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Cap and Tirade

States file suit against EPA over mercury rule A coalition of nine states has sued the U.S. EPA, claiming the mercury emissions rule it issued earlier this month will do less to protect public health than the Clean Air Act requires. The suit charges the EPA with breaking the law by exempting power-plant mercury emissions […]

Doom and Gloom With a Sense of, Uh … Doom

Comprehensive assessment of world’s ecosystems released; be very afraid The largest and most comprehensive assessment of the world’s ecosystems ever undertaken was released today, and the results constitute a “stark warning” that “the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted,” according to the 45-member board of […]

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The United Nations' Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was published today. I obviously haven't read it -- it's long -- but there's plenty of press coverage (though some of it is rather buried in U.S. papers). There's a nice summary on the MEA site, and you can dowload a full copy of the report there too (if you register). Here's the basic take-home message:

A landmark study released today reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth – such as fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water regulation, and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests – are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years.

I'm sure there will be much more to say, and much more said, about this in coming days.

Feebates, not fuel taxes, are key

Thomas Friedman's usually pitch-perfect commentary on energy and security hit some high notes Sunday, but it also went off key twice, in disappointing ways.

First, the sweetest passage from his New York Times column:

By doing nothing to lower U.S. oil consumption, we are financing both sides in the war on terrorism and strengthening the worst governments in the world. That is, we are financing the U.S. military with our tax dollars and we are financing the jihadists--and the Saudi, Sudanese and Iranian mosques and charities that support them--through our gasoline purchases. The oil boom is also entrenching the autocrats in Russia and Venezuela....Finally, by doing nothing to reduce U.S. oil consumption we are only hastening the climate change crisis.

Now, the ear splitters:

A Little Crab’ll Do Ya

New Chesapeake Bay conservation ads appeal to appetites The Chesapeake Bay Program’s current public-education campaign features the catchy, slogan “Save the Crabs … Then Eat ‘Em,” sure to enrage easily enraged animal-rights activists everywhere. Via billboards, TV commercials, and print ads, the campaign asks area residents to wait until fall to fertilize their lawns. Spring […]

Climb Every Mountain. Then Remove It.

Activists plan summer of mountaintop-removal protests Environmental activists are planning a summer of focused protest against mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virginia and surrounding coal states. “Mountain Justice Summer” will call for nonviolent protests against this highly destructive mining technique, whereby entire mountaintops are bulldozed into surrounding valleys to uncover large coal seams. Activists will […]

Eh, Just Throw It Out Back in the Shed

Nuke industry says cheapest waste-disposal plan is plenty safe With the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste disposal facility mired in technical, legal, and political difficulties, nuke boosters have decided, hey, who needs it anyway? “People are no longer saying Yucca Mountain has to be finished in order for the nuclear industry to have a revival in this […]

Enviros recruit Lakoff for reframing project, but concerns mount that he might abandon them

George Lakoff may be the new darling of the Democratic Party, but how sweet is he on the environmental movement? George Lakoff. Photo: Bonnie Azab Powell, U.C. Berkeley. A onetime adviser to Howard Dean, who hails him as “one of the most influential political thinkers of the progressive movement,” Lakoff is author of the election-year […]

Goin’ batty

In the interest of home-state pride, I'd like to take a moment to recognize the new state bat of Virginia. Signed into law yesterday by Gov. Mark Warner (D), the Virginia big-eared bat will henceforth be put on stamps and bumper stickers along with the Chesapeake Bay deadrise (official state boat) and milk (official state beverage). Apparently the big-eared bat had to beat out a rival contender for the title: the Louisville Slugger. Yuck, yuck.

As if that isn't funny enough, Warner apparently likes to release his news in the form of limericks for the press. And no, they don't begin with: "There once was a man from Nantucket ..."

Below the fold, an excerpt:

See food, make smart choices

A new seafood-labeling scheme went into effect yesterday across the U.S. The regulations require that retailers label fish and shellfish with the country of origin and whether they were raised on a farm or caught in the wild. The labels may be put directly on packaging or on signs in the display cases.

Proponents say the labels satisfy a consumer's basic "right to know" about products before purchasing them. Greens should be pleased because the labels will make it easier for consumers to choose seafood from the safest (read: low mercury and POPs) and most sustainable sources. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch resources can help with those delicious decisions as well. Browse their regional lists of seafood broken down into three categories: best choices, good alternatives, and those to avoid. You can also print your own pocket-size guide. Bon appetit!