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Loss of summer ice in the Arctic will threaten polar bear survival

We've seen the USGS predict that two-thirds of the polar bear population will be wiped out by 2050. But that analysis assumes the Arctic will still have summer ice then. The USGS acknowledges (PDF) their projection is "conservative" since it is based upon an average of existing climate models and "the observed trajectory of Arctic sea ice decline appears to be underestimated by currently available models."

In fact, the Arctic now is poised to lose all its ice by 2030 -- and possibly by 2020, as I discuss below. What will happen to the polar bears?

Colbert does the Borg

Lomborg never stood a chance:

Coal industry insider tapped to kill Cape Wind

Those trying to stop what would be the nation's first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind, have just hired (another!) coal industry insider to lead the charge. Glenn Wattley is the new director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and as Wendy Williams details in her blog, he's a longtime coal and coal-gasification proponent. She says that this fits with her past reporting: Big Coal is behind many anti-wind efforts.

In a news report on Wattley's new role (rich reading), a spokesman for Cape Wind said that "Wattley is another example of an Alliance CEO connected to coal and oil interests ... Is this really the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound or the alliance to protect coal and oil?" I wonder.

Greens sue to speed up protections for giant earthworm

Greens plan to sue the federal government in hopes of speeding up endangered-species protections for the Palouse earthworm, the largest and longest-lived earthworm in North America. It can grow up to a yard long, spits at attackers, and smells like flowers. We kid you not.

Rebuilding the NYC financial district has resulted in a walkable residential community

On this anniversary of that horrible morning six years ago, perhaps we are starting to see some good rising from the ashes. The southern part of the island of Manhattan, which used to turn into a ghost town after work, is starting to take on some of the characteristics of many of the other neighborhoods in New York City -- what University of Michigan architecture and urban design professor Christopher B. Leinberger calls "walkable urbanism":

From an urban planning point of view it means a place where, within a quarter- to half-mile radius, you can get pretty much everything you need and maybe even walk to work.

According to the New York Times, the financial district is becoming home to a considerable residential population -- albeit tilted toward the wealthy -- but this permanent population enriches many other aspects of the area:

Optimism abounds now among developers and merchants, who are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into real estate along the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan. They are counting on the district, in its next incarnation, to be not just a collection of office towers and trading floors, but also a self-sustaining residential neighborhood that will appeal to families.

Back before the World Trade Center was built starting in the late 1960s, the area where it stood was known as an electronics district -- my dad used to go there in the 1930s to find parts for radios. The first retail television set was sold there.

Biofuels subsidies will only lead to increased food costs and habitat destruction

This, courtesy of the Financial Times, is a welcome development. Hopefully, the Doha Round of the GATT will get restarted, and this can be addressed in addition to the more general discussion of agricultural subsidies.

Schools across the U.S. go green

Perhaps in an attempt to prepare students for an eco-college experience, many elementary, middle, and high schools are getting in on the green-building trend. Sixty schools across the U.S. have been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, and 360 more are waiting to have applications approved; in 2000, only four schools applied for certification. […]

Six explosions rock oil and gas pipelines in Mexico

In what appears to have been a string of politically motivated attacks, explosions rocked at least six oil and natural-gas pipelines in Mexico’s state of Veracruz on Monday. The pipelines that were hit are all owned by Mexico’s petro-monopoly Pemex and occurred at opposite ends of Veracruz state. Some 15,000 people were evacuated from various […]

Why Edwards’ ‘ban’ on coal plants does little good against climate change

John Edwards. Photo: kk+ via flickr One of the most meaningful steps the U.S. can take to fight climate change is to forbid construction of new coal plants unless they capture and sequester their carbon emissions. If we allow more dirty coal plants, all our other efforts will be in vain. That’s why James Hansen […]

Certification-driven deforestation

Sustainable certification programs in third world nations are not what you would call foolproof. For every product that actually comes from a sustainable operation, you have those that don't but claim they did, and separating the wheat from the chaff is not usually possible -- a few bribes, some forged paperwork and everything looks golden. You might think you got a certified product, but you wouldn't want to bet your first-born on it. Everyone pretends, or at least assumes, these schemes work so they can continue to buy the lumber. In this sense, the certification process may be unintentionally increasing deforestation. Just another of those unintended consequences that often pop up as we pave roads with good intentions.