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Winner to receive unimaginable riches, fame

Leave a caption for this image in comments. The winner, chosen via our highly scientific process, will receive a prize worth somewhere between nothing and two gazillion dollars.

Georgia declares state of emergency due to drought, anger at species protections

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) declared a state of emergency in 85 of the state’s 159 counties due at least in part to anger at endangered-species protections for critters downstream that the governor says take up too much water. The governor asked President Bush to issue a federal disaster declaration that would provide low-interest loans […]

Water loss in Great Lakes reduces shipping revenue

Water loss in the Great Lakes is creating a dilemma for shipping companies. Allow Jonathan Daniels, director of a public port agency, to explain: “The more we lose water, the less cargo the ships that travel in the Great Lakes can carry, and each time that happens, shipping companies lose money. Ultimately, it’s people like […]

Bush touts sport-fishing executive order and migratory-bird conservation plan

President Bush this weekend speechified and photo-op’ed for the environment, specifically courting the hunting and angling crowd through a fishing trip and wildlife refuge visit touting an executive order for sport fishing and conservation measures for migratory birds. The president’s migratory-bird plan involves asking Congress to increase tax incentives for landowners who donate conservation easements, […]

California to sue EPA to force decision on vehicle-emissions waiver

California is expected to follow through on its threat to sue the U.S. EPA this week for not yet deciding whether to give the state the waiver it needs to implement its 2002 law limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from cars. The state’s law requires a nearly 30 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2016, which experts […]

Grist pulls a Huck Finn

Grist is rollin’ (rollin’!) on the river this week, and we’re taking you with us. We’re bound for the Mississippi — the legendary waterway recently deemed an “orphan” of the federal government. Just call us Sarah van Sawyer and Huckleberry Wroth. We’ve ventured here to find out how three cities are reinventing their once-industrial waterfronts, […]

Web company announces selection of offset projects

Back in April, Yahoo! announced that it will be going carbon neutral in 2007, and pledged to be entirely transparent about the process. They acknowledged the controversy around offsets: We know carbon neutrality isn’t without controversy. And it’s honestly deserved if companies and individuals don’t first make an effort to find direct ways to reduce […]

The fight against coal makes for strange bedfellows out West

The fight against coal is spilling out of the "environmental" box the coal industry wants to keep it in: An increasingly vocal, potent and widespread anti-coal movement is developing [across the West]. Environmental groups that have long opposed new power plants are being joined by ranchers, farmers, retired homeowners, ski resort operators and even religious […]

White House warns Democrats of energy bill veto

I mentioned that the Bush White House sent a letter to Congressional Democrats last week, regarding what it would find acceptable for an energy bill. I’ve gotten a copy of the letter, from a top-secret source who risked his career, his family, even his life bringing this information to light. Thanks Adam! Let me know […]

October is Energy Awareness Month

October is Energy Awareness Month. What's more, October first got this designation from the first President Bush in 1991.

Why do I know this? Because the only people I have ever met who know about Energy Awareness Month are people who have worked at the Department of Energy. I'm going to change all that with this blog post, which will probably double the number of people aware of Energy Awareness Month. Don't worry, though, the DOE has made it easy to take action:

To help you customize your energy awareness program, You Have the Power campaign artwork is available for you to download from the images [on this website].

This is my favorite downloadable poster. Click on the image for animation -- I could watch it for hours. And yes, since you ask, the energy savings from walking one or two flights of stairs instead of using an elevator is humongous -- easily equal to those cancelled Kansas coal plants. Easily! (Although if there are other people waiting for the elevator, then it was going to run anyway, but don't go all techno-nerd on me -- it is the thought that counts!)