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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 […]

EPA and Ground Zero

The U.S. EPA's atrocious track record around Ground Zero in New York City continues

NYT:

Abandoning an ambitious cleanup plan for Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, federal environmental officials said yesterday that they would clean, at no cost, any apartment south of Canal Street with unacceptable levels of contaminants from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Bike guy, meet clue. Clue, bike guy.

Slate carries the story of a guy who tried and failed to use his bike for useful purposes. Why he failed becomes painfully obvious if you can read between the lines.

He owns four bikes, which he rarely uses "for actual transportation." Like our president, he rides for fitness and recreation only. He is single, childless, owns a dog of course, and has no aging parents to care for (the exact opposite of my lifestyle). He also telecommutes and lives near a 17-mile bike trail that passes close to most places he would want to go (stores, bars, and restaurants). You would think it would be nearly effortless for him to use his bike for just about every local errand. Not so!

Is the fuel efficiency of hybrid cars worth the extra money?

Anybody thinking about selling their old car and buying a hybrid should check this out: Brandon U. Hansen at OmniNerd calculates the monthly gas savings of trading in your current vehicle for a hybrid; how much you'll need to take out in a loan; monthly payment of the loan compared to current car payment; and (voila!) a pretty graph showing the "maximum economically justified hypothetical hybrid sticker price vs hypothetical hybrid gas mileages for various gas prices."

The post considers lots o' info about hybrids, and comes to the conclusion:

While no "green" person would ever advocate buying a hybrid for purely economic reasons, it is painfully obvious that existing hybrids lack the ability to make up for their steep prices with gas savings.

Bummer. According to this, at least, hybrids don't yet have the right appeal to the typical American consumer.

Maybe you knew that already. But aren't the equations and graphs cool? I think so; then again, I used to do long division for fun.

Glaciers, what glaciers?

Here's a new one to me. When glaciers get in the way of mining gold, move them. When public outcry won't let you move the glaciers, redefine them. Harder to get worked up about moving "ice reservoirs," after all.

Here's the November 18 story about mining company Barrick Gold's plan for its Pascua-Lama project in Chile, found in your favorite source and mine, The Mining Journal:

BARRICK Gold Corp has submitted revisions to its environmental-impact assessment (EIA) for the Pascua-Lama gold development project to the Regional Environmental Commission of Chile's Atacama region.

The commission had asked for amendments to the company's plans for the project, including possibly using underground mining for a portion of the mine which would otherwise require the removal of glaciers in the area.

However, Barrick says "studies by international glaciologists redefine "the accumulations of ice" as "ice reservoirs" rather than glaciers.

The company says the resubmission of the EIA, which still includes the planned removal of the ice, contains improvements in monitoring of water quality, treatment of acid runoff, water management, solid-waste management, dust treatment, and protection of flora and fauna.

Tips for greening conferences and events

Surely you’ve attended the Conference from Eco-Hell. Eco-hell, or just plain hell? Photo: iStockphoto/Elerium Studios. You know the one. It begins with an endless paper trail of direct-mail advertisements. It’s held in some remote suburban locale, accessible only by car. At registration, you are issued a conference bag filled with promotional papers and doodads you’ll […]

A super-enviro band

My friend Kevin loves the band Cloud Cult, and so, apparently, does everyone else. I haven't heard their music, because ... no, I have no good excuse. But I think they're my new favorite band. From their site:

All profits, after expenses, of Cloud Cult CD sales and performances are donated to environmental charity work.

Instead of creating new plastic, Cloud Cult's CD is packaged in cleaned reused jewel cases (the band painstakingly hand cleans thousands of cases for each CD release). These used jewel cases are donated by the box-load to Earthology Records from all over the nation.

Earthology is located on a small organic farm in Northern MN, is powered by geothermal power and wind energy (Windsense Project), and the recording studio is built from recycled and salvaged materials.

Cloud Cult CD inserts and print materials are on 100% postconsumer recycled paper and printed with nontoxic soy inks by a local family owned print shop.

Cloud Cult's CD shrink-wrap is not the industry standard toxic PVC. It is environmentally benign LDPE and is packaged by Goodwill Industries, a nonprofit focused on assisting handicapped individuals. Through its relationship with the University of IL, Earthology will soon be packaging all materials in a 100% earth-friendly shrink-wrap, made of nontoxic biodegradable corn cellulose.

Check them out.