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Green Is the New Camouflage

U.S. general in Iraq calls for renewable power The latest dirty hippie to issue an urgent call for renewable power is … U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer. The top U.S. commander in western Iraq recently sent the Pentagon a “Priority 1” request for solar panels and wind turbines to augment traditional diesel generators. […]

Fool Me Rice

Unapproved GM rice from China pops up in European stores A variety of genetically modified rice from China has made it into Asian specialty stores and Asian restaurants in the E.U. — and the Europeans ain’t too happy about it. A new report from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth claims that some rice noodles […]

Ivory Cower

Ivory Coast government resigns after dumped toxic-waste sickens hundreds Fumes from toxic waste that was recently dumped around Abidjan, Ivory Coast, have killed three people and sickened more than 1,500. Under criticism that the government failed to act decisively, Ivorian Interim Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny took the unprecedented step of dissolving his cabinet, and […]

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 […]

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 […]

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:

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.

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?

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:

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: