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Don't Make Me Turn This Car Around!
U.S. auto sales take a nosedive |
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02 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:48 PM on 02 Apr 2008 Chrysler and General Motors sold 19 percent less automobiles in the U.S. this March than they did last March, according to new sales figures. Ford reported a sales drop of 14 percent in March 2008 compared to March 2007, and even Toyota, which has reported steady sales through other hard times, reported that sales dropped 10 percent. As has been the case for a while, sales of big ol' gas guzzler ... |
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| Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, economy, news (all these topics) |
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Highway to Nowhere
California's 'hydrogen highway' runs into roadblocks |
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02 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:53 AM on 02 Apr 2008 Despite California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order four years ago that "hundreds of hydrogen fueling stations" be built in the state, nary a station has been built under the program. Depending on whom you ask, the blame for the sputtering "hydrogen highway" lies with: energy companies and utilities, for not stepping forward to take state matching money to bui ... |
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| Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, cars, energy, hydrogen, news, placemaking, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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Exec Men: The Stand
Oil execs questioned on high oil and gasoline prices |
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02 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:15 AM on 02 Apr 2008 Executives from five huge oil companies were questioned by members of Congress Tuesday amid frustration over high oil and gasoline prices. Big-wigs from BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell did their best to eschew blame for high prices while explaining that they still need billions of dollars in subsidies. They also said increasing taxes on dirty energy to fund re ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, Congress, news, United States (all these topics) |
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Time in Memorial
Maya Lin's latest memorial will pay tribute to the planet |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:45 PM on 01 Apr 2008 Maya Lin, an artist best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is making plans for a tribute to what has passed from the earth -- literally. Her planned memorial will list the names of animals, birds, and plants that have gone extinct. "The top 10 songbirds we grew up with are in a 40 percent to 70 percent decline. Our oceans are being devastated by o ... |
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| Topics: art, endangered species, extinction, green living, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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A Tall Border
Eco-laws pushed aside for faster building of border fence |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:14 PM on 01 Apr 2008 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will waive environmental laws in order to finish its 670-mile-long fence along the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of 2008. The waivers will apply to land stretching from California to Texas and will facilitate construction of fencing, towers, sensors, cameras, and roads. Homeland Security has already issued waivers for three p ... |
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| Topics: Department of Homeland Security, Mexico, national security, news, politics, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Value Advertised
Gore-y climate ads are coming soon to a TV near you |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:11 PM on 01 Apr 2008 While it is not true that Al Gore is running for president (honestly, how do these rumors get started?), it is true that his Alliance for Climate Protection has officially launched a new "we" campaign. The ad campaign aims to spend $300 million over three years to create a sense of both urgency and solvability around the climate crisis. The first ad hits TVs on Wednesday, likening the ... |
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| Topics: advertising, Al Gore, climate, climate change mitigation, messaging, news, politics, TV (all these topics) |
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Don't Tase Me, Man!
Protesters arrested outside N.C. coal plant |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:52 AM on 01 Apr 2008 Eight protesters were Tased and arrested after locking themselves to bulldozers at a Duke Energy coal plant in North Carolina Tuesday morning. Activists say the plant under construction is, in short, a terrible idea. "In the face of catastrophic climate change, building a new coal plant is tantamount to signing a death sentence for our generation," said one protester. Umbrella group Rising ... |
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| Topics: coal, energy, grassroots activism, news, North Carolina (all these topics) |
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The Devel(opment) Is in the Details
Bush admin finalizes development-friendly wetlands rules |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:21 AM on 01 Apr 2008 The Bush administration has finalized rules for wetlands development that encourage developers to restore or create new wetlands when old ones are destroyed, sometimes far from the original site. While it sounds innocent enough on its face, opponents of the controversial approach say that natural streams and wetlands are more complex than simply wet places, and they're d ... |
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| Topics: Army Corps of Engineers, news, United States, US EPA, wetlands (all these topics) |
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If It's Broke, Fix It
EPA announces new lead standards for renovation of older buildings |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:04 PM on 31 Mar 2008 Contractors will have to train workers to follow "lead-safe work practice standards" when renovating or repairing older dwellings that house children or pregnant women, according to new standards introduced Monday by the U.S. EPA. The new requirements are an attempt to keep lead out of the bloodstreams of babes, as structures built before 1978 are likely to contain ... |
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| Topics: green building, green living, health, news, placemaking, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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To Explore Strange New Worlds
Polar bear ventures far inland, shot to death |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:28 PM on 31 Mar 2008 Having boldly gone where no polar bear has gone before, a 3-year-old female polar bear was shot dead 250 miles inland in Fort Yukon, Alaska, last week. Hunters who thought they were tracking a grizzly bear shot the polar bear in what they say was self-defense; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the shooting. Biologists don't know why the polar bear was so far inland. Any ... |
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| Topics: Alaska, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Makah's Mark
Three Makah tribe members plead guilty in whale hunt |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:29 AM on 31 Mar 2008 Photo: bbum Three members of the Washington state Makah tribe who were charged with killing a gray whale in the fall have pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In return, prosecutors will recommend probation instead of jail time. The men had originally declined the plea deal because it could have prevented them from participating in legal whale hunting ... |
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| Topics: news, whaling (all these topics) |
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A Journey of a Thousand Meetings ... Continues With Another Meeting
U.N. climate talks open in Bangkok |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:29 AM on 31 Mar 2008 United Nations climate talks opened Monday in Bangkok, Thailand, as another step in the process of drafting a successor to the Kyoto Protocol climate-change treaty that expires in 2012. Officials admitted they didn't expect any breakthroughs at the meeting this week, but there is hope that the countries can manage to agree on an agenda for the new treaty as wel ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, news, United Nations (all these topics) |
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Living Darkly on the Earth
'Earth Hour' event switches off lights around the world |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:04 AM on 31 Mar 2008 This weekend, cities, businesses, and individuals around the world switched off or dimmed their lights for an hour to raise awareness about climate change. The event, called "Earth Hour," started in Sydney, Australia, last year; organizers say that this year it spread to about 380 cities and towns in 35 countries, temporarily extinguishing non-essential lights and darken ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, news (all these topics) |
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Play Ball!
Washington Nationals will play in first U.S. green-built stadium |
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28 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:00 PM on 28 Mar 2008 The Washington Nationals will play their baseball season opener Sunday in the first green-built professional stadium in the U.S. The LEED Silver certified ballpark was built on a restored brownfield, and many building materials were produced locally. The stadium boasts efficient lighting and plumbing, drought-resistant plants, a concession area with a green roof, filters to keep stormwat ... |
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| Topics: green building, green living, news, placemaking, sports, Washington DC (all these topics) |
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Under My Mozzarella (Ella, Ella, Eh, Eh, Eh)
Trash likely the source of dioxin tainting Italy's mozzarella |
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28 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:11 PM on 28 Mar 2008 Some batches of Italy's famous buffalo mozzarella cheese have been tainted with dioxin, leading to alarm in the nation's $500 million mozzarella industry. The source of the contamination? Buffalo near Naples are likely grazing in soil tainted with dioxin from piles of toxic garbage that the mafia-controlled trash business can't, or won't, get under control. ... |
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| Topics: food, Italy, news, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Citizens and the Nation
Navajo Nation will develop wind-power project |
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28 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:22 PM on 28 Mar 2008 Today we present the good, the bad, and the ugly of energy sources on Navajo land. The good: The Navajo Nation has formed a joint venture with Boston-based Citizens Energy Corp for a wind-power project on its vast Western reservation. The bad: The tribe continues to try to push through a controversial coal plant as well, and recently sued the U.S. EPA for not yet issuing an air permit. The ugl ... |
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| Topics: coal, energy, mining, news, wind power (all these topics) |
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It Was the West of Times ...
U.S. West warming faster than the rest of the planet, says analysis |
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28 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:42 AM on 28 Mar 2008 The U.S. West is warming faster than the rest of the country, and faster than the planet as a whole, according to an analysis of 50 scientific studies done by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. From 2003 to 2007, the globe was 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than its average 20th century temperature; during the same period, 11 Western states averaged 1.7 degrees war ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, news, scientific research, United States (all these topics) |
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What's the Opposite of Ambition?
Fewer zero-emission vehicles will be required on California roads by 2014 |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:01 PM on 27 Mar 2008 California's Air Resources Board has voted to reduce the number of zero-emissions vehicles required to be sold in the state by 2014 from 25,000 to 7,500. It's a hefty reduction, though less dramatic than the recommendation by CARB staff that the requirement be cut to 2,500 vehicles. Not-quite-zero-but-still-relatively-less-emissions vehicles, like plug-in h ... |
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| Topics: California, cars, climate, news, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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A Problem of Scale
Chilean salmon-farming industry in a sad state |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:18 PM on 27 Mar 2008 A virus called infectious salmon anemia is sweeping through Chile's fisheries, bringing attention to the condition of the country's third-largest export industry. On expansive salmon farms, fish are bred in crowded underwater pens. Fish poop and food pellets contaminate the water. As many as 1 million nonnative salmon escape each year, gobbling native species and traveling as far as Argentina. The ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, aquaculture, Chile, fishing, food, news, water pollution (all these topics) |
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The State of Play
Washington governor may veto bill restricting toxins in toys |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:21 PM on 27 Mar 2008 Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire may veto legislation that would be the toughest in the nation at making sure toys are free of (or low in) lead, cadmium, phthalates, and other toxins. Even though a slew of amendments exempt certain playthings, from tricycles to pellet guns to sleds, Big Toy officials have warned Gregoire that the bill is still too restrictive, since it doesn't ... |
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| Topics: green living, legislation, news, parenting, politics, state politics, toxics, Washington (all these topics) |
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Spring in a Step
EPA will request public comment on GHG regulation this spring |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:06 PM on 27 Mar 2008 SCOTUS decreed that the U.S. EPA must decide whether the climate-change effects of carbon dioxide endanger public health, and, at long last, the agency is moving on that decision -- kinda. In a letter to U.S. lawmakers Thursday, chief Stephen Johnson wrote that the EPA is writing proposed rules for regulation of CO2 emissions "from stationary and mobile sources" and will som ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, politics, regulation, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Go Toward the Light
Two proposed solar projects to boost California's solar capacity by half |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:35 AM on 27 Mar 2008 Two large solar-power projects were proposed in Southern California this week that together could provide up to 500 megawatts of power, just over half the state's current solar capacity and enough to provide electricity to about 300,000 homes. One of the projects, proposed by utility Southern California Edison, aims to put solar panels on 65 million square feet of commer ... |
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| Topics: California, energy, news, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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We Detect a Seal Change
Feds to consider endangered-species protections for four species of Arctic seals |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:05 AM on 27 Mar 2008 Photo: noaa.gov The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it's considering whether to list four species of Arctic seals under the Endangered Species Act due in part to climate change. The Center for Biological Diversity, a species-advocacy group, petitioned the agency last year to consider protecting ribbon seals due to disappearing sea ic ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, endangered species, news, United States, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Twisted Mettle
Bush admin appeals ruling on mercury cap-and-trade plan |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:00 AM on 27 Mar 2008 The Bush administration has appealed a court ruling that struck down the U.S. EPA's controversial mercury cap-and-trade plan. The earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found the EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it enacted the mercury rule in 2005. The cap-and-trade system allowed dirtier power plants to buy the right to pollute from cleaner ones; 17 sta ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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The Fine Print
Software calculates eco-impact of printers and copiers |
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26 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:54 PM on 26 Mar 2008 Xerox is offering a new software calculator to help companies reduce the energy suckage of printers, copiers, and other newfangled technology. The calculator will consider factors including type of print cartridge, print color, speed, number of pages printed per month, and Energy Star rating, then create bar graphs demonstrating energy consumption, greenhouse gases, and solid waste produced fr ... |
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| Topics: business, energy, energy efficiency, greening biz operations, news, tech (all these topics) |
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