Latest Articles

Bringing Shapeless Hemp Sweaters to Yuppies, at Last

Whole Foods ponders move into organic clothing Have you ever felt chafed by the inconvenience of having to go one place for your bulk bulgur wheat and another for your Guatemalan organic cotton poncho? Well we’ve got good news: From here on in you can point your Lexus SUV in one direction only, to organic […]

We’re Not the Only Country With a Bushmeat Problem

E.U. fishing subsidies drive illegal bushmeat trade in West Africa Heavy European Union subsidies for fishing fleets off the coast of West Africa are driving the illegal bushmeat trade in the region, to devastating effect. As Euros eat more of their fish, there’s less left for West Africans, who turn to bushmeat — or the […]

Kvetch Hetchy

Schwarzenegger admin will consider undamming Hetch Hetchy To the surprise of, well, just about everybody, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) resources secretary announced yesterday that he will pull together a thorough assessment of a project once considered entirely fanciful: tearing down O’Shaughnessy Dam and restoring Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley. As attractive as the […]

Electoral gasp, scientific progress

In the shadow of an election that left many environmentalists gasping for air, a scientific meeting in New Orleans yielded a series of results that at first, second, and perhaps third blush are stunning.

Covered by science reporter Janet Raloff in the newest issue of Science News, they identify new links between environment and health, including a common plastic additive (phthalates) and babies' reproductive development; uranium and cancer in Navajo girls; and DDT and miscarriage in China.

Hydrogen girlie man?

Schwarzenegger blusters on about building a Hydrogen Highway in "the great state of California," but little ol' D.C. has beat him to the punch on one key front. This week, the District of Columbia became host to the first hydrogen-dispensing pump at a public gas station in North America.

Green-leaning folks may or may not think the hydrogen revolution is an admirable or even attainable goal, but it seems to be inching forward nonetheless.  Or, considering the fact that the new Shell-owned pump will be servicing a mere six demonstration minivans owned by GM, millimetering forward?

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams could take a few lessons from Arnold on enthusiasm, though. "This is a good thing, unless I'm missing something," was the most effusive praise he could muster at the opening bash for the new pump.

Vision trouble

Democrats, environmentalists, and other left-leaning sorts are arguing heatedly over whether to move the party to the left or to the right in the wake of the election (those who aren't arguing over whether the election was legitimate, that is).  One wag challenged those who disapprove of any rightward slide to ask themselves: "What states did John Kerry lose that Howard Dean would have won?"

I find this line of argument terrifying.  If we have to make the left into the right in order to win, I don't want to win.  The problem isn't Dean or Kerry.  The problem is that the left has utterly, drastically failed to generate a broadly compelling discourse about America.  We absolutely could do that -- could saturate the nation with a democratic (small d and large) vision of justice, fairness, hardwork, opportunity, creativity, exploration, unity, diversity, solidarity, and success.  We could also expose the current far-right agenda for what it is really about: fear, control, cronyism, corruption, exploitation, homogeneity, and government and corporate control.

Instead, we're squirming around inside the narrowminded narrative of the right, trying to carve out some tiny, safe, identifiable space that is ours.  It'll never happen.  We can't beat them on their terms -- only when we begin to define the rules of the game.

Ted says all is not lost

Veteran environmental writer Ted Williams says that, despite recent setbacks, the green movement has made enormous progress since it was born and there is ample reason for optimism.

The urban archipelago

My hometown alternative weekly The Stranger has an unbelievably good article running this week -- it's the first thing I've read post-election that actually felt authentic and hopeful to me. It says that relevant red/blue divide is not a matter of states but a matter of rural vs. urban. Cities vote Democrat. It's time to celebrate that, celebrate cities and the values of diversity, vitality, and imagination that make them run, and turn our attention to making cities ever more aesthetically, practically, and politically attractive.  My eye was particularly drawn to this passage:

And, as counterintuitive as it may seem to composting, recycling self-righteous suburbanites, living in dense urban areas is actually better for the environment. The population of New York City is larger than that of 39 states. But because dense apartment housing is more energy efficient, New York City uses less energy than any state. Conversely, suburban living--with its cars, highways, and single-family houses flanked by pesticide-soaked lawns--saps energy and devastates the ecosystem.

I recommend reading the whole thing.

Wise words

If I sometimes seem obsessed with the cultural dimensions of contemporary politics, it's because I am in a continuing rage over two dumb ideas that far too many Democrats are determined to embrace, losing election after losing election: (1) economic issues, if you scream about them loudly and abrasively and "populistically" enough, will trump cultural issues, which are essentially phony, and (2) there's no way to deal with voters' cultural anxieties without abandoning Democratic principles, since cultural issues are all about banning abortion and gay marriage and so forth.

Read the whole thing.  More on this stuff later.

The Shipping News

Global warming may open Northwest Passage to shipping Global warming may melt arctic ice enough to make the legendary Northwest Passage a viable trade route, trimming almost 40 percent (roughly two weeks) off the current Asia-to-Europe route, which involves a large detour down through either the Suez or Panama canals. Some view this as a […]