Latest Articles

Carry On My Wayward Gene

Kansas could see first commercial crop of human-gene-containing rice A California company is one step closer to growing rice that contains human genes on a commercial scale. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given a preliminary OK to a plan to sow 450 Kansas acres with the stuff this spring, with 2,750 more acres to […]

And You Thought It Was the TPS Reports

Your commute may be killing you, says clean-air advocacy group Here’s one more reason to hate your commute: it could be making you sick. Commuters — on car, train, bus, bike, or foot — breathe in up to eight times more diesel soot particles than they would just being in a downtown area, according to […]

Don’t Make Her Bust Out That Bustier

Famed California town may have to fight yet another pollution battle Note to pollutey people: if you want to keep a low profile, perhaps it’s wise not to situate yourself in a location made famous for being unjustly polluted. A sewage-sludge conversion plant is being planned eight miles away from Hinkley, the small California town […]

Good God, Y’all

U.N. chief says climate change poses as big a threat as war When we were in school, assemblies were a chance to see something fun, like a juggler or a movie. How times change. Two months after taking office, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave his first climate-change speech, saying all kinds of gloomy things to […]

Who’s on the climate change A-List

Listen up, all you eco-celeb-hatas. (Yeah, you!) Starry-eyed site Ecorazzi and DeSmogBlog, which aims to clear the PR pollution clouding the science on climate change, have teamed up to create a li’l flash game that lets you rank celebs from stars to stinkers based on their eco-commitment. Check it out, below:

Chris Jordan makes staggering statistics visually real

Our minds have a limited capacity to comprehend really, really big numbers. At least mine does. A million tons of C02 might as well be a zillion. Twelve and a half million dollars spent every hour on the Iraq war might as well be bazillions.

Sometimes we try to fathom the enormities of raw numbers by visualizing them. How often have you heard that something stacked on end would extend to the moon and back?

But that never helps me. I can't actually comprehend just how many pop cans, or human DNA particles, or safety pins, or Chevy engines or hot dogs would get me to the moon. It's just a heck of a lot.

Luckily for people like me, Seattle artist Chris Jordan has found a way to put big numbers into perspective.

OK, maybe not really

Well, not really. But as this article points out, we are probably only going to get one solid shot to do this right, and a half-measure that could survive a Bush veto would make people believe we had done something serious when we hadn't. This is why the 2008 election is going to be sooo important. The Democrats should vote for a serious measure, have it vetoed or filibustered, and get the public ready for when a new administration takes over.

Truthiness

(via Hugg)

Pennies for your thoughts?

I've noticed that readers of this site have ideas. Lots of ideas.

Here's a chance for some dough to stop talking (writing? blogging?) and start doing.

Wildgift is a non-profit that gives grants of $10k to $15k for "self-designed projects that promote wildlands stewardship and the development of sustainable human communities and lifestyles."

How cool is that?

It’s a wiki: Say three times fast

Hear ye, hear ye. Anon, find a new web-source for info on biofuels, one that ye can add to and edit as ye wish. It's a wiki, and it's all about sustainability. See the sustainability standards section if ye don't believe. Yeah, it may indeed be possible to bring forth from the good earth both foods and fuels.