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Louisianans take a break from oil-spill angst to celebrate local seafood
Seafood abounds at the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival.Photos: Emily PetersonThe sixth annual Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival, held this past weekend, had the usual fixings one would expect at a South Louisiana festival: fried seafood, a solid lineup of live local music, and plenty of cold beer to beat the high humidity and 90-degree temperatures. One […]
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Tracking surface water on a warming planet
Keith Cherkauer studies mud. It’s a dirty business that has revealed a lot about global warming. As he trudged through rural Indiana farmland earlier this spring, Cherkauer, an agricultural and biological engineer at Purdue University, paid close attention to the way his boots sank more than an inch into the mud before they reached the […]
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10 ways cities and towns can kick the offshore-oil habit
With the Gulf oil spill continuing unabated, powering a 21st century economy on a 19th century fossil fuel looks less and less smart by the day. Luckily, we’ve got other options. I described the most promising steps the federal government could take toward reducing oil use in transportation systems last week. But local governments don’t […]
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Six reasons not to trust BP
Okay, so Top Kill failed, and we’re on pause for the next few days while BP preps for Plan, um, is it E? For the sake of the Gulf Coast, we hope this next fix-it option, a new kind of cap, works. But it’s getting harder to pull for BP. Here’s why: We don’t need […]
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The BP oil gusher is just the latest in a long line of assaults on the Gulf of Mexico
A fishing boat returns after a night of fishing in the Gulf.Photo courtesy PDub via FlickrI’m a fourth-generation fisherwoman from the Texas Gulf Coast, on a boat since I was eight. Over the last two decades, I’ve become a self-appointed watchdog of the chemical, oil, and gas corporations that are decimating the Gulf. I hate […]
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Will the World Bank undermine the people of El Salvador in mining dispute?
Proposed site of Pacific Rim’s El Dorado mine.In a truly David and Goliath battle, the people of El Salvador are fighting against a Canadian mining giant that was lawfully denied permits for a gold and silver mine that would devastate the local environment and threaten the health and livelihoods of native residents. Next week, the […]
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Coal: Good News, and An Opportunity for More
I’ve got two good news pieces this week – and one issue that needs your help. Last week our Michigan Chapter and everyone who loves clean air and clean energy got some great news when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (MDNRE) denied a permit for the proposed Wolverine coal-fired power plant.We’re […]
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Global warming vs. biblical armageddon: How will we all die? [VIDEO]
Kids have a right to know the possible scopes of their own demise. You don’t have to put a monkey on trial to figure it out: It’s either gonna be biblical plagues or global climate change. Thank goodness both make a snazzy diorama! [UPDATE]: Leave it to The Onion to cover fake news that turns […]
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How would you stop the Gulf oil gusher?
Plug it up? If only it were so simple …They’ve tried underwater robots, a containment dome, a riser tube (which has been siphoning up at least a bit of the gushing flow), and relief wells (still being drilled, a process that will take months). They’re now attempting a top kill. They might still try a […]
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Will Obama admin allow Shell Oil to do to Arctic waters what BP did to the Gulf?
This essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. —– Polar bear approaching Bowhead remains from a previous year’s hunt, Bernard harbor outside Kaktovik, 2001.Photo: Subhankar BanerjeeBear with me. I’ll get to the oil. But first you have to understand where I’ve been and where you undoubtedly won’t go, but […]
