Latest Articles

Back

I'm back. (You noticed I was gone, right?) I've just returned from a most relaxing long-weekend stint at the Once in a Blue Moon Farm, a little organic farm/orchard on Orcas Island. We went for a wedding, but a group of about eight of us decided to stretch it into a mini-vacation in the farm's guest house.

I'll spare you the poetic rhapsodizing about watching my older son ride a small horse, feed chickens, and get nuzzled by llamas. But it was nice. As a bona fide city boy, he doesn't get much exposure to Nature, but he took right to it. It reignited our little dream of buying a B&B in the country somewhere. Matter of fact, there was a nice one on sale on Orcas, for the low low price of $1.5 million. Ahem.

Anyway, if you're in the area, Orcas is a delight -- not too touristy, small-town homey, but kind of funky too. And Blue Moon gets Gristmill's Official Travel Recommendation.

Bonnaroo: Last words

Well, folks, my time here at Bonnaroo is coming to a close. Today, I got the chance to chat with head trash-picker-upper Anna of Clean Vibes, Atlanta-based band the Codetalkers, and a number of eco-booth staffers and everyman 'Roo goers. I also listened in as Bonnie Raitt chatted with Marc Ross of Rock the Earth about her work on social issues. She truly believes in using her music to inspire change -- and hopefully her hour-long interview on the Solar Stage will inspire 'Roo fans to make changes in their own personal lives.

I fly back to Seattle tomorrow, so this'll be my last night in a tent as well. For now, that is. I might be a convert, y'all! (Pardon the Southern ... this is Tennessee after all.)

Keep your eye out for a much more in-depth report from Bonnaroo later this week. 'Til then, rock on!

Bonnaroo: Lewis Black & Lyrics Born

More scoop from 'Roo: Funny man Lewis Black, laughin' it up at 'Roo's comedy tent, says he's on tour so much that he isn't in one place long enough to be harming any environment. Ha ha. But seriously, he's looking into biodiesel for his tour bus.

My interview with Lyrics Born went very well. Turns out he's very much into raising awareness about eco-issues. And he's psyched about 'Roo's eco-efforts because, he says, he knows how trashed a festival can get.

Bonnaroo: A breezy dispatch

Another dispatch from Bonnaroo: I've got scoop that Jon Gutwillig of The Disco Biscuits is a big supporter of wind power. He pays his energy company a few extra dollars per month for wind power because he knows it's a better deal in the long run, considering the true cost of our oil economy.

A cool technology, and fun-sounding to boot.

So, like, this is cool and stuff:

A water desalination system using carbon nanotube-based membranes could significantly reduce the cost of purifying water from the ocean. The technology could potentially provide a solution to water shortages both in the United States, where populations are expected to soar in areas with few freshwater sources, and worldwide, where a lack of clean water is a major cause of disease.

The new membranes, developed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), could reduce the cost of desalination by 75 percent, compared to reverse osmosis methods used today, the researchers say. The membranes, which sort molecules by size and with electrostatic forces, could also separate various gases, perhaps leading to economical ways to capture carbon dioxide emitted from power plants, to prevent it from entering the atmosphere.

Cleans up water, works against climate change. An amazing technology indeed. And will it come into widespread use anytime soon? My Magic 8 Ball (which always tilts toward skepticism) is skeptical.

The separation of economy and environment is a myth.

New head of the United Nations Environment Program Achim Steiner:

"Care for the environment is often portrayed as detrimental to economic growth," he told on his first day as head of the United Nations' top environment body.

"We hope to lay that myth to rest in the 21st century," he said by telephone from UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, setting out priorities for a four-year term.

Common sense ... I like it.

I put up my tent!

So I made it to 'Roo, as all the cool kidz call it. I even set up my tent, in the dark, all by myself.

Mmm ... Nothing like fair-trade coffee and sunlight to show you how dirty you really are. Yay for showers in my camp area. Boo for not finding them 'til I was dressed and sunscreened!

On tap today: interviews with Lyrics Born and a 'Roo green guy. Plus my first press conference!

China can pollute and dam all at once!

China has experience with spilling toxics into rivers: it's done it just recently in the Songhua, the Xiangjiang, the Yellow, and the Yangtze.

And China really loves dams; oh, does it heart dams.

So I guess this shouldn't be surprising:

Chinese authorities tried to slow the spread of a toxic spill by building 51 makeshift dams along the tainted river and using fire trucks to pump out polluted water before it reaches a reservoir serving a city of 10 million people, state media said Friday.

The spill of 60 tons of coal tar into the Dasha river in north China's Shanxi province was the latest in a series of mishaps fouling the country's already polluted waterways. Officials said there have been at least 76 water pollution accidents in the last six months.

Nope, not surprised. Just depressed.

From Iowa to I Owe Ya

Sometimes a basin is just a basin Personally, we don’t see anything unusual about the shape of this Des Moines, Iowa, water detention basin. Nope, not a thing. But apparently, some locals have started saying it looks like — well, you know. That’s bollocks! Photo: Polk County Assessor’s Office. It’s not that easy being red […]

New green/labor alliance brings Sierra Club and Steelworkers together

Organized labor and environmentalists — engaged in an on-again-off-again flirtation for years — may finally be getting to third base. Greens and blues are shaking things up. Photo: iStockphoto. Last week, Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, announced the formation of the Blue/Green Alliance, […]