I just finished reading Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway’s exhaustively researched new book, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, and must recommend this work to anybody interested in how science is communicated and debated in the public sphere. Oreskes and Conway are science historians, at UC-San Diego and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, respectively, and the picture they paint is of a... Continue reading »
It turns out that even though ranchers and farmers get paid for any livestock killed by reintroduced wolves, that cash doesn’t change negative opinions about wolves one bit. Retributional compensation is supposed to help. Whether local governments, voluntary insurance cooperatives, or NGOs provide the financial support, the idea is that livestock losses caused by reintroduced predator species could be mitigated by financial compensation for that loss. The results of a new study(subs. required) measuring attitudes... Continue reading »
Looks like the Copenhagen Wheel Adam was so gaga about has topped the list of US regional entries, and will compete against 17 other inventions from around the world for the James Dyson Award of design. The winner will be announced on August 24, but in the meantime, we can all enjoy the snappy marketing video above. At a retail price of $600, the Copenhagen Wheel may be priced low enough to make a... Continue reading »
The EPA recently responded to 10 petitions challenging the historic Endangerment Finding that linked increases in the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases with a decline in human welfare. The petitioners challenging the Finding - mostly conservative groups including the Ohio Coal Association, the Southeastern Legal Foundation and the State of Texas - argued that the EPA should reconsider based on new evidence found in the CRU emails (aka Climategate), which supposedly call into question the... Continue reading »
The quality of your home’s insulation can be hard to assess without tearing into walls or poking a hole in the roof to see what’s underneath. But a group of municipalities in Belgium have taken a creative approach to helping people learn about their roof insulation: they hired an airplane-mounted thermal imaging camera to photograph neighborhoods over a four-night period in winter. The resulting map gives a detailed portrait of heat loss through the roofs... Continue reading »
The climate bill is officially dead in the Senate, and I’m still wading through the numerous eulogies to figure out how I feel about that fact. I’m not surprised, even though we’ve recently used these pages to buffer ourselves with hopes that something could work out. But I am extremely disappointed. I think Dave Roberts has the best angle when he says the number one reason the climate bill died like it did was because... Continue reading »
The world lost an influential and effective communicator and scientist last week when Dr. Stephen Schneider, founder of the scientific journal Climatic Change and Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford died of a heart attack while returning from a conference on climate change. The list of awards, honors, and academic positions that Prof. Schneider held over his life represent the mark of an expert: a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from... Continue reading »
In just 2 weeks, intrepid travelers/adventurists from across the world will embark on the Mongol Rally, a 10,000 mile drive that starts in London, England and ends in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. The rules are simple: raise money for charity and get to the end (however you choose). One team was adamant about making their adventure as sustainable as possible. Baatar Hero, a team of 6 from Seattle, will be driving across uncharted territory in... Continue reading »
It turns out sperm whales are every bit as good for the atmosphere as they are awesome to look at. Scientists from Australia have calculated that the whales may in fact be responsible for the removal of 200,000 tonnes of carbon every year, approximately the same as taking 40,000 cars off the road. Large mammals are generally considered to be net emitters of CO2 - breathing out carbon dioxide will do that. But mammals also... Continue reading »
I get funny looks when the subject of zoning ordinances comes up, mostly because I end up hijacking the conversation to talk about the insanity of our parking laws. But if other people are talking about it on their blogs, it’s only fair that I get to mention it here: [D]id you know that American cities usually require off-street parking at bars? To take a random example, the city of Long Beach, CA requires 20... Continue reading »
We are thrilled to announce that TerraPass has claimed the top spot in Greenopia’s rankings of carbon offset companies for the 2nd straight year. In fact, we are the only provider to receive Greenopia’s coveted four-leaf ranking. Greenopia’s overall verdict: TerraPass is head and shoulders above the rest of the industry in terms of transparency, project selection, and usability, and should be commended for its dedication. Many of the reasons Greenopia cites for our ranking... Continue reading »
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