Wednesday, 03 May 2006

Webby or Not, Here We Come ...

Vote for Grist in the Webby Awards!

It's down to the wire, folks: voting in the Webby Awards -- "the only award show for internet sites that matters" -- ends at midnight PDT on Friday, May 5. In the magazine category, there's a neck-and-neck race between National Geographic and a scrappy little mag we like to call Grist. Have you voted? Has your brother voted? Has your great-aunt Sally voted? This is no 2000 election -- every vote counts.

Is Our Children Learning?

U.S. government study finds human-caused climate change real; Bushies unconvinced

A scientific study commissioned by the Bush administration has demolished one of the key arguments of climate skeptics, concluding yesterday that there is no discrepancy in rates of warming at Earth's surface and in the troposphere. Oh, and also that there is "clear evidence of human influences on the climate system." This solid, unambiguous conclusion -- like every other scientific finding about climate change -- has inspired the White House to redouble its commitment to its current policy: more study (this was the first of 21 planned assessments) and voluntary efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. A spokesflack for the White House Council on Environmental Quality said the report made it clear that Bush's $2 billion-a-year focus on climate monitoring and research was "working." Um?


Jonathan Trouern-Trend had an atypical tour of duty in Iraq. The intelligence sergeant spent his free time watching birds and recording his observations on his "Birding Babylon" blog, which showed readers around the world unexpected signs of hope and life in a land wracked by war. Emily Gertz talks with Trouern-Trend about his experience and the new book that grew out of it.

Dirty Deeds Done Crappily

Hanford nuclear-waste site is a big ol' mess

The cleanup effort at the nuke-waste-riddled Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is looking like one big fustercluck. The finish date has been delayed from 2011 to 2017 or later, extending the time that 53 million gallons of radioactive and toxic waste will sit in leak-prone tanks near the Columbia River. Sixty-seven of the 177 tanks have leaked already, seeping at least a million gallons of waste underground. This week, a watchdog group identified what it said were two more leaks the Department of Energy hadn't yet publicly acknowledged. Taxpayers are currently forking over $1.4 million a day to build a facility to clean up the site and deal with the waste; the estimated final cost of the project has nearly tripled in the last six years to $11.3 billion. And as the price tag and problems grow, so does the likelihood that Congress or the DOE will seek cheaper or less safe solutions.


Spring is the time when rugged homeowners everywhere prove their mettle by facing down nettles and other leafy intruders. Muscles rippling, they stride toward the culprit, grit their teeth, and ... spray? Yes, it's true: yesterday's weed-pullers have become today's sprayers. Advice maven Umbra Fisk, however, yearns for a return to the ways of yore. She tells a beleaguered questioner how to combat her spouse's penchant for the spray can.

So Much for Our Plans to Get Chip on Rushmore

NPS won't loosen ad guidelines; Yellowstone contemplates wireless

A National Park Service proposal to accept money from tobacco and alcohol companies and engrave donor names on benches and bricks was shot down when new marketing guidelines were issued Monday. Public comment had been highly critical of the proposal. "We give the Park Service significant credit for releasing a strong guidance on the appropriate role of philanthropy," said Tom Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association. The park system has been struggling financially; rising costs and inadequate funding have forced parks to cut staff, close visitor centers, and reduce luxury amenities like restrooms and trash pickup. Meanwhile, Yellowstone National Park is mulling a different way to lure in tourists and visual blight -- more wireless towers and antennas. Because there's nothing we'd rather do at a national park than have a nice browse around the internet while on our cell phone.