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Hood Games: Stop clearcutting the youth

Over at Treehugger TV, there is a new video about Comet Skateboards (a green 'board manufacturing company) and their community event, Hood Games:

In addition to raising funds and for a sustainably designed skate park in downtown Oakland CA, Comet has collaborated with others to put on Hood Games. Hood Games 4 took place in Oakland, and brought together a truly remarkable gathering of the skateboarders, parents, and friends for a full day of music, art, and of course -- ecofriendly skateboarding!

For more information about Comet Skateboards, check out this InterActivist and this Current TV video. And of course, their website.

Our ongoing environmental and economic setbacks are the successes of the current administration’s co

Anyone who's been following the systematic dismantling of environmental protection occurring in this country knows that the Bush administration is anything but incompetent. The people in power have very specific goals, and a lack of competence wouldn't have gotten them as far as they are today. Over on AlterNet, George Lakoff explains the philosophy that has brought about our recent failures and setbacks:

The conservative vision for government is to shrink it - to "starve the beast" in Conservative Grover Norquist's words. The conservative tagline for this rationale is that "you can spend your money better than the government can." Social programs are considered unnecessary or "discretionary" since the primary role of government is to defend the country's border and police its interior. Stewardship of the commons, such as allocation of healthcare or energy policy, is left to people's own initiative within the free market. Where profits cannot be made -- conservation, healthcare for the poor -- charity is meant to replace justice and the government should not be involved.

So the federal response to Katrina was actually a success:

Enviros and Navy square off on whales

If you think the World Cup is exciting, try keeping up with the current legal battle between the Navy and the environmental community. On June 28, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups filed a temporary restraining order against the Navy's use of sonar testing.

Speaking of EVs

I've picked up a copy of The Car That Could by Michael Shnayerson, the 1996 book about the birth of the EV1. This quote really summed up the whole sorry tale, and it appears early in the book (p. 24, emphasis mine):

Electric cars: Don’t call it a comeback

Though the snark against Who Killed the Electric Car? ("Who cares? It's history!") is bizarre and unwarranted, Joel Makower's post on the revival of electric cars and plug-in hybrids nonetheless contains a wealth of interesting information. I knew some efforts were underway to produce and market all-electric vehicles, but I didn't know how many.

It seems to me the only stumbling block is the development of light, economical, reliable lithium-ion batteries, and given that lithium-driven scooters are already on the market, I can't imagine they're too far away.

I predict the market will judge the Big Three American automakers' new push for flex-fuel vehicles harshly. Electric is the future, no matter how many subsidies the feds pump in other directions.

‘Tis the Season (for strawberry shortcake)

Ah, June. Roses are in bloom, weddings and graduation exercises occupy the weekends, and it's time to head to the beach. Summer in full swing! Summer at last!

So why am I making Thanksgiving dinner on what is, to date, the hottest day of the year?

Welcome, dear reader, to the topsy-turvy world of the food writer. Like fashion models who don heavy mink coats in July and itsy-bitsy bikinis in December in order to accommodate magazine production schedules, foodwriters are always working many months into the future. This leads to a rarefied category of Seasonal Affective Disorder: Seasonal Displacement Disorder -- a syndrome in which the patient is unreasonably preoccupied with the events and sentiments normally reserved for a season approximately six months into the future.

Who killed the Phoenix Islands coral reef?

Here's a short whodunnit over at Current TV, "Canary is dead", which is awaiting the greenlight to be aired on television:

(Via TH)

Kunstler

For those of you who can't get enough of Mr. Doomy Gloomenstein, there's an interview with James Howard Kunstler up on Worldchanging.

Big Three Automakers shun hybrids for flex-fuel hoo-hah

It looks like America's Big Three automakers have decided that "flex-fuel" vehicles -- i.e., vehicles that can run on an ethanol blend -- are their ticket to green credibility.

Aargh.

EMA Awards 2006: Call for entries

The Environmental Media Association is seeking entries for their Sixteenth Annual Environmental Media Awards. (You might recall that Vanessa McGrady covered last year's event for Grist.)

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