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A Twist of Organophosphate

EPA scientists say they’re being pressured on pesticide studies U.S. EPA managers and pesticide-industry officials have been pressuring agency scientists to skip steps in pesticide testing and allow continued use of some potentially harmful pesticides, says a letter sent to EPA chief Stephen Johnson by union leaders representing agency employees. The “integrity of the science […]

We’ve Been Cartwheeling to Work

Gas prices spur Americans to change behavior Americans hit in the pocketbook by high gas prices are, shockingly, changing their consumptive behavior. A survey by Consumer Reports found that over a third of American drivers are pondering getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle in place of their current one; half of those are considering a hybrid, […]

Nuke Skytalker

Bush pushes nuclear power at home and abroad President Bush has embraced nuclear power with a vengeance (on us?). On a tour of a nucular … er, nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania yesterday, Bush called for the construction of new nuke plants to help curb greenhouse-gas emissions. “Let’s quit the debate about whether greenhouse gases […]

Umbra on canola oil

Dear Umbra, I recently saw “organic canola oil” on a salad dressing bottle. I looked up the origin of canola oil, and it looks like it is a genetic modification of rapeseed. I thought organic certification disallowed genetically modified foods. What’s the scoop? Tom Grundy Nevada City, Calif. Dearest Tom, Have you noticed yet that […]

Gore’s new flick, An Inconvenient Truth, improbably succeeds

It’s something of a miracle that An Inconvenient Truth, the chronicle of Al Gore’s quest to raise alarm about “climate chaos,” exists at all. A movie with a scantily clad Jessica Alba presenting a computer slideshow on climate science is implausible enough. Al Gore doing it, well … even C-SPAN could be forgiven for having […]

When the Rivers Run Dry

After reading a few things -- namely this from Ezra Klein, this from Brad Plumer, and a Prospect article by Jon Margolis -- I resolved to learn more about the world's water woes. After all, I'm already a giant energy nerd, so why not become a giant water nerd?

Perhaps I should lose some weight, and be a more modestly-sized nerd. In any case, number one on my reading list was When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce. Read the Salon review here.

The one-word review of Pearce's book is: Terrifying. Whether he's writing about the Indian peasant farmers who draw from poisoned wells every day, the oblivious Arizonans who run fountains in the desert, or the apocalyptic moonscape that is the Aral Sea (once a thriving fishery, now a toxic cesspool), Pearce manages to convey the immense wreckage human activity is making of our lifeblood. No, not oil. The other precious fluid.

Harvesting energy

Freaky. Check out this BBC piece on harvesting energy expended by human bodies and the vibrations caused by transport like trains and subways.

NYT mag stuff

The latest issue of New York Times Magazine is devoted to architecture, and there's tons of good stuff in it. Two things in particular:

Check out the interview with Richard Rogers, a Brit architect. He doesn't trumpet his environmental consciousness -- he just takes it for granted. He's delightfully matter-of-fact.

Even better is this in-depth story on how New Urbanist dreams for rebuilding Biloxi fizzled. It's a fascinating look at how issues of class, race, and culture collide in stressful circumstances. Originally I was going to write a long post about it, but here it is 4:45, so ... just go read this post at Oil Drum instead.

MIT and me

I must apologize for posting on this subject yet again, but an article was recently brought to my attention that reflects my viewpoints so exactly that I feel compelled to tell you about it, so I can bask in the warm glow of smug self-righteousness. From Technology Review (an MIT enterprise):

Because the advanced lithium-ion batteries put a lot of power into a small, light package, a much smaller battery is needed to power the car, which could reduce hybrid prices. As a result, a variety of cars in a fleet could come with a hybrid option that costs about as much as the option for an automatic transmission...

In the short term, however, [this] seemingly logical assumption about lower-cost hybrid cars might not be right. ...a major reason consumers buy hybrids today is to have a "badge of honor" that shows their commitment to the environment or to curbing gasoline use. ... Part of this distinction... comes from having to pay a price premium for the vehicle. Hence, in the short term... it might actually be wise for carmakers to leave hybrid prices higher.

The future is (still) coming!

Looks like they're going to try to build a fusion reactor. Maybe this time it will work.