Thursday, 26 Oct 2006

Just months ago, political prognosticators thought a wonky wind-power engineer with no political experience would have virtually zero chance of unseating Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), powerful chair of the House Resources Committee. But Democrat Jerry McNerney, who's made clean energy a central platform in his campaign, has shown them wrong; the latest poll had the two contenders running neck and neck. McNerney has gotten unprecedented financial backing and on-the-ground support from enviros, who've been working all year to unseat Pombo, an unabashed advocate of drilling and mining and opponent of environmental protections. Pombo, meanwhile, is trying to fight off the stench of scandal. Muckraker takes a close look at this hot race in California's 11th congressional district.

Eco-friendly Fire

British arms manufacturer producing green weapons

One of the world's biggest arms manufacturers, British Aerospace, is investing heavily in eco-friendly weapons. Soldiers and civilians may now be blown up by a recyclable explosive, hit by a reduced-toxin rocket, or bombed by a fuel-efficient fighter jet. Biodegradable land mines and their victims both turn into compost over time. Quieter warheads reduce noise pollution, less smoky grenades reduce air pollution, and reduced-lead bullets, if left in the environment, "do not cause any additional harm," says Deborah Allen, director of corporate social responsibility at British Aerospace. Meanwhile, British troops will stay safe in their armored vehicles -- hybrid, naturally. "No company, regardless of what they make, can now just make a product, bung it out there, and then forget about it," says Allen. "We all have a duty of care to ensure that from cradle to grave products are being used appropriately and do not do lasting harm."


No matter how many times they are bludgeoned with informed rebuttals, the same skeptical arguments about climate change keep lurching back to life like zombies. It can get tiresome searching for the same counterarguments over and over again. A new series on Gristmill aims to put all those counterarguments in one place, for easy access. Think of it as a rhetorical ammunition stash. How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic kicks off today -- check it out.

Pace: the Final Frontier

Engineers hope to harvest human energy

Scientists and engineers are looking to make use of human-powered energy. Don't worry, they don't want to hook you up to electrodes; the means of capturing the energy may be as unobtrusive as a matrix of pressure pads under sidewalks and floors. "When we walk along a pavement, eight watts of energy is wasted -- absorbed by the ground -- with each heel. Yet it's possible to harvest at least 30 percent of that energy," explains Claire Price, leader of the Pacesetters Project, which aims to install the world's first human-energy-harvesting staircase in the U.K. next year. "[Human-powered energy] could power lighting, LED displays, and audio systems used in public spaces," she adds. Price is also working with a manufacturer of gym equipment to develop a way to harvest energy from treadmills. Another way you may soon be able to make yourself useful: a shoe device that would capture walking energy and use it to power portable electronic devices, being explored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


Gone are the days when fast-food diners were satisfied with a quadruple burger and fries. These days, customers are demanding healthier choices. As the big, lumbering burger chains slowly begin to change their menus, a gaggle of smaller, more nimble outlets have popped up to offer a whole new style of organic and natural fast food, reports Kate Galbraith.

Survival of the Ritziest

Threatened frogs get cushy new habitat at a Panamanian hotel

Hundreds of frogs and toads can be found in an unusual habitat in Panama -- Rooms 28 and 29 of the Hotel Campestre in the town of El Valle de Anton. An international crew of biologists, environmentalists, and zoo employees relocated the critters to save them from the deadly chytrid fungus, which has been working its way through Central America for a decade and has wiped out up to 120 species of amphibians. The hotel now houses more than 300 frogs of 40 threatened species -- frogs with translucent skin, frogs that look like rocks, and the golden frog, a symbol of prosperity and virility whose visage appears on Panamanian lottery tickets. A state-of-the-art center in a private zoo in El Valle is being built for froggie refugees, and they very well may live there hoppily ever after, as biologists have no idea how long the chytrid fungus will be a threat. "There's this moral dilemma," says Adrian Benedetti, director of a Panamanian zoo. "Is this evolution? Should we let it run its course? If we do this for frogs, then do we do it some other time for the snakes?"