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Come Fry With Me

Heat wave causing deaths, power outages North America and Europe are suffering under a sweltering heat wave that’s caused deaths, widespread irritability, and a powerful thirst. So far, some 21 deaths are reported in France, two in Spain, and at least 29 in the U.S. In southern England, they’re facing what may be the worst […]

Asphalt blues

"With the continuing escalation of global fuel prices, many State DOTS are beginning to experience unprecedented construction cost increases." - USDOT

Over the last year, the price of asphalt has gone through the roof, and it's hurting local road repairs and construction. I haven't seen much about this outside of local articles (examples here, here, and here).

If oil prices keep their steady march upward, road repairs are going to become a ballooning problem for local communities and state governments. Some communities are already cutting back on paving projects, or are using less cover material to stretch resources further. But as one DOT rep stated, "With paving, you can't let it get ahead of you, or you're never going to catch up ... It may not hurt you in the short term, but we're going to need to get more money to pave in the future."

Umbra on countertops

With the home remodeling boom, we keep wondering: what is the best countertop choice? We’ve gone through a couple homes since getting married, and are now considering building our own. Laminate, Formica, butcher block, concrete, granite, plastic, composite, tile … they all have their own durability merits and drawbacks, but from creation to home health, […]

What is a “free market”?

I have written a few pieces over the past week about economic policies that would greatly benefit the environment. A major contention that keeps coming up on the comment threads is that I use the term "markets" or "free markets" too loosely. So it's time for a quick summary of what the market system is and isn't.

A chat with Andy Revkin about Inhofe’s attack

Andrew Revkin has been reporting on climate and science for The New York Times for over 10 years. He recently completed a book about his experiences in the Arctic: The North Pole Was Here, a straightforward but appealing you-are-here account of visiting the top of our home planet, where the air is thin, the "ground" is ice floating on the ocean, and everything is changing. The story is intended to be accessible to anyone over the age of ten. (The first chapter is available for free on the NYT site.)

You might think it unlikely that a children's book would warrant the attention or ire of a U.S. senator -- but then, you may not know Marc Morano. Morano is a communications director for Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), a former staffer at The Rush Limbaugh Show, and the first in the media to publicize the smears of the Swift Boat veterans. Since joining Inhofe's staff, Morano has issued communiques from the office of the Senate Environment Committee, which Inhofe chairs, blasting reporters that fail to give equal time to climate skeptics. (Read about Morano's attacks on AP reporter Seth Borenstein and ex-NBC anchor Tom Brokaw.)

Neither the senator nor his attack dog appear to have read Revkin's book, but it has drawn their fire nonetheless -- not because of what it says, but because it was written by a reporter.

According to a story broken by Greenwire (paid subscription required) on Wednesday, Morano called into doubt the 20 years of Revkin's reporting on climate change issues because "sales of Revkin's book ... would be enhanced by his paper's coverage of climate." Morano said: "We're not just shooting arrows."

I contacted Revkin to hear his point of view on the strange situation.

Subsidize this!

In a recent post on the four shifts in public policy that would have the greatest positive impact on the environment, number one was the elimination of natural resource subsidies. Every year, when I cover these subsidies in my environmental economics class, it amazes me that societies around the world continue to tolerate such vast abuses and wastes of money. They do so primarily because most people don't know about them (to educate yourself check here [PDF] and here), which is why I have decided to begin a campaign to lobby for their elimination.

Green is the new everything these days.

I just received a bumper sticker from ecoAmerica declaring that "Green is Red White & Blue."

But wait, no, green is the new black.

No, green is the new red.

Green is the new blue.

Gold.

White.

Pink.

Oatmeal?

I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe it's, damn people, get a new cliche (or is that an oxymoron?) Or maybe it's, I eagerly await the day when green is green. Not new. No need to be clever. Just infused in everything to the point that it's not even recognizable as green.

A bit of late-Friday philosophy.

The City Gas Guzzler

You gotta love this new ad from Greenpeace. Well, unless you're an SUV owner.

(Via TH)

Crime goes up with temperature, says a new study.

You're constantly inundated with information about global warming wreaking havoc on wildlife, plants, oceans, human health, and everything else unfortunate enough to be under our sun. Do you feel angry? Does it just make you want to punch or steal or shoot something?

Well, it could be less your reaction to the news and more just the warming weather itself. A new study by Canadian criminal psychologist Ehor Boyanowsky posits that crime rises in correlation with temperature.

Thom Yorke’s solo album focuses on climate change

Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, is not the first pop artist to find success with a song about global warming.

Andrew Bird, a superb violinist and exciting new rock musician with a long-term interest in weather systems, already has an alternative hit with his Tables and Chairs, a soaring song with a great chorus about global warming:

so don't, don't you worry, about the atmosphere
or any sudden pressure change
cause i know
that it's starting to get warm in here
and things are starting to get strange

But Yorke is the first rock star to top the charts with a record focused on global warming, hitting number two this week with his new album The Eraser. Although usually loathe to discuss the meaning of his often-inscrutable songs with the press, he openly described to the L.A. Times what inspired the record: