Latest Articles

Cohen on Gore

Richard Cohen -- a commentator I normally loathe, for reasons of interest only to other polico-wonko-dorko-blogo-types -- has a good column today about Al Gore's new movie.

In the meantime, he is a man on a mission. Wherever he goes -- and he travels incessantly -- he finds time and an audience to deliver his (free) lecture on global warming. It and the film leave no doubt of the peril we face, nor do they leave any doubt that Gore, at last, is a man at home in his role. He is master teacher, pedagogue, know-it-all, smarter than most of us, better informed and, having tried and failed to gain the presidency, he has raised his sights to save the world. We simply cannot afford for Al Gore to lose again.

Andes Are Dandy

Grist continues to hype Great Peru Giveaway So you’ve been reading about Brangelina’s Namibian nativity, and you’re thinking you wouldn’t mind heading south of the equator yourself — but without all the labor pains and paparazzi? Boy, are you in luck! Grist is giving away an eco-trip for two to Peru, and you could be […]

A Lansing Blow

Michigan demands 90 percent cut to mercury emissions from power plants Tired of other states getting all the eco-love, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) has ordered her state’s coal-burning power plants to slash mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015. Her plan will not be a cap-and-trade system, but will allow companies to produce a […]

Spinning Isn’t Everything; It’s the Only Thing

Alaska looks to controversial PR firm to promote Arctic Refuge drilling In the face of broad public opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Alaska legislature has … abandoned its push for drilling? Don’t be silly! No, the legislature’s hired a PR firm to sell the joys of drilling to a skeptical […]

A Fit of Leak

Another BP pipeline leaks in Alaska Hot on the heels of last month’s big oil spill, British petro-giant — sorry, beyond-petro giant — BP has confirmed that another pipeline ruptured on Alaska’s North Slope on April 6, leaking 12,000 cubic feet of natural gas. The leak occurred at the same Prudhoe Bay oilfield as last […]

Jumping the Park

Bush admin tells national parks to operate at 20 percent below budget You know what the problem with America’s national parks is? Profligacy. So says the Bush administration, which has ordered the parks to demonstrate that they can function with 80 percent of their current operating budgets. Bush is also proposing to cut about $100 […]

Wendell Berry on ‘economic development’

Right-wing critics of environmentalism lean heavily on a false dichotomy: "the economy" vs. "the environment." They pretend that human prosperity and "nature" are playing a zero-sum game. By, say, neglecting to mangle the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve for a year or two's supply of crude, we're somehow making a huge economic sacrifice. Mountaintop removal is unpleasant, the argument goes, but we need to get at that coal to maintain "economic development."

Wendell Berry, the sage of northern Kentucky, has made a career of obliterating such sophistries. Counterpunch.org has just published an interview with him. Check it out.

On an unrelated note, I declared in a recent post that "Environmentalists could intervene in the immigration battle by altering the terms of debate. But so far, they've been silent." As a correspondent pointed out, that statement "is not entirely correct." Andrew Christie of Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Committee recently published a piece linking trade with immigration. It's worth reading.

How Wendy Brawer put green on the map

Don’t let Wendy Brawer’s urban address fool you — this New Yorker has a soft spot for nature. After all, she’s the founder of Modern World Design, an eco-design firm, and has spent the last 11 years at the helm of the Green Map System, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping citizens all over the […]

Umbra on climate-induced relocation

Dear Umbra, Given that there is a possibility/probability that sea levels will rise significantly [due to climate change], and that some parts of the world may become too hot while others could become too cold, where in the world will things be relatively “safe”? If I start thinking about moving my family to another country, […]

Shill news

On E Magazine, Jim Motavalli's done an interview with Frank Maisano, a guy who's spent his life as an extremely successful communications guy -- shill -- for polluting industries. Disturbingly, Maisano comes off as congenial, reasonable, well-informed. I prefer my evil people more evil, please.

Also -- I should have noted this weeks ago -- don't miss Mark Hertsgaard's piece from the recent Vanity Fair green issue. Most of it covers ground familiar to Grist readers, about how a well-funded campaign kept controversy about global warming alive long after the science was settled. What's new is the exposure of one Dr. Frederick Seitz, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences. According to Hertsgaard, Seitz helped lead an effort to produce research for tobacco companies to fight off bad publicity in the 70s and 80s. Then, in the 90s, Seitz smoothly transitioned to climate contrarianism. It's a fascinating tale.

On Tech Central Station, Nick Shulz calls Hertsgaard's piece a smear job. Eli Rabett read through the tobacco company documents and says that, no, Seitz really is a shill. Tim Lambert has a roundup.