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A cornucopia of new books tells us where our food comes from

One summer evening when I lived in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, I was snipping basil from the potted herb garden that I kept on the stoop in front of my brownstone apartment. Kids were playing on the sidewalk, their high-spirited shouts echoing through the dense, humid air. I absently popped a basil leaf in my mouth, […]

Florida manatee found in waters off Cape Cod

Ahoy me hearties! 'Tis I, back again from the briny deep. Me spyglass has been focused lately on Florida's favorite aquatic mammal: Shamu the manatee.

Seems at least one of the slow-moving "sea cows," which usually make their home off the Florida coast, has traveled all the way up to Cape Cod. Another manatee (or perhaps the same one) was spotted in the Hudson River two weeks ago.

Says one wildlife biologist, "It's, to our knowledge, the northernmost sighting of a manatee ever documented." Researchers aren't sure why the animal went so far north, but suspect it's because waters in that area have been unusually warm. Could this be global warming related? Will manatees soon be dodging boat motors off Nova Scotia?

Elephant massacre related to ivory trade

... you ignorant ass.

National Geographic has an interesting story about a recently discovered elephant massacre. The elephants had wandered out of a preserve during the rainy season where bands of poachers with high-powered rifles were waiting. Go here to see some pictures. Watch the fifth photo for a few seconds while it automatically zooms in on what appears to be a very happy poacher.

As you may recall, it is illegal to trade in ivory. The fact that elephants are still being slaughtered is all the evidence you need to know that someone is paying for it. Did you know that there are 10,000 businesses in Japan that legally sell and manufacture goods made from "legally obtained" ivory? Now isn't that interesting?

Wireless Is More

Green communications technology heading to developing countries Solar-powered internet and recycled cell phones are coming to a developing country near you. Internet access is widely heralded as a tool with the potential to transform the lives of low-income people, but construction of a wired network to remote villages is often prohibitively expensive. Enter the Green […]

They Should Eat Their Spinach

Iron-deficient phytoplankton don’t absorb as much CO2, study finds Phytoplankton’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide is hindered by a lack of iron in their diet, according to a study in Nature. Climate models have estimated that phytoplankton in the world’s oceans have absorbed about 55 billion tons of carbon dioxide, but the new research suggests […]

Off-Off-Road

New National Park Service guidelines will emphasize conservation Today, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne will announce new National Park Service management guidelines that emphasize … wait for it … conservation. Wha-huh? The new regulations more or less disregard revisions proposed a year ago under previous Interior Secretary Gale Norton that would have expanded motorized recreation; instead, […]

California Dreamy

California will shrink greenhouse-gas emissions under groundbreaking plan In arguably the biggest step ever taken in the U.S. to fight global warming, California’s political leaders reached a deal yesterday to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the state 25 percent by 2020. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) pledged to sign Assembly Bill 32, under which the California Air […]

California passes cap-and-trade bill

And let it begin with California.

California will become the first state in the country to require industries to lower greenhouse gas emissions under a deal struck Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats that could dramatically reshape the state's economy ...

By 2020, when industries would have to lower carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 25 percent, solar panels, alternative fuels, and electric cars could be commonplace, according to advocates of the legislation ...

The legislation will require all businesses, from automakers to cement manufacturers, to reduce emissions beginning as early as 2012 to meet the 2020 cap. The state's 11-member Air Resources Board, which is appointed by the governor, will be charged with developing targets for each industry and for seeing that those targets are met. The board now will embark on a years-long process to fully develop regulations. The board could impose fees on some industries to pay for new programs that could do everything from requiring truckers to use biodiesel fuels to forcing farmers to handle animal waste differently.

The board is likely to set up a trading system that will allow companies to buy and sell emission credits, which would allow a company that made more emission reductions than required to sell credits to another business that hasn't reached its emission goal.

Progress. Once again, state leadership is stepping into the vacuum left by the feds' suicidally blasé approach to global warming.

New bill should spark lots of discussion

The New York Times (and everyone else) reports that California has reached a deal for a cap and trade program on carbon emissions.

California passes Global Warming Solutions Act

After weeks of wrangling over the details, Fabian Núñez and the Democratic Legislature on Wednesday presented Governor Schwarzenegger with a bill he could not refuse (that is, if he wanted to give himself any chance at reelection.)

The new bill -- which I discussed in detail here and here -- will be settled Thursday when the Congressional session ends.

It is indeed a breakthrough piece of legislation, calling for a 25 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 and controls on the largest industrial sectors, including utilities, oil refineries, and cement plants. And soon, California's passage of this bill will cause a domino effect prompting other states, other countries, and -- who knows? -- maybe even the United States government to jump on board.

And a shout out to my own assembly rep., Fran Pavley, who co-sponsored this bill. Proud to be your constituent.