Climate Culture

Mike D of the Beastie Boys drops science on green tours, politics, and Live Earth

The Beastie Boys are (L to R) MCA, Adrock, and Mike D. Photo: Jennifer Hall “I’m recording [this interview] so I can send the tapes to Jerry Lewis; he archives all of my interviews,” Beastie Boy Mike D deadpanned at the other end of the phone line. “In addition to being an all-around comedian and […]

Have We Mentioned This Big Climate Concert?

Live Earth concerts set to rock the world tomorrow Tomorrow, tomorrow … Gore loves ya, tomorrow. Live Earth, the much-anticipated event dreamed up by the former veep, will rock 7/7/07 with 24 hours of concerts to raise climate awareness. A total audience of some 2 billion will see Jack Johnson in Sydney, The Police reunited […]

From Climax to Climate

Melts in your mouth, not in your hand Thousands of Hindu pilgrims were left less than satisfied at the climax of a long trek when they found that their sacred phallic icicle had melted into a tiny stump. Geologists blame the, ahem, performance issues on global warming and the travelers’ “hot, sweaty bodies.” Photo: iStockphoto […]

Check it out

On Friday, Bill Moyers profiles E.O. Wilson on the latest edition of “Bill Moyers Journal.” (The show is his new spot on PBS that started airing in late April, and happens to have the same name as his old show that stopped running in 1981.) Moyers talks to Wilson about subjects ranging from his work […]

Global warming cancels 4th of July celebrations

Global warming threatens our White Chistmases with winter heatwaves and our Arbor Days with record wildfires. And now it imperils our Independence Day fireworks with ever worsening droughts.

The Drudge Report headline blares "No Fireworks." As USA Today reports:

Dozens of communities in drought-stricken areas are scrapping public fireworks displays and cracking down on backyard pyrotechnics to reduce the risk of fires.

"From a fire standpoint and a safety standpoint, it was an easy call," Burbank Fire Chief Tracy Pansini says. He recommended calling off fireworks at the Starlight Bowl because they're launched from a mountainside covered with vegetation that's "all dead."

The record droughts around the country have nixed fireworks in a half dozen states. What will happen to 4th of July celebrations over much of the country if, as predicted in an April Science, article, we have "a permanent drought by 2050 throughout the Southwest"?

Here are some of the places canceling fireworks this year:

Grist in NYT

How did we neglect to shamelessly self-promote mention that Grist honcho Chuck Gilla got some props in Sunday’s New York Times?

Mind your (fo)odometer

Check out a new video on food miles from The Nation: You can also check out the accompanying article here.

Music festivals across the country aim to lessen their footprint

Bonnaroo 2006. Photo: Sarah van Schagen. I’m sitting in the middle of a field in rural Tennessee, and it feels like it’s got to be 110 degrees out. Somehow I’ve forgotten about my sweat-lined brow and muddy shoes; instead, I’m focused on listening to Bonnaroo’s head press guy, Ken Weinstein of Big Hassle Media, talk […]

A short video clip introducing CFLs to kids

You can watch Disney and the Department of Energy's co-produced energy-efficiency PSA here. It's half an ad for Ratatouille, half a push for compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

Maybe the marketing theory is, "Hook 'em while they're young." Works for soft drinks and breakfast cereals. Perhaps it will work for Energy Star, too.

Catchy, catchy!

Someone -- possibly Bart A., who frequents these haunts -- came up with a magnificent line that ought to be widely repeated and put on T-shirts, bike stickers, etc:

"The Future Has Pedals."

Love it!