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Reality Bites

U.S. automakers acknowledging that gas prices are likely to stay high Expect gasoline prices to stay between $3 and $4 a gallon for the rest of the decade, says … no, not some fearmongering environmentalist or peak-oil nut, but Chrysler CEO Thomas LaSorda. In fact, all of Detroit’s Big Three automakers have resigned themselves to […]

A new exhibit lets New Orleans residents tell their own stories

In the beginning of July, I arrived in New Orleans for an internship at the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. I met with Anne Rolfes, the coordinator and one of the founders of the nonprofit health and environmental-justice organization, and we discussed the work I would be doing. I was to organize a photo exhibit displaying images […]

Today’s list of places you don’t want to live

Hello, and welcome to this edition of Whew-I'm-Glad-I-Live-Here-and-Not-There. Today's list of places you're glad you don't live:

Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming

A blistering drought is bringing on conditions that are being compared to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, leaving farmers and ranchers desperate. No really, desperate:

Gov. Michael Rounds of South Dakota, who has requested that 51 of the state's 66 counties be designated a federal agricultural disaster area, recently sought unusual help from his constituents: he issued a proclamation declaring a week to pray for rain.

Urchins evacuated in preparation for storms

With the height of hurricane season approaching, and the Katrina anniversary monopolizing the media, it's fair to say America's got hurricane on the brain. While coastal residents and (let's hope) the government prepare for this year's storms, so too do marine creatures.

Scientists and volunteers near Conch Reef rounded up about 500 long-spined sea urchins (critical to the health of coral reefs) in a shallow rubble zone and moved them to deeper water on the coral reef where they'll be safer.

Take note, Mr. President. Preventative action before hurricanes = good. Still in the "beginning" stages of recovery a year after the fact = bad.

Grist staffers sample organic beer variety pack

You can't go wrong. Last week, an unusually heavy box made its way to Grist List HQ, and we were oh-so-pleasantly surprised to find out that a) Lakefront Brewery had sent us a case of their beer and b) shameless begging really does work. We actually received a variety of brews -- including the New Grist beer that we had oh-so-subtly requested as well as an organic variety called Organic ESB and the coffee-blended Fuel Cafe Stout.

At a Seattle-staff gathering on Friday, we sat down to taste-test these Lakefront Brewery beverages -- and believe me, we took our task seriously. Our verdict? Tasty. Seriously. And not just because Lakefront Brewery sent us a free case. Although Lakefront Brewery did send us a free case. Did I mention Lakefront Brewery sent us a free case?

And that's not to say we wouldn't accept free cases of beer from any other organic brewers out there. Because we would. And we would also accept more free cases from Lakefront Brewery. In fact, I'm just going to say Lakefront Brewery a few more times. Lakefront Brewery. Lakefront Brewery. Lakefront Brewery.

So in conclusion, we'd like to thank you, Lakefront Brewery, for allowing us to sample our namesake beer. You did name it after us, right?

The Army Corps of Engineers is the real culprit behind New Orleans’ devastation

The fate of this navigation channel on the Louisiana coast, shown in 1970 (left) and 2001, offered a glimpse of things to come. Photos: White House OMB  If an unsafe building collapsed and killed 1,000 people, we wouldn’t blame the building’s manager, even if he bungled his evacuation plan, or its maintenance crew, even if […]

A new blog by pigeons gives a bird’s eye view of air quality

A recent article announced a new milestone in the blogging world -- the very first blog by pigeons. A team at University of California Irvine is gathering data on smog particles in the atmosphere using pigeons outfitted with "backpacks and cell phones." (Because they don't already gab enough on apartment windowsills.) The project was inspired by WWII homing pigeons equipped with spy cameras.

The team devised a feather-weight minipack with an antenna, a cell phone SIM card, global positioning system equipment, and a pollution sensor. The GPS tracks the pigeon's exact location, the sensors pick up airborne pollutants, and the information is text-messaged to the website.

The naturally meandering route of a pigeon gives the experiment a random quality that creator Beatriz da Costa intended. The project does have its detractors, though.

Advice from sustainability leaders for today’s aspiring entrepreneurs

In perhaps the most memorable career-counseling session ever served up on celluloid, the poolside conversation ran like this: Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.Benjamin: Yes, sir.Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?Benjamin: Yes, I am.Mr. McGuire: Plastics. This exchange came to mind when we were developing our latest survey of […]

The Beak Shall Inherit the Earth

Sixteen bird species saved from extinction Sixteen bird species that nearly went extinct in the mid-1990s were saved by international cooperation and concerted conservation efforts, according to a study published in the journal Oryx by researchers from BirdLife International. Scientists say the rebounds in populations of the Norfolk Island green parrot, the Mauritius parakeet, and […]

Lebanon Sequitur

Lebanese oil spill continues to spread Six weeks after Israel bombed a Lebanese power plant, spilling 10,000 to 15,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea, the disaster continues to be disastrous. The slick has traveled an estimated 90 miles north, affecting every one of Lebanon’s approximately 200 beaches, and may reach Syria […]