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Readers write in about GOP pollster Frank Luntz, whaling activists, and more

  Re: And Now, a Word From Our Detractor Dear Editor: I read your interview with GOP uber-flack Frank Luntz last week and thought, “Poor Frank. Losing on all fronts, rejected by his party and outsmarted by his opponents.” Luntz was dis-invited from the GOP’s cool-kids caucus after the election because, in a comprehensive, post-November […]

Anything You Can’t Do I Can’t Do Better

E.U. sets emissions goals, will raise bar if other countries join Yesterday, European Union ministers agreed to a historic cut in greenhouse-gas emissions, and they’re prepared to take things even further if other nations join them (ahem). The Continent will aim for a 20 percent cut from 1990 emissions levels by 2020; they’d strive for […]

Yearning to Breathe Free

Study finds air-quality inequality in San Francisco Bay area According to a new study, people of color and poorer residents in the San Francisco Bay area breathe more than their share of polluted air. “We have a problem with the degree of environmental inequality … even though we regard ourselves as a region that is […]

Cabin Pressure

What should greens do about air travel? Is it a sin to fly to your vacation spot? The Bishop of London recently proclaimed it so. Plenty of others are increasingly critical of excessive air travel too, though not all are as strident as the Right Reverend. The trick is figuring out what’s excessive. Is it […]

Perry and Thrust

Judge’s ruling could buy Texas coal-plant permit objectors more time They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that applies to coal battles too. A big ol’ permit hearing on six of the power plants proposed by TXU Corp. was scheduled to kick off today, with opponents explaining why they’re not keen to live in a […]

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Al Gore says the same thing he’s been saying for over a year — he does not intend to run for president and can’t imagine the circumstances under which he would — but this time AFP spins it as his "ruling out" a run. The story will probably get a bunch of links. It’s amazing: […]

And what you can do about it

Ask small-scale, sustainable-minded farmers where they go for tips, and invariably they’ll mention ATTRA, an information clearinghouse funded by the USDA. Just this morning, I went to attra.org to get information on how to make organic potting-soil mix for starting seeds. Like many farmers, I’ve printed out copies of ATTRA’s indispensable guides to cover crops […]

New bill would mandate California-like carbon reductions

Whether you live in the Old Line State or not, this is of high interest: the "Global Warming Solutions Act," a bill that Orion Grassroots Network super group Chesapeake Climate Action Network thought could take years to pass, suddenly has a chance, thanks to recent changes in the political climate.

The bill would make Md. just the second in the U.S. -- behind California -- to mandate huge, statutory reductions in greenhouse gases by 2020. CCAN Director Mike Tidwell calls it a "radical and utterly appropriate commitment. More importantly, it encourages other states to do the same, raising pressure for strong federal legislation." Marylanders, get in touch with CCAN and with your reps!

So who's next?

When is it necessary, and what are the alternatives?

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe.

The Bishop of London recently proclaimed that flying on holiday is a sin, a view that seems increasingly to be shared by greens in the U.K.

Our environment minister, David Miliband, castigated Prince Charles for flying to America to receive an award, suggesting that he should have collected it via video-link. Mayer Hillman, author of How We Can Save the Planet and one of the more rigorous of our green thinkers, wants us to "drastically reduce or stop flying."

This of course raises a problem of public acceptability; for most people, flying is still something to aspire to.

It also raises some particular problems for environmentalists. Global travel and networking are important both to how we frame our challenges and how we resolve them.

What a fubar, eh?

James Surowiecki aptly captures the idiocy of our belligerence toward Iran: When buying and selling oil, traders don’t just look at today’s supply and demand. They also try to forecast the future. And if buyers think there’s a chance that supply is going to be lower down the line — because, say, Iranian oil fields […]