Latest Articles

‘Eco-terrorism’: A non-retraction

The other day I linked to a letter to the editor in the Toronto Star in which the head of the U.S. Humane Society defended his organization against accusations by the Center for Consumer Freedom that it is tied to "eco-terrorist" organizations. Today another letter, from David Martosko at CCF, insists that no such accusations were made. Martosko sent me a link to the letter and asked, "care to retract?"

As it happens, no, I don't. I don't know any of the specifics about what CCF may have said about HSUS, or why HSUS may have misinterpreted it, but I'm perfectly willing to accept that CCF did not make the accusations in question. But the specific accusation was never my point. Martosko makes much of the distinction between HSUS and other animal-rights groups:

Consider me one of the deluded

Repent, all ye pesticide-haters:

Organic Egg Brainwashing

Today, November 8, 2004, a shopper at the local Whole Foods market was observed buying a half dozen (6) brown, organic, cage free chicken eggs for $2.49. She could have purchase five dozen (60) regular eggs at the nearby Costco Wholesale store for $2.89. She paid 8.6 times or 760 percent more for eggs that are no different than the regular eggs. The organic food craze has reached the level of mass delusion.

I mention this only because it comes from the delightfully non-sequiturious http://www.biblelife.org/eggs.htm. Bible Life? Eggs? Did someone forget to tell me that Robert Atkins was Jesus reincarnated?

Space-based solar energy stations?

I admit I have no idea what to make of this. But apparently Business 2.0 (yeah, I thought they went under during the dot-com bust, too) is reporting ...

... early in the next decade SIG will begin placing huge, mile-wide sheets of solar cells in earth orbit. These NASA-designed structures, called solar power satellites, will convert sunlight into electricity, then use weak, pollution-free, environmentally safe microwave beams to send that energy down to simple antennas anywhere on Earth. The antennas will convert the beams back into electricity and feed it into standard existing power grids at an extremely low cost. The system will operate 24/7 overcoming the drawback of rooftop solar cells and windmills.

Like I said, I have no idea what to make of it. But looks pretty nifty, don't it? And at least the Kennedys can't bitch about their viewshed ...

Current crappy air-quality regulations preserved … yipee!

The Bush administration got a serious kick in the pants today from the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, which ruled that a proposed change in rules governing power plants violated the Clean Air Act -- in fact, that the EPA's interpretation of the law reflected "a Humpty Dumpty world." Ah, those federal judges. Cards.

At issue is the "new source review" provision of the CAA, which requires power plants and other industrial facilities doing anything beyond routine maintenance to add up-to-date anti-pollution technology. Industry hates this rule, and squashing it has been a top Bush administration priority from the beginning.

The Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale: Match 4

And last week's winner is (drum roll ...) "It's Hard Out Here for a Chinook" with 39%. Natch.

Now, here are this week's nominees:

1. Silly Rabbit, Toxics Aren't for Kids!: Parents strive to protect kids from everyday chemical hazards
2. Love Means Never Having to Remove Your Oil Platforms: Controversial research shows fish thriving around California oil platforms
3. That'll Anacostia: A plan to spruce up D.C.'s Anacostia River has some residents anxious
4. Flame! I Wanna Log Forever: Congress debates measure that would speed up salvage logging
5. Sense and Sensitivities: Multiple Chemical Sensitivities can cause poverty as well as ill health

Vote!

A program to learn from

I'm a little late on this -- like, three weeks late -- but this article about a San Francisco high school curriculum that immerses urban kids into the surrounding environment is heartening. Well, my first reaction is frustration and "why do we need a special program to introduce kids to nature?" but recognizing the state of the union at this point in time, this is way better than the status quo nothing.

The program, sponsored by the Goldman Environmental Prize, "seeks to educate kids about both environmental science and the history of environmental activism." Which is cool. Nothing like evoking past activism to get kids -- or people of any age, really -- fired up about their potential.

A school in San Francisco is taking the program a step farther, involving other entities to create an even wider and more comprehensive teaching tool. Check it out:

The students listened to [a habitat restoration expert] before going out into the Presidio [neighborhood] to collect air-pollution monitoring devices they had set out the week before. Later in the day, they would analyze the data from the devices -- basically cardboard boxes that capture particulates on a sticky matrix -- to arrive at estimates of general air-pollution loads.

Imagine: sit down and chat with the experts, go out and do in-the-field work, and make it relevant to your own life and neighborhood.

Why isn't this happening in every school across the country?

Media Shower: A weekly roundup

Wow, I guess I underestimated my ability to influence coverage here at Grist. If you haven't noticed, environmental media has been getting a lot of play around here lately. So, this week I'm simply going to provide a roundup of green-media topics appearing on Grist (and elsewhere):

Obama and Lugar introduce ‘American Fuels Act’

I'm not in the habit of regurgitating press releases, but one I just got from Obama's office seems significant, so I'm reprinting it below the fold. (As I'm sure our faithful readers will hasten to point out, it's an ethanol bill.) Discuss.

Francisca Porchas, clean-bus campaigner, answers readers’ questions

In her work with the Bus Riders Union, Francisca Porchas has helped prevent 33 premature deaths, 805 asthma attacks, and 7,000 lost workdays -- just by convincing Los Angeles to replace dirty diesel buses with ones that run on compressed natural gas. Answering reader questions, Porchas shares more impressive stats about her org's successes, discusses her strategy for luring drivers out of their cars, and explains the meaning of "drive-by pollution."

From Portman to Polo

It’s better than Mickey Mouse Club Just when you think Natalie Portman can’t get any cuter without doing irreparable harm to the space-time continuum — she’s immune to bad hair days, we tell you! — it turns out she used to perform in the World Patrol Kids, which rocked such adorably memorable kiddy tunes as […]