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Sierra Club direction

This is good news:

If greens stopped driving and flying, not much would change

In the course of an unrelated post, Tim Lambert makes a point dear to my heart. Like so:

And what of environmental activist-author Dr Tim Flannery, who believes climate change to be "the greatest threat facing humanity", yet who is able to put aside his worries about human-driven ecological destruction long enough to conduct a 20-city US tour promoting his latest book about climate change?

I used a calculator linked from Flannery's site and found that Flannery's tour would release about 6,000 kg of CO2. Flannery says that we'll have to reduce our emissions of CO2 by about 70% to stabilize the climate. That's 17,000,000,000,000 kg less CO2 per year. This is somewhat more than 6,000, so if Flannery did not go on the trip it would not solve the global warming problem. If Flannery on his tour is able to persuade a few people to reduce their emissions the reduction will be much more than 6,000 kg.

Lambert is more concise and artful than me, as usual, but I keep making the same basic point: The constant charge of "hypocrisy" against anyone who a) advocates against global warming and b) contributes to it by driving/flying/owning a house/having a child/whatever is dumb. It's a game best left to the rightwingers and climate contrarians who so fervently love it.

The collection of public figures -- scientists, celebrities, environmentalists -- publicly advocating for action on global warming is, in relative terms, tiny. A generous estimate would put it in the thousands. There are, in contrast, billions of people driving/flying/owning a house/having a child/whatever. If every single person who spoke out publicly on climate change stopped driving/flying/owning a house/having a child/whatever, it would make no appreciable difference on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

It would, however, massively curtail those folks' ability to spread the word and create change. Is that what we want?

I won't say that the personal habits of environmentalists have no symbolic value, but it's only a little bit -- and it's meaningless in substantive terms. It's a weapon used to bludgeon socially and environmentally concerned public figures into silence. The last thing greens should do is join in.

Is this thing on?

If any more proof were required that nobody reads Gristmill, it came this week. You may recall that almost a month ago, I discussed the merits of Barack Obama's scheme to give the auto industry help with their healthcare costs in exchange for more research on fuel-efficient cars. Then last week, I posted Obama's speech on energy independence -- mere hours after he delivered it!

Days later, Kevin Drum discovered both the scheme and the speech via some shady fly-by-night "news agency" called Knight Ridder. "News agency"?! It's the age of blogs, dude. Look it up.

Then Matt Yglesias picks it up, also citing an old Prospect article by the Reapers on the subject -- and conspicuously failing to cite my response to said article. Then Oil Drum picks it up "courtesy of Kevin Drum" -- scarcely a grist or a mill to be found.

Clearly something is badly broken in the blog world. And that something is that I'm insufficiently famous and revered.

The Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale: Match 2

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale. There were 34 votes and the winning headline was my personal fave, "One King to Bring Them All and in the Darkness Bind Them," which garnered 35% of the votes.

Here are this week's nominees:

1. Nobody Undoes It Like Sara Lee: Industry-backed bill would overthrow state food-labeling laws
2. Beetle Bailiwick: Warmer B.C. ravaged by beetles, haunted by dead birds
3. Bring in Da Illinois, Bring in Da Hunk: Obama speechifies for energy independence, chemical-plant security
4. I Know You Are, Senator, But What Am I?: Pro-drilling Alaska rep aims to punish anti-drilling Washington senators
5. Rumblings in the Bronx: A virtual walking tour of the South Bronx

Remember, if we can keep this going and gain some momentum (read: we need more than 34 votes), we could have ourselves a "Daily Grist Headline Deathmatch" at the end of the year.

Now vote!

How much do Americans pay for essentials?

Ever wondered what percentage of their income poor Americans pay for food? (Hint: more than the rich.) What proportion of Americans drive to work versus take public transit, and how much it costs them to do it? What the average household will pay to heat their home this winter? How much it costs to have a kid with asthma? Todd Hymas ferreted out these, uh, fun facts and more.

Alan Hipólito of Verde Native Plant Nursery answers readers’ questions

What can the well-off do to help low-income people? Alan Hipólito, this week's InterActivist, shares some ideas. He also answers questions about getting his nonprofit off the ground, replicating the concept of a local garden nursery, staving off discouragement, and painting his toenails. To find out what color, you'll have to read the whole thing.

Blogging resumes

So yeah, I'm a bad blogger -- been almost totally AWOL this week. I have, however, been keeping myself busy.

On Monday, I sat down for a longish discussion with Rabbi Michael Lerner, who's leading the call for a spiritual movement from the "left hand of God" (yes, as opposed to the Right).

On Tuesday, I had a shortish chat with water experts Peter Gleick (head of the Pacific Institute) and ex-EPA head Bill Reilly about the state of play on global water issues.

On Wednesday, I had lunch with Richard Louv, whose new book about "nature-deficit disorder" is making waves.

All these will be on the site in coming weeks -- along with the long-rumored interview with Lester Brown, which is running Monday (a firm date!).

I shall now return to regular blogging, barring the appearance of more smart people in the Seattle area.

Chuck Norris strikes yet again.

And while I'm at it:

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.

Ah, minutes of entertainment.

From Principles to Principals

A first: Rock musicians refuse Hummers All the cool bands, from heavyweights Smashing Pumpkins and Talking Heads to up-and-coming indie darlings Trans Am, The Thermals, and Four Tet, have given the official H2 salute to big-money offers from Hummer to license their music for commercials. Said Thermals singer Hutch Harris, “It’s just so evil.” Word. […]

Stats on how much Americans pay for essentials

$1.99 — price of a gallon of 1% milk at Fred Meyer, a big-box chain store, in Seattle $5.69 — price of a gallon of organic 1% milk at Whole Foods in Seattle $4.29 — price of a Big Mac Extra Value Meal at a Seattle McDonald’s (Big Mac, medium fries, medium soft drink) $3.65 […]