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Kyoto will shake things up in the U.S., whether Americans like it or not

Last Thursday, when the Russian cabinet moved to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, international leaders called it the dawn of a new era. Putin (left) and Bush take opposing views on Kyoto. Photo: Eric Draper, WhiteHouse.gov Top officials from Canada, Japan, the European Union, and other Kyoto-supporting countries applauded Russia’s progress toward ratification, which will be […]

Umbra on the eco-relevance of health concerns

Dear Umbra, As a practicing vegan for quite some time now, I take pride in my knowledge of nutrition and my ability to enrich my body through a varied diet with all the essentials. For the past five years or so, I have heavily relied on soy products for protein and other nutrients. Recently, however, […]

Indelicacies

Chinese appetite for exotic foods driving trade in endangered species Many Chinese believe that wild game improves health. Whether or not that’s true, the country’s enormous market for rare and exotic “delicacies” is not improving the health of endangered species. “Just in the last two years, 12 to 13 species have had to be CITES-listed […]

Poo-Poo Power

Wastewater has lots of energy potential The wastewater that courses down drains and into municipal water-treatment plants around the world contains a substantial amount of organic material, or “biosolids,” or, well, “poop” and such. When this organic matter breaks down, it generates “biogas,” a methane-rich fuel that some plants use to heat the water and […]

FUV

European SUV backlash spreads Beads of sweat are gathering on the foreheads of European automakers, as a backlash against sport utility vehicles spreads across the continent. Several countries have passed or are weighing measures that could hurt SUV sales. London Mayor Ken Livingstone displayed his usual delicacy when he referred to SUV drivers as “complete […]

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Climate change in the mainstream press

National Geographic last month became the latest national magazine to place climate change on its cover, publishing one of the strongest series of pieces on the topic yet to appear in a mainstream publication. You can view free excerpts here, but will have to pay a visit to your trusty library to read the whole issue. Be sure to check out the note from the magazine's editor in chief, Bill Allen, in which he explains why he felt compelled to run the stories even though he anticipates a lot of angry reaction to them. "Some readers will even terminate their memberships," Allen predicts.  

Consider sending a letter to the editor commending the fella for his stiff spine. (The instructions say to include your name, address, and daytime phone.) Skeptic types like Patrick Michaels have been quick to lash back at Allen and the magazine.

When I first received notice of the 74-page series, I wondered whether National Geographic would lead with the term global warming or with climate change, the phrase now in vogue in many political and scientific circles. The magazine has it both ways. Allen goes with global climate change, but Tim Appenzeller, the publication's senior editor for science, and Dennis R. Dimick, its senior editor for environment and technology, begin their introduction to the series with the very words global warming. The magazine fronts the headline "Global Warning:  Bulletins from a Warmer World" over a fiery picture of an Alaskan forest aflame.

All Quiet on the Rocky Mountain Front

Bush administration cancels plans to drill in Rocky Mountain Front The Bush administration announced yesterday that it will suspend plans to drill for oil and gas in Montana’s beloved Rocky Mountain Front pending a comprehensive study of the area — a study that will not begin until 2007 and will last at least two years, […]

Deep-Sea Brawling

Coalition calls for ban on deep-sea trawling A coalition of enviro groups is sounding the alarm over deep-sea bottom trawling, petitioning the U.N. to ban a practice they say is rapidly destroying fragile marine ecosystems, including cold-water corals. Bottom trawling consists of dragging a heavy net across the bottom of the ocean, attempting to snag […]

Rout of Africa

Environmental degradation fuels violence in Africa Environmental problems like water shortages, deforestation, and overgrazing — all exacerbated by global warming — are tightly linked to violent conflict in parts of Africa, according to a new U.N. report. “The link could go in either or both directions,” says the report, “conflict creates conditions promoting ecosystem degradation, […]