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Marine mammals face myriad dangers thanks to humans

Yo-ho-ho mateys! Today we celebrate the many ways man has pillaged marooned f**ked over plank-walked marine mammals everywhere.

Off Hawaii, boats have hit a record number of humpback whales (go team human! high score, baby!), including some of the 1,000-or-so calves born this year. Though some say the increase in "hits" is due to a growing population of the endangered whale [happy face here], I ask, what about the growing population of whale-watchers, which now totals some 300,000 every year in Hawaii alone? [Reality check here]

Then there's the story about the "dozens" of dolphins found dead on Bulgaria's Black Sea shore after being tangled in fishing nets. "Dozens" sounds like maybe 24 or 36 dead dolphins ... but we're actually talking 55 found within a span of 10 days near the town of Shabla (clearly the hometown of Bob Loblaw). And last month, the death of 11 dolphins on a nearby Romanian shore was blamed on poaching. Don't even get me started on the whaling happening off the coasts of Japan, Norway, and Iceland.

NYT/CBS poll results

Bush haters will find much to celebrate in the latest NYT/CBS poll (write-up here; full results in PDF form here). Bush's approval ranking is tanking, overall -- 31%, the third lowest of any president in 50 years, behind Nixon and Carter -- and on virtually every individual issue, including the war in Iraq and terrorism.

Enviros, however, have reason for glumness. Question three is: "What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?" 14% chose the cryptic "heating oil/gas crisis." The equally vague "environment" garnered an underwhelming 1%. And global warming? Wasn't even on the list. The big winner was "war," with 19%.

Even more glumly, a majority approves of plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, by 48-45%.

On the subject of global warming, how much do I hate this question?

Grist wins Webby People’s Voice Award for best magazine

In case you didn't read yesterday's Daily Grist, I wanted to tout the fact that Grist won the People's Voice Award in the magazine category for the second year in a row. Wo0t!

Thanks to everyone who voted. Power to the people!

We Came, We Saw, We Concord

New Hampshire latest state to reduce mercury emissions New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch is joining the ranks of state leaders taking mercury matters into their own hands. Yesterday, Lynch signed into law a bill that will cut mercury emissions from its power plant by at least 80 percent by 2013. One power plant! New Hampshire […]

What’s Mine Is Mine

Bolivia threatens to nationalize its mining industry Following up on last week’s nationalization of its natural-gas industry, Bolivia (that’s in South America, in case you don’t remember seventh grade) now intends to exert greater state control over its mineral resources as well. President Evo Morales is vowing to nationalize the mining industry, though Vice President […]

Fritjof Capra: Still around

When I was in college, Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics blew my young gourd. It and a few related books -- for some reason I always think of Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus! Trilogy -- shaped my thinking in ways that persist today. I wouldn't have known then to call it ecological thinking. In those days it was more of a quasi-hippie, psychotropic, see-molecules kind of thing, but the basic principles -- interconnection, self-organizing systems -- are straightforwardly drawn from nature.

It turns out much to my delight that Capra is still around, lively as ever, teaching university, and doing a couple of interviews with Transition Culture on localization, biomimesis, and eco-literacy. It's like Christmas came early!

Here's a sample:

Make Salmon Happy, Make Just One Salmon Happy

Columbia River salmon finally running, but counts are low Three weeks later than normal, Columbia River salmon are finally running. Well, swimming. Whatever. The fish left the Pacific Ocean at their usual time to enter the Columbia, which runs on the border of Oregon and Washington. Then they mysteriously decided to hang out in the […]

Leaked IPCC draft

Last month, when U.S. officials leaked a copy of the preliminary draft of the fourth IPCC report, rumor had it that it was done to blunt the impact of the final report.

Rick Piltz says otherwise.

A huge source of clean power that’s been neglected

I just got done reading some extremely eye-opening stuff on cogeneration and power recycling. Wait, wait, keep reading! I promise it's more interesting than it sounds.

Most of all, it's another example of a great, low-cost, low-impact way to address the energy/climate crisis that doesn't get nearly the hype it deserves (perhaps because it's not backed by an industry that can afford to buy high-profile supporters).

The paper I read is from an unpublished book chapter, so I won't quote directly. And I won't get into the technical weeds, since I'm likely to botch something. Instead let me just convey some of the high-level take-home points:

Coconuts: Good for more than just tropical drinks and bras

As fuel prices soar, the smaller and more remote the land mass, the bigger the crisis. But Pacific Islanders may have found their solution: coconuts. An article in Reuters today details efforts to make biofuel out of coconut oil.

It began when the Professor developed an idea for a bamboo boat motor, but the Skipper said they lost all their fuel when the Minnow ran aground. Gilligan suggested, "I have an idea. If we have phones made of coconuts, and a space shuttle made out of coconuts, and small tactical explosives made from coconuts, then why can't we have biofuel made from coconuts?" Then the Skipper hit Gilligan with his hat, which looks like a hostile act but is really a sign of affection.

The new discovery may also be an industry incentive, bringing much-needed revenue to rural-island populations, whose coconut supplies until now have been used to meet the massive demand for carved souvenir monkey heads with wire-rimmed glasses.