Climate Culture

Willy Wonka would be pissed

The FDA is thinking about allowing Big Chocolate to pass off waxy imitations as the real deal:

Some of the funniest stuff I’ve seen in a long time

Remember that wacky Federal Way, Wash. father who opposed showing An Inconvenient Truth in public schools? ("Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore!") Well, he's back, and on the Daily Show:

On the latest eco-conscious denim trends and events

"Who are the big, fat, tall people that buy the jeans we make?"

That's the question that Jasmine, 16, innocently asks in Micha Peled's documentary China Blue, a clandestine view of three girls' lives in a Chinese sweatshop. I felt pretty embarrassed watching Jasmine cut the threads off our blue jeans during her 20-hour workday. It's the same Catholic schoolgirl guilt you get when the burly, bearded dude walks in on you because the gas station's bathroom lock is broken, or when your parents or roommate come home when they just weren't supposed to. Once again, we've been caught with our pants down.

But this time, we're participating in one of the largest human-rights abuses of all time. Which makes denim a damn good product around which to strike up a conversation about social issues.

Sorry, trusty Blue Jeans. You know I love you. You've been there for me through all occasions -- my birthdays, my late-night outings, my first kiss, my first break-up ... When I don't know what to wear, you're there for me ... but now, it's time to hang you out to dry ... if only to make a point.

From Betting to Böögg

We’ll see your catastrophe and raise you an apocalypse Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets: An online gambling service is offering a whole new way to get screwed by climate change. Looking for better payoff? Put some greenbacks on the leatherbacks; we’re all-in on Colburtle. Photo: iStockphoto Every day is Earth Day — especially Sunday […]

Tunnels everywhere!

First a train tunnel between Africa and Europe, now the Russians want to build the long-dreamt-of tunnel between Russia and Alaska. The tunnel would theoretically carry natural gas, oil, electricity, and fiber-optic wires.

The more and better tunnels we have for rail, the more competitive rail will be with less efficient transport systems like air travel. This is better for energy efficiency and therefore the environment.

This project still has a lot of problems -- it's not like there's a lot of spare rail up above the Arctic Circle, necessitating lots of construction -- but I'm sure Ted Stevens is already salivating.

It’s descended completely into ‘small steps’

When I read stuff like this … A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that more Americans than ever — 60%, up from 48% a decade ago — believe that global warming has begun to affect the climate. A slightly larger percentage think it will cause major or extreme changes in climate and weather during the next […]

It’s hard out there for a skeptic

After 20 years of disproportionate media coverage, climate contrarians have started being ignored. It would be impossible to overstate the depth of my sympathy. Impossible, I tell you. Update [2007-4-19 16:17:10 by David Roberts]: As an addendum: actual climate scientists think coverage is already “too balanced.” And by balanced, I’m pretty sure they mean “balanced.”

Time to start welcoming rather than bashing eco-newcomers

Arnold Schwarzenegger is being offered up as an eco-hero, so naturally some folks in the green movement rush to point out that it’s all a big fraud. Why they do that — why progressives eat their allies — I’ll never understand. Let’s approach this through a semi-related phenomenon. I had the privilege of meeting Andrew […]

Only the little people fly scheduled airlines

In response to this story, about how the airport tax paid by proles being herded onto commercial boxcars is spent to make life even cushier for the big guys flying Lear jets, someone defended the poor abused jet setters thus:

It is worth pointing out that those "Learjets" burn bunches of fuel and pay the corresponding fuel taxes, so they aren't getting a totally free ride. Figure 200 gallons an hour as a usable figure (jet pilots figure burn in pounds, with taxes of $.50 a gallon or so (I don't have the actual figures), and they are paying $100 an hour. The airlines do not pay the fuel taxes, instead getting a head tax from passengers. The story is not nearly as simplistic as many imagine.

They Have Reservations

U.S. EPA adopts green guidelines for travel planning As of May, hotels and convention centers hoping to woo government accounts might need to polish their eco-cred. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has crafted a list of must-ask questions for potential hosts on topics from energy efficiency to paperless billing to towel reuse. (Anyone else picturing […]