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Reflections by moderate Republicans from environmental days of yore

I'm attending the kick-off event of Duke University's new Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, a science-policy shop within the extremely well-endowed Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The crowd is large and august, with moderate Republicans from a different age of US environmental politics taking center stage.

Russell Train, the second EPA administrator, told stories of exploiting Nixon's political interest in environmental issues (he wanted to neutralize a potential wedge issue if Muskie had been the 1972 nominee) to get some of the country's landmark legislation through. Bipartisanship was the name of the game then, a stark contrast to today. Video of Train's talk (as well as Jared Diamond's and Richard Osbourne's of Duke Energy) is available here.

Gulf Toast

Woods, wetlands, and marine ecosystems hit hard by storm, pollution The Gulf Coast’s estuaries, wetlands, and cypress swamps are hurting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The storm damaged 25 […]

How Green Was My Rally

Protest on behalf of Arctic Refuge draws thousands to D.C. Thousands of Americans rallied in Washington, D.C., yesterday — some dressed like polar and grizzly bears — to demand that […]

Survey says …

The good news: A survey of 800 voters nationwide found that 79 percent favor "stronger national standards to protect our land, air, and water."

The bad news: Only 22 percent said environmental issues played a major role in their recent voting.

William K. Reilly, former EPA head and chair of the Duke University Nicholas Institute responsible for the poll, states the obvious: "There is a clear disconnect here."

It’s all geek to me

One of the fun jobs at the National Hurricane Center is naming storms. Ponder for a moment.

OK -- so each year, the center publishes an alphabetical list of 21 monikers for the impending Atlantic storm season. (Tricky letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z don't make the cut.) There have never been that many storms -- except once, in 1933 -- but this year there've already been 17, with two months to go. (And no, likely not because of climate change -- read this to find out more.)

So what happens if the names run out? Greek names! Yes, that's right, Hurricane Alpha could be coming soon to a neighborhood near you -- but not before Stan, Tammy, Vince, and Wilma. (For real.)

Took her out and tried to win her

As if they haven't suffered enough: Louisianans spent today dealing with both a potential repeat of the hurricane and a repeat visit from President Bush. The nearly-giddy-with-contrition President is keeping a careful eye on "what we pray is not a devastating storm."

Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Massive planned Vegas complex claims to be sustainable

If you're going to build a gigantically humongous casino/hotel/condo/shopping center megaplex in the middle of Las Vegas, you may as well do it green ... or as green as a project of this size could be in the middle of the desert during a drought.

Brought to you by MGM Mirage, the 18-million-square-foot, $5 billion project will reportedly seek an unspecified level of LEED certification and, The Globe and Mail reports, will be bigger than Times Square, Soho, and Rockefeller Center -- combined.

MGM's claims of "sustainability" are likely more hype than reality, at least in the classic sense of the word, but designers, I suppose, do deserve some measure of credit for going greener than the average megaplex.

Eco-design features are said to include use of reclaimed water, planting of green roofs, and construction of a central power plant to be located on-site (presumably powered by something cleaner than, say, coal). One of the least-hailed features of the complex, though, will be an attempt at some kind of urban density, as well as the creation of a multi-use area amid the sprawl of Las Vegas' strip.

So way to go, MGM! May you and your big-name architects inspire other developers large and small to aim for at least some shade of green.

Herp, Herp, Hooray!

Conservation groups unveil $404 million plan to aid planet’s amphibians Amphibians are having a rough time of it, and by “rough,” we mean terrifically bad. Nearly a third of all […]

Free-Market Willy

Bush admin proposes free-market system for managing fisheries The Bush administration has proposed a major overhaul of the nation’s fishery management laws — ignoring the recommendations of its own scientific […]

Blaming enviros for New Orleans is a clever government strategy

Do Senate Republicans really think they can shift the blame for the flooding and deaths in New Orleans to environmentalists? Maybe that's not the question we need to ask ourselves.

This smear effort could become a significant distraction for eco-advocates -- at a time when a focus on implementing good wetlands policies in the Gulf is crucial, and as Republicans try to weaken environmental protections and implement bad energy policies as part of rebuilding efforts.

Groups ranging from Louisiana's Save Our Wetlands to American Rivers to the Sierra Club have issued angry rebuttals to the charges that environmental lawsuits helped destroy New Orleans. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have also issued statements castigating the effort.