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The Fiber of Our Being
Legalizing hemp would help environment and economy, says report |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:36 PM on 13 Mar 2008 The U.S. war on non-smokable hemp hurts the environment and the economy, according to a new report from the free-market-promoting Reason Foundation. To wit: Hemp fiber requires six times less manufacturing energy on average than polyester fiber, and requires less pesticides and water than cotton. Hemp can be used to make paper, fiberglass, and cement, generally with less energ ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, green products, news (all these topics) |
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Crop, Stop, and Roll
E.U. likely to cut subsidies for farmers |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:11 PM on 13 Mar 2008 With crop prices through the roof and scientific concerns being raised about the greenness of biofuels, various European countries have cut back tax breaks and subsidies for farmers -- and now the European Union as a whole is planning to follow suit. source: The Wall Street Journal see also, in Grist: E.U. says it will be mindful of sustainability in boosting biofuels From ... |
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| Topics: ag subsidies, agriculture, biofuels, energy, European Union, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Braking News!
Denver hopes to reduce car emissions by encouraging better driving |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:05 PM on 13 Mar 2008 The city of Denver has unveiled a "Driving Change" pilot program designed to reduce vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions by encouraging drivers to ease off the lead foot. Starting in May, 400 public and private Denver vehicles, including that of Mayor John Hickenlooper, will have a device installed to monitor time spent braking, idling, accelerating, and speeding. Analyzed res ... |
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| Topics: cars, climate, Colorado, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Cotton the Moment
Misleading cotton ads banned in U.K. |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:07 AM on 13 Mar 2008 Poster and magazine ads by the U.S. cotton industry have been banned in Britain. The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority can put the kibosh on advertising deemed to be greenwashing, and regulators took issue with the cotton ads' claim that the crop is "soft, sensual, and sustainable." The ad authority pointed out that cotton is a "pesticide- and insecticide-intensive crop" and can " ... |
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| Topics: advertising, agriculture, business, green living, greenwashing, news, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
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A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please
World's pollutingest countries to meet for climate talks in Japan |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:14 AM on 13 Mar 2008 The world's 20 biggest-polluting countries will meet in Japan on Friday for a three-day climate conference designed as a run-up to the July G8 meeting where current G8 leader Japan wants to put climate at the top of the agenda. Japan has expressed support for cutting G8-country emissions by 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 -- an ambitious- ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, G8, news (all these topics) |
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Aye Yi Yi of the Tiger
World's tiger population unwell, WWF says |
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13 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:39 AM on 13 Mar 2008 Photo: Paul Buxton The world's tiger population is doing poorly and may have been halved in the last 25 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The group estimates that the global tiger population has plummeted to about 3,500 today from as many as 7,500 in 1982. Habitat destruction and poaching to feed the thriving market in tiger body parts are thought to be the main drivers of the population ... |
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| Topics: habitat loss, news, wildlife, World Wildlife Fund (all these topics) |
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Front and Center
Folks with ties to the Earth Liberation Front indicted in Michigan blaze |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:12 PM on 12 Mar 2008 The Earth Liberation Front has made the news yet again: Four people tied to the radical group have been indicted on arson charges for a 1999 blaze at Michigan State University. sources: Detroit Free Press, Reuters, Associated Press From the Archives Off the Hook. Salmon fishing season in California and Oregon may be canceled. Gasp! EPA lowers ozon ... |
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| Topics: Earth Liberation Front, eco-terrorism, Michigan, news (all these topics) |
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Off the Hook
Salmon fishing season in California and Oregon may be canceled |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:49 PM on 12 Mar 2008 So few salmon are swimming in California and Oregon that salmon fishing season is likely to be canceled completely unless an emergency exemption is granted, according to the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council. The states' salmon season, which traditionally runs from April to mid-November, has never been entirely canceled before. Even with a complete closure, fishery experts estim ... |
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| Topics: California, fishing, insanity, news, Oregon (all these topics) |
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Gasp!
EPA lowers ozone limit, but ignores scientific advisers' calls to lower it more |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:34 PM on 12 Mar 2008 Photo: iStockphoto In an effort to clear up smog, the U.S. EPA on Wednesday lowered the permissible amount of ozone in the air, a move that will require 345 counties around the country to clamp down on pollution over the coming years. But the agency ignored the calls of its own scientific advisers for a steeper pollution cut. The EPA will lower the ozone standard to 75 parts ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, news, ozone, politics, regulation, US EPA (all these topics) |
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An Ugly Prospect
Mining claims encroaching on Western population centers |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:50 PM on 12 Mar 2008 Mining claims on federal land in the West are coming increasingly close to urban areas, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. Thanks to a spike in the value of many minerals -- and antiquated U.S. mining law, which is highly prospector-friendly -- there are now 51,600 hardrock claims within five miles of Western population centers, nearly double the count in 2003. ... |
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| Topics: Environmental Working Group, mining, news, placemaking, public lands (all these topics) |
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Spitzer's Image
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns, leaving behind eco-legacy |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:18 AM on 12 Mar 2008 Prostitution-ring participant Eliot Spitzer has resigned as New York's governor, leaving behind a not-too-shabby environmental legacy. As New York's attorney general, he sued the Bush administration over various eco-issues, including greenhouse-gas emissions, mercury pollution and water guzzling from power plants, pesticide use in public housing, and efficiency standards for appli ... |
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| Topics: New York, news, politics, shenanigans, state politics (all these topics) |
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The Cost of Doltish Business
Company agrees to pay record $250 million in Superfund cleanup costs |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:26 AM on 12 Mar 2008 W.R. Grace & Co. agreed to pay $250 million to reimburse the U.S. EPA for ongoing cleanup of the asbestos-ridden mining town of Libby, Mont. A mine owned by Grace that operated from 1963 until 1990 contaminated much of the town with asbestos-tainted vermiculite. Over 200 area residents have died from related cancers, and over 1,200 more show signs of lung abnorm ... |
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| Topics: business, litigation, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Misfortunes of War
Gulf War syndrome likely caused by chemical exposure, says research |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:56 PM on 11 Mar 2008 Fatigue, dizziness, rashes, memory loss, and other symptoms of Gulf War syndrome are likely tied to a combination of chemicals that veterans were exposed to during the war, says new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The review of studies on Gulf War syndrome supports the theory that pesticides used around military bases, anti-nerve-gas ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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The Way You Move
Climate change has it out for transportation infrastructure, says report |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:08 PM on 11 Mar 2008 Climate change is likely to wreak havoc on U.S. transportation infrastructure, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Research Council. Think bridge joints weakened by too-high temperatures, flooded tunnels, shipping disrupted by heavy storms, roads threatened by erosion, and much, much more! Coastal regions are likely to be especially hard hit, as more and ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, news, placemaking, public transportation, urban planning (all these topics) |
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It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Hurt
Concerned about air, world-record holder will not run Olympic marathon |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:36 PM on 11 Mar 2008 Marathon world-record holder Haile Gebrselassie will not compete in his favored event at the Beijing Olympics this summer over fears that polluted air will damage his health. The Ethiopian runner, who has exercise-induced asthma, will try to qualify for the Games in the 10,000-meter race instead. Other athletes have expressed similar concerns ab ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, China, green living, news, sports (all these topics) |
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Canadians Are So Cute When They're Mad
Canadians fear U.S. energy bill clause could disallow oil-sands exports |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:17 PM on 11 Mar 2008 A clause in the recently passed U.S. energy bill could be interpreted to prevent the U.S. from sourcing fuel from Canada's oil sands, putting Canadian officials all in a tizzy. Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act prohibits the U.S. government from purchasing alternative fuels with higher lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions than conven ... |
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| Topics: Canada, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, oil, oil sands, politics, United States (all these topics) |
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According to Protocol
Australia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol comes into force |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:12 PM on 11 Mar 2008 Australia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol came into force on Tuesday. While the Aussies have the second-highest greenhouse-gas emissions per capita in the developed world, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd waxed optimistic, saying the country is on track to meet its Kyoto-suggested emissions-reduction targets. "From today, Australia officially becomes part of the global solut ... |
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| Topics: Australia, climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, Kyoto Protocol, news (all these topics) |
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Thought: Control
Waxman and Markey introduce bill to ban new dirty coal plants |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:09 AM on 11 Mar 2008 House Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced the "Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act of 2008," which would do pretty much what it sounds like: prevent new coal plants in the U.S. unless they're built with advanced pollution controls. Says Waxman, "The altemative is senseless -- locking in decades of additional global war ... |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, coal, Ed Markey, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, politics, US House of Representatives (all these topics) |
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Dances Without Wolverines
Feds decide not to list wolverine as threatened or endangered |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:26 AM on 11 Mar 2008 Photo: iStockphoto The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to list wolverines in the Lower 48 states as threatened or endangered. The agency concluded that wolverines didn't need Endangered Species Act protections in the Lower 48 since viable populations exist in Canada and Alaska. The FWS said the Lower 48 wolverine population "is not separated from wolverine ... |
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| Topics: endangered species, news, United States, US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Just Kidding
China will maintain one-child policy |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:08 PM on 10 Mar 2008 Recent speculation that China was rethinking its one-child-per-family policy has been refuted by the country's top population official, who says the family planning policy will not be altered for at least another decade. source: The New York Times see also, in Grist: China's population rapidly rising From the Archives Next Up on the Panel ... Solar-panel manufacturers dumping toxic was ... |
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| Topics: China, news, population (all these topics) |
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Next Up on the Panel ...
Solar-panel manufacturers dumping toxic waste in China |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:54 PM on 10 Mar 2008 Solar panels may look bright and shiny, but they have a dark underbelly: production of polysilicon for panels gives off a highly toxic byproduct called silicon tetrachloride. In China, where factories are rushing to alleviate a polysilicon shortage that's cramping the global solar-panel industry, the bubbly white liquid is often just dumped in nearby villages. "The land where yo ... |
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| Topics: business, China, energy, news, renewable energy, solar voltaic power, toxics (all these topics) |
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Queen for a Day
Queen Elizabeth II encourages environmental protection |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:05 PM on 10 Mar 2008 In her annual Commonwealth Day speech on Monday, Queen Elizabeth II had unusually pointed words regarding environmental protection. "The impact of pollution falls unequally," she said. "It is often those who pollute the least -- notably in the world's least-developed nations -- who are closest to the razor's edge and most affected by the impact of climate change and least equip ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, news (all these topics) |
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Se7en Times Two
Pollution is on Vatican's updated list of mortal sins |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:50 PM on 10 Mar 2008 The Vatican has put a modern twist on the seven deadly sins, announcing a list of "social sins" -- including pollution and genetic manipulation. (And just when we had successfully rid ourselves of lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy, and pride.) The nature of sin itself has changed, says Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Vatican body in charge of matters of conscience ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, GMOs, news, religion and spirituality, Vatican City, water pollution (all these topics) |
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White and NRDC
Inquiry made into delayed polar bear decision, green groups sue |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:02 AM on 10 Mar 2008 Let's check in on the latest polar bear shenanigans, shall we? Two months after deadline, the Interior Department still has made no decision on whether Ursus maritimus should be listed as a threatened species. Spurred by a critical letter from environmental groups, the agency's inspector general has begun preliminary inquiries into why the decision is taking so long. Greenpeace, the C ... |
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| Topics: Department of Interior, endangered species, Greenpeace, litigation, news, NRDC, politics, wildlife (all these topics) |
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A Climate of Fear
E.U. report warns of increased security threats due to climate change |
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10 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:38 AM on 10 Mar 2008 A new report from the European Union's two top foreign-policy officials warns of a wide range of security threats that will be caused or exacerbated by climate change. The report echoes the concerns of earlier U.S. and U.K. reports, warning of "significant potential conflicts" over energy resources, climate-related mass migration, economic instability, and more. A g ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, European Union, news (all these topics) |
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