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Terry Tempest Williams sends dispatches from an election-season tour

Acclaimed author Terry Tempest Williams is currently on the road for a cross-country “Open Space of Democracy Tour” sponsored by Orion Magazine and Orion Books, publisher of her most recent book, The Open Space of Democracy. Photo: Mark Babushkin. Wednesday, 6 Oct 2004 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah When two young Canadians embarked on an extraordinary […]

Bring in da noise, bring in debunk

Tim Lambert has made debunking pseudo-science into an art form.  Observe, as he practices his craft on a pair of climate change skeptics.  That's gotta sting.

Vice Presidential candidates discuss the environment during their debate

Cheney: "..."

Edwards: "..."

UPDATE: In fairness, it should be noted that environmental issues (and jobs, wages, education, immigration, health care, etc.) didn't get their due in large part due to the fatuous and at times genuinely befuddling questions chosen by moderator Gwen Ifill. "What's wrong with a little flip-flop every now and then?" Are you serious?

Air Force Une

New car powered by compressed air to hit France There are some nifty-sounding cars in the making these days. The latest — to be introduced in France, where production will begin next year — is the Air Car, a car that runs on, uh, air. Well, and electricity too. You plug it in at home, […]

Cheese-Eating Efficiency Monkeys

France has made big strides in energy efficiency After the global oil crises of the 1970s, both the U.S. and France took steps to increase energy efficiency and reduce their vulnerability to oil price fluctuations. Unlike the U.S., however, France stuck with them. Since 1973, U.S. oil use has risen by 16 percent, while France’s […]

Little Red Tibet

Tibet suffers melting glaciers and nuclear dumpage As if living under the heel of a repressive communist neighbor wasn’t bad enough, Tibet now has to contend with a coming ecological catastrophe and nuclear waste it didn’t produce. According to a survey conducted by some 20 U.S. and Chinese scientists, Tibet’s glaciers — which have been […]

Lead Astray

Lead contamination in municipal water systems systematically underreported If you live in the U.S., the water you drink may contain unsafe levels of lead, thanks to a water-safety enforcement system rife with manipulation and negligence. Water utilities across the U.S. are discarding unfavorable test results and ignoring safety regulations. State regulators rarely enforce standards and […]

Porn activists go all the way to save the rainforest

Warning: The following article contains naughty words — but we can’t help it, as they’re the whole subject of the story. It also contains links to websites that are, as they say, “not safe for work.” So all you kids, go play Pokemon or whatever it is you do these days. The rest of you, […]

Presidential candidates on science

It would be an exaggeration to say that science is a top issue in this election ... or ever, really.  But the scientific community itself is far more involved and engaged than usual.  There was the Union of Concerned Scientists open letter accusing the Bush administration of distorting science for political ends.  And just recently, a group of science-types formed a group called Scientists and Engineers for Change, explicitly devoted to booting Bush from the Big House.

These developments, combined with the drip-drip of science-related miniscandals coming out of the White House -- on salmon hatcheries, peer review, global warming, etc. ad nauseum -- have raised the profile of science somewhat.  

All of which is by way of saying that tens of ... tens of people will be interested to read the flurry of science-related interviews with the candidates that have come out recently.

Re-Orient-ing

China pressing forward with renewable energy Faced with energy shortages and endemic air pollution, China is moving aggressively to develop renewable-energy technologies. Last summer, it announced it would seek to get 12 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. As it strives to meet this goal, the government is eschewing central planning and instead […]