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From Clubbin’ to Clubbing

Hellooo Kitty Looking for a bar where you can “strip down and drink in your undies” and save the earth? Say konnichiwa to Japan’s green sex clubs. Featuring recycled goods ranging from kink-wear and candles to an S&M rabbit, the clean-energy cathouses also serve organic food and beer. Domo arigato, indeed. Photo: iStockphoto. Speaking of […]

We Love a Plan in Uniform

U.S. military aims to trim energy use After years of pooh-poohing fuel efficiency, the U.S. military has been ordered by the Department of Defense to cut energy use at all military bases and facilities by 2 percent per year — to which they replied, “Yes, sir! Right away, sir!” The Pentagon’s demand comes on the […]

This Protest Brought to You by the Letter … Yeah, by the Letter

Thousands of biologists ask Senate not to gut Endangered Species Act As a Senate committee prepares to craft a bill revising the Endangered Species Act, 5,738 biologists from around the country have signed a letter begging senators not to neuter the act. The missive, organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, states, “For species conservation […]

The Leak Shall Inhibit the Earth

Northern Alaska pipeline leak may rank as one of region’s largest Cleanup crews have been working in subzero temperatures to sop up crude oil and soiled snow near northern Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay after what looks to be one of the largest spills ever in the region. The source of the crud(e) was discovered last Thursday […]

Eden Come, Eden Go

Climate change threatens newly discovered tropical paradise One short month ago, the world thrilled to the news that researchers had discovered an untouched jungle in the Foja Mountains of New Guinea in Indonesia, full of unknown or rare plants and critters. Now — you saw this coming, right? — a U.S. climate scientist has warned […]

Don’t Let the Door Hit You …

Interior Secretary Gale Norton resigns Gale Norton, secretary of the Department of Interior, announced today that she will resign her position, effective at the end of the month. “Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb,” she wrote in her resignation letter to President Bush, “catch […]

USDA ID-tag plan for farm animals has some small-scale farmers unhappy

If only Orwell could get a load of this. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting a system that would have farm-animal owners and livestock handlers attach microchips or other ID tags to their furry and feathered charges so they could be monitored throughout their lifetimes by a centralized computer network. The National Animal Identification […]

Gale Norton resigns

The Denver Post, Associated Press, and other news services are reporting that Gale Norton is stepping down after five years at the helm of the Department of the Interior.

Norton's taking her leave to "catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector," according her letter to President Bush. While MSNBC.com primly notes that her "name came up" in connection with the Jack Abramoff inquiry, ThinkProgress is more assertive. Under the headline "Another Abramoff Casualty?" TP notes that Norton received $50,000 from the defrocked lobbyist, who also channeled half a million dollars to her former aide Italia Federici to gain access to Norton and another Interior top official.

Whatever the reason or not-reason, Norton is leaving the Bush cabinet without having achieved her goal of opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Update [2006-3-10 12:7:8 by Emily Gertz]: The folks at ThinkProgress elided the specifics slightly in the post I linked to above (although they're clearer about them elsewhere on the site). According to indianz.com, this $50K from the Meskwakis Tribe of Iowa actually went to a Norton-founded group, the greenwashy Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy ... as did many thousands more from other tribes that employed Abramoff.

CREA's president? Italia Federici.

Will you change your life to save the planet?

EcoBrits have begun a "Click for the Climate" campaign, asking the U.K. public to make a small lifestyle change in honor of National Science Week (March 10-19). Apparently, "Prime Minister Tony Blair will be turning down his thermostat, world record holder Colin Jackson will be taking the train, and Sir David Attenborough will be unplugging his mobile charger." Wo0t!

The BBC has set up a "Have Your Say" forum on the campaign, asking readers to leave comments on how they plan to change their lifestyle -- and the results are pretty amusing: "How about increasing death, take away all medication, and get rid of all people over the age of 60?" Ha!

I'm more interested, though, to find out what all you Gristmill readers think.

What will you do to reduce carbon dioxide emissions? Will you make a change to your lifestyle? Do you already try to limit your personal effect on the environment? What can you personally do to limit climate change? Or do you think you can't make any difference anyway?

Leave your thoughts in comments.

Treehugger TV has arrived

We've all encountered comments like "television rots your brain." Generally speaking, I don't believe technology is inherently bad. What we should evaluate is its application and use, not technology itself. Which is why I advocate that enviros utilize traditional and emerging media to their advantage instead of abandoning it altogether.

With television, I think most of us would agree that environmental issues and innovative green products and ideas do not get the coverage they deserve. Which is why I'm very interested in projects like Current TV, where you can help make television by creating your own news and/or helping to decide what gets aired.

So, I'm excited to see that our friends over at Treehugger have launched Treehugger TV, which plans to feature a new video each week. So far, they have two:

01: Trike Taxi
The men from Trike Taxi take us through their plans for a eco-friendly electric powered pedicab.

02: Swaporamarama
Swaporamarama developer Wendy Tremayne discusses the community event she has been organizing since 2002. An alternative to knee jerk consumerism, 'The Swap' is a creative happening that bonds people, fashion and ideas.

Good luck guys -- I look forward to future episodes.