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Slainte

The Chicago River is a ripe shade of green right about now. The city is famous for its tradition of dyeing the river green for St. Patty's Day, a practice that began in 1962 when city pollution-control workers used dyes to track illegal sewage discharges and realized it could make for a fun holiday event. Although back in '62 they used some 100 pounds of green vegetable dye to do it -- which kept the river green for a week! -- the city now limits it to 40 pounds of the stuff, keeping it green for just a few hours.

Hoping to start a tradition of their own, restaurateurs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this year had planned to dye the New River green for a St. Patrick's Day festival, but Broward County environmental regulators pooh-poohed the idea, saying it violated local water-quality rules. Officials worried about the dye's effects on the endangered West Indian manatee and other environmental treasures in the area.

When party promoters pushed the idea, arguing that the dye is non-toxic, Mayor Kristin Jacobs retorted with a suggestion that the festival organizers dye themselves green by drinking the chemicals if they were indeed so safe. The party planners must not have been interested, as the new plan is limited to dyeing fountains at the Las Olas Riverfront and offering special "Green River Water" drinks. Yum.

Umbra on converting your car to straight veggie oil

Dear Umbra, A few years ago, I bought a Prius because it was (and still is, unfortunately) the best car that’s offered in our messed-up world. I’m now going to buy an old diesel Mercedes and convert it to run on used vegetable oil. I think this might be the best way to go. What […]

Like a bat out of hell

Every once in a while I like to take a break to appreciate wacky ol' nature. Last time it was upside-down pandas peeing on trees. This time: vampire bats running on treadmills.

Yes, it turns out vampire bats can run on all fours, an evolutionary trait that comes in handy as they prey on hapless victims. Being able to hop and run is useful "when you're a bat slurping cow blood, because cows are heavy and can kick or roll over and squash a bat," explains Cornell University researcher Daniel Riskin, who reported the findings in the latest issue of Nature.

What fascinates me almost more than the image of sprinting bats: the fact that people get paid to watch.

Environmental funders share blame for movement’s weak pulse

In responding to “The Death of Environmentalism,” activist Ken Ward writes, “If the future toward which we rush is folly, the solution proposed by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus is foolishness.” In this excerpt from his full rebuttal to the essay, Ward describes the role environmental foundations play in frustrating effective campaigning, and suggests that […]

Link-o-rama!

I want to write about everything. Sadly, being a mere mortal, I can't. So here's a big fat set of links to stuff that I haven't been able to get to in the last week or so. Handle with care.

Senate votes to open Arctic Refuge to drilling

Stickin’ it to the porcupine caribou in the Arctic Refuge. Photo: Ken Whitten, Wilderness Society. Oil companies are closing in on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a crushing blow to those who have fought for some 25 years to preserve the unspoiled Alaskan wildland, the Senate voted today to clear the way for oil […]

Hegel, and I don’t mean Chuck

The other day I pointed to a Dave Pollard post in which he argued with himself, eerily echoing an argument I find myself having with, uh, myself, frequently. Commenters immediately seemed to select the "right" side of the argument and condemn the other. They saw an either/or and picked a winner -- which was not at all my reaction.

The Polar Distress

Grizzly bears encroaching on polar bear habitat Polar bears have been having a rough time of it lately, what with global warming melting their habitat and PCBs tainting their food sources. Now they’ve got a new problem to worry about: Grizzly bears have been spotted as far north as Canada’s Melville Island, 600 miles inside […]

They’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad

Hybrid railcar goes into use in California With U.S. imports on the rise, ports are under growing scrutiny from air-quality regulators. Part of that concern focuses on the rail system that chugs goods out of ports and away to various Wal-Marts around the country. Yesterday, as part of its attempts to address such concerns, Union […]

Pitch Perfect

Vote on the best elevator pitch for environmentalism We asked you, dear readers, to give us a pithy summary of what environmentalism stands for — one that could be delivered during a short elevator ride — and you answered our call with more than 150 suggestions. We’ve culled those into a 10-pitch poll, and we […]