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The big-box plot thickens

Was watching TV last night, and half paying attention during the commercials, when I heard something like this: "High gas prices got you down? Do all your shopping in one place: Wal-Mart."

Oh, Wal-Mart. What to make of your ongoing evolution? Way back when, you were an in-town store. Then you became the hated icon of big-box suburbia, and a huge contributor to people driving more as part of their daily routines. Now you're twisting the driving thing to make it seem like a benefit -- but at the same time, you're sending a subtle message to conserve! Which can't be a coincidence, considering the shift to selling organics and such! Is it time to return to your roots, open a few downtown locations, experiment with the notion of community again? Stranger things have happened.

Oceana names names as part of seafood contamination campaign

Along with your omegas, you've been getting a dose of mercury in some of your seafood. In fact, the amount of mercury in some seafood has risen to dangerously high levels, putting children at risk for neurological problems. In an effort to combat the growing number of contamination cases, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory in 2004 warning women of child-bearing age and children to avoid certain types of fish and limit their consumption of albacore tuna, for example, to six ounces a week. That's about one sandwich. Grist readers undoubtedly know this, but what about those that don't check the FDA website on a daily basis?

Oceana has been pressuring supermarkets for nearly a year to post this warning at their seafood counters. Yesterday, we held press conferences in eight cities across the nation, revealing which supermarkets are stepping up to the plate and outing supermarkets that aren't. On Monday, I got word that Whole Foods joined Safeway, Dominicks, Carrs, Genuardi's, Tom Thumb, Vons, Wild Oats and some others as members of the Green List by agreeing to post the signs.

Check out our new website to see if your store is on the "Green" list or the "Red."

A proposed gold mine in Chile and Argentina has emails flying

Last week, Chile’s government green-lighted a controversial mining project known as Pascua-Lama. If the name rings a bell, odds are a chain email has found its way to your inbox, an appeal to “friends who care about our earth.” Activists hoped Chile’s new president, Michelle Bachelet, would stop the mine. Photo: Queen/ WireImage.com. The far-reaching […]

Don’t Hook Now

Senate passes bill to strengthen fisheries oversight The Senate passed a bill this week that would ramp up fisheries oversight, require annual catch limits, develop a uniform environmental review for fisheries management plans, and boost the role of scientific advisory committees. The legislation, passed unanimously, renews and improves the 30-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management […]

Refining Fault

Green groups sue EPA over refinery emissions rules Yet again, environmental groups are suing the U.S. EPA for issuing rules the enviros say will increase pollution. In the old days, refineries and other industrial plants were required to submit a malfunction contingency plan to the EPA; under a rule that went into effect in April, […]

An Irritating Truth

EIA predicts world will continue to guzzle energy According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, growing public consciousness of the impending worldwide energy crisis is going to … well, have basically no effect at all. World energy demand will surge 71 percent between 2003 to 2030, predicted the EIA yesterday, and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions […]

All the Right Moves

Grist needs more help getting a move on If you’ve been following our saga over the last week or so, you know that Grist is about to make two big moves: the physical kind, which will land us in a new office space, and the, uh, metaphysical kind, which will lead to all kinds of […]

Umbra on replacing light bulbs

Dear Umbra, I am reluctant to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs because that means tossing out not only used-but-still-working incandescent bulbs, but also the brand-new bulbs I have waiting in the closet. Is it really a positive effect overall when we’re reducing our carbon emissions but adding to landfills? Julie Pittsburgh, Pa. Dearest Julie, […]

CFLs

Leonard Lin crunches the numbers and finds that if the government started a program to replace every lightbulb in every household with a CFL bulb, the American people would save $4.1 billion in electrical bills and enough power to replace a nuclear power plant. (via kottke)

In other news, Mr. Luna is still plugging away at his bright idea.

Nature and allergies

Want to make sure your kids don't have bad allergies? Take them out into messy, dirty nature.