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Wal-Mart may sell organic, but it also thrives on ruined downtowns and long freight hauls.

I've always been a bit appalled by the polite applause with which some enviros greet Wal-Mart's "green" initiatives. Seems to me that the only way the company could really "go green" would be to stop selling cheap plastic crap shipped in from halfway around the world in vast suburban megastores. In other words, completely change it's business model -- not, say, adopt "green" building techniques for its appalling superstores, or haul mass-produced "organic" food from California, Mexico, and China to stores nationwide, thus burning lots of fossil fuel and potentially squeezing profits for farmers and sparking consolidation and industrialization in a movement that arose to challenge same.

Deep breath.

Sometime Grist contributor Bill McKibben nails it in the latest Mother Jones.

Money quote:

What’s up with solar silicon?

... how come solar power may be stymied by a worldwide shortfall in key ingredient poly-crystalline silicon? Despite the growing momentum for alternative power generation, the Financial Times quotes analysts citing "unsustainable" price increases of 500% over 2004 levels in some "isolated" cases.

Global production of solar batteries grew by 47 per cent by volume during 2005, and the pace is believed to have quickened in 2006. One industry estimate suggests that between 2007 and 2009, the global polysilicon supply shortage will be about 9,000 tons a year, or about a fifth of current worldwide capacity.

So much for those reassuring supply and demand lessons in ECON 101.

‘We can’t even predict the weather next week’–But weather is not climate

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

Objection: Scientists can't even predict the weather next week, so why should we believe what some climate model tells us about 100 years from now?

Answer: Climate and weather are very different things, and the level of predictability is comparably different.

Gift ideas and holiday cheer from Grist readers and staff

The holiday season is upon us, and you know what that means: bajillions of crazed consumers seeking sales assistants full of cheer, good tidings of markdowns, and the joy of reaching the last TMX Elmo just before that little old lady in the wheelchair does. Photo: iStockphoto What’s a jaded green to do? Turn to […]

Can Thompson become president?

I never got around to posting on this last week, but it seems Bush's old Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is getting into the presidential race. The enterprise is already somewhat of a laughingstock in political circles, but what's remarkable to me is that Thompson seems to think he has a chance almost purely based on his long-standing support for and knowledge about ethanol subsidies -- oops, did I say "ethanol subsidies"? I mean energy policy.

Perhaps ethanol subsidies are the road to serious energy policy. But then again, perhaps "energy policy" is just a road to expanded ethanol subsidies. Which do you think it is? Leave predictions in comments.

Something you need to know

The DVD of An Inconvenient Truth is released tomorrow.

Speaking of which, it's entirely possible that AIT will win the 2007 Oscar for Best Documentary. Wouldn't that be something.

Take bets on the long future

Much of environmentalism is about long-term thinking. If you are looking for a meta-narrative, I'd say most people who define themselves as environmentalists are motivated by the desire to see something they love -- clean air, beautiful places, whales, or whathaveyou -- stick around a bit longer.

That's why I think the Long Now Foundation, dedicated to the promotion of long-term thinking, is one of the coolest organizations around.

The U.S. organic cotton industry has a tough row to hoe

The view from the Panoche Cotton Gin outside Firebaugh, Calif., reveals a great deal about the state of the cotton industry in the U.S. A generation ago, fields of cotton surrounded the gin as far as the eye could see. Today, the gin — a warehouse-sized plant that can clean and bundle dozens of tons […]

Sadly, it’s behind a paid subscription wall

Over on New York Times $elect, Steven Johnson -- author of Everything Bad Is Good for You and the just-released The Ghost Map -- is writing a blog called "Urban Planet":

Over the next month, I'll explore the many facets of our urban planet and its future, drawing upon the themes that were visible, in embryo, 150 years ago in the streets of London: the peril and promise of density, local knowledge, the importance of public health systems, and the strength of neighborhoods. I look forward to hearing -- and responding to -- your own stories and reflections on urban life.

Too bad only a tiny fraction of you can afford to read it.

The delightful travails of a fading climate denier

In all the chaos of moving, I missed out on the latest episodes of Inhofenfreude.

First and most cosmically delectable is the news that Sen. John Warner plans to unceremoniously boot Inhofe from his seat as chair of the Senate EPW committee. Inhofe was already going to lose out when the Dems took over, but now his crazed hands are being pried from the controls even of this lame duck session. Oh, the ignominy! Oh, joyous laughter ringing through the Roberts household!

Even better is Inhofe's reaction:

"I have long been a friend of John Warner; however, I think he has misunderstood the rules. I intend to retain my leadership position in the 110th Congress, returning as the Ranking Member of the EPW Committee," Senator Inhofe said.

Heeeeee hee hee! Tra la la. Is it Christmas already?