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Scientists identify ecological systems most at risk from climate change

Scientists have identified the ecological systems most at risk from climate change in a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers warned that within 100 years, a series of tipping points could occur that will significantly alter important ecological systems. Most at risk, according to the study: […]

Obama or Clinton: who’s greener?

Photos: Roger Goun and Will Merydith The following post was first published on Passing Through, The Nation‘s guest blog, where I will be posting all month. If you’re a political junkie like me, all you can think about is the primary and the general election beyond. Can you remember a primary season so dynamic and […]

How to pick the president

This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project.

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A plaque on the wall at Wal-Mart headquarters carries a quote attributed to Sam Walton. It says:

Incrementalism is innovation's worst enemy.
We don't want continuous improvement,
we want radical change.

That plaque should be mounted on the door of every caucus room and voting place in America on Tuesday, because it gives the key to electing the next president of the United States.

If the most popular word of the 2008 presidential campaign is "change," then let's take a moment to think about what "change" means. For the sake of discussion, let's categorize change into two types: transactional and transformational.

Transactional change might be a new tax credit, a new regulation, a new policy that alters the way we transact business. When the candidates get into specific proposals about energy and climate policy, for example, they generally are describing transactional change. In that department, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both have issued detailed energy and climate platforms. They far outclass John McCain and Mitt Romney, who have not.

Transformational change is something altogether different. As Wikipedia explains:

Polluting vehicles must pay to drive in London under new scheme

Starting today, high-pollutin’ trucks and buses will be fined for driving in London‘s new Low Emission Zone, which stretches for a not-too-shabby 610 square miles. Diesel vehicles weighing over 13 tons must register with the city transportation agency and have their emissions monitored; vehicles can be charged up to $400 for exceeding exhaust limits. A […]

What qualifies as a green flower?

Roses are red,Violets are blue,But if you want a greener choice,What the hell should you do? The NYT asks that very question (minus the poetic flair, of course) and struggles to answer it: And as in other industries with increasing demand for green products, the floral industry is debating what is environmentally correct. Should flowers […]

Bush admin 2009 budget boosts nuclear and clean coal

The Bush administration released its 2009 budget today, with a price tag of $3.1 trillion. (Perspective: There are 3.1 trillion seconds in 99,200 years.) Relatively speaking, energy and environment issues were not high priority. But within environmental-type allocation, nuclear energy and “clean coal” saw a huge funding boost. The budget would also raise funding for […]

Green election news, Bush’s State of the Union speech, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: At Least He Recycles PastGen Doing the Waive The Consent of the Governator Soakin’ Up the Sunshine State John, But Not Forgotten As I Lei Dying Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Is It Really Green? LP, I Need Somebody

High fashion around the globe

It's been a few months since the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris, but I had a nice chat recently with French fashion designer Annabel Gerenthon, who debuted her fair-trade shoe label Moyi Ekolo there. Annabel was the former fashion designer at Charles Jourdan before it was sold in 2003. Now she's on her own and starting shoes from scratch.

The vegetable-tanned leather used in the collection's cute ballerina flats and boots is sourced from a social project in Namibia, which she is helping supervise. "There is very little history of footwear production in Namibia, except on the workshop level," she tells me. Annabel also adorns her collections with talismans from Madagascar and Kenya. The figures, carved from horn, bone, and wood, are representative of the traditional artisan techniques of the area.

And since we are on the topic, Julie Gilhart (senior vice president over at Barney's), who also recently came back from a trip to Namibia, helped put on a stellar Future Fashion event with Earth Pledge this past Thursday with the crème de la crème of the design world. "Many of these designers have been thinking about sustainable fabrics, but didn't know where to start," she told me. "This is all about getting the influencers to do something and getting them involved in the process."

RFK Jr. for Hillary

Noted enviro Robert Kennedy Jr. makes a campaign ad for Clinton, trying to steal back a little of the Kennedy mojo from Obama:

More bad news for coal as big banks reconsider financing

I assume you’ve all heard the good news that three huge investment banks are planning to impose stricter standards on investments in coal-fired power plants. See WSJ’s Jeffrey Ball here and here. I’d like to think this was the sheer power of green groups or the moral sensitivities of bank executives finally acting up, but […]