Latest Articles
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Left and Fright
Is there a place for fear in environmentalism? Fear: it’s as American as freedom fries these days, and the Right isn’t afraid to manipulate you with it. Anger and fear are good motivators, like it or not, and violence is oft cited as effectively “sending a message.” Should environmentalists be focusing more energies on scare […]
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The Big Seep
Global warming could lead to release of more methane from seafloor A warming ocean could release more of the potent greenhouse gas methane in a vicious cycle that leads to more warming, says a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Petroleum and methane seep consistently from small cracks in the […]
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Can we compare growth in the green building and green transportation sectors?
I've just been reading those Scientific American articles on energy and climate change. After rereading the stabilization wedges article (PDF) I began to think, "How likely is it that any particular wedges will take off?" This got me thinking about green building (almost everything does these days) and how much has happened to the building industry in recent years.
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A snippet from Rolling Stone’s recent piece on Kurt Vonnegut.
Rolling Stone's recent piece on Kurt Vonnegut begins this way:
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Will this help break the offsets market out of its niche status?
In a matter of moments, carbon-offset outfit TerraPass will be announcing a partnership with Expedia, the online travel site. The deal is, when folks book their flights through Expedia, they'll have a chance during the checkout process to offset (their share of) their flight's emissions. Short flights will go for $5.99, longer cross-country flights for $16.99, and international flights (13,000 miles or more) for $29.99.
This is a cool deal that I think will do a lot to break the offsets market out of its niche status. Right now, energy users have to initiate the process -- go to terrapass.com and calculate their own offsets. That's inherently limiting.
Now, it's just another part of booking travel. I'll bet dimes to dollars that other online travel sites will be doing this same thing within a year.
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Vacation
Obviously, my (interminable) series on fear and environmentalism raises more questions than it answers. It's woefully schematic. There's much more to be said. I hope, if nothing else, this will prompt people to start talking about this stuff. Advocates for reason and compassion are often derided as fuzzy-headed and unrealistic, despite the obvious failure of fear and violence to produce anything of worth. They need to start defending themselves more explicitly, and more proudly. They are in the right.
Anyway.
Later this evening, I'm heading out in the trusty minivan with the trusty family to spend a week lounging in a cabin on Flathead Lake in Montana. My plan is to wage an aggressive campaign of leisure. I will not stop until unconditional relaxation has been declared.
While I'm gone I'll be leaving the blog in the hands of its many other capable contributors. I'm sure they'll do you proud.
See you next week!
