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Better Off Deadlocked

Senate committee deadlock means Clear Skies unlikely to pass this year After a deadlocked 9-9 vote in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Bush administration’s long-sought Clear Skies legislation appears unlikely to pass — at least this year. The fourth time was not the charm for committee chair James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who had […]

Umbra on spending wisely to help the environment

Dear Umbra, I read your column on how best to spend six hours of time a week on environmental issues, but how about the best way to spend limited financial resources on environmental issues? Obviously, giving a gift to Grist would help, but what can I do with my limited pocketbook to make the most […]

The coast is unclear

Last week, an AP story reported that half the people in the U.S. live along the coast, even though that's just 17 percent of the country's land area. So what, you say? So, in light of concerns about increasingly severe coastal weather due to you-know-what (starts with a G, rhymes with noble forming), all that crowding makes evacuations a lot more complicated. One solution suggested by weather gods NOAA: vertical evacuations. That's right, shove everyone into a highrise and tell 'em to climb. (Hey, look how MSNBC calls the agency "Noah"! That's so cute.)

This week, as officials continued to gear up for the unknown, NOAA commended Lincoln City, Ore., for being the nation's first "TsunamiReady" community and listed 15 others in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington that have also qualified -- by establishing emergency operations centers, figuring out how to warn people, and mapping out hazard plans.

Far be it from me to panic. But the Farm Belt is looking mighty appealing. (I know, I know, tornados. That'll be my next post.)

EPA plan would spew under-treated sewage into U.S. waterways

Like clean water? Then you’ll love Rep. Bart Stupak. Swimming in sewage just isn’t this fun. For the last year, Stupak has been fighting a U.S. EPA proposal that would allow inadequately treated sewage to be “blended” with fully treated waste during rain and snow events. The messy mix would then be released into the […]

Conservatives and Clear Skies

Conservatives say that environmentalists only oppose Clear Skies because they hate Bush. My impression is that they only support Clear Skies because they hate environmentalists.

But of course I would think that.

If you want to hear what conservative bloggers have to say about Clear Skies -- much of which draws on a recent Washington Monthly article -- you can start here and then try here, here (good discussion in comments), and here. Feel free to leave additional links in comments, if you have them.

The fact is that Clear Skies is classic Bush. There's plenty of perfectly sensible stuff in it that is long overdue. It's also poisoned with several measures -- among them the loathsome mercury cap-and-trade program -- that no environmentalist or Democrat with a conscience could support. It's designed, like all Bush's initiatives, to gain just enough support to pass, while being as divisive as possible in the process. Rove doesn't want big majorities. He doesn't want bipartisan consensus. He wants open partisan warfare and narrow victories.

Marburger

Presidential science advisor John Marburger has been making some unusually strong and unambiguous statements lately about global warming. Here are my three theories about what could be going on:

1. He's off the reservation, sick of being bashed by the scientific community, and we're soon going to see the phrase "more time with his family" near his name.
2. It's pure greenwashing, an attempt to demonstrate that, despite appearances, the Bush administration takes global warming seriously.
3. Bush has decided that intransigence on warming is becoming a political liability, he's going to make some splashy policy moves soon, and this is an attempt to soften the ground and prepare his supporters.

Which do you think it is?

Just Looking

Forest Service considers sustainability certification In an attempt to stem criticism of its logging and forest-management practices from both timber companies and conservationists, the U.S. Forest Service is assessing a handful of forests to determine if they meet management requirements outlined by two very different sustainable forestry organizations, with an eye toward possible certification of […]

The Prices’ Height

Market notices that natural resources are shrinking fast While some folks in political circles still like to pretend that natural resources are endless, global financial markets aren’t, uh, buying it. Commodity prices recently hit a 24-year high, driven by worries that burgeoning global demand is rapidly outstripping supply. We’ll try to spare you most of […]

Metals Gone Wild

Mercury seriously mucking with wildlife, study finds Mercury contamination of wildlife may be more prevalent than previously thought and influencing ecosystems in unexpected ways, suggests a study released yesterday. Researchers in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada found higher-than-expected levels of mercury in the region’s birds and other animals, supporting the hypothesis that mercury from […]

We’ll Drink to That

Americans prefer their water clean, poll shows “An overwhelming majority” — some 86 percent — of Americans believe clean, safe water is a national issue worthy of government spending, a new poll concludes. The two polling firms (one from each side of the partisan divide) conducting the opinion survey asked 900 adults a variety of […]