Latest Articles

You Darwin Some, You Lose Some

One coral species found able to adapt to warmer waters; others screwed Last year, unusually warm Caribbean waters killed some 40 percent of the coral around the U.S. Virgin Islands and weakened much of the rest. This year, wouldn’t you know it, the waters are warming again. “It’s impossible to overstate how important this is,” […]

Let’s Baikal the Whole Thing Off

Russian president changes route of Siberian pipeline to protect lake Last month, we reported that a Siberia-to-Asia oil pipeline backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to be built half a mile from the world’s deepest lake, home to hundreds of unique species. Well, we’ve been Putin our place: yesterday, the Russian prez ordered […]

We said, he said

The White House's scramble for microwave-ready neatly-packaged short-term fixes for the slow-cooking problems behind rising energy prices leaves us ... well, hungry.

But to his credit, the president did chuck aside one favorite conservative canard:

"This nation does not have to choose between a strong economy and a clean environment," Mr. Bush said in remarks at the Fuel Cell Partnership ... "We can have both at the same time."

Next time you hear complaints that progress with a green stripe will wreck the economy, quote Mr. Bush to the contrary.

Two canards down, lots to go

A new study done on behalf of the UK's Economic and Social Research Council is summarized as follows:

The role of radical activists and advocates of green technology has long been dismissed as out of tune with rational economic progress. Yet in practice they have often been a key source of ideas that have seeded new industries in areas like food production, housing and energy. Rather than dismissing such activists and their niche ideas as hopelessly idealistic, mainstream business and policy makers should recognise that they present a diversity of options for sustainability and learn from them.

Word.

Put it on the shelf beside the classic from MIT's Stephen Myer, "The Economic Impact of Environmental Regulation" (PDF), summarized as follows:

More details on the Ford/TerraPass partnership

Attentive Daily Grist readers already know that Ford Motor Co. and carbon-offset company TerraPass have formed a new partnership (the official announcement will come tomorrow, but there are details on the TerraPass blog).

The companies have set up a co-branded website where Ford owners can enter their make, model, year, and driving habits to find out exactly how much CO2 they produce in a year -- and buy carbon credits to offset it. Money from the partnership credits will go to the Ainsworth Wind Facility in Nebraska and the Haubenschild dairy farm, near Princeton, Minnesota (Ford chose those two products from TerraPass' portfolio, based on their marketability). Credits will come with a decal drivers can affix to their windshields.

Ford gets no money from the credit purchases; the partnership is part of a broader climate-change strategy for the company. While it has no plans for a broad advertising campaign, it will be giving educational brochures to dealers and linking to the site from several Ford product sites. TerraPass gets some money and promotion from Ford. The deal is exclusive for a short while (a matter of months), and after that TerraPass is free to make deals with other car companies; the contract itself is for a year.

I just got off the phone with Tom Arnold (sadly not the portly actor from Roseanne), the Chief Environmental Officer for TerraPass. The most startling thing he told me was that Ford approached TerraPass about this, not vice versa.

A heartbreaking collection of monologues from those affected by the disaster

Today is the 20th anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. And in remembrance, I bring to you a special edition of Under the Covers, highlighting the book Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster, which recently hit my desk with an incredibly depressing thud. Written — or rather, collected — […]

Hubbard on the commitment that has continued to exist

Josh Marshall draws attention to a briefing by National Economic Council Director Al Hubbard on President Bush's new four-point energy plan for covering his ass lowering gas prices. It's hard to pick the most pathetic, revealing part. Josh's favorite has to do with a comparison between Iraq's oil and the oil in the Arctic Refuge. But I think this brief exchange takes the cake:

Q Has the White House considered any sort -- has the White House considered any sort of wider conservation campaign to reduce demand?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Well, we announced during Katrina a commitment to -- for conservation measures in the government, and that commitment has not declined at all -- I mean, has continued to exist. And, again, we encourage all Americans to think about conservation as they go about their daily lives.

A look at some of the year’s other toxic anniversaries

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. As many a retrospective reminds us, that nuclear meltdown initially claimed 31 lives -- but has affected thousands more over the years (the actual number, of course, is a matter of some dispute).

Inspired by a note from university professor William Underwood, I decided to check out a few other 20th-century environmental disasters whose anniversaries fall this year, from mass mercury poisoning in Japan to a mining landslide in Wales.

If nothing else, these stories -- below the fold -- are a reminder that industrial pollution and injustice are nothing new. Oh, and that this kind of thing happens all around the world. Sigh.

As one scientist analyzing a dioxin spill in Italy put it, "I think this accident teaches us that it is better to take care of the environment before these things happen. Not after."

Chafee insures Wehrum confirmation; Roberts insures enduring shame

Looks like it's crow-eating time for yours truly. A while back I defended the Sierra Club's decision to endorse Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI). Then last week, to make matters worse, I smugly implied that enviros should be thankful that Chafee's around, because he might save us from Bush's nominee to head air-pollution programs at EPA, the stinktastic William Wehrum.

Well, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to confirm Wehrum, on a strict party-line vote. The vote count was 10-8; Chafee cast the key pro-confirmation vote.

So much for that theory!

(h/t to FO at Clean Air Watch)

Critics say Peru pipeline is an accident waiting to happen

The boat ride down southeastern Peru’s Urubamba River cuts through mountains and sweltering jungle, passing wooden shacks of colonos — mixed race and grindingly poor Peruvians lured to the jungle with promises of free land — and nativos, tribes recently brought into contact with the modern world. The area is a biological gold mine, home […]