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In which I’m right about everything

From my top stories of 2006:: California has always kicked the rest of the nation’s ass on environmental policy. Today: Continuing his historic leadership to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower California’s reliance on foreign oil, Governor Schwarzenegger today announced he will issue an Executive Order establishing a groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) […]

The problem is not how high the temperature may go, but how fast it is changing

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: The earth has had much warmer climates in the past. What's so special about the current climate? Anyway, it seems like a generally warmer world will be better.

Answer: I don't know if there is a meaningful way to define an "optimum" average temperature for planet earth. Surely it is better now for all of us than it was 20,000 years ago when so much land was trapped beneath ice sheets. Perhaps any point between the recent climate and the extreme one we may be heading for, with tropical forests inside the arctic circle, is as good as any other. Maybe it's even better with no ice caps anywhere.

It doesn't matter. The critical issue is not what the temperature is, or may be, or will be. The critical issue is how fast it is moving.

Check your local listings for details

If you missed your chance in November to catch Two Square Miles, the documentary about the community in Hudson, N.Y., fighting off construction of a major cement factory, you may be in luck. Sam Pratt, an activist involved in the fight, tells Grist that PBS will be re-airing the film tonight on many local affiliate […]

Malaysian company may build an additional 12 plants

According to recent press reports, a Malaysian company, Pioneer Bio Industries Corp. Sdn. Bhd., is about to begin building what it claims will be the world's first plant to commercially produce fuel ethanol from nipah palms (Nypa fruiticans), also known as the mangrove palm, attap palm (in Singapore), and Golpata (in Bangladesh).

Nipah palms grow in soft mud along coasts and slow-moving tidal rivers flowing into the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are abundant in Malaysia.

Justices agree to hear Defenders of Wildlife case

Environmental law appears to be a hot commodity in the Roberts Court. While the justices continue to deliberate about global warming, they agreed (PDF) on Friday to add another hot-button environmental issue to their agenda: the Endangered Species Act.

Setting the Stage

The case, Defenders of Wildlife v. EPA, also implicates the Clean Water Act (CWA). Under the CWA, a would-be polluter needs to get a permit before it discharges into our nation's waters. The CWA requires that the federal government delegate permitting authority to the states, if they meet a number of requirements.

Today, almost every state issues its own permits. (EPA provides this map [PDF] illustrating which states have permitting authority.)

An urban denizen beseeches nature writers to focus on cities for a change

A plea to nature writers: Come write about Los Angeles. To all the young aspiring Thoreaus out there: Head to this megalopolis in droves, as if to Mecca. Chicago is also good. New York. Pittsburgh. Atlanta. Reno. Providence. Houston. Indianapolis. Why does the venerable American literary genre of nature writing continue to ignore cities? Sure, […]

Go! Now! Vote!

So I’m surfin’ the internets and whaddyaknow, I happen upon the nominations page for the Seventh Annual Weblog Awards. The Bloggies honor the very best blogs out there — and all the winners are chosen by the public. That would be you! Hmm … who could you vote for? Well, off the top of my […]

Enemy at the Gates

Gates Foundation invests in polluting companies that undermine its health goals The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spends more than a billion dollars a year on promoting global health — but it invests billions more in polluting companies that cause health problems around the globe. About 5 percent of the foundation’s assets are dispersed in […]

Talkin’ ‘Bout Our Generations

How to deal with the generation gap in the eco-workplace Close to 50 percent of environmental professionals and managers will soon be eligible for retirement, a prospect that has their employers worried. But more importantly, asks Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization, what if they don’t actually retire anytime soon? It means we’re all […]

Poison Penn

Pennsylvania governor blocked from issuing mercury rule Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) got green plaudits last year when he proposed a plan to scrub 90 percent of mercury pollution from the state’s coal-fired power plants by 2015, but a little-known state agency is now blocking his move. The Legislative Reference Bureau has sided with the […]