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Umbra on boiling water for tea

Dear Umbra, My roommates seem to be constantly boiling water for tea. We’ve got a gas stove, a microwave, and an electric teakettle. However, we don’t know which option is most efficient. Any ideas? Kate R.Syracuse, N.Y. Dearest Kate, Idears-R-Me, and microwaved tea is nasty. Nas-tea, I suppose I must say, if I wish my […]

An illustrated taxonomy

Via Crooked Timber, a short academic paper on standard denier tactics for fighting regulations of all sorts: "The Denialists' Deck of Cards: An Illustrated Taxonomy of Rhetoric Used to Frustrate Consumer Protection Efforts" (PDF).

While it concentrates mostly on consumer protections, it does include some global warming examples, and most of it applicable to the global weirding fight.

Sealed With a Miss

Federal inspectors find hundreds of coal-mine safety violations Coal miners across the country are working in unsafe conditions, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. As if spending the day in methane-filled caverns wasn’t dangerous enough, inspectors have found hundreds of unsafe seals, the walls built to block off mined-out areas. Two major […]

Martin Who?

An Inconvenient Truth wins Oscars, Al Gore wins affection Rock star. Superhero. Visionary. That pre-Oscar hype paled next to last night’s event, which saw Al Gore — looking blissfully bloated in a Ralph Lauren tux — take home an award for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song. OK, technically the Goracle himself didn’t win […]

Texas Fold ‘Em

TXU Corp. board accepts biggest buyout offer in U.S. history The white-hot controversy over 11 proposed coal plants in Texas has taken on a new hue. The board of TXU Corp., which has kicked up an anti-coal firestorm among businesses, politicians, and citizens, voted yesterday to accept the largest leveraged buyout offer in U.S. history […]

Unlike, say, the story of Noah’s Ark

Joining a brain trust that boasts such members Stone Age Senator James Inhofe and TV game show host Pat Sajak, conservative Christian Reverend Jerry Falwell has spoken out on global warming, proclaiming it … you guessed it … a "myth." (You should really watch the linked news segment. It must be seen to be believed.) […]

New Zealand fishermen nab largest squid in the history of the world

Its eyes are the size of dinner plates; its tentacles, large enough to fashion tractor wheel-sized calamari rings. It stretches longer than a semi-truck, weighs more than a Harley, and glides effortlessly throughout the darkest depths of the Antarctic waters, using razor sharp hooks to gobble up the unlucky that fall into its path.

This is not the tale of a fabled sea monster or an excerpt from a Herman Melville classic. This is the true story of a colossal catch netted by New Zealand fishermen earlier this month. It took two hours to land what is presumably the largest and only mature male specimen of a colossal squid -- a rare find indeed.

Kedzie Press: An eco-friendly publishing house

There is an interesting article on Mediabistro.com about Kedzie Press, a small publishing house that publishes environmental titles, as well as other genres, using environmentally friendly manufacturing practices.

Some details emerge

More on the TXU deal from the NYT: Matt Wald says the effect on other proposed coal plants is uncertain (in the absence of a price on carbon, that is), and Andy Sorkin digs into some of the personalities and details behind the deal.

Things are getting strange up in Hollywood

You couldn’t ask for a more illustrative Sign of the Times: rather than gift bags full of swag, this year’s Oscar presenters will be getting … carbon offsets. Recently the IRS has cracked down on the notorious gift bags given out at awards shows. In some cases those bags contain up to $100K worth of […]