Latest Articles

Wind farms or poor farms?

The torpor with which we here in the U.S. are responding to strong, clear, and persistent signals that the old era -- of abundant cheap energy in a stable climate -- is ending is nothing short of astonishing.

The fact that supposedly serious people could have a debate about tourism vs. offshore wind turbines is astounding.

Implicit in such a discussion is the premise that tourism is going to continue even if we don't build a lot of ways to attain a lot of non-fossil energy.

Perhaps the best best way to understand stories like that is to consult a book outside the "environmental" section -- an oldie about what happens when people in power ignore strong, clear, and persistent signals that what they're doing isn't making it: The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman.

Could the unthinkable become thinked?

Over on MyDD, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) discusses the carbon tax bill he recently introduced. My legislation, the Save Our Climate Act (H.R. 2069), would tax coal, petroleum and natural gas at a rate of $10 per ton of carbon content. Applied when these fossil fuels are initially removed from the ground, the tax would […]

Press conference on Tuesday in NYC

A delegation of grassroots groups from around Appalachia will be at the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development meetings this week to discourage further MTR abuse and advocate for alternatives (More on them here: www.stopmtr.org). New Yorkers, turn up for this if you can:

Plug-in aftermarket kits just around the corner?

Business Wire tells us that A123 (what a catchy name) just bought out Hymotion, the company it had been working with to develop a plug-in kit for the Prius. The kits may be available next year for about $10,000, allowing you to go about 30 miles on a four-hour charge.

Don't get too excited just yet. Putting one on your car will void the manufacturer's warranty and Hymotion presently plans to guarantee the kit for only two years, until they are confident it will last longer than that. At some point we enviros will need to step in to expose whatever environmental downsides are associated with nano technology, lithium mines, and the like. Get ready.

We knew we liked that guy

Huge Gristmill big-ups to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who late last week cast a crucial vote in the Senate EPW committee to scuttle a coal-to-liquid amendment. The committee’s been trying to craft an energy package; they had agreed to table contentious issues like CTL for open debate on the floor, but Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo) […]

Madrid, May I?

Spanish activists up in arms over unchecked urbanization This weekend, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Spain to voice their fury over … rampant urbanization. Yes, it’s true, residents of la piel de toro have had it with the bull. A building boom that started in the 1960s is overrunning rural areas and […]

I Believe the Children Are Our Lab Rats

Pesticides could make kids dumb, diesel emissions make them sick You know how we say we shouldn’t wreck the planet for “future generations”? Turns out we’re wrecking them too! A study from Indiana University says children conceived in the summer score lower on tests in school, and suggests that in-womb pesticide exposure may be to […]

Roller Curby

High seas of South Pacific protected from bottom trawling A landmark agreement between 21 countries will restrict the controversial practice of bottom-trawling in the high seas of the South Pacific. The deal, which takes effect in September, affects a quarter of the world’s oceans, and is the first step toward implementing a U.N. resolution on […]

Dan Peplow and Sarah Augustine, activists for indigenous health in Suriname, answer questions

Dan Peplow and Sarah Augustine. Q. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? A. We are co-directors of the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund. Q. What does your organization do? A. Our organization supplies technology and support to indigenous communities that are impacted by gold mining. The communities we work with live in the rainforest deep […]

Summaries of a summary — the new black?

Finally, below is the first half of my summary of the IPCC summary (PDF):

In 2030 macro-economic costs for multi-gas mitigation, consistent with emissions trajectories towards stabilization between 445 and 710 ppm CO2-eq, are estimated at between a 3% decrease of global GDP and a small increase, compared to the baseline. However, regional costs may differ significantly from global averages (high agreement, medium evidence).

In 2050 global average macro-economic costs for multi-gas mitigation towards stabilization between 710 and 445 ppm CO2-eq, are between a 1% gain to a 5.5% decrease of global GDP. For specific countries and sectors, costs vary considerably from the global average (high agreement, medium evidence).