Latest Articles

Can a Brit survive in North America without a driver’s license?

In the rich mosaic of North American society, I stand rather forlornly on my own as a member of an oft-forgotten minority group: I am an adult male who can’t drive. I have a wheelie bad feeling about this. Photo: Andrew White. Catapulted into the overcrowded car culture of Vancouver, British Columbia, from the U.K. […]

Climate finally getting more notice in Senate with energy-bill amendments

The climate-change debate is beginning to move forward inside the Beltway — at a glacial pace relative to the rest of the industrialized world, of course, but these days even glaciers are moving at a discernable clip. Heat is on in Senate as climate starts getting more attention. As the energy bill goes through the […]

… heat, love, and understanding?

OK, I've worked at a weekly paper. I know how tough it is to put out annual summer guides and make them feel fresh. I mean, how many new things can you say about berrypicking and lighthouses?

But Seattle Weekly's latest issue gave me pause. They headlined their summer guide 50 Ways to Celebrate Global Warming.

All in good fun, I know. And I like good fun (I mean, look where I work). But I also know there are an awful lot of literal-minded readers out there. And now may not be the time to make this huge concern sound ... fun.

I'll lighten up now. Happy summer!

Inhofe v. Mooney

Chris Mooney has had a great deal of fun bashing Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) for his flat-earthism on climate change and his general antipathy toward environmental causes.

Now Chris has experienced the great honor of having his work directly cited -- though his name was changed to "alarmist writer" -- by the senator on the Senate floor. (Unsurprisingly, Inhofe takes passages out of context, distorts the plain meaning of words, and otherwise misrepresents the work.)

Congrats, Chris, you've hit the bigtime!

Scratched Cat Fever

Tigers in dangerous decline in India The accelerating disappearance of endangered Bengal tigers from India’s 28 tiger reserves has Indian officials and charismatic-megafauna enthusiasts the world over in a tizzy. Poaching of the country’s national animal has increased in recent years, as body parts ranging from pelts to, um, members have become valuable commodities in […]

Situation Normal All Canucked Up

Air pollution on the rise in Canada Canada’s self-image as North America’s most enlightened steward of the environment has taken a blow with the release of a new report from the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Studying the period from 1998 to 2002, the report concludes that air pollution rose by 8 percent in […]

BushGreenWatch says it’s a win, but the argument is weak.

Today in BushGreenWatch, Doug Kendall of the Community Rights Council -- which, along with Earthjustice, has been fighting a campaign to highlight the environmental stakes of the judicial battles -- argues that the nuclear-option deal "may help the environment."

Or at least that's the headline. I don't see much in his essay that backs up his position. Maybe he's putting an optimistic spin on things because his organization's taken a high-profile position on it, but still, it's a pretty meager argument.

The "landmark victory," he claims, is that Dems can still, if they choose, filibuster the appointment of William Myers III, who is indeed bad news. We let three loony, anti-environment judges onto the bench, but retain the option to block one, and this is a "landmark victory"?

This is even weaker:

... the deal takes the nuclear option off the table, stating "In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement, we commit to oppose the rules changes in the 109th Congress." 

No. It doesn't take the option "off the table." It says the Republicans won't use it as long as Dems reserve their filibusters for "extraordinary circumstances." But Dems have approved almost all of Bush's judges -- if the five remaining fruitloops don't constitute extraordinary circumstances, I don't see what ever will.

In the end, what you think about the deal rests on what you think would have happened if R's had pulled the trigger, Dems had ground Senate business to a halt, and the whole thing had gone before the court of public opinion. I think the Dems could have won that battle, with some canny messaging. Maybe not. But the deal just postpones the fight and weakens the Dems' position. Come Supreme Court appointment time, the fight will happen anyway.

(Owen was just confirmed.)

The Secret of Nimrods

Monsanto’s confidential research finds that GM foods mess up rats Rats fed with genetically modified (GM) corn exhibited health problems including shrunken kidneys and blood changes that could indicate immune-system damage or tumors. However, no one knows all the details, since the folks who did the research are the same folks selling the corn — […]

Umbra on unclogging without chemicals

Dear Umbra, How does one unclog a clogged bathtub drain without pouring toxic chemicals directly into the waste stream? Allie CatBoiling Springs, Penn. Dearest Allie Cat, I don’t believe that’s your real name. But yours is a noble question. Let’s get motivated by reviewing a Drano material safety data sheet [PDF], where we find that […]

An interview with doomsaying author James Howard Kunstler

James Howard Kunstler.“Check all of your assumptions at the door,” James Howard Kunstler advises reporters before he commences an interview. “Don’t assume that anything you think about the way we live today is going to be the same 10, five, even three years from now.” The author of the new book The Long Emergency: Surviving […]