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The Freak-Out Before the Storm

Officials try to scare Americans into preparing for hurricane season As hurricane season approaches, officials in storm-prone states are determined to scare residents into being ready to take care of themselves — because as we all saw last year, government sure ain’t up to the job. Florida officials are broadcasting public service announcements with recordings […]

Smogalot

Well, the dog haze of summer is upon us here in Toronto, Ontario. We're in to several days of smog, with several more to come, and 30+ celsius weather. Bleah.

This all makes the recent news that Ontario might not be able to shut down its coal plants as promised disheartening, to say the least.

Great, white north!

It looks as if Canada is poised to ban flame retardants known as PBDEs, which are have been linked with learning deficits and behavioral abnormalities in lab animals, and are found at high levels in some people.

That's the good news. The bad news is that some tests are finding alarmingly high levels of the compounds in kids. You win some, you lose some.

The Onion

Still funny.

Fee to be carbon free

Summer is upon us, unofficially at least. So to usher in the driving season, may I introduce Carbonfund.org, a new way to offset your personal carbon emissions from driving -- as well as from flying, and heating, cooling, and powering your house.

Obviously, Carbonfund.org isn't the only carbon offset program in town; Terrapass is more established and better known. But one thing about Carbonfund.org is unique: it's cheap. I mean, really, really cheap. A ton of CO2 costs just $5.50 U.S., which is, oh, about a quarter of the current price on the European Union carbon futures market, and substantially less than other carbon offset programs I've found (see here and here for a rundown).

In fact, Carbonfund.org is so cheap it made me wonder: is it for real? With some caveats, I'm inclined to think it is.

Paulson Jr. at Treasury

The big political news of the day is Bush's nomination of Henry M. Paulson Jr. as Treasury Secretary (ending an 18-month search for someone to occupy that thankless position). A couple of people have written to ask my take on this, so, uh ... I wish I had one.

Via TP, Paulson is the chief executive of Goldman Sachs. He's also chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy. Goldman Sachs thinks we should do something about global warming (PDF). So does the Nature Conservancy. Clearly Paulson's on board the Sanity Train on this issue, unlike his future employers. For this reason, he's opposed by the wing nut lobby.

The other strange thing about Paulson, in the context of Bush admin. officials, is that he is by all accounts competent and respected.

Anyway, wish I knew more, but there it is. A smart, competent, environmentally aware adult has somehow found his way into the administration (assuming he's confirmed, which looks like a sure thing). We'll see how long he lasts.

(Sources tell me that this week's Muckraker will be about Paulson -- it shall answer all your questions!)

Memorial Day weekend movie news

What's the big movie news from Memorial Day weekend? X-Men III, opening with a record $120 million?

Nope. It's this:

Playing at four theaters, An Inconvenient Truth averaged a promising estimated $70,500 per site over the three-day weekend, the highest of the year and for a documentary. Former Vice President Al Gore's environmentalist tract has grossed $489,000 in five days, and distributor Paramount Classics plans to expand it throughout June, reaching its widest point over the Independence Day holiday.

Thames the Breaks

England declares emergency drought, mandates conservation Thanks to 18 months of below-average rainfall, English officials have declared the country to be in an emergency drought. Homes and businesses in southeastern England face criminal prosecution and $9,000 or more in fines for nonessential water use like filling swimming pools or watering golf courses. Ironically, golf courses […]

Soon We Can Just Call It the Styx

Yangtze River so polluted it’s on the verge of death The Yangtze River is “cancerous” with pollution — mainly industrial waste and agricultural runoff — according to reports in China’s state media. Experts estimate that within five years, up to 70 percent of its water may be unusable, particularly as drinking water for the 186 […]

It’s the End of the World as We Blow It

Ecosystems don’t like hurricanes any more than we do With hurricane season approaching, scientists are voicing worries about the ability of coastal ecosystems to recover from repeated storms. Some 118 square miles of coastal wetlands were lost to Hurricane Katrina, and the Gulf Coast is vulnerable to more loss, as many islands that had acted […]