Latest Articles

Overdue federal report acknowledges climate-change realities

Under pressure from a court order, the Bush administration put out a new report on climate change yesterday that comes to the conclusion that “most of the recent global warming is very likely due to human-generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.” The report covers familiar (to anyone who’s been paying attention) ground — the impacts […]

More than 1,700 scientists and economists call for deep cuts in U.S. emissions

You know how some wackadoo rightwing group is always touting a new list of scientists who don’t believe in global warming? And it always turns out the list is populated with a bunch of random people who either don’t know they’re on it or don’t have the first bit of expertise on the subject? Well, […]

Peru’s guano supply threatened by overfishing

Peru is in deep shit. No, seriously: thanks to an exceptionally dry climate, islands off the Peruvian coast are awash in preserved bird guano, which the country has long exported as non-chemical fertilizer. But while 60 million seabirds were pooping on Peru in the 19th century, the birds now number 4 million; with synthetic-fertilizer costs […]

The WSJ on fertilizer markets so manipulated, they might make a Saudi prince blush

For all the misery it has caused, the global food-price crisis has at least forced people to think more seriously about food production. I can think of few things more taken for granted in modern post-industrial society than fertilizer. Few people know people know what fertilizes the fields that produce the food they eat — […]

EPA gives manufacturers three years to adjust to new regulations designed to protect children

The U.S. EPA announced today that it would be tightening up the safety requirements on ten nasty rodenticides that are blamed for poisoning around 10,000 children -- mostly black and Latino inner-city kids -- every year. Those ten chemicals will no longer be available in the form of little pellets that look like candy, and that small children are so prone to stick in their mouths. The new rules will require non-agricultural users of rat poison to use it only inside tamper-resistant bait stations designed to protect kids.

This is great news, and a long time in coming. There's just one catch: These new safety requirements aren't going into effect for a while. Manufacturers get three years to change their practices. EPA has determined a final "release for shipment" date for the last batch of deadly pellets on June 4, 2011.

Three years ... let's see, three years times 10,000 poisonings a year ... let me get my calculator ... That means about 30,000 more sick kids before we clean this mess up. You've got to be kidding me.

My yard, a source of shame

When my fella and I bought our house last year, we tried to make thoughtful decisions as we accessorized our new lives — years of editing Umbra have left me with little choice. So we bought a reel mower — completely manual, no gas, no cord, just a few blades and some sweat. And I’m […]

Humanity’s fate is not tied to coal’s

The clean coal PR push is looking more and more hollow. In The NYT, Matt Wald paints a grim picture: cost overruns, technological uncertainty, waning support from utilities, and a mess of unanswered questions about everything from security to legal liability. But one assumption running through the article needs to be exposed and unequivocally rejected. […]

Ocean seeding banned at U.N. biodiversity conference

A 12-day United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ended Friday with just a wee bit of progress toward salvaging the world’s rapidly disappearing flora and fauna. Perhaps most encouraging: The 191 countries present agreed to ban the controversial practice of seeding the ocean with nutrients to encourage growth of carbon-sucking algae. In addition, Germany, which […]

Heinberg raises doubts about coal reserves

Energy analyst Richard Heinberg is working on a book about coal, tentatively titled Coal’s Future/Earth’s Fate, to be published by Post Carbon Press in spring 2009. It’s sure to be vital reading for anyone interested in tracking, understanding, and battling the enemy of the human race. Happily, Heinberg is publishing working drafts of various parts […]

U.S. public transit overwhelmed by increased ridership, higher fuel costs

Public transit agencies across the United States are lately encountering a curious double-bind: ridership has increased quickly and dramatically, straining current capacity, and at the same time, significantly higher fuel costs have stretched many transit budgets too far. If the current ridership boom had taken hold when fuel prices were much lower, transit agencies would […]