Latest Articles

Counter-Inuitive

Eskimos cast global warming as human-rights issue The Inuit people of the Arctic are trying to shift the debate on global warming, casting it as a human-rights issue rather than a purely environmental one. They plan to seek a ruling from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that the U.S., by spewing greenhouse gases into […]

Our daily oil spills

Most of the points I mentioned on Northwest Environment Watch's blog about the recent devastating oil spill in southern Puget Sound also apply to the Unalaska spill now unfolding in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Here's a recap of the most relevant points, with an addition.

1. Like the death toll in the Middle East and the melting of the Northwest's glaciers, these spills show us the true cost of oil -- which is far higher even than the prices in this year's world oil market.

2. The spilled petroleum is ship fuel, not a product being transported on a tanker. Parts of the shipping industry are holdovers from the bad old days of dirty fuel, dirty engines, and careless practices. The "bunker fuel" they burn is literally the dregs of oil refining: the polluting crud that's left over after gasoline, diesel, and other products are "cracked" out of crude. In recent years, shipping has finally begun to get the attention it deserves from the press and environmental regulators, both to its air pollution and to the sewage dumped by cruise ships. But it's still in the days cars were in before catalytic converters.

The green guide to gift giving

The plain truth is that Americans love to consume, and we do it with more abandon than ever during the holiday season. Nearly a quarter of all retail goods move out of stores and into homes between Thanksgiving and Christmas (and, we suspect, often into landfills by January). That poses a dilemma for the thoughtful […]

Alternative giving

Via Joel Makower, check out the Alternative Gifts International (AGI) catalogue, for those of you who like giving holiday gifts but don't like filling up landfills.  Says Joel:

In a world sated with gizmos, gadgets, and geegaws, AGI offers the opportunity to give simply, elegantly, and effectively. It works with reputable nonprofit agencies that aid established projects around the world. Its annual gift catalog is an education in itself. Each of the gift opportunities included features background information about the problem and how even a small contribution can make a big difference. Categories include child survival, development, disaster relief, education, hunger relief, peace/justice, medical assistance, livestock, shelter, water, and women in development.

You can view the catalogue online or order copies to pass out to friends and family.

Green, Even in the Dark

Nuclear industry lobbies for “green” credit Nuclear-plant owners in the Northeastern U.S. are campaigning to be recognized as “green” energy sources. Following the success of a New Hampshire plant that last year received credits for not polluting the air, the nuclear industry is lobbying to be included in the Northeast’s nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative […]

First, Do More Harm

Bush admin delays new air-quality rules, pushes “Clear Skies” The White House has told the U.S. EPA to hold off on issuing the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which would curtail emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, in deference to a renewed push in Congress to pass the Bush administration’s long-stalled “Clear Skies” legislation. Delaying […]

The Rise and Fall of the Bird Reich

Ten percent of all birds could go extinct by 2100 By the end of the century, 10 percent of all extant bird species may be extinct, with another 15 percent on the brink, according to a comprehensive new study. The analysis, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, considered the fate of 9,787 […]

At Last, an Evil Worldwide Cabal of Our Own

Crichton thriller denies climate change; world fails to laugh at him Popular author Michael Crichton’s new novel State of Fear features an evil cadre of environmentalists that uses secret technology to cause catastrophic natural disasters in order to convince the public of the dangers of global warming. They are aided by gullible Hollywood types and […]

Joe Sherman’s Gasp! explores the history of air and finds it’s anything but empty

Oxygen may not strike you as a likely protagonist for a book. It's invisible, it's all around you, it's something you inhale 19,000 times a day and take utterly for granted. But Joe Sherman's Gasp! The Swift and Terrible Beauty of Air is a masterfully inventive biography of air, weaving together geology and history, myth and science, to deepen our understanding and appreciation of life's most precious gas.

A fearful state

To all of you greenies plotting intentional, catastrophic natural disasters to call attention to climate change, your caper has been uncovered. Prepare to be exposed for the scheming revolutionaries you are in Michael Crichton's new novel State of Fear. Crichton sets out to debunk all this global warming nonsense. Michiko Kakutani shreds the book in a New York Times Books of the Times feature.

The fictitious treatment isn't enough apparently. Kakutani quotes Crichton from the book's "Author's Message" saying:

"I suspect the people of 2100 will be much richer than we are, consume more energy, have a smaller global population and enjoy more wilderness than we have today. I don't think we have to worry about them." And: "I blame environmental organizations every bit as much as developers and strip miners" for current failures in wilderness management.

More links: Andrew Revkin asking "Is it Science?"

UPDATE: The invaluable folks at RealClimate take on Crichton's book here. It ain't pretty.