Uncategorized
All Stories
-
Optimistic
There's a new report out from the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress: "American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security" (PDF). I haven't read it yet, but according to Worldwatch's new Eye on Earth blog, it's a bullish take on renewable energy. You can read more about it at AmericanEnergyNow.org. I'll peruse it and perhaps post more.
-
New croc hunter sorely needed
For those of you who missed the tribute to Steve Irwin on Animal Planet the other night, here is a clip [must watch short ad first]. His passing left a void that needs to be filled and soon. I'm betting on his daughter.
-
China, up close and personal
A family friend has moved to China to teach English and is keeping us posted via a blog. This photo caught my attention, because any toilet that can do all of those things can't be cheap, reliable, or good for landfills when it dies a premature death from mechanical failure. This is not moving in the direction of sustainable technology. Not to mention, hitting the bidet button by accident would be unsettling on multiple levels. -
Yes
Some commenters have wondered if my argument is really a side show. Most environmental groups oppose whaling and the killing of dolphins and other advanced mammals, so why am I trying to create a rift that isn't there in the first place? For two reasons:
-
Lousiana spends half a mil beautifying private golf course
According to a report in today's Times-Picayune, the state of Louisiana has pledged half a million dollars to replace trees on a private golf course damaged by Hurricane Katrina last year.
The expenditure was buried in the budget state legislators passed last spring, and is listed as a "forestry program for the planting of trees and other native plants." This comes after the state spent $13 million to subsidize the construction of the Tournament Players Club in the first place.
-
Which of these three …
Exxon has hit back at the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific organization. A few days ago news broke that the RS had sent Exxon a letter in September scolding it for funding organizations that mislead the public on global warming. This was a highly unusual thing for any august scientific body to do, but those familiar with the traditionally staid RS were particularly surprised.
Exxon accuses the RS of "inaccurately and unfairly" depicting it as an agent of scientific misinformation on global warming. That's horsesh*t. As anyone who's read Chris Mooney's definitive "Some Like It Hot" knows, the characterization is entirely accurate.
The more interesting question has to do with Exxon's relationship to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, source of this Spring's delightfully and unintentionally hilarious "CO2 ... we call it life" ads. Those ads kicked up a lot of dust, and since then Exxon reps have privately told a number of people -- including Bob Ward at the RS -- that it is no longer funding CEI.
-
No
As you probably know, gas prices -- which peaked in August with a national average just over $3 -- are falling. Some optimists think the national average could drop below $2 by the end of the year.
This autumn also happens to mark the U.S. mid-term congressional elections.
Hmm ... [strokes chin, adjusts tinfoil hat] ... is something fishy going on here? Is Big Oil colluding with Big GOP to dampen voter discontent and preserve a Republican majority?
-
A little media criticism
Unlike my blogospheric brethren, I rarely indulge in media criticism. Poking around for flaws and bias in mainstream news reporting is a rather masturbatory undertaking -- everybody who looks will find exactly what they're looking for, and the entire exercise will do nothing but decrease the prestige and authority of the press, which I happen to think is a bad thing on balance.
But. That's not to say reporters don't have their annoying habits, and just this once I'll indulge in a little rant about them.
-
50 minutes of wonky goodness
Below the fold is a 50-minute video of an interview Al Gore did with The Guardian.
