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Maple Leaf Drag

Canada slacking off on environmental protection Canada is not doing enough to protect the environment, concluded a harsh report released yesterday by the nation’s commissioner of the environment, Johanne Gelinas. “Why is progress so slow?” she asked. Mandates are in place and commitments have been made, so the culprit must be “lack of leadership, lack […]

The Price Is Finally Right

High oil prices raise interest in renewables, and this time it may stick Whenever the price of oil spikes, interest in renewable energy spikes along with it — but despite the perpetual hopes of advocates, interest recedes as prices go back down. This time, though, as oil tops $55 a barrel, it may be different. […]

What’s Bad for the Goose Is Good for the Pander

Presidential candidates woo outdoor enthusiasts Ah, to be a member of a voting bloc in a swing state. It must make you feel so special. One such group being assiduously wooed by campaigning presidential hopefuls is the hook-and-bullet crowd, a.k.a. the hunters and anglers. Traditionally conservative sportsfolks are concentrated in states crucial to the candidates’ […]

Green building products

Those of you interested in eco-friendly building may want to check out the GreenSpec Directory, which "includes information on more than 1,750 green building products carefully screened by the editors of Environmental Building News, organized according to the 16-division CSI MasterFormat(tm) system." If you don't know what the 16-division CSI MasterFormat(tm) system is, well dude, get with it!  You can find it over on BuildingGreen.com -- like all their stuff, it's got no advertising or sponsorships, so it should be the straight scoop.

Enviro journalist winners

I meant to mention this last week:  The Society of Environmental Journalists announced the winners of its third annual awards for excellence in environmental journalism.  Congrats to Seth Borenstein (who, you will recall, I heart) in print, Ilsa Setziol in radio, Ed Rodgers in television, and the many other winners. According to SEJ:

The number, quality, and diversity of entries vying for this year's awards signaled a renewed interest in environmental journalism after a year in which the nation's attention -- as well as the news media's -- had been focused on terrorism and war.

Wishful thinking? I hope not.

Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment

A kind of secular apocalyptic sensibility pervades much contemporary writing about our current world. Many books about environmental dangers, whether it be the ozone layer, or global warming or pollution of the air or water, or population explosion, are cast in an apocalyptic mold. – Historian Paul Boyer When he opened the sixth seal, I […]

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

In a Rolling Stone interview with magazine founder and media bigwig Jann Wenner, John Kerry says that global warming would be his No. 1 environmental priority.  Asked whether he agrees with Al Gore that the time of the internal-combustion engine is ending, Kerry, ever the audacious fella, says, "I wouldn't make that kind of a bold pronouncement."

Much as Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) does in Grist's interview with her, Kerry endeavors to sell his environmental plan as a jobs plan.

I want American workers working; I want American cars made in America; I want American cars to be able to be sold anywhere in the world. I want to lead the world in these technologies. So I want these companies part of the solution -- not the problem. I think we can get there -- I really believe that.

Kerry disputes that environmental issues have disappeared from the presidential campaign and says he talks about the environment and energy independence in every stump speech.

In all, Wenner asks the candidate eight or nine questions on the environment. Kerry hasn't been quoted as much on the environment since, well, Grist's exclusive environment-only interview with him ...

In the spirit of crazy horse …

Fans of The Snow Leopard, Killing Mister Watson, At Play in the Fields of the Lord -- or for that matter, anyone who cherishes good writing and clear thinking -- might want to check out Orion Online's three-part video interview with wise man Peter Matthiessen. The interview series is entitled "Our Political Environment:  Environmental Policy, Corporate Ethics, and Global Warming."

I Come Back to You Now, at the Turn of the Tide

Brits look to public-service ads and tidal power to cut carbon emissions On the heels of recent predictions that the U.K. will not meet its Kyoto targets, and a more recent report that the results of global warming will be “disastrous” for the country, Brits are casting about for new ways to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. […]

Cheers: Where Everyboy Knows Your Game

Study of chemical impacts on kids raises questions A study of pesticide and chemical exposures in children being conducted by government researchers is raising some disturbing — and by that we mean “outright creepy” — questions. For one thing, $2 million in funding will come from the American Chemistry Council, an industry group with, one […]