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California to phase out lead weights on tires by end of 2009

Lead weights used to balance vehicle wheels will be phased out in California by the end of 2009, in accordance with a court settlement approved Wednesday. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the Center for Environmental Health in May against Chrysler and the three biggest U.S. makers of lead wheel weights. The group says […]

Short-term dip in oil prices will not offset long-term increases

A: “Who knows?” and “It doesn’t really matter.” Much higher gasoline prices that are sustained for a long, long time are now inevitable. The fundamentals in the oil market are that we are in the beginning stages of peak oil. Supply can no longer keep up with demand, which keeps soaring even in the face […]

Gates, Buffet to invest in massive climate change?

Apparently two of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, recently went up to visit the Alberta oil sands. Just based on their interest, oil sands stock jumped over 5 percent. Please, please tell me these guys, who are so active in good causes, are not seriously considering investing in oil […]

Snippets from the news

• Oreos under attack for rainforest destruction. • Pacific nations plead for help. • Climate change poses threat to Himalayas. • Plan to bottle Vermont water is controversial. • Musk oxen and caribou help Arctic.

A guide for greener back-to-school shopping

Back-to-school shopping doesn’t have to be an exercise in conspicuously ungreen consumption. Eco-friendly school supplies made of recycled and organic materials are easier than ever to find. One great place to start shopping is TheGreenOffice.com. And the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice has a handy back-to-school shopping guide that helps you avoid products containing […]

Senate race in Colorado becomes a battle over energy issues

The energy debate is playing out in down-ticket races across the country, and Colorado’s no exception. In the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R), Rep. Mark Udall (D) and former-Rep. Bob Schaffer (R) are duking it out over oil. Schaffer represented Colorado’s fourth district from 1997 through 2003, and in 2004 he […]

Take note, everyone: Oil is not energy

Should business-section newspaper articles about tobacco companies ritually include statements such as, “The company’s profits and future existence, of course, wholly depend on its ability to externalize the health effects of its products”? Probably not. The newspaper article is a genre narrowly focused on one item — perhaps that’s why newspaper articles are sometimes called […]

Ocean temperture levels indicate planet has kept warming since 1998

As part of their climate myth series, New Scientist cuts through the nonsense on what’s happened globally in the last decade: In fact, the planet as a whole has warmed since 1998, even in the years when surface temperatures have fallen. According to the dataset of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre (see figure, right), […]

California bill aims to curb sprawl

Hopes are high that a bill aimed at curbing California sprawl will pass the state legislature and be signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill, SB 375, would channel transportation funding toward projects that encourage smart growth. Each of California’s 17 metropolitan regions would create a “sustainable community strategy” to encourage compact development; […]

John McCain doesn’t know how many houses he owns

GOP presidential candidate John McCain isn’t sure how many houses he owns. “I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain told Politico yesterday. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.” The correct answer seems to be somewhere between four and seven. The Obama campaign has already released this ad […]