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A virtual walking tour of Wisconsin’s Sokaogon Chippewa community

Three years ago, the Sokaogon Chippewa tribe of Northern Wisconsin bought the nearby site of a proposed mine, winning a 30-year battle to preserve their land and community. But this April, the mortgage comes due, and the tribe is still struggling to raise money to pay it off. Tribe member Tina Van Zile leads a virtual walking tour of her community, reflecting on the past fight for justice, her present frustrations, and her hopes for future generations.

On Hollywood’s downtrodden eco-chicks, and how they’ve changed

“A working-class hero is something to be,” said John Lennon. But for Hollywood, it’s more likely to be a working-class heroine — at least when environmental issues enter the picture. Charlize Theron in North Country. Photo: 78th Academy Awards® This year, Charlize Theron’s crusading miner-activist in North Country garnered an Oscar nomination, following in the […]

Sorry, optimists, it’s not your day

(Note: Due to previous misinterpretations of my sarcasm -- no, I do not actually believe that vegetarians are sinners -- I feel it necessary to mark all occurrences of sarcasm in the below post in bold.)

Gosh, there's just so much good news in the environmental world -- I feel it's my duty, in the name of balanced journalism, to bring you some bad news.

The U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer -- I think I want that job just for the fancy title -- unveiled a budget yesterday that would exempt low-polluting cars from an excise tax. You would think this would be good news, but you would be wrong:

The only car that would qualify for the break, Honda Motor Co.'s Insight, hasn't been sold in Britain since it finished its five-year production run last year. ... No cars qualify for the exemption to the tax.

"I want to do more to encourage cleaner fuels and cars," said the Chancellor (presumed sarcasm mine).

Insidious, but clever, I must say.

Chop Revenuey

China creates new taxes to curb timber and energy use China has announced an array of new “green taxes” on diverse goods — from throwaway chopsticks to golf balls to SUVs — to try and rein in deforestation and skyrocketing energy use. Chinese nibblers use around 45 billion pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks a year, […]

They Got Seoul But They’re Not Eco-Soldiers

South Korean Supreme Court rules in favor of eco-damaging seawall In a bitter defeat for a worldwide coalition of environmentalists, the South Korean Supreme Court has ruled that construction can continue on what will become, if finished as planned, the world’s longest seawall. Begun in 1991 and about 90 percent complete, the 20-mile-long wall will […]

No, No, We Said Hit the Road, Gale

In parting gesture, Norton paves way for more roads on federal lands Yesterday, as a Cruella-De-Ville-esque parting shot, Interior Secretary Gale Norton issued a new policy that enviros warn could allow local and state governments to build hundreds of roads on national parks, wildlife refuges, and other federal lands in the West. At issue is […]

Hansen on 60 Minutes

A while back, famed NASA climatologist James Hansen appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes to talk about global warming and the Bush administration's attempts to suppress climate-change science. Now Crooks & Liars has the video. Check it out.

(via A Few Things Ill Considered)

Update [2006-3-23 10:28:46 by David Roberts]: That reminds me: Rick Piltz, who worked for years coordinating climate research programs at NASA, the U.S. EPA, and the National Science Foundation, quit last year and started talking to the press about administration interference in science. He's interviewed in the 60 Minutes piece, and has also started a fantastic blog about media-related climate science issues. Bookmark it.

As the world swelters

Judging from this quip recently overheard in New York at the West 4th Street subway station, the Environmental Defense + Ad Council's new Fight Global Warming ad campaign can't start soon enough:

Girl: ...I mean, who doesn't like being warm? It's not like they call it "Global Sweltering"! So who cares?

A virtual walking tour through Wisconsin’s Sokaogon Chippewa community with Tina Van Zile

Like many tribal lands across North America, the Sokaogon Chippewa reservation in Northern Wisconsin faces environmental perils that threaten not only the land, but also the livelihood and culture of the people who live on it. The Sokaogon spent close to three decades battling one of those perils: the proposed reopening of a nearby zinc […]

Kolbert blogs!

Hey, speaking of Elizabeth Kolbert, I was googling around and found this week-long blog she did for Powell's book store. It's far more breezy and conversational than her New Yorker writing -- lots of fun. Check it out.