end up in rivers and streams and foul the air for miles -- the animals are subjected to absolutely horrific conditions. We should demand environmental improvements and humane treatment in our nation's factory farms. I think the environmental community can reasonably get behind both of these measures.