China
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While the economy suffers, we're shipping millions of green jobs overseas
The latest numbers from the Labor Department are out, and the jobs picture is ugly-- the private sector is stagnant, and government is laying off workers in droves. Good thing we've got our Yankee ingenuity and forward-thinking leaders to help us dig out of this hole! Except, oh wait, it appears we're busy exporting jobs in the only industries that are expected to experience significant growth in the 21st century.
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Critical List: Republicans plan to defund the environment; no one likes the EPA
House Republicans want to defund all kinds of environmental activity -- the EPA, the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service. You know, just anything having to do with the outside.
And the USDA thinks that bioengineered bluegrass doesn't fall within its regulatory sphere, which means companies could grow the stuff without any regulation.
Exposing mice to air pollution makes them dumber and more depressed.
So it's probably good for everyone that the EPA is putting new regulations on coal-fired power plants that should reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide by 73 percent and nitrogen oxides by 54 percent from 2005 levels. Should Republicans succeed in cutting the agency’s budget yet again, this action could be little more than an empty gesture, though. -
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Limitless supply of rare earth elements found in ocean — if we can get them
The seabed of the Pacific ocean contains 1,000 times as much tonnage of rare earth elements as all the deposits on land, says a new paper published in Nature Geoscience. The elements, which are key to cleantech innovations like solar panels, batteries and electric motors, have been in short supply lately as China, pretty much the world's sole supplier, clamps down on exports.
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How China accidentally geoengineered the climate
Between 2003 and 2007, China burned so much coal that it increased global consumption of the stuff 25 percent. That put so much sulfur into the air that it more or less literally (temporarily) blotted out the sun, masking some of the global warming that otherwise would have occurred during the first decade of the 21st century.
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Critical List: Oil spills into Yellowstone River; Americans are driving less
42,000 gallons of Exxon oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana over the weekend. Regulators had warned the company that the pipe wasn't safe.
The river's particularly high, which isn't helping clean-up.
Atmospheric pollution from China's coal use temporarily masked global warming: sulfur particulates reflected more light back into space, keeping the planet’s temperature from rising too fast. But over time the carbon dioxide released from the coal will push temperatures upwards. -
Critical List: Wildfire threatens Los Alamos; a sweet electric bike
In Arizona, the wildfire is at the edge of Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has radioactive materials and other nasty stuff on the premises. It’s all safety stored, the government says. We’re also being told that everything’s cool at that nuclear plant in Nebraska that’s knee-deep in the flooded Mississippi.
China's going to run out of water within 30 years at current rates of consumption.
More people want their own personal wind turbine, but it's not a status symbol. Yet. -
Critical List: McKibben's march on Washington; speeding up permits for offshore drilling
Bill McKibben invites you to come to D.C. in August and march on the White House over and over and over again. The goal is to convince the administration that siphoning Canada's tar sands through the Keystone XL pipelines is not a good idea and also to get heat stroke.
Transocean issued a report blaming BP for the Macondo spill. A Norwegian prosecutor issued a report blaming Transocean for $1.8 billion in tax evasion.
House Republicans don't care who was to blame for the Macondo spill; they just want the EPA to approve permits for offshore drilling more quickly. Bored with this spill! Let’s start on a new one! -
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Is China trying to steal this city?
China seems to be turning its countryside into a sort of Baudrillardian Euro-Epcot -- they've got two replica English villages, a mini-Barcelona and mini-Venice, a Scandiavia-esque "Nordic Town," and a German district in the city of Anting. Now they're planning to add a replica of the Austrian village of Hallstatt, and the original Hallstatt is pretty pissed.
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Critical List: Senate could cut energy subsidies; organic lipsticks fail to meet criteria
Energy tax breaks are on trial in the Senate, amidst a weird vogue for Republicans opposing them. What are they planning?
People outside of Washington do believe in climate change, whatever their political beliefs. They also overwhelmingly support bike lanes and expanded public transportation. Even people who vote Republican like this stuff. Congresspeople, take note.
Cheap natural gas is making it hard for money-minded people to invest in renewable energy.
