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Stern in Berkeley

Friday saw a real eye-opener down here in the Berkeley area. Sir Nicholas Stern (of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change) was speaking at the UC campus, and there was quite a buzz.

Sir Nick is a celeb for sure, and all sorts were there: left, green dead-enders like myself, lots of climate and energy scientists, and a good smattering of new energy VCs, like the fella behind me from Nth Power (which, by the way, isn't giving up on silicon for thin film just yet).

All signs are positive

Solar power is going mainstream! So they have said, anyway, for about 30 years now. This time, however, there are good reasons to believe the hype. As Adam keeps reminding us, solar is incredibly popular — huge majorities favor it, and favor gov’t incentives to support it. Prices have been falling for years, orders are […]

David James Duncan, author and fly fisher, answers questions

David James Duncan. What work do you do? I’m an author and essayist, a fly fisher and river guardian, a public speaker, and, compared to a lot of people, a contemplative. How does it relate to the environment? I’ve been breathing and drinking water and eating food and chasing fish all my life. I’ve tried […]

Ten things

I doubt we have many sprawl-lovers in the audience, but just in case you need the comprehensive case against sprawl in one convenient location, check out “Ten Things Wrong with Sprawl” by James M. McElfish, Jr., director of the Sustainable Use of Land Program at the Environmental Law Institute. Here are the ten things, in […]

On Revkin’s piece on poverty and climate change impacts

(A topic I return to every once in a while. See here and here.)

The link that Jason posted Sunday deserves a closer look, if you missed it over the weekend. Revkin has written an excellent, if somewhat depressing, piece on the fact that while climate change is overwhelmingly the responsibility of the world's rich nations, the nations that suffer most will be the world's poorest.

It also reminds me of something else I heard Tim Flannery say last week: whatever else we know about climate change, we know that it will stress nations, and stressed nations sometimes do horrible things. The solution to climate change must therefore necessarily be a multilateral one.

Umbra on plastic and kids

Hi Umbra, What about “sippy” cups for little kids, not to mention bottles? They’re all plastic, and we all know that kids are more vulnerable to environmental toxins. What’s a mom to do? Janet Byron Berkeley, Calif. Dearest Janet, A mom is to check the research and purchase only bottles and sippy cups that are […]

Steffen makes good points

Sustainable consumerism — i.e., buying greener stuff — is a hot topic these days. Opinions range from "hey, it’s a low-impact way of drawing people into the sustainability movement” to “it’s perpetuating a horrendous illusion, that the modern American consumer lifestyle can ever be sustainable.” I’ll admit to having some sympathy with both these perspectives. […]

What are you doing to respond to the climate crisis?

Orion magazine has a brand new section, of interest to all Gristmill readers, where folks from all over are encouraged to write in and share what changes their families, communities, churches, etc. are undertaking to respond, now, to the climate crisis, peak oil, etc. I've seen so many ripe ideas posted on Gristmill, BioD's plug-in hybrid bike being a good example. So have a look at some of these great ideas and initiatives (a clustered, renewably-powered, affordable housing community in Missoula, for example) in the first installment of this section, called Making Other Arrangements, and share your own projects and ideas.

On the Markey, get set

I’m a little late on this, but Nation editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel has some smart advice for Rep. Ed Markey, chair of the new House committee on global warming. Speaking of whom — you saw my interview with Markey a while back, right? Good.

… especially at an auto show

Possibly in an attempt to convince attendees that a green auto show actually can be sexy, the UK's Eden Project named their eco-car fiesta -- wait for it -- "the Sexy Green Auto Show."

Luckily it seems to be living up to its moniker with an abundance of tempting auto treats, from a Volkswagen that gets 72 mpg to a racing car that can run on a 50 percent blend of jatropha nut biodiesel.

And god bless 'em, I saw zero scantily clad babes in the show's program -- just a whole lot of carbon fiber and flex-fuel engines. Now that's sexy.