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Trees for peace

Wangari Maathai, Kenyan woman and founder of the Green Belt Movement, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In a year dominated by the grisly war in Iraq, this is a welcome reminder that disorder and destruction, not just war, are the opposite of peace. See this story for details on the awarding of the 2004 prize.

The Green Belt Movement that Maathai founded has organized rural Kenyan women to plant and maintain twenty million trees; it has also inspired similar movements in other East African countries. Maathai drew world attention to the fact that rural African women, who spend hours each day gathering fuel wood, are disproportionately affected by deforestation. Her Green Belt Movement has been credited with creating job opportunities for thousands of rural women, as well as countering Kenya's alarming rates of deforestation. For a good summary of the Green Belt Movement's work, see this article, written by a Kenyan woman.

What eco-questions would you pose at Friday’s debate?

The Sierra Club has crafted eight queries it would like to see Bush and Kerry hit with during Friday's town-hall-style debate, and it's asking you to vote on the best.  Currently top in the running:  "The Russian government recently announced that it will put the international global-warming treaty into effect by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. The current administration has pulled the United States out of the agreement, even though this country accounts for 25 percent of the world's global warming pollution. How will the United States do their part to curb global warming and stabilize the global climate?"

Meanwhile, a whole gaggle of earth-loving folks -- from reverends and union types to bigwig scientists and a former head of the CIA -- are petitioning [PDF] the Commission on Presidential Debates and the moderators of the two upcoming debates to "include questions about the candidates' plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy and clean vehicle technologies as urgent matters of both domestic and foreign policy."

Poo-Poo Power

Wastewater has lots of energy potential The wastewater that courses down drains and into municipal water-treatment plants around the world contains a substantial amount of organic material, or “biosolids,” or, […]

Support the Climate Stewardship Act

Deep-Sea Brawling

Coalition calls for ban on deep-sea trawling A coalition of enviro groups is sounding the alarm over deep-sea bottom trawling, petitioning the U.N. to ban a practice they say is […]

Rout of Africa

Environmental degradation fuels violence in Africa Environmental problems like water shortages, deforestation, and overgrazing — all exacerbated by global warming — are tightly linked to violent conflict in parts of […]

Bring in da noise, bring in debunk

Tim Lambert has made debunking pseudo-science into an art form.  Observe, as he practices his craft on a pair of climate change skeptics.  That's gotta sting.

Vice Presidential candidates discuss the environment during their debate

Cheney: "..."

Edwards: "..."

UPDATE: In fairness, it should be noted that environmental issues (and jobs, wages, education, immigration, health care, etc.) didn't get their due in large part due to the fatuous and at times genuinely befuddling questions chosen by moderator Gwen Ifill. "What's wrong with a little flip-flop every now and then?" Are you serious?

Lead Astray

Lead contamination in municipal water systems systematically underreported If you live in the U.S., the water you drink may contain unsafe levels of lead, thanks to a water-safety enforcement system […]

Presidential candidates on science

It would be an exaggeration to say that science is a top issue in this election ... or ever, really.  But the scientific community itself is far more involved and engaged than usual.  There was the Union of Concerned Scientists open letter accusing the Bush administration of distorting science for political ends.  And just recently, a group of science-types formed a group called Scientists and Engineers for Change, explicitly devoted to booting Bush from the Big House.

These developments, combined with the drip-drip of science-related miniscandals coming out of the White House -- on salmon hatcheries, peer review, global warming, etc. ad nauseum -- have raised the profile of science somewhat.  

All of which is by way of saying that tens of ... tens of people will be interested to read the flurry of science-related interviews with the candidates that have come out recently.