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“The Bill”

This little film … … isn’t perfect, but damn is it good. Four minutes and 22 seconds, in German with English subtitles, but watch it anyway. Kudos to Germanwatch, and if anyone wants to pay for an English version, don’t hesitate to write me.

Dow Agrosciences: farm like there’s no tomorrow!

“If you’re going to farm a piece of land, you ought to farm it for all its worth.”–Tim Hassinger, commercial vice president at Dow AgroSciences, quoted in an AP story called “Chemical makers go on the offensive in agriculture.”

Obama admin should bring defense and climate funding into balance, argues a new report

Image: Tom Twigg/Grist With climate change among the world’s biggest security challenges, the Obama administration should be pumping much more money into addressing the problem, argues a new report [PDF] from the Institute for Policy Studies. In fiscal year 2008, the United States invested 20 times more money in developing military technology than in developing […]

Bordering on Chaos: Climate change melts lines drawn in ice

As climate change melts the world’s glaciers, some nations must redefine their national borders. Above, the Basodino Glacier near the Swiss-Italian border.Via Wikimedia Commons Something really rather strange is happening to Switzerland, where I spent part of last week at an international conference. The mountainous country is shrinking as a result of global warming. The […]

From “sexy meat” to fabulous ice cream, tasty morsels from around the web

When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. ———— • Fascinating–and elegantly done–graphic depiction of British food consumption since the 1970s. (Via Internet Food Association.) • You know that nasty industrial meat I’ve been writing so much about lately? Turns out it’s sexy–according to the […]

Blackout: Heinberg on dwindling coal reserves and the siren song of “clean coal”

Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis, Richard HeinbergThere isn’t nearly as much coal left as most people think. “Clean coal” will run down limited reserves even faster. If humanity doesn’t begin massive, sustained investment in renewable power sources immediately, civilization could be at risk before the end of the century. And that’s without […]

Why some Russians look forward to global warming

Conquering its vast wilderness has long been a dream of Russia’s rulers, even the not-so-capitalist ones…Freedom Toast via FlickrOK, this is really a glorified retweet, but Brad Plumer has a fascinating post at the New Republic about Russia’s apparent enthusiasm for climate change:  “Many Russia leaders are actually excited about a warmer world where Siberia’s […]

Small changes at EPA could have big environmental impacts

While climate change legislation works its way toward 60 votes in the Senate, President Obama’s EPA has been quietly working on some serious revisions to the guidelines it uses to conduct cost-benefit analysis.  Tweaks they might make to the powerful but low-profile Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses could have major impacts on the environment and […]

Obama tells China the “ravages of climate change” demand cooperation

In a speech to head off the first meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington, D.C between the United States and China this morning, President Obama talks Chinese spending: Going forward, we can deepen this cooperation. We can promote financial stability through greater transparency and regulatory reform. We can pursue trade that is free […]

So long, Sarah!

The U.S. Postal Service screwed up and delivered a farewell card to us that was clearly intended for Sarah Palin, the now ex-governor of Alaska. We didn’t realize the error before we had opened it, scanned it, and published it here for your reading pleasure. An honest mistake, really… (Click to open.)