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New energy legislation in Congress debates various terrible solutions

This piece in the NYT is pretty depressing. It’s about the main battles around the upcoming energy legislation. Here are the points of contention: Ethanol subsidies Coal and nuclear subsidies CAFE standards On pretty much all these issues, it’s Big Money lobby vs. Big Money lobby, and every one of them is a distraction — […]

It’s hard out here for a glacier

Feeling down? Probably not as down as the Arctic’s melting glaciers. And now you can listen to their sob story by giving the Icelandic glacier Vatnajokull a call, thanks to an art project that helps folks “connect emotionally” with Europe’s largest glacier. With the help of Virgin Mobile and DolphinEAR, Peterson dropped a hydrophone into […]

Authenticity

I’m sitting in a coffee shop just off Dupont Circle, blogging using the free wi-fi. At last I feel like a real blogger!

U.S. Army dumps 64 million pounds of chemical weapons into the ocean

What to do with 64 million pounds of leftover nerve and mustard gas? Eh, just dump it off the coast of Jersey. Thanks, U.S. Army! (h/t: Think Progress)

The tiny island nation of Tuvalu is threatened by global warming.

Possibly one of the most tragic outcomes that may result from climate change is the extinction of an entire nation's culture and homeland. As the United Nations discussed the threat that global warming poses to the security of nations, Afelee Pita, an ambassador from the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, was there to represent his country.

Tuvalu may be one of the first nations whose way of life could disappear as a result of the actions (or in this case, the lack of action) of other countries. NPR is covering this story as part of their year-long Climate Connections series. Here's a quote from the piece:

"We face many threats associated with climate change," Pita said to the U.N. "Ocean warming is changing the very nature of our island nation. Slowly our coral reefs are dying through coral bleaching. We are witnessing changes to fish stocks. And we face the increasing threat of more severe cyclones. With the highest (land) point of four meters above sea level, the threat of more cyclones is extremely disturbing."

Listen to the entire story on NPR.org.

And check out a small Grist slideshow of photos taken by Gary Braasch in 2005.

Update [2007-6-12 13:1:43 by Chris Schults]: NPR also has a related piece about the islands of Fiji.

Make your opinion heard

Senator Bingaman is with the majority of Americans in wanting more renewable energy. Accordingly, he has authored legislation that would require utilities to increase renewables in their portfolio to 15 percent by 2020.

Senator Domenici is with the craven few who don't want this to happen. Accordingly, he has authored an amendment to redefine qualifying renewables to include nukes and coal. So tricky! But we are on to him.

The vote on Domenici's amendment will take place this afternoon. Calls to the following swinging senators by 2 p.m. EDT today could make all the difference.

Minn. - Coleman - 202.224.5641

N.H. - Gregg - 202.224.3324

Ark. - Pryor - 202.224.2353

Ark. - Lincoln - 202.224.4843

Kan. - Brownback - 202.224.6521

Ind. - Bayh - 202.224.5623

Ore. - Smith - 202.224.3753

Mo. - McCaskill - 202.224.6154

W.Va. - Rockefeller- 202.224.6472

If you live in or know anyone in these states, consider calling ASAP.

Talking points:

• Hi, my name is XXXX and I'm calling from [city, state].
• I'm calling to ask Senator XXXX to oppose Senator Domenici's amendment to the national renewable portfolio standard bill.
• The amendment would weaken the deployment of truly clean and renewable electricity sources like wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal.
• The renewable standard is intended to promote our development of clean, new energy sources, not give more subsidies to the coal and nuclear industries.
• The bill provides a way to save consumers like me money on their utility bills by increasing the competition from renewable energy sources and reducing the demand for natural gas
• Thank you.

Action courtesy of UCS

From the candidates with the best plans and least chances

The two Democratic presidential candidates with the strongest energy plans and, um, least chance of winning have come out with new ads based on global warming. Here’s Chris Dodd’s: Here’s Bill Richardson’s: (via Hugg)

Progress Doesn’t Pay

North Carolina fines driver for not paying taxes on vegetable-oil fuel A kerfuffle in North Carolina shows what might be in store for users of DIY fuel: the state fined a veggie-oil-burning driver $1,000 for not paying fuel taxes, told him to expect a $1,000 fine from the feds, and informed him that he’d have […]

Phosphorus Is Bad Phor Us

Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” still large and in charge As happens every spring, billions of pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertilizer have made their way down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, invigorating massive algae blooms that suck up oxygen and create a massive “dead zone.” In 2001, a task […]

Can You Hear the Drums, Hu Jintao?

Sweden hosts Chinese president, global environment ministers What we learned today: while researching eco-news from Sweden, you might stumble upon some juicy tidbits. Like the fact that tennis player Björn Borg was severely bitten by a dog this weekend, or that the organizers of a future museum dedicated to ABBA have found a location in […]