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Slainte

The Chicago River is a ripe shade of green right about now. The city is famous for its tradition of dyeing the river green for St. Patty's Day, a practice that began in 1962 when city pollution-control workers used dyes to track illegal sewage discharges and realized it could make for a fun holiday event. Although back in '62 they used some 100 pounds of green vegetable dye to do it -- which kept the river green for a week! -- the city now limits it to 40 pounds of the stuff, keeping it green for just a few hours.

Hoping to start a tradition of their own, restaurateurs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this year had planned to dye the New River green for a St. Patrick's Day festival, but Broward County environmental regulators pooh-poohed the idea, saying it violated local water-quality rules. Officials worried about the dye's effects on the endangered West Indian manatee and other environmental treasures in the area.

When party promoters pushed the idea, arguing that the dye is non-toxic, Mayor Kristin Jacobs retorted with a suggestion that the festival organizers dye themselves green by drinking the chemicals if they were indeed so safe. The party planners must not have been interested, as the new plan is limited to dyeing fountains at the Las Olas Riverfront and offering special "Green River Water" drinks. Yum.

Like a bat out of hell

Every once in a while I like to take a break to appreciate wacky ol' nature. Last time it was upside-down pandas peeing on trees. This time: vampire bats running on treadmills.

Yes, it turns out vampire bats can run on all fours, an evolutionary trait that comes in handy as they prey on hapless victims. Being able to hop and run is useful "when you're a bat slurping cow blood, because cows are heavy and can kick or roll over and squash a bat," explains Cornell University researcher Daniel Riskin, who reported the findings in the latest issue of Nature.

What fascinates me almost more than the image of sprinting bats: the fact that people get paid to watch.

Link-o-rama!

I want to write about everything. Sadly, being a mere mortal, I can't. So here's a big fat set of links to stuff that I haven't been able to get to in the last week or so. Handle with care.

Hegel, and I don’t mean Chuck

The other day I pointed to a Dave Pollard post in which he argued with himself, eerily echoing an argument I find myself having with, uh, myself, frequently. Commenters immediately seemed to select the "right" side of the argument and condemn the other. They saw an either/or and picked a winner -- which was not at all my reaction.

The Polar Distress

Grizzly bears encroaching on polar bear habitat Polar bears have been having a rough time of it lately, what with global warming melting their habitat and PCBs tainting their food […]

Pitch Perfect

Vote on the best elevator pitch for environmentalism We asked you, dear readers, to give us a pithy summary of what environmentalism stands for — one that could be delivered […]

Supply Chain of Fools

U.S. opposes international plan to curb illegal logging, memo reveals The U.S. is working to undermine a British-led effort to curb illegal logging in threatened rainforests, according to a leaked […]

Response to “Death”: Part III

Today comes Part III of Ken Ward's response to "The Death of Environmentalism," in which Ken argues that environmentalists should resist efforts to make environmental justice the core tenant of the movement and instead refocus on the most successful weapon in their arsenal: protest.

Don't forget to read Part I, Part II, Part IV, and Part V.

Elevator Pitch Contest finalists — vote!

Our Elevator Pitch Contest brought in over 150 entries -- a number I'll happily refer to as "whopping." I know I said I was going to pick a winner, but ... it's just too dang hard.

Instead, Grist's crack staff of elevator pitch evaluators combed through the entries and picked out their 10 favorites. Now it's up to you, dear readers, to pick the winner, who will receive a VFOGT (Very First Official Grist T-shirt).

Click "link and discuss" below to vote!

(You need to be signed up for an account to vote -- if you haven't, you can do so here.)

Arctic Refuge vote

The vote on the Senate budget resolution -- which contains a provision for drilling in the Arctic Refuge -- and the Cantwell amendment -- which would strip it out -- takes place in about a half hour. Things are looking bad for the refuge.

Update [2005-3-16 11:2:7 by Dave Roberts]: The Cantwell amendment was just voted down, 51-49. The refuge will stay in the budget.