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About oil and foreign policy

In his typically understated fashion, Kevin Drum draws attention to remarks from George W. Bush's interview with Rush Limbaugh today. Amidst all the usual BS, there was this:

Give me a second here, Rush, because I want to share something with you. I am deeply concerned about a country, the United States, leaving the Middle East. I am worried that rival forms of extremists will battle for power, obviously creating incredible damage if they do so; that they will topple modern governments, that they will be in a position to use oil as a tool to blackmail the West. People say, "What do you mean by that?" I say, "If they control oil resources, then they pull oil off the market in order to run the price up, and they will do so unless we abandon Israel, for example, or unless we abandon allies.

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?

State boosts renewable standards to 15% by 2025

Yesterday, by a vote of 4-1, the Arizona Corporation Commission voted to expand the state's renewable energy standard to 15% by 2025, with 30% of that to come from distributed generation technologies. We're talking support for up to 2,000 MW of solar.

We'll take that over a sack of tootsie rolls and candy corn any day.

In B.C., a landmark rainforest-protection agreement was just the beginning

It took 10 years of work to protect British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. Photos: Gregory Dicum The Great Bear Rainforest, stretching from Vancouver Island to the Alaska Panhandle on the wild, rugged coast of British Columbia, is that rarest of things: an unvarnished environmental victory. But as the groundbreaking agreement signed to protect it comes […]

You Can’t Spell Lobotomy Without “EPA”

As feds close EPA libraries, researchers and others protest Gagging didn’t work, so the feds are trying something new. The U.S. EPA has closed four of its research libraries and cut hours at seven more. The agency says materials will still be available digitally, but many worry that the shift will stymie scientists seeking data […]

You Say Tobago, and I Say No Thanks

Island activists battle plans for new aluminum smelters Put on your sixth-grade geography cap, because a battle over aluminum smelters is heating up in, of all places, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Residents of the tiny Caribbean nation have spent nearly two years fighting plans for two new smelters put forth by a Trinidadian […]

The Best Damn Solar Show, Period

U.S. renewable advocates say their power is bigger and better If America has to resort to renewables, we’re gonna do it in butt-kickin’ style. Yesterday, Arizona approved rules that would require a 15 percent renewable-energy mix by 2025, pending certification from its attorney general. “Move over California,” said utility commissioner Kris Mayes. “We are making […]

Commercial Enterprise

Candidates tout green credentials in midterm campaign ads Seeing green on your TV? Do not adjust your dial: Eco-themed campaign ads are popping up across the country. From races already deemed environmental showdowns (California gubernatorial) to those that haven’t been in the green spotlight (er, Nevada senate?), candidates are eager to tout their crunchy credentials. […]

‘Glaciers have always grown and receded’–A few glaciers melting does not mean global warming

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

Objection: A few glaciers receding today is not proof of global warming. Glaciers have grown and receded differently in many times and places.

Two Florida icons facing extinction

The sad news out of Florida is that the iconic pink plastic flamingo, resident of many Florida front lawns since the 1950s, is about to become extinct.

The last flamingo was produced in June, and the parent company is going out of business today -- a mere seven months before the icons were to celebrate their 50th birthday.

Should we eat them?

Michael Ruhlman, a food writer who has penned books with the likes of Thomas Keller (The French Laundry), has an interesting thread on his blog about cooking balls (yes, the ones between legs). I haven't put a lot of thought into the ethics of eating balls, or castrating for that matter, or whether these bits demand their own particular consideration vis-a-vis the rest of the animal. But the recipe-intensive discussion is amusing, so click ahead (as long as you're not a vegetarian).