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State mulls fate of meadow mouse as development vultures lurk in the background

I'm not all that concerned about the protection of this particular mouse, nor do I want to enter into the ongoing debate about animal rights, but this piece of news from Colorado concerns me for its wider implications.

A committee in the state House will meet next week to determine whether the Preble's meadow jumping mouse should continue to be protected by the Endangered Species Act. At hand is the question of whether the species is distinct enough to warrant special protections.

The real topic, though, is the 31,000 acres of land in Colorado and Wyoming currently designated as critical habitat for the rodents. Removing the mouse from the endangered species list would open that chunk of land to development in a state besieged by rapid expansion into wetlands.

U.K. club builds sustainable football stadium

I was at the pub the other day watching Man U with my husband (whom I realize I talk about entirely too much -- but, in my defense, not as much as caniscandida talks about Little White Dog. But she does sound delightful.). Anyway ... Andrew was lamenting his mediocre showing in his fantasy soccer league, which he blames on his integrity for avoiding the hated Arsenal and Chelsea players altogether.

I suggested that his integrity would be more intact if he only employed players who were environmentally conscious. He deftly sidestepped the issue by suggesting that I write a blog post about said environmentally conscious English Premier League players.

Not a bad idea, in and of itself, but I've run into a minor problem: My internet search has turned up nary an eco-friendly Premier League player. If I've missed someone, do feel free to point out my error.

While I'm waiting for all you hooligans to chime in with how Becks makes Posh buy organic bustiers, or how Brian McBride constantly sends letters across the Pond to urge his homeland to support Kyoto, check this out.

Re-naming fish makes some more appetizing

Juliet knew what she was talking about when she uttered the famous line, "that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But the question remains: "to be or not to be?" "would it taste as good?"

That’s what electronics company Via says

Cool:

Via calls the C7-D the first "carbon-free" desktop processor, promising that atmospheric carbon released during generation of the power needed to run the chip throughout its expected lifecycle will be offset by regional conservation, reforestation, and energy programs initiated or contributed to by Via. The "initial offsets" for the C7-D will be worked out in cooperation with Carbon Footprint, a U.K. based "carbon footprint management specialist," Via says.

The Daily Show is funny again

I thought this was pretty funny given recent discussions on the site:

Umbra on oil drilling and seismic activity

Dear Umbra, How is drilling for oil affecting the stabilization of our planet? I wonder how much all the drilling is disturbing the earth’s crust. Could this be part of the problem causing tsunamis, earthquakes, and tidal waves? Susan Milliner Cedar Park, Texas Dearest Susan, Oil and gas drilling can do all kinds of nasty […]

If environmentalism doesn’t include animal welfare, why not?

Over the past couple of weeks, I have tried to make what is essentially a straightforward case that environmentalism at its core is about respecting life and that separating this from our behavior towards individual living beings doesn't make much sense.

Since many environmentalists reject this notion and insist that environmentalism only includes preserving biodiversity and promoting resource sustainability, this suggests that one of the defining elements of environmentalism no longer holds: an opposition to whaling.

Wolves are returning to their home in Oregon

It seems that wolves are returning home to Oregon.

A little more than a decade ago, Oregon was wolf-less, along with the rest of the American West, a legacy of government-sanctioned poisoning, trapping, and shooting to make the land safe for cows and sheep. (Here's a cool animated map depicting our shrunken wolf range.)

But then in the mid-1990s, federal biologists reintroduced a few dozen wolves back into their native habitat of Yellowstone National Park and the wilderness of central Idaho. And the wolf population grew faster and healthier than anyone had been expecting.

Can you ‘murder’ a chicken?

The word murder generally applies to people killing other people. 99.9 percent of all violent deaths to human beings are wrought by other human beings. The individual human being we look at in the mirror every morning is cooperative, caring, and kind. As a species however, our propensity and capacity to cooperate as a group to go after other groups is nothing short of monstrous. The fossil record indicates that this has apparently been true for many thousands of years now.

Using the word "murder" to describe the act of a human killing a non-human does not sit well with me. It is a special word that shocks and should be reserved for when one human deliberately takes the life of another. The use of it by animal rights activists to describe the killing of a farm animal is demeaning people. It puts farm animals on the same level as my children. Using that term in such a manner may be counterproductive.

It also isn't used when one animal "murders" another, for food, out of anger, or just for fun. Animals kill each other for all of those reasons.

Interactive map will blow your mind

Check out Breathing Earth, an interactive map that shows ongoing population changes and CO2 emissions per country. Cool. And terrifying.