Latest Articles

Memphians hope river can bridge racial divide

I mentioned in my last post that there are a lot of complicating factors involved in decisions about what to do with the riverfront in Memphis, Tenn. Yet another complex issue here, though, is the undeniable racial tension. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968, Memphis went through a major decline, with […]

Fish living in trees and underwater pumpkin carving

... in his weekly radio address, President Bush spoke on conserving fisheries. "The most important thing is not the size of your catch but the enjoyment of the great outdoors," he said ...

... conservationists said that talks at a recent international convention devoted to bluefin tuna recovery were derailed by Japan, resulting in no meaningful progress ...

... an MIT researcher designed new equipment to gather scallops from the sea floor with hopes that it would be less damaging than the dredges in use now ...

... the U.S. Senate approved a resolution directing the government to negotiate an international agreement for managing fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean ...

... the U.S. Congress considered a bill that would reduce the debt of Caribbean nations that pledge to protect coral reefs and marine ecosystems, as well as forests ...

... scientists have discovered that the mangrove killifish, found in the Caribbean, can modify its biological makeup so it can breathe air and live in trees for months at a time ...

Edwards calls for moratorium on new industrial ag feedlots

I was going to ask why this didn’t get more play, but then I remembered I had forgotten to post on it for a week, so I guess I’m part of the problem. Anyway, Edwards apparently called for moratorium on new or expanded CAFOs. Is this not a big deal? As far as I know, […]

Major mining reform proposed

This editorial in Friday's NYT highlights some major new reforms being proposed that could finally begin to make U.S. mining policy more rational and in line with environmental goals. It is the first truly excellent piece of environmental legislation that this Congress has considered passing. While sponsored by a key Democratic senator, it may actually suffer defeat because of a Democrat, Harry Reid, majority leader, whose home state of Nevada is closely tied to the mining industry. This is one of those times when a call to your own senators and Mr. Reid himself (202-224-3542) would be worth the effort. Opportunities like this don't come around too often; in fact, this archaic law has been wreaking havoc since 1872.

Friday music blogging: Ryan Adams

I wasn’t much into the alt country thing until I met my wife. I’m still not the huge fan she is, but I’ve found a lot of stuff in the vicinity I enjoy. By far the biggest discovery for me was Whiskeytown, which made some flawless, classic albums back in the ’90s. (Get Faithless Street […]

In which we get a glimpse of reality

“You girls want a chance at a free dinner cruise?” The question rang out from behind us, all twangy like, as we walked down the ramp toward shore after a 1.5-hour riverboat tour. The day was wet and cold, so the last thing I wanted to do was get back on that boat. But free […]

Memphis debates what to do with its riverfront

After arriving in Memphis, Tenn., birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, Katharine and I headed straight out to Mud Island for a Smashing Pumpkins concert. (Work related, I swear!) The concert was held at the Mud Island Amphitheater, an open-air venue on the long, narrow peninsula created to shelter a small harbor and keep a meandering […]

One last rant from the Senate’s loopy streetcorner anti-prophet

Sen. James Inhofe has become something of an epic figure, worthy of contemplation by historians, playwrights, or perhaps psychoanalysts. The zeitgeist, which once seemed to rise up around him like a thundercloud, has now moved on, leaving him dripping and bedraggled, resorting to ever more unhinged grand gestures to try to recapture some of the […]

The Senate Ag Committee’s Farm Bill

No jaded observer will be surprised: The Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday released its version of the 2007 Farm Bill, leaving the subsidy mechanisms in the 2002 bill pretty well intact. I’m still trying to chase down details of the proposal, but here are a couple of tidbits. The big news is that the version contains […]

Berkeley shows the way to climate change mitigation at a local level

The city of Berkeley, Calif., shows how to take serious action on climate disruption by paying up-front costs to help residents switch to solar power.

This could be done at any scale, from village to nation. All that is needed is wisdom and an understanding that any "ROI" (return on investment) calculation that doesn't include the risk that failure to respond to climate disruption will bankrupt us (in addition to its moral bankruptcy) isn't worth the paper it's printed on.