Latest Articles
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So much for the greening
One of the principle claims of the Greening Earth Society -- an astroturf organization fronting for the Western Fuels Association, which is itself fronting for Big Coal -- is that the rise in atmospheric CO2 is going to increase global agricultural yields (thus the "greening"). A new study in Science casts serious doubt on this notion:
Long told SciDev.Net that the new results suggest that "the damaging effects of rising temperature and decreased soil moisture will not be offset by the fertilisation effect of rising CO2".
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Gore interview in Rolling Stone
There's an uncommonly good interview with Al Gore over at Rolling Stone. There are almost too many juicy bits to excerpt. I'll try to stick to stuff that we haven't heard before.
Here's one. He says: "I will make a prediction that within two years, Bush and Cheney themselves will change their position [on global warming]."
I've wondered about this myself. Public pressure is building up pretty rapidly on the issue. And once Bush and Cheney unambiguously acknowledge the problem, the range of meaningless, corporate-donor-friendly responses is fairly limited. They might actually have to do something real. That's if they acknowledge the issue. Can they fight off the pressure for 2.5 more years? Once I would have said No, but I'm through underestimating the toxic mix of malignity and delusion at work in this administration.
Gore also has some insights on Bush's 2000 campaign pledge to regulate CO2 as a pollutant:
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Intoxicated pelican crashes into windshield
You may have heard about the "intoxicated pelican" that has been making a splash in the news this week. Granted, it's not every day that a brown pelican crashes into the windshield of a car after being poisoned from a naturally occurring toxin found in algae blooms in California. This type of poisoning actually caused the invasion of frantic birds back in '61 that inspired Hitchcock's classic film The Birds.
But where is the buzz around the bigger story? Starving baby pelicans have been washing up on California beaches in disturbing numbers. Some are suggesting the emaciated birds are the result of a shortage of the sardines, anchovies, and other small fish on which pelicans feed. Perhaps pelicans will become the poster child of overfishing, the way polar bears are for global warming.
As for our tipsy friend in California? "She's hanging in there," said Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.
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State-of-the-art Republican argument for drilling in ANWR
Brought to you by the proprietress of the blog Atlas Shrugs.
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Factory farms let off the hook for water pollution, activists say
The Bush administration wants to let factory farms determine whether the animal excreta that oozes from their facilities into waterways should be regulated, environmentalists say — and they argue that the plan, well, stinks. The cow factor. Photo: iStockphoto. Agriculture has long been a top source of water pollution in the U.S., but in the […]
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From Vengeance to Vision
We’re not saying there’s a god But if there were, do you think He might fell a tree on the lawn of a flawed figurehead? Perhaps flood a few of the iconic institutions run by that person’s cabal? You know … if there were. Heads up It’s almost time for the Running of the Nudes! […]
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What do you mean I can’t sell my gold-plated ivory-billed woodpecker?
As Google continues its march towards global domination with the launch of Google Checkout, Gristmillers can sleep soundly tonight knowing that the following prohibited items can't be sold/bought via the new service:
Endangered species: Plants, animals or other organisms (including product derivatives) in danger of extinction
Precious metals: Bulk sales of rare, scarce, or valuable metals
The fact the former has to be listed is depressing. Luckily it will be a four-day weekend for Grist to lift the spirits!
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Gave Proof Through the Night That Our Mag Was Still There
Grist takes a vacation to celebrate Independence Day We Gristers are proud, patriotic, exhausted Americans, and damn, we need a vacation. We’ll be sipping American beer and watching American fireworks on Monday and Tuesday, so fellow Americans (and our international audience, we love you too) will have to live without Daily Grist. We shall return […]
