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The Weather Channel’s climate ace chats about Katrina and sexing up global warming

As Hurricane Katrina raged toward the Gulf Coast in late August, more than 4.5 million American homes tuned in to The Weather Channel — many times the network’s average audience. The channel’s bright-eyed climate-change expert, Heidi Cullen, was standing by to address the question that was confounding Americans nationwide: Was Katrina’s horrible wrath intensified by […]

102nd use for a dead cat

Turn it into biodiesel.

This smells a bit like a hoax. But perhaps it's not: after all, if you can turn turkey guts into biodiesel, why not felines?

And, come to think of it, why stop with cats?

Feline Groovy

German inventor denies using dead cats to make biodiesel German inventor Christian Koch says he’s patented a way to convert trash into eco-friendly, high-quality biodiesel fuel that costs one-fifth the going price of diesel in his home country. To produce the alternative fuel, Koch claims he uses waste including paper, textiles, and plastics — but […]

Giving Us the Business

World’s biggest firms give lip service to cutting CO2 but lag on results More than 70 percent of the world’s 500 largest companies by market capitalization volunteered information on how climate change is affecting their businesses for a survey this year, but the info they released is not exactly heartening. According to a new report […]

Flood Is Thicker Than Water

Assessing toxic hazards in New Orleans challenges the EPA The post-Katrina mess of pollution along the Gulf Coast is “the largest national disaster that we at EPA or, we believe, that the nation has faced,” U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said yesterday. Serious health problems threaten the region, he said, including floodwaters tainted with sewage-related […]

Which airlines are going down?

Two major U.S. airlines, Delta and Northwest, have declared bankruptcy, citing high fuel costs as a reason. "Hurricane Katrina was probably the last straw," said a securities analyst keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Carriers in other countries are also feeling the petroleum pinch: Air China, British Air, and others are increasing the fuel surcharges that pass costs along to customers.

The two U.S. airlines -- the nation's third- and fourth-largest, respectively -- will keep plying the friendly skies. But don't expect extra pretzels.

A bonanza of energy-related stories in The New York Times

Today's New York Times has a bonanza of energy-related stories -- some tied to the most recent price increases triggered by Katrina and others to some longer-term trends ...

Ah, the magic of cable

On Monday, I mentioned that Jon Stewart was dedicating this week's shows to evolution. What I didn't know at the time (but found out at 11:20 p.m.) was that Chris Mooney was that night's guest. We love Chris Mooney! We love Jon Stewart! What a combination.

Earlier, on his blog, Chris had described the upcoming interview -- part of his book tour -- as a "biggie." But the only sign of nervousness was that he couldn't quite decide what to do with his hands. (Frankly, if I were in the hot seat, I'd probably forget how to speak.) He did well, and even slipped in two (count them!) mentions of global warming. Now that's entertainment.

How I spent my summer vacation … at the movies

I’d love to tell you about my summer close to nature — how I whiled away the days on a hidden Maine-coast isle, picking blueberries in the early morning and watching seals cavort in the sea. But the truth is, I spent quite a few of my July and August afternoons in a different sort […]

Umbra on architectural salvage

Dear Umbra, We recently replaced the doorknobs in our place, so we have a fistful of old yet working doorknobs I’d hate to just toss. What to do with this and other perfectly good hardware? R.B.M.Arlington, Va. Dearest R.B.M., This answer goes out to you, but also to all your fellow home remodelers out there. […]