Latest Articles

Feds can dump more waste at Wash. Superfund site, says court

Washington State doesn’t have the right to refuse more dumping of radioactive waste at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. In 2004, nearly 70 percent of Washingtonians voted to keep the federal government from disposing of more toxic waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation until the highly polluted Superfund site […]

Castens implement Phase II of global domination plan

On my morning commute, I always listen to music. Maybe two or three times in the last couple of years, I’ve listened to NPR instead, but it’s rare. This morning, though, on a whim, I flipped over to hear if there was any primary news. And what is literally the very first thing I hear? […]

Lessons from a sustainable-food conference at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Information you can eat. Photo: Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder A couple of months ago, I wrote about how the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California comes up with its wallet-sized cards — the ones that tell us what seafood choices are sustainable. I got so interested in the topic that when I got an invitation to […]

Agriculture produces more than just crops — and it’s time for policy to reflect that

In spite of the best efforts of sustainable agriculture, environmental, and healthy food advocates over the past two years to reform U.S. farm policy, the bill recently passed by Congress lacks fundamental reform. Although the bill includes some environmental and healthy food system improvements over existing legislation, the system of commodity subsidies remains intact, and it is these subsidies, together with biofuels subsidies and mandates embodied in the farm bill and energy legislation, that drive the basic structure of the U.S. farm and food system.

To break the farm-block stranglehold on farm and food policy the next time around, we need a need a new vision of agriculture: one that recognizes that farmers produce more than just food, feed, fuel, and fiber. We also count on farmers to take care of vast swaths of critically important land. What we need, in short, is a "multifunctionality" vision of agriculture.

World’s leading energy monitor worried about oil supply

Predictions that global oil supply will keep up with demand may be just plain wrong, says some peak-oil-preaching wacko the world’s leading energy monitor. The International Energy Agency is in the midst of its first rigorous survey of global oil supply, and has indicated that future supplies may be tighter than expected. “The prices are […]

Alaska will sue over polar-bear listing

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will sue the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species. “We believe that the listing was unwarranted and that it’s unprecedented to list a currently healthy population based on uncertain climate models,” says Alaska Assistant Attorney General Steven Daugherty. To green groups, that […]

It does not save carbon and is not a carbon offset

The list of very knowledgeable folk who still are pushing no-till farming as a greenhouse-gas mitigation strategy -- even though science passed them by a while ago -- includes:

• Sen. John McCain
• Princeton University* [PDF]
• The Chicago Climate Exchange [PDF]
• The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions [PDF]

I buried the science in the McCain post, but it deserves higher visibility. As a major review article [PDF] from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, "Tillage and soil carbon sequestration -- What do we really know?" concluded:

Wall Street Journal editorial mischaracterizes both my position and biofuels

To my surprise, on Tuesday I found myself cited by the Wall Street Journal as a strong advocate of subsidies for food-based ethanol, and as a recipient of "federal dole" who ought to "take a vow of embarrassed silence." While I appreciate the Journal's foray into fiction writing (and I'd love to discuss my status on the dole with my accountant, who recently filed my taxes), I would like to clarify a few facts and offer a more rounded view of biofuels and ethanol in general.

A few facts:

Duke Energy goes (a tiny bit) solar

Yesterday, Duke Energy announced that it will buy the full output of the country’s largest PV solar farm, to be built by Sun Edison in 2009, coming online in late 2010 (all modules complete by 2011). According to Duke, the plant will cover between 100-300 acres in an area that enjoys about 60 percent sunny […]

Offset criticisms have not stopped being true

Patrick McCully has a great feature in The Guardian about some of the problems with offsets. (No single article can tackle all of them.)

The points are pretty standard:

1. At least two thirds of the offset are fraudulent.
2. Fraudulent offsets used as permissions to burn coal and increase climate chaos.
3. Throw in massive supporting evidence in an entertaining package.

Ho freaking hum, right?

Meanwhile, the world keeps burning. Every ton of offset-enabled coal power makes our climate a little sicker.