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Electric bikes enhance performance

Took the rig out in the rain Saturday to run errands. The trip was mostly along the bike trail. At one point I caught up with a guy riding a nice racer, and as usual, rather than let some goofball pulling a trailer pass, he sprinted to put some distance between us, and as usual, exhausted himself trying. To add insult to injury, I was chatting on my blue tooth headphone the whole time he tried to shake me.

FY 2008 request out today

Bush’s proposed 2008 budget was released today, coming in at $2.9 trillian trillin trillion. It will surely be picked apart by plenty of people with intelligence and patience I lack. But some key parts: $4.4 billion for research programs including: Coal Research Initiative — A request of $385 million, part of a plan to spend […]

Gary Lagerloef, earth, space, and ocean researcher, answers questions

Gary Lagerloef. What work do you do? I work at a small nonprofit scientific research institution named Earth & Space Research, where I have several key roles. I cofounded ESR in 1995, I am the current president, I serve on the board of directors, and I am a senior research scientist. The last role occupies […]

Landmark report says humans cause warming, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Now We’ve Done It The Airspeed Velocity of an Uneaten Swallow The Triple Threat Eh, You’ll Be Fine Grandchildren, Schmandchildren The Illumi-nicey Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: You’re Getting Warmer The Short-Term Solution That Stuck ESR Said Than Done Re: […]

One of them is missing

Bad Actors and their enablers have been pushing a particular spin on the climate debate: it has "two sides," the denialists and the alarmists. What can wise people above it all in the center do but roll their eyes at the grubbiness of it all? I’d like to introduce you to one side of the […]

Umbra on pellet stoves

Dear Umbra, I am a policy analyst with Californians Against Waste, a recycling advocacy group. Just wondering why pellet stoves were not considered in your wood stove analysis. I have one and feel that overall they rate well compared to other heating options. Thanks, Scott Smithline Sacramento, Calif. Dearest Scott, Omitting pellet stoves from my […]

Wow, that’s a truly terrible pun.

Sick and tired of hearing from me about lead-up to the Olympics in London and Beijing? (I know Patrick is.) Well, exciting news, sports fans — we can look ahead to environmental devastation in preparation for Olympics 2014! Leading environmental groups said on Friday Russia’s bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics would involve tearing […]

Is anyone still taking this stuff seriously?

President Bush’s recent pledge to raise the Renewable Fuel Standard to 35 billion gallons by 2017 dropped with a bit of a thud. David Roberts made a pretty good case that all the recent hype around ethanol may soon prove quaint: that, in essence, the ethanol craze will eventually likely crumble under its weighty political, […]

Environment is top concern for Canadians. Americans, not so much.

Cascadians on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border share a deep connection to our temperate corner of the world. But if national polling data is any indication of regional opinion, we may not necessarily share the same views when it comes to the fate of our piece of the planet -- or even of the planet itself. Public opinion polling in the two countries shows a boundary between perceptions almost as stark as the national border drawn on a political map.

In recent polling by Gallup and Pew, Americans display little concern about the environment and global warming -- far less, as it turns out, than their Canadian counterparts.

A nice interview with the folks behind Ethicurian.com

There is a nice interview on Culinate.com with the people who created and write for Ethicurian.com.