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McCain stirs up tizzy in West with Colorado River comment

John McCain stirred up a tizzy last week with a comment about a Colorado River compact that allocates water among seven Western states. The compact “needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties,” McCain told Colorado’s Pueblo Chieftain. “I think that there’s a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, […]

Athletes play down pollution concerns, Beijing gives in to weather

Not so bad. That’s what Olympic Canadian cyclist Svein Tuft thought of the air quality when he raced on Saturday, Aug. 9 (Air Pollution Index: 78) for six and a half hours outside of Beijing. As The New York Times reported, Tuft made short shrift of the pollution fears: The pollution concerns, he decided, “have […]

West Virginian advocates push to build a wind farm on a proposed mountaintop removal site

Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley that hasn’t been destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Massey Energy is planning to mine a 10-square-mile area of the mountain, but activists in the area are hoping to intercede with a plan to instead harvest the mountain’s wind potential. […]

Wall*E and Kleenex

The film Wall*E had a strong environmental theme. Now Kleenex tissues are featuring Wall*E on their packaging. Odd. As Greenpeace says: If you look on the bottom of these boxes, you’ll see a little recycled symbol that says: “This box is made from 100% recycled paper.” What you won’t see on the bottom of that […]

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 […]