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Space Inveighers

New NASA policy emphasizes open communication with media Stung by recent press reports of political interference with scientists — the dictum that “Big Bang” be accompanied by “theory” was amusing; the suppression of global-warming findings less so — NASA has scrambled to repair the PR damage. Yesterday, administrator Michael Griffin released a new policy making […]

Slippery When Wet

Bush admin declares that wet lands are wetlands, says acreage is way up Yesterday, betraying no hint of irony, the Bush administration announced that even though the U.S. lost a net total of 523,500 acres of natural swamps and tidal marshes between 1998 and 2004, the country actually gained 715,300 acres of wetlands — if […]

For single-family homes, small equals green

Building "green" is a great idea, but you have to watch out for marketing hype everywhere you go. This article mentioned earlier by Dave gives an example of a 5,500 square-foot dream home (over four times the size of the one that houses my family of four). Dave hits the nail on the head when he suggests, "What's missing, of course, is a commensurate rise in eco-friendly community building ..."

In that article you will find a picture of a large house sitting all alone in the middle of what appears to be a semi-desert ecosystem. The article tries to deflect criticism of the very house they chose to highlight with the excuse that it was built large so that "... people would get mad and ask questions." I'm calling bullshit. In part, because they failed to qualify the remark by stating that the most eco-friendly house is a small one (which also minimizes profit potential for the builder).

More solar, less Hoffa

I asked David Roberts, Gristmill editor, how he would feel if I used this site to pimp for issues I'm working on at Vote Solar. Would this be viewed as:

A) Helping Grist readers effectively engage in breaking developments in the environmental world; or

B) crass opportunism?

He said both. I can live with that.

So here goes. If you live in New Jersey, you have an opportunity to help jumpstart solar on the Meadowlands. It seems the Meadowlands Commissioners, tired of being known primarily for Jimmy Hoffa-related issues, are thinking about overshadowing that legacy by installing one of the country's largest solar-energy systems. Vote is April 10. Read more about it and send them a note of encouragement here.

If you live in Arizona, you might want to know that the state senate is considering a bill that would provide a tax credit for solar systems. Hmm. Solar and Arizona. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. If you agree, read more and share the sentiment here.

On his book, Last Child in the Woods

This is the second part of my interview with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. The first part is here.

Louv is not just interested in healthier kids and families, though that's obviously his abiding passion. He also realizes in a way few other environmental leaders seem to that connecting kids with nature is vital for the future of the environmental movement and, well, the environment. As he says below, kids learn about environmental problems earlier and earlier these days, slowly coming to associate the environment with doom and hopelessness.

But this next generation has perhaps the greatest challenge ever faced by humanity: to remake society in a sustainable way. They need hope, and they need that sense of wonder and visceral connection that comes only from getting out into nature.

Dead ringers

Check out this BBC photo collage from the "Dead Ringers?" exhibit that opened yesterday at the British Science Museum. The exhibit explores the waste created by the oft-replaced mobile (Britspeak for cellphone!) and the impact of the coming WEEE legislation on industry and consumers. Displays on the latest mobile technology include biodegradable phone covers, the "first lasagne-based circuit board in the world" (!), and phones that will be able to take themselves apart for recycling (!!).

Bush admin unveils meek new fuel-economy standards for light trucks

The Bush administration yesterday raised fuel-economy standards for SUVs, minivans, and many pickup trucks — the most significant boost to efficiency requirements for the big vehicles in three decades. Exempt no more. Photo: iStockphoto. Of course, as enviros have been quick to point out, that’s not saying much. These final CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) […]

Perhaps it has less to do with material possessions and more to do with access

This week's New Yorker carries an excellent essay by John Cassidy discussing the history and evolving standards of poverty in the United States, and some of the different ways in which poverty can (and should) be measured.

Most interesting and relevant to some of our discussions is the idea of "relative poverty." If we hold most of what we call poverty in the U.S. up against the 1 billion dispossessed that Mike Davis writes about in his new book Planet of Slums, we find that most Americans are incredibly wealthy. Even if we compare poor Americans today with poor Americans in the 1960s when poverty was first "discovered" in this country, we find today's poor loaded up with stuff (most of America's poor own television sets and dishwashers and have running water and electricity, among other services).

But this kind of measurement may miss the point about poverty, Cassidy suggests:

Although many poor families own appliances once associated with rich households, such as color televisions and dishwashers, they live in a society in which many families also possess DVD players, cell phones, desktop computers, broadband internet connections, powerful game consoles, S.U.V.s, health-club memberships, and vacation homes. Without access to these goods, children from poor families may lack skills -- such as how to search the Web for help-wanted ads -- that could enhance their prospects in the job market. In other words, relative deprivation may limit a person's capacity for social achievement.

Bay City Tollers

San Francisco looks into congestion charging If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear … a money clip. The city creatively known as “The City” plans to study the possibility of “congestion charges” — making drivers pay to enter downtown during business hours. Critics include some stores in high-traffic areas, which fear that […]

Left Behind

Pentagon aims to avoid cleanup costs by attacking EPA science Confused over who they’re supposed to be killing — their enemies? themselves? — the Defense Department in recent years has often defied U.S. EPA recommendations for environmental cleanups and toxicity standards. Case in point: A 2001 EPA draft report estimated that the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) […]