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I heart …

This morning Grist received this wonderful valentine from reader Bo B.:

Our affair's been strung across eleven months -- wherein we've shared bellied-laughs, melancholic sighs, and the blooming of recommitance and fresh passion. I owe much of my current-outlook's levity to y'all and yours. On this day it struck me that it was time I said as much.

SO: I heart you, Grist. Happy Valentine's Day.

Likewise, Bo. Likewise.

So, on this Valentine's Day, feel free to use this space to let us know of other deserving organizations, people, ecosystems, etc. that you'd like to express your feelings toward.

Love is in the air. Can you feel it?

Facts and figures on poverty in the United States

$35,000 — basic-needs budget for a U.S. family of four (two adults, two children), as calculated in An Atlas of Poverty in America 1 $19,157 — poverty line for a family of four (two adults, two children) in the U.S. in 2004, as established by the U.S. Census Bureau 2 $19,000 — amount spent by […]

Nano a nano

Can nanotechnology be environmentally friendly? Joel Makower (cautiously) thinks so, and since his post is well-reasoned and full of good links, I'll forgive him this: "When it comes to the environment, nanotechnology is no small matter." Ouch!

Also on the nano tip, check out Treehugger's interview with George Whitesides, a Harvard professor who's done lots of nanotech research of late.

So 2003

Reason magazine discovers that environmentalists and corporations are working more and more frequently as partners rather than adversaries.

Peak oil: Dec. 16, 2005

Noted oil analyst Kenneth Deffeyes has put a new date on peak oil: "we passed the peak on December 16, 2005."

That's it. I can now refer to the world oil peak in the past tense. My career as a prophet is over. I'm now an historian.

Read the whole post for details.

So where were you on Dec. 16?

(via Oil Drum)

Umbra on Valentine’s Day

Dear Umbra, Do you have any advice on how to have a guilt-free, pleasurable Valentine’s Day? I would like to give my husband gifts that are good for him and the environment. Krista Ashley Gadsden, Ala. Dearest Krista, Love, love, love. Does greeting him at the door dressed in strategically placed hemp napkins count as […]

Poverty in a civilized world

Poverty is a by-product of civilization. We cannot eradicate it by spending more, organizing more, analyzing more, developing more technology, or curbing consumption. We can only make limited, short-term improvements. This does not mean we should not make the effort to address specific concerns. What else would the action-minded have to do? We do need to be realistic that we are treating a symptom of a human condition. A true solution would require a radical change in our nature. When was the last time there was a truly lasting shift in the way of being human?

Dispatches from a NATO gathering on Middle Eastern water woes

Eric Pallant is a professor of environmental science at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., and codirector of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Integrated Water Resources Management. Monday, 13 Feb 2006 Kibbutz Ketura, Israel A Moldovan, two Bulgarians, and three Canadians walk into the desert. It’s like the start of a bad joke, but this […]

Greenhouse mafia

Apparently there's a "Greenhouse Mafia" in Australia, consisting of industry lobbyists and bureaucrats who used to be industry lobbyists, exercising immense power over Australian climate policy, insuring that the public remains in the dark about climate change and that the government does nothing to address it.

Deltoid has lots of links. So does Peak Energy.

When I first read about this, my reaction was, "wow, I wish somebody would do an investigative piece on America's greenhouse mafia." And then I remembered: In the U.S., there's no secret to be uncovered. It's all right out in the open.

Down for the count

Be sure to head over to Grist's Counter Culture section, where yours truly has compiled facts and figures about poverty in the United States.