Latest Articles

Drilling in ANWR will hurt the environment! No it won’t! Yes it … *yawn*

A while back I filled out the little form for NRDC's letter-writing campaign to save the Arctic Refuge. It sends a message to your Congressman, urging them oppose oil and gas development in the region. It's probably the tenth one of those things I've submitted regarding the refuge. (It's so easy; just type in your email and click "send." No thought involved.) I often question the usefulness of online campaigns and the implications of such mindless "citizen participation," but that's probably a subject for another post. Point here is, today I received a response from my representative, one Mr. Don "They can kiss my ear" Young (R - Alaska). Full contents of letter below the fold.

Good news ™

As regular readers know, I have a tendency toward gloom. But as the chipper squadrons at Worldchanging and Treehugger oft remind us, it is our obligation to be optimistic. So with that in mind, let's touch on some recent good news.

BP recently announced that they will create a business unit devoted to clean energy and pour $8 billion of funding into it. Joel Makower, who I trust on such matters, says it's the real deal:

But it's clear that this isn't just a PR ploy. Indeed, BP appears to have been building to this day for quite some time. BP's chief executive, Lord John Browne, has long been ahead of the pack, dating back to September 1997, when he broke ranks with his big-oil brethren to give an historic speech on climate change -- the first time that any oil exec had spoken out on the subject.

It's a sliver of BP's overall business, but a sliver of BP is a big deal.

As Amanda reminded us last week, momentum seems to be inexorably building in Congress to take action to address the twin crises of our time, oil depletion and global warming. Carl Pope notes that even an ardent libertarian like Cato's Jerry Taylor concedes that coordinated government action is the only way global warming will be addressed.

And finally, back with Joel, who brings news of a coming U.N. report revealing that ... oh, hell, I'll let him tell it:

A newly formed alignment of legal, financial, and investment interests will direct "trillions" of U.S. dollars over the next 10 years into evolving markets linked to climate change, clean technology and sustainable use of natural resources, according to a report being prepared for the United Nations.

...

What was once considered a financial niche area is poised to become mainstream as institutions with trillions of dollars under management embed environmental, social and governance thinking into their investment approach ...

There, now. Don't you feel better?

Doing my part

Just want everyone to know that here in my humble abode, I'm wearing a scarf and a sweater rather than turning the heat on.

Can an end to global warming be far behind?

Speaking of which, why the %$@! is it so cold in Seattle? I left the east coast for a reason!

Let It BP

BP making big boost to clean-energy spending Oil giant BP plans to invest up to $8 billion of its oil-and-gas profits into clean energy technologies and greenhouse-gas abatement projects over the next 10 years. An $8 billion investment would represent an eightfold increase over the company’s clean-energy outlay in the past decade, says CEO John […]

What, Too Busy Screwing Up New Orleans?

EPA abandons big cleanup plans near New York City’s Ground Zero The U.S. EPA is ditching ambitious cleanup plans for post-9/11 lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, disbanding a panel of scientists, community leaders, and local officials that has met for 20 months on the matter. The panel’s efforts — to devise a comprehensive decontamination plan for […]

Steamroll on Columbia

Idaho senator axes funding for agency that studies endangered salmon Well, that’s one way to deal with scientific findings you don’t like! Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has wiped out funding for the Fish Passage Center, a 12-person, $1.3 million agency widely respected by salmon-conservation experts. The center has documented shrinking fish numbers in the Columbia […]

Leggo My Negotiation

U.S. gums up works at Montreal climate talks Representatives of the world’s governments are currently gathered in Montreal for a historic summit on the most pressing problem facing civilization: global warming. And the U.S.? “The United States is opposed to any such discussions,” says Harlan Watson, who bears the somewhat misleading title of “chief U.S. […]

U.S. in Montreal

I suppose it's no big surprise that the U.S. is deliberately gumming up the works in Montreal -- having paid no penalty (at least domestically) for its intransigence on climate change, the Bush administration is getting more and more flagrant about thumbing its nose at the international community on this subject.

But in reading all the many stories about it, for some reason this little bit from Reuters is the only thing that really got me down:

"It would be nice if the U.S. would step up and start to take some action," said Ben Matchstick, a U.S. organizer dressed as a bird.

Making sustainability sexy, from an ad man’s point of view

Sustainability. Sexy. Two words you don’t often see together. Sustainability is a serious word. It’s about saving the world from ecological disaster. Getting humanity on track for survival. Heady stuff best left to academics, unions of concerned scientists, and earnest tree-huggers. Would you buy this? Photo: iStockphoto/Tyler Stalman. Sexy … now that’s a fun word. […]

Umbra on composting feminine products

Dear Umbra, OK, the kitty-litter thing pushed me over the edge. I know you are sick of writing about gross, yucky things, but I had to ask: if kitty litter is compostable, what about biodegradable maxipads and tampons? One of the leading natural feminine-care brands touts their stuff as being biodegradable and compostable. Can this […]