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Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, answers questions

Jason Edens. Where do you work? I work at the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit organization whose mission is to make solar power accessible to people of all income levels. What does your organization do? At RREAL, we install solar heating systems onto the homes of low-income families qualifying for energy assistance. In […]

What’s really disturbing about the new coal-fired ethanol plants.

David's post about ethanol and coal inspired me to do a bit of research on just how much coal goes into producing G.W. Bush's favorite "renewable," "clean-burning" fuel source.

What I found is ... disturbing.

Bait and Switchgrass

New coal-powered ethanol plant a sign of things to come Greens leery about jumping on the biofuels bandwagon have new reason for trepidation: An ethanol plant that opened last December in Iowa is burning 300 tons of coal a day to transform corn into ethanol … in order to beat global warming. Mmm, taste the […]

E-Waste Not, E-Want Not

Washington Gov. Gregoire signs far-reaching e-recycling law On Friday, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) signed into law the toughest electronic-waste recycling measure in the U.S. — good news for a state brimming with Microsoft techies who upgrade their systems once a quarter. The bill will require TV and computer makers to collect, transport, and dispose […]

Oh Say, Can You, Seattle?

Seattle commission unveils recommendations for meeting Kyoto goals Ex-VP Al Gore and environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert were in Seattle last week (both gave PowerPoint presentations, the chic new environmental look for ’06) for a series of events Mayor Greg Nickels jokingly dubbed “climatepalooza.” Capping the ‘palooza was the unveiling of recommendations from the 18-member commission […]

Tiiiiiime Is on Our Side, Yes It Is

Time cover story propels global warming into the mainstream “Be worried. Be very worried.” So warns the latest issue of Time magazine, which focuses on every Johnny-come-lately’s favorite topic: global warming. The cover story — the contents of which will be old news for devotees of scrappy nonprofit environmental magazines that need and deserve your […]

Umbra on measuring ocean temperatures

Dear Umbra, I’ve been hearing about rising ocean temperatures more and more. My question is, what are the criteria for measuring the temperature of the ocean? Wouldn’t probe location, probe depth, water depth, prevailing current, time of day, and ambient temperature all potentially affect the result? Have the criteria remained constant for the recorded history? […]

Reporter Michael Grunwald gabs about his new book on the Everglades

For about 5,000 years, the waters of the peninsula we now call Florida flowed south into the Kissimmee River. The Kissimmee emptied into enormous Lake Okeechobee, which in turn spilled over into a vast, shallow sheet that slid slowly along the nearly flat expanse of south Florida to the ocean. This was the complex and […]

Now they’re burning coal to make ethanol

TheWatt and Treehugger both flag a story in the Christian Science Monitor that makes my sense of uneasiness about biofuels even ... uneasier.

Here's the deal: An ethanol plant that opened last year in Iowa is burning 300 tons of coal a day. You heard me: coal. And it's not an isolated case:

The trend, which is expected to continue, has left even some ethanol boosters scratching their heads. Should coal become a standard for 30 to 40 ethanol plants under construction -- and 150 others on the drawing boards -- it would undermine the environmental reasoning for switching to ethanol in the first place, environmentalists say.

It's a farce to call ethanol a clean, renewable fuel if it involves burning coal, right? What do you have to say for yourself, ethanol industry? What could you say, what ... term could you use, to answer these terrible charges?

Wait for it ... wait for it ... feel the love coming ...

TIME cover story on global warming

The cover story of this week's TIME magazine is on global warming. The title: "Be Worried. Be Very Worried." I agree with Chris that this is a huge deal, and further evidence that the issue of global warming is nearing a tipping point in public consciousness. The Battle of the Skeptics is over. They lost. Now talk will turn in earnest to what we can do about it.

Unfortunately, I can't read the whole story because I'm not a TIME subscriber. (Any intrepid Gristmill reader out there want to send me a copy?) It's also at the top of CNN.com right now, though, and they've got a short summary.

There's also a TIME/ABC poll on attitudes toward global warming, which reveals the same old grab bag of muddled opinions. Take this:

Almost half (49%) say the issue of global warming is "extremely important" or "very important" to them personally, up from 31% in 1998. When asked about the causes of rise in the world’s temperatures, 31% feel it is caused by the things people do, 19% feel it is due mostly to natural causes, and 49% feel it is a combination of the two. Almost seven-in-ten (68%) Americans think the government should do more to address global warming, according to the poll; however, 64% think scientists disagree with one another about global warming.

As I said here, what these kinds of polls reveal more than anything is that public opinion on this subject is amorphous and fluid. It is open to persuasion, ready to be shaped by strong leadership. More than anything, that's what this country is crying out for right now: strong national leadership.