Latest Articles
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Bush taps a GMO flack as his chief agricultural trade negotiator.
When Bush wants to kill a program or a department, he picks a clown to run it. Think of FEMA's disgraced "Brownie," who did such a "heck of a job" when disaster struck the Gulf Coast.
When the president sees something real at stake for his corporate clients, though, he tends to anoint an ultra-qualified pro: someone, typically, with direct ties to the industry in question. In surely the most spectacular example, Bush placed responsibility for creating energy policy in the crude-stained hands of Dick Cheney.
The world of agriculture presents its own examples. Over on Bitter Greens Journal last year, I documented how the president planted an industrial-corn man, with ties to corn-processing behemoth Archer-Daniels Midland, as deputy head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Now I present you with Richard Crowder: erstwhile president of the American Seed Trade Association, a 15-year veteran of Dekalb Genetics Corporation (now part of Monsanto), former exec at Conagra and Pillsbury -- and newly minted chief agricultural negotiator for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman.
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Peter Jackson campaigns to save gorillas.
Inspired by the plight of his film's über-gorilla, King Kong director Peter Jackson is backing efforts by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme to save Kong's smaller, less fictional friends. The Independent reports that Jackson's efforts include charity premieres of the film and plans for the King Kong DVD to include a documentary film about wild gorillas.
There are thought to be fewer than 1,000 gorillas left in the wild, and some folks predict that the species will become extinct within the next few decades. Also, according to Jackson:
Gorillas are truly amazing animals -- without them there wouldn't be entertainment like King Kong.
What? My entertainment is endangered? Where do I sign??
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Rebuilding: Compare and contrast
The city's official blueprint for redevelopment after Hurricane Katrina, to be released on Wednesday, will recommend that residents be allowed to return and rebuild anywhere they like, no matter how damaged or vulnerable the neighborhood, according to several members of the mayor's rebuilding commission.
To encourage people to return to New Orleans ... without funding the only plan that can save the city from the next Big One, is to commit an act of mass homicide.
(via The Poor Man)
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Send it to the fishes.
I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have not yet rid yourselves of your "holiday tree" because you're lazy ... I mean, because you're beset by qualms about the eco-consequences of tree disposal. Never fear! The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will take your old tree and send it to the fishes.
Cast-off trees are submerged in man-made lakes to create "natural" habitats for fish, including bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish. Hee hee, crappie.
The fish are happy, the fisherpeople are happy, the tree-discarders are happy ... Awwwwwww. Group hug.
A quick search brought up tree-recycling programs that are still accepting donations in Pennsylvania (PDF), Georgia, Arkansas, and California, and a DNR-funded marsh-restoration program in Louisiana. Search for a tree-recycling program in your area, because c'mon, it's about time to be getting those Valentine's Day decorations up.
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Kipchoge Spencer of Xtracycle and Worldbike answers questions
Kipchoge Spencer. What work do you do? I’m president of Xtracycle Inc. and cofounder of Worldbike. I’m also lead singer of the Ginger Ninjas. What does your organization do? Xtracycle invented and makes car-trip-replacing, life-enhancing, sport-utility bicycles, long bikes, and the FreeRadical Hitchless Trailer — for toting your kids to school, loading up with groceries, […]
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Umbra on recycling condoms
For the sake of argument, how does one recycle condoms? Unused they are plastic of some sort? I know it’s a bit silly, but don’t you just hate to have to flush them and all the water that goes with? Flavia S.Milan, Italy Dearest Flavia, In brief: condoms are generally made of latex and are […]
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The Mod Quad
Green buildings, sustainability studies going mainstream on campus More than 110 colleges and universities around the U.S. have or are building eco-friendly structures, saving on energy costs and attracting students who want to go to a school that “gets” being green. At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, for example, students designed a green roof that […]
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Northern Blights
Flame retardants are yet another toxic threat to polar bears New research confirms that polar bears — for years known to be victims of northward-spreading toxic substances — are accumulating in their bodies worrying levels of flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The effects of this PBDE contamination are unknown, but similar chemicals are believed […]
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Where There’s Smokescreen There’s Ire
U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries gear up for not-Kyoto climate meeting The first meeting of the Asia-Pacific climate partnership will kick off this Wednesday in Australia. The six participating nations — Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. — will emphasize the transfer of clean technologies to developing countries, instead of Kyoto-style emissions caps. […]
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Get Richard or Die Tryin’
Enviros plot to beat Pombo in November We’re just one week into this election year and already a cadre of D.C.-based environmental leaders is elbow-deep in plots to green Congress come November. Top priority: defeating Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), chair of the House Resources Committee and champion of a lengthy list of environmental rollbacks, from […]
