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Lunguna Beach

Study says California diesel responsible for 1,100 premature deaths Overpopulation plaguing your state? Follow California’s lead and kill ’em off! A Union of Concerned Scientists study says diesel emissions from old construction equipment contributed to 1,100 premature deaths and half a million sick days in California in 2005, costing an estimated $9.1 billion. “Construction equipment […]

They’re getting nervous

When it comes to global warming, Andrew Revkin of The New York Times is without peer at clarifying the science and Elizabeth Kolbert of The New Yorker is the scariest writer in the land.

But this year, The Washington Post established itself as the newspaper best at showing us how global warming is happening right now, with superb articles on the alarming spread of the mountain pine beetle, on changes in the movements of butterflies, polar bears, and mountain water sources, on energy producers ready for regulation of carbon emissions, and this past weekend a major story on how the insurance industry has changed its attitude about homeowner policies in Florida and along the East Coast, thanks to global warming.

Joel Garreau is not the first reporter to cover the story, but his story -- "A Dream Blown Away" -- brings it home with more clarity and verve than any in memory.

To wit:

A look at the impacts of biofuels production, in the U.S. and the world

Nothing but blue skies from now on? Photo: house.gov Great news! We can finally scratch “driving less” off our list of ways to curb global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil! Biofuels will soon not only replace much of our petroleum, but improve soil fertility and save the American farmer as well! Sound […]

Find out which cars can run on ethanol and biodiesel

Going bio with your auto doesn’t mean you have to invest in some strange contraption your neighbors will stare at. In fact, upward of 4 million cars currently on the road in the United States are already compatible with E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. More automakers are making new […]

Bird flu will enter the U.S. from the south, say researchers

While the pure panic over a global avian flu pandemic seems to have died down, the virus continues to spread. To date, H5N1 has showed up in 55 countries, but has not yet touched the Western Hemisphere. Also to date, the U.S. government has assumed that the most likely route for bird flu's arrival into the lower 48 would be through wild birds; accordingly, they've put some $29 million into surveilling wild birds migrating from Asia to Alaska and down.

Sweeping political repudiation …

... isn't going to stop Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) from being a tool.

Meetings, meetings who love meetings

Sorry for the lack of blogginess today. I've been in some marathon meetings about Grist's target audience, how to reach them, what they want, what we want to become, and how to select a concrete course out of the almost limitless possibilities in front of us. Heady stuff.

There's all sorts of interesting stuff going on out in the world, including a new report ranking carbon offset providers that has created quite a fuss in that sector. But alas, it shall all have to wait until tomorrow.

Funny video alert!

These retractable pillars are traffic-control devices in Manchester, England. People don't seem to really get them:

NASA invests … on the moon

Typically I am in the tank for investment in basic science. But it mystifies me that NASA would announce they are going to set up camp on the moon's south pole as a galactic jumping off point. Gives new meaning to the idea of forward basing -- something that isn't working out too well in practice here on Earth.

If we are going to make a super-sized investment in science, how about jumping on the climate bandwagon here at home, an area where NASA already does some good work, like here or here or here or here.

All the resources you need to hop on the biofuels bandwagon

Once upon a time, we were going to make a beautiful map for you, showing all the available biofuel pumps in the country. Then we realized: hey, there are already beautiful maps out there. Not to mention books. And articles. And organizations working their tails off on this stuff. So why reinvent the wheel? Instead, […]