pianoyoga’s Recent Comments

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  good National Geographic article last year

  Athabasca tar sands in Alberta - insane environmental destruction.  Big money.  Big mess.  Suicidal idea, it seems.  

  It's really hard to sell people on curbing their lust for money and stuff.  Good US global warming policy would likely ban the import of fuels like this.  Plus it really makes no sense in the arid west, since production requires so much water (and pollutes it too).On U.S. emphasis on Canada's tar sands a bad idea, says report posted 1 year, 5 months ago 5 Responses

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  I like her Earth Day speech

  Mary Gade comes across as a decent career environmental lawyer who went into the field for the right reasons, lots of earthy personality, not too fancy.  I wonder if she's still a Bush supporter...  

  Dow Chemical's Wikipedia article is illuminating - it is a controversial entry, and the Discussion tab is worth a visit.  Manufacturers of Agent Orange and napalm, involved in 96 Superfund dump sites, major air polluter.  Sold a soil fumigant, DBCP, to Dole Fruit after it had been linked with male sterility and banned in the US. Dow and Dole sued in Latin American courts, lost, owe $600 million, refuse to pay. And, I suppose, everyone's heard of Bhopal.

  I don't see how we can have environmental regulation of multinational corporations if the companies are allowed to shrug off all financial and criminal penalties for their wrongful acts.  On Bush admin ousts top EPA official over Dow Chemical pollution case posted 1 year, 6 months ago 7 Responses

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  Life without cars...

  ...will be a lot more creative and earth-centered. Power-assist bicycles are becoming a mature technology.  See the Lightfoot website for some positive reinforcement:  http://www.lightfootcycles.com/electric.htm

  I'd also favor widespread deployment of wind-powered long-distance electric rail.  

  Pretend for a moment that gas goes to $20/gallon, and that almost no one can afford to drive, so the streets are basically empty, and big chunks of unresurfaced asphalt are heaving up from deserted shopping plazas.

  What will you do for fun now?  How will you get around?  What will you eat? What does a workable community look like?

  This is a frightening prospect, but perhaps we're sick of being driven, and some creative, cooperative folks will get their time to shine.On Feds set fuel-economy benchmarks for automakers posted 1 year, 7 months ago 7 Responses

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  separation of mineral rights

  Some readers here may be unaware of the separation of mineral and surface rights in current US law.  You can pay good money to preserve a few acres of healthy ecosystem only to see your efforts compromised by Corporation X which already owned the Mineral Rights.  

  Currently in Montana there's a big ranch under perpetual conservation easement which was really damaged by oil drilling-  the new owners sought to have the conservation easement lifted because the land was now "worthless for farming use".  They succeeded, and then tried to sell of sections as "ranchettes" to recoup their expenses.  These folks and the town are being sued over the easement change.  If they win, the whole concept of conservation easement for ecosystem preservation is under threat -  developers will rush to sue to overturn perpetual conservation easements.

  All this started with the absurd separation of surface and mineral rights-  it's a physical enshrinement of the concept of corporation, which has been separating real people from personal responsibility for their life-damaging activities.
  On Mining claims encroaching on Western population centers posted 1 year, 8 months ago 5 Responses

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  Forests

  Immediately after Katrina, eco critics attributed much of the Gulf damage to destruction of mangrove areas and wetlands by Army Corps of Engineers, as well as agricultural, forestry, and questionable building practices.  

  Besides harvesting and processing downed trees (before it all goes back to CO2), who is discussing appropriate ecologically sound redevelopment in the Mississippi floodplain?On Gulf State forests ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, says study posted 1 year, 12 months ago 2 Responses