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Images of dense development

Just wanted to point out a great website, "Visualizing Density," a product of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP). I'm not feeling like my usual prolix self today, so I'll let them do the talking:

Sprawl is bad. Density is good. Americans need to stop spreading out and live closer together. Well ... that's the theory, anyway. But, as anyone who has tried to build compact development recently will tell you, if there's one thing Americans hate more than sprawl, it's density ... One reason people reject density is that they don't know much about it -- what it looks like, how to build it, or whether it's something they can call home. We have very rational ways of measuring density, but our perception of it is anything but rational.

Friday music blogging: Okkervil River

I was originally going to fly to D.C. on Sun. June 10, but I moved it back a day when I found out Okkervil River is playing Seattle that night. Okkervil is a bit of a strange case — they’re one of my favorite bands of the last few years, maybe ever, but I’m leery […]

Incident on the Mediterranean makes rounds on U.S. news

Last week we broke the story about French fishermen coordinating an attack on Oceana's research vessel, Ranger, in an attempt to get their hands on the pictures our crew has been taking of them using illegal driftnets.

Now everyone's talking about it, including our friends at NPR. They aired a segment on the confrontation on their top radio show, "All Things Considered." And footage of the assault is racking up hits on YouTube. Remember, you heard it here first.

Ultimate Seattle hybrid plug-in

Well, I spent last weekend building the ultimate electric hybrid bicycle for Seattle riding. My first bike was more or less a prototype that taught me all I needed to know to put this one together.

And spy planes

Identifying energy-saving opportunities is one thing -- and a good thing -- but just think of the potential for evaluating politicians ...

Top scientists appeal to WTO

The other day I told you how there's a good chance we could see an end to commercial overfishing subsidies through WTO negotiations. And my organization is not alone in making the case to the World Trade Organization. At least 125 scientists from 27 countries feel the same way and sent a letter to the WTO making it clear that "an ambitious outcome in the ongoing WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations is vital to the future of the world's fisheries."

The scientists who signed the letter are a who's who of ocean fisheries scientists, including Daniel Pauly, Boris Worm, Jeremy B.C. Jackson, Andrew Rosenberg, Carl Safina, Callum Roberts, Larry Crowder, and Wallace "J" Nichols. These leading experts made the stakes clear: "Fisheries subsidies," they note in the letter, "produce such strong economic incentives to overfish that reducing them is one of the most significant actions that can be taken to combat global overfishing." How's that for pressure?

You can see the full letter here (PDF).

A conservative kids’ book publisher takes on climate change

The L.A. Times visits a conservative publisher of children’s books. Here’s what they find: First up is a story about a boy named Jake who watches a dire film about global warming in school. Jake walks home cursing every SUV — until his best friend, Ben, sets him straight with a didactic lecture disguised as […]

15 Green Actors

Photo: Steve Granitz / WireImage Leonardo DiCaprio Once “king of the world,” this star often flies commercially and drives himself around in a hybrid Toyota Prius. In 1998, he started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to promote environmental causes. More recently, he’s been working on 11th Hour, an environmental documentary featuring interviews with global green leaders. […]

Public presentations on global warming — not as easy as you might think

So I had an opportunity to go see a free, open-to-the-public talk by Dr. Michael Mann, one of the lead authors for the IPCC, the person most associated with the "hockey stick" graph of temperature, and a faculty member at Penn State University.

His topic: "Global Climate Change: Past and Present."

A review:

15 Green Sports Stars

Check out our roster of green sports stars, then pitch your own suggestions in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Photo: Imaginechina / WireImage Yao Ming At seven and a half feet tall, NBA star Ming isn’t afraid to stand up for endangered species. He’s spoken out against the hunting of sharks […]