Latest Articles

‘Eco-hedonism’ is the new meme

This takes the green-is-the-new-black thing to a whole new level. Five hundred dollar designer canvas bags made with organic cotton, fur coats made from the pelts of invasive species, solar-powered vibrators disguised as cell phones, and sustainable raves are just the beginning. Read more about “eco-hedonism” over on Radar while I throw up a little […]

Hard to say, but Zonbu has clearly done its homework

A lot of the deepest environmental thinking is that we have to move away from the idea of purchasing consumer products and instead keep "ownership" with the maker, who is responsible for minimizing the environmental footprint of the product and for dealing with it when the user is ready to move to another one.

In other words, we should pay for the services we want (computing, hot water, power, cool air, comfortable office floors, etc.) rather than the devices used to provide those services (PCs, tankless heaters, electricity, air conditioners, office carpets); that way, we're not invested in less-efficient devices. As soon as the old ones wear out, we shift to new ones, and the service provider has to deal with the decisions about upgrading or handling and reusing the material wastes.

There's an outfit that seems to get the concept, selling a small(tiny)-footprint PC with all the bells and whistles, radically reduced power consumption (assuming you don't use a power-hog monitor), and extended producer responsibility for the device.

Given how fast people go through PCs, this is a great idea -- much more affordable, and upgradeable, and with far less environmental consequence.

I especially like the flash memory feature rather than the hard drive, the source of most computer problems.

If I had a student going into high school or college, this is definitely the PC I would be looking at closely.

An interview with Tom Kiernan of the National Parks Conservation Association

A moment of reflection at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Photo: Richard and Robin via flickr Every year, millions of Americans pack up their families and head out to visit one of America’s national parks. My family was no different: I vividly recall the patchwork of reds, oranges, and yellows blanketing the […]

Patrick Bond and Rehana Dada solve the mystery

What follows is a guest essay by Patrick Bond and Rehana Dada in memoriam for Sajida Khan.

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Internationally-known environmental activist Sajida Khan passed away on Sunday night in her Clare Road home at age 55. She was suffering her second bout of cancer, and chemotherapy had evacuated her beautiful long hair.

Before slipping into a coma last Thursday, she watched out her window, seeing within a few meters the interminable crawl of dumptrucks unloading heaps of stinking rubbish, as dust carried the smells and chemicals into her yard and home.

Khan's last, painful weeks were spent coming to peace with her failed struggle to close the Bisasar Road dump, a task that successive, dishonest Durban governments had promised to fulfill as early as 1987.

Now the vibrant, uncompromising activist has died, while the dump is thriving and in search of international investors. We don't need Belgian detective Hercule Poirot to learn why, for the answer is found in Agatha Christie's novel Murder on the Orient Express, in the Calais night coach where a man is found dead of 13 stab wounds.

The winners? ED, NRDC, The Pew Center for Climate Change, and other familiar faces

The first round of grants (PDF) from the $100 million climate fund established last year by the Doris Duke Foundation were announced last week. Funding priorities and grant recipients were identified in an exhaustive 18-month process of extensive literature reviews and interviews with more than 75 distinguished scientists, economists, environmental leaders, investors, energy industry representatives, and public policy experts.

The result?

A total of $3.6 million will be distributed to five environmental organizations -- ED and NRDC ($500K), Pew Center on Global Climate Change ($395K), World Resources Institute ($750K), and Resources for the Future ($750K) -- and two universities -- Harvard ($750K) and MIT ($500K). Three climate action strategies will be pursued:

1. devise "optimal domestic and international pricing policies for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases";
2. develop policies "that bring available technologies to market more quickly"; and,
3. "identify adjustments" to reduce climate-change impacts.

That the $100 million Duke Foundation fund will be expended on a decades-old strategy that has not worked is no surprise, as no coherent alternative to our present approach is available. However, the Duke Foundation announcement may portend change in two important respects.

Bangers and Gnash

Brits raise a fuss over less-frequent rubbish collection Baffled Brits are raising a stink over a policy that’s become popular with local councils in their country: collecting trash every two weeks instead of weekly. Enacted by about 40 percent of councils, the practice — which alternates the pick-up of trash and recyclables — aims to […]

Beyond Pathetic

BP allowed to increase waste discharges into Lake Michigan The ugly (and imaginary) conflict between environment and economy has reared its head in Indiana, where state and federal regulators granted exemptions that will allow oil giant BP to discharge more waste from a refinery straight into Lake Michigan. You may recall that BP is moving […]

Replacing Oil With, Uh, More Oil

National Petroleum Council pictures life after conventional crude There’s a new voice in the crowd shrieking about waning oil supplies: the National Petroleum Council. OK, they’re not actually shrieking. But in a draft report released this week, the group — headed by former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond — confirms that conventional crude oil supplies won’t […]

A Barrel of Gaffes

Earthquake causes nuclear headaches in Japan A strong earthquake hit northwestern Japan yesterday morning, and aftershocks continued into the night. The 6.8-magnitude quake killed at least nine people, injured more than 900 others, and flattened houses and highways. It also led to a fire, leak, and waste spills at a powerful nuclear plant. The Kashiwazaki […]

Very interesting

Here’s an interview with Gilbert Metcalf, a Tufts University economics professor who’s been circulating a carbon tax proposal (PDF) that’s revenue neutral — it uses the carbon tax revenue to reduce other taxes. It’s called the "Green Tax Swap." Good stuff. Here’s one good bit : SM: Rep. John Dingell said he plans to propose […]