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The Melting Plot

Thawing Arctic opens new competition for northern territory, resources The melting of the Arctic ice cap is bad news for polar bears, seals, some Arctic natives, and, oh yeah, possibly much of humankind — but great news for a few countries and companies looking to score bucks. The high stakes include lucrative new summer shipping […]

Umbra on rebuilding the Gulf Coast

Dear Umbra, There seem to be plenty of good organizations accepting dollars to help the people of the Gulf Coast. But as The Nature Conservancy has said, “While current attention is rightfully focused on the immediate human toll and suffering of this tragedy, the ecological damage has yet to be assessed.” The rebuilding effort, it […]

Tierney calls for a gas tax — for something other than transportation

I'm a bit late on this one -- but, wouldn't you know it, as soon as The New York Times puts its editorials behind a subscription-only wall, they publish something worth reading: semi-libertarian John Tierney waxing rhapsodic about gas taxes (sorry, the link is subscription only).

To summarize, Tierney argues for a 50 cent per gallon gas tax, with all receipts used to fund private Social Security accounts. This, he says, would reduce gas consumption, pollution, congestion, and all the other costs that drivers impose on the rest of society, while enhancing retirement revenue. And if gas-tax revenues are split evenly among all citizens, the poor (who drive little) will get far more out of the deal than they put in.

I'll ignore his Social Security proposal -- which isn't a real proposal, just a sketch of an idea -- except to say that I'm skeptical, but (hopefully) open-minded. But what's important to note here is this: Tierney is calling for gas taxes to be used for something other than transportation. And that seems like a really big deal to me.

Bamboophilia

Bamboo has become something of a fetish among green types, particularly in certain quarters. While it may not be the environmental cure-all it's sometimes made out to be, it does have a lot going for it. It regenerates in a mere three years and is endlessly adaptable.

The preceding was just an excuse to show you: 1000 Things Made of Bamboo.

Big front-page report says scientists agree: earth warming

Kudos to The Seattle Times and reporter Sandi Doughton for an extensive report on climate change that cuts through the bullshit. Dominating the front page of the Sunday paper, this headline and subhead:

The truth about global warming
Scientists overwhelmingly agree: The Earth is getting warmer at an alarming pace, and humans are the cause -- no matter what the skeptics say.

It was short-sighted politics, and they’re still with us

Don't miss "The Slow Drowning of New Orleans," a knock-out piece of political history from the Washington Post's Michael Grunwald and Susan B. Glasser. I've read a lot of material lately about hurricanes and the Gulf Coast, and nothing I've seen does a better job of traversing the long history of short-sighted political blundering that made the catastrophe inevitable.

The tale begins in the 1700s, and no one -- local, state, or fed, Democrat or Republican -- ends up blameless. The details are rich and varied, but at its root the story is about government's crippling inability to deal with long-term threats.

The drowning of New Orleans was caused by complex factors of weather, geography, history, politics and engineering, but it was at heart a tragedy of priorities -- not just Vitter's, but America's. For years, it was common knowledge in Louisiana and Washington that New Orleans could be destroyed by a hurricane. But decision makers turned away from the long-term investments that might have averted a catastrophe, pursuing instead projects with more immediate payoffs. Some of those projects made the city more vulnerable.

There you have it. If you want the political logic behind it, look no further than this short passage:

Arctic refuge video

This summer, the Treasure America project went up to the Arctic Refuge in search of purely economic reasons why drilling there is a bad idea.

Watch this 12-minute video to see what they came up with.

(Hat tip to Nick Aster at TriplePundit, who tagged along with the group.)

Melting polar ice cap bodes ill — very ill

I didn't manage to get to it during the week, but don't miss this Mike Davis essay over on Tom's Dispatch. It's about the seemingly obscure subject of "nonlinearity," a word that may just end up being featured prominently on humanity's tombstone.

"Humanity, R.I.P. Should have payed attention to nonlinearity."

Specifically, it's about a study -- mentioned in Daily Grist last week -- revealing that the Arctic ice cap is melting earlier in the summer, not fully re-freezing in the winter, possibly caught in an irreversible self-reinforcing cycle, and headed to final and complete disappearance by 2060.

This is some scary shit.

First, nonlinearity:

Participate!

Looks like Al is not the only one encouraging a participatory media movement. I give you Participate.net:

... where the power of media meets the strength of community to make a real difference in the world. Brought to you by Participant Productions, this is the place where activists, moviegoers, filmmakers and issue experts can come together around the real issues presented in our films. You can share your ideas, make friends, and create meaningful change. We hope you will help us build the community as a powerful resource for social activism. There will be fun activities and great rewards along the way!

And here is how you can get involved:

Do you know about an important story deserving of attention that the media has been missing or ignoring? Here's what we want you to do: Go out and report the truth. Film a news segment, record interviews, or write an editorial about something that moves you--civil rights abuses, government corruption, injustices of any stripe [perhaps one concerning the environment?]. Then post your work here, and we'll showcase it to the Participate community.

And similar to Current TV:

Your fellow Participants will then rate your work and tell you what they think. The best pieces may be broadcast to a much wider audience by our media partners, PBS, Salon.com, and XM Satellite Radio (we'll email you if your piece is chosen). So seize this opportunity to join a community of citizen journalists dedicated to being catalysts for change. Remember: Your voice has impact. And we want to hear what you have to say.

So do we. So hop to it!

(Via WC)

Enviros anxious as Senate gears up to reform Endangered Species Act

There’s been much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the environmental community since Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) pushed his overhaul of the Endangered Species Act through the House of Representatives last week. All eyes are now on the Senate to see whether Pombo’s bill — described as “so toxic it’s radioactive” by Jamie Rappaport Clark, […]