Climate Culture

Dumb and not so dumb questions answered

Well, here's some more footage of my new bike. I couldn't think of a better way to convey its ability to accelerate uphill than to just do it with normal bikes in the background for comparison. Note the dearth of spandex. Is this fad about to go the way of the powdered wig?

The following are some answers to frequently asked questions:

We Always Knew They’d Turn to Communism

U.K. green-computing task force recommends centralizing data A newly formed United Kingdom task force will work to reduce the energy-sucking impacts of computing equipment, which some say pumps as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere there as the airline industry. The public-private partnership, called “Green Shift,” will study how to make PCs and their related […]

Not together

First and foremost: If you have Windows Media Player, check out this PSA from basketball hottie Steve Nash. “When the Suns get hot, that’s good. But when the earth gets hot, that’s bad.” Swoon! Second and, uh, secondmost, there’s stuff out there about Beijing 2008 and London 2012. But there will be stories about the […]

From Splits to Stamps

Enthusiasm officially curbed We knew global warming was a partisan issue. But tearing a marriage apart? Now that’s an inconvenient truth. Photo: Alex Berliner Kilimanjaro softly Mount Kilimanjaro, the Everglades, the Great Barrier Reef, and other treasured vacay spots are being threatened by over-tourism. Quick, go forth and spew massive amounts of CO2 to see […]

Lots of fruits and bread in Sicily; lots of junk in North Carolina

There is a fascinating photo essay over on Time magazine's website. Using a format similar to that used by photojournalists who have posed families in front of their entire household possessions, this one shows what a few families around the world typically purchase to eat over the course of a week.

Not exactly a scientific survey, but revealing nonetheless.

I’M IN UR PLANET, GETTIN ALL HOT N BOTHERED

Things that global warming is responsible for: Melting glaciers, skinny polar bears, disappearing coastlines, and rampant kitty sex. That’s right. We’re seeing an increase in hot pussy action as global warming gets America’s cats all hot and bothered. Climate change is expanding the kitty mating season and creating — you guessed it — more baby […]

Ruminations on food, class, and Carlo Petrini

“America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between,” Oscar Wilde once quipped. Fresh, yes, but is it affordable? Photo: Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market Such observations didn’t always endear him to Victorian-era Americans. Wilde’s 1881 lecture tour of the United States, while ultimately viewed as a triumph, occasionally drew […]

Be there!

I’m bumping this back up to the top. Party’s next Wed.! Hey all you wonky Washington, D.C., nerdlings: We’re coming to your town! That’s right, it’s time to party with Grist — and your fellow Grist readers. After the way Grist rocked San Francisco, I sure hope D.C. brings its A-game. Or does the vaunted […]

Laurie and Larry David call it quits

Is it because she gave away his hybrid? Dunno, but if you want to read a bunch of substance-free psychobabble about the possible reasons why Laurie and Larry David are divorcing, you’re in luck.

Skip it

You can skip George Monbiot's book Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.

Slightly longer book review:

Because there are far too many climate books to read, I confess I apply a litmus test. I look up "hydrogen" in the index. If the writer thinks it's a climate solution, the book can be skipped.

I thought I would like this book, since I like many of the columns by the British author, including an early excerpt on the connection of the global warming deniers to big tobacco. But on page 162, he writes, "hydrogen fuel cells are beginning to look like a feasible technology for motor transport, if not on the time scale the producers predict."

No. Not even close. They are looking less feasible these days. They are a post-2050 climate solution at best. And Monbiot is a man in a hurry -- he believes the only hope for mankind is "for rich nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2030."

Heck, it would require three major breakthroughs -- in fuel cells, storage, and renewable hydrogen -- just for hydrogen cars to be 1% of the cars on the road by 2030 -- and they would still be a lousy way to cut greenhouse gas emissions.