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They’re crumbling

What a pleasant surprise to see Jacques Leslie, a journalist and real expert on dams, with a long op-ed on the hallowed pages of the New York Times. Leslie, author of Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People and the Environment, highlights the threat posed by poorly maintained and increasingly failing dams around the country:

Unlike, say, waterways and sanitation plants, a majority of dams -- 56 percent of those inventoried -- are privately owned, which is one reason dams are among the country's most dangerous structures. Many private owners can't afford to repair aging dams; some owners go so far as to resist paying by tying up official repair demands in court or campaigning to weaken state dam safety laws.

Kinda makes you want to find out what is upstream.

LCV’s seen more stars than I have

The League of Conservation Voters is here at Sundance this week, and they have actually succeeded in meeting famous people and talking to them about climate change. LCV Senior VP for Political Affairs Tony Massaro has been in Park City this weekend for the opening of Everything’s Cool and for some on-the-ground filming with celebs. […]

Sounds … whaaa?

Under the headline "A Coalition for Firm Limit on Emissions," The New York Times writes about a new coalition of major corporations and "moderate" environmental groups.

As usual for the NYT, the lead is buried deep in the story:

A bit of environmental art to soften the day

Seeing as Grist likes to bring humor to environmental issues, I figure, why not art? So here is a climate-change-debate-inspired bit of original digital art. It is entitled "Global Warming on Enceladus (v. 1)."

Fun

I just got done appearing on a rightwing talk radio show, hosted by one of the B-list Limbaughs that fill the drive-time airwaves across the country. He was all in a lather about Heidi Cullen; it became clear during his intro that he’d invited me on because he assumed I’d defend her (after all, I […]

Or 7-Eleven, it seems

I took some time last night to wander the streets of Park City in search of a Gyllenhaal, or perhaps a Lohan, since I’d heard some assortment of famous folks would be in town. But pressing my face up against the glass of the posher eating establishments only succeeded in leaving grease marks. Then I […]

Oh snap!

Readers of the Dallas Morning News were treated to a Texas-sized smackdown yesterday morning.

The backstory: TXU is trying to build 11 new ginormous coal-fired power plants in the state, and Gov. Perry is doing his damndest to jam them through in advance of carbon-capping legislation. The hurry is fueled by knowledge that any existing sources will have their emissions grandfathered into new legislation, at enormous competitive advantage.

That was the thinking, anyway. In an op-ed, Senators Boxer and Bingaman put those dreams of cashing in on carbon credits at the expense of the earth's future to rest, and did so in a way that can only be described as ... well, I'll let you choose the best adjective. But it rhymes with itchslap.

As the new Senate committee chairs engaged in the fight against global warming, we think it is important for investors to understand that there is little chance that the majority of such allowances will be allocated without cost and exclusively to large emitters of greenhouse gases.

In fact, companies that appear to be inflating their emissions right before legislation is passed are likely to find themselves in a position of having to make even larger emissions reductions than companies that do not attempt this strategy.

And in case TXU was still unclear on the message:

Any company planning to spend billions of dollars on new coal-fired power plants, and any investor in such a company, should think carefully about how to spend their funds so as to be part of the solution to climate change, not a part of the problem.

Read the whole thing. It just made my weekend.

Grim

… from Andy Revkin.

You may be surprised

I have been reading negative reports about Prius mileage and cost effectiveness for years. Here is one called "The Hybrid Hoax," written about a year ago. The author propagates misinformation by referring us to another article written in 2004 by a USA Today reporter (Kiley) who drove a Jetta diesel from Detroit to Washington, D.C., and a Prius back from Washington, D.C. to Detroit:

Kiley had to stop to refill the Prius, which ended up averaging 38 miles per gallon, compared with 44 miles per gallon for the Jetta

The high school yearbook photo!

This, via Kos via Pushing String, is the greatest thing ever: See the Pushing String post for an explanation of what the “choom gang” is. Effing sweet.