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California OKs bill to ban phthalates in kids’ products, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: The Thrill of It, Al Planet of the AEP Strike Up the Banned Report Barred Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Tancredo on the Record Sow What? Directed Buy Into the Wild

Reaper on the Prius

CW has a new show called Reaper, about a slacker whose parents sold his soul to the devil, who he now has to work for. It’s genial enough, funny in bits. I like to keep an eye on how Priuses and hybrids are used in television, and this one was amusing:

California OKs bills to ban phthalates in kids’ products, and lead bullets in condor country

In an orgy of legislative activity, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed and vetoed a bunch of environmental bills this weekend. Among the most significant bills that got the Governator’s OK is one banning the chemicals phthalates in toys and other products intended for children 3 years old and younger. “These chemicals threaten the health […]

Two enviro groups endorse their faves for U.S. president in ’08

Two prominent environmental groups announced their official picks in the race to the White House in 2008. Friends of the Earth Action, the politically overt arm of Friends of the Earth, put its weight behind Democrat John Edwards, praising his early support for strict climate legislation, and for being the only top-tier Dem to just […]

Paul Krugman …

… is a national treasure.

The environmental endorsements start rolling in

Environmental groups are starting to endorse candidates. Friends of the Earth has chosen Edwards and Republicans for Environmental Protection has chosen McCain … again. What other choice do they have?

Quote of the day

Why do I keep harping on coal? Here’s why: “It’s becoming impossible to build coal stations,” Michael Liebreich, founder and CEO of New Energy Finance, a London-based research company, said during a visit to Paris on Friday. The backlash against coal “is one of the driving forces for the clean energy industry.”

NY Times editors get the Gore Nobel story right

With everyone weighing in on this year's Nobel Peace Prize, it's been revealing to see what the media makes of it, and how oddly misdirected their questions have been: Will Al run for president? (Argh.) What has climate change got to do with peace? (Huh?) Is this merely a political jab to the current U.S. administration? (So what?)

But the editors of the NYT pretty much nailed it:

What the citation didn't mention but needs to be said is that it shouldn't have to be left to a private citizen -- even one so well known as Mr. Gore -- or a panel of scientists to raise that alarm or prove what is now clearly an undeniable link or champion solutions to a problem that endangers the entire planet.

That should be, and must be the job of governments. And governments -- above all the Bush administration -- have failed miserably.

There will be skeptics who ask what the Peace Prize has to do with global warming. The committee answered that unhesitatingly with its warning that climate change, if unchecked, could unleash massive migrations, violent competitions for resources and, ultimately, threaten the "security of mankind."

There will also be those who complain that this prize -- like the committee's earlier awards to Jimmy Carter and the chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei -- is an intentional slap at President Bush. It should be. We only wish that it would finally wake up the president.

What has your favorite Nobel coverage (good or bad) been?

Widening roads does not, in fact, reduce emissions

Why is it that stupid ideas get all the air time?

For months, fellow climate geeks have been telling me that road-builders -- and the politicians who love them -- have started to make a startling claim: namely, that widening a congested highway will help curb global warming. By reducing stop-and-go traffic, the argument goes, cars will operate more efficiently and waste less fuel. So if you want to save the climate, you'd better widen that road!

To me, this sounded too dopey to be worth refuting. I mean, sure, over the short term, congestion relief might help a bit. But what about all of the emissions from road building itself -- and, more importantly, from the extra traffic that will inevitably fill those new lanes?

But despite its obvious absurdity (or perhaps because of it) this particular suburban legend seems to be getting a life of its own. Just take a look at what British Columbia's Premier had to say recently about a proposed highway widening project in greater Vancouver, BC:

Campbell ... continued to defend the [highway] project ... saying that it will reduce emissions and make room for rapid-bus services along the highway.

Because I couldn't find anything addressing this issue online (academics have better things to do with their time, apparently), I spent a bit of time running some numbers. You can read the full report here (PDF) if you're a real geek. But in a nutshell: congestion relief may offer some slim GHG benefits over the short term; but these benefits are absolutely dwarfed by the emissions from road construction and, more importantly, by all the extra traffic that fills the expanded roadway.

In fact, it looks to me as if adding a single lane-mile to a congested urban highway will boost CO2 emissions by at least 100,000 tons over 50 years. And that's making some pretty optimistic assumptions about fuel economy improvements.

So now, if anyone out there in Grist-world hears this particular suburban legend, you'll have some numbers you can use to smack it down.

Noticing the elephant stomping Africa

Bob ("Prisoner of Trebekistan") Harris notices how often U.S. media aids and abets counterproductive U.S. foreign "aid" policies.

The same people whose worship of the so-called free market allows them to demolish countries are the ones leading the Bush Administration's efforts to ensure that the global response to global heating doesn't adopt any heresies. Which is why our policy response to global heating has been zilch.