Latest Articles
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Eur-eek!-a
Fat new oil deposits found in the Gulf of Mexico Beneath some 20,000 feet of earth and 7,000 feet of water, 175 miles off the U.S. coast in the Gulf of Mexico, lies an enormous field of oil and gas — enough to potentially double U.S. oil reserves. The lucky SOBs who found it are […]
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Tick. Tick. Tick.
Methane emissions from Siberian bogs are “time bomb,” scientists warn Thawing Siberian bogs may be releasing up to five times more methane than previously thought, potentially creating a vicious cycle wherein more warming releases more methane, which causes more warming, which … well, you get the picture. “It is a ticking time bomb,” says Katey […]
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No environmentalism is complete without consideration of animal welfare
Under a previous post on whaling, a commenter pointed out the hypocrisy of those in the environmental movement who oppose whaling while tacitly supporting other forms of animal slaughter no less morally offensive. The commenter made the point that as long as an animal species is being managed sustainably, there is nothing inherently wrong with using that animal, no matter how sentient, in whatever ways we desire.
This contention gets at a key weakness in the environmental movement, which deserves significantly more discussion and debate. According to this ethic of sustainability, all that matters is the quantity of the environment, not the quality, in terms of how non-human animals are treated.This environmental ethic is almost by definition amoral; it provides space for such practices as:
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Vote for your favorite Science Idol
The finalists are in. Vote for your favorite at Science Idol: The Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest, sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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Thawing permafrost, oh my.
One of the truly horrific unfolding disasters of the climate crisis is the thawing of Siberian permafrost, which has the potential to dwarf human emissions of CO2 and methane. And it looks like it's getting started. But don't worry, I'm sure those crazy alarmist scientists use words like "ticking time bomb" all the time, right?
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Mother Jones highlights the work of two eco-activists
Just a quick post to point to Mother Jones' 13th annual roundup of campus activism. Highlights below the fold:
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Fascinating
Noted investigative journalist and author Edwin Black has a new book out: Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives. It's about the transition from electric cars (and public transit), which were widespread in the late 19th century, to internal-combustion cars. Suffice to say, the "free market" played very little role.
There's a great interview with Black over on Reform Judaism Magazine. Here's a taste:
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Six easy steps!
Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I meant to link to this U.S. PIRG report: "Rising to the Challenge: Six Steps to Cut Global Warming Pollution in the United States." So I'm doing it now.
The six steps are:
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Would you shoot your spouse for them?
Don't mess with a woman's chicken:
A woman was charged Tuesday for shooting her husband in the back after he shot her pet chicken, the Lane County Sheriff's Office said.
Mary Kay Gray, 58, was arraigned Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court on a charge of felony assault. She was being held in the Lane County Jail.
Her husband, Stanley Edward Gray, 43, was recovering from a single gunshot wound to the shoulder. The chicken died at the scene.(hat tip: reader PW)
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Get set for a new wave of small, distributed power generation projects
One of the most positive and interesting developments in sustainability is the spread of distributed power generation -- small, locally rooted projects built and maintained by the communities they serve.
According to Ted Bernhard at Clean Edge, this stuff is just on the verge of taking off:
