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Vanna can’t save you now

Pat Sajak — yes, the host of Wheel of Fortune — weighs in on the whole global warming thing, and folks, he’s just not convinced. Which old chestnuts trouble Pat? […]

Maybe

I'm a day or two late on this, but there's promising news from Oregon on Measure 37. Governor Kulongoski has proposed legislation that essentially puts a temporary moratorium on the most obnoxious results of the law. (See here and here [pdf] for the details.)

Kulongoski's bill will still allow rural landowners to continue with small-scale claims. In fact, it should actually speed up the processing of these claims. So legitimate claimants who want to build a single family house on their property -- or subdivide to build a new house -- will be allowed to.

Seems like smart politics to me.

You’ve got to see this photo

When it comes to effective messages, sometimes picture is worth a thousand books by George Lakoff. I'll give you a perfect case of well-intentioned words getting trounced in the marketplace of ideas. You have to see this.

DOE won’t pay up enough for nuclear cleanup

The following is a guest post from Natalie Troyer, publications and volunteer coordinator at Heart of America Northwest. —– Let’s shake a Magic 8-Ball and ask it a probing question. […]

Philly looking at recycled rubber for sidewalks

Philadelphia’s council-folk may soon be bouncing around the idea of utilizing recycled rubber tires for sidewalks. City official Jim Kenney, who has suggested the idea, says rubber sidewalks don’t crack […]

This Bertrand Russell quote seems relevant to today’s climate debates

This quote from Bertrand Russell just caught my eye:

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others.

I think the climate change deniers would do very well to keep this in mind.

Extinctions, that is

I know I've been all over Mongabay lately, but there's just so much good stuff there. First on the list is a longish article about a study in Biotropica, which suggests that instead of losing up to seventy-five percent of our biodiversity as many scientists fear, we may only lose twenty, maybe thirty percent tops. However, there are no guarantees that come with the study. The optimistic figures, if you can call them that, are largely the result of declining rural populations and the subsistence farming that goes with it. In short, saving much of our biodiversity hinges on continued urbanization. Grab a beer and go read it.

Beware the stupid, it burns

Sens. Barbara Boxer and James Inhofe, chair and ranking minority member of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, respectively, debate global warming on Larry King’s show. Warning: mild-to-intense discomfort […]

Il-Legal Seafood

I am in the midst of writing up a Valentine's Day menu and I thought I'd include "Angels on Horseback" as the appetizer (aka oysters wrapped in bacon). But I have made the grim discovery that it is no longer possible to buy shucked oysters in Massachusetts!

This Old House does a green renovation in Austin

Beginning tomorrow, PBS show This Old House will start airing an eight-part series focused on a green remodeling job in Austin, Texas. In a preview for the series, host Kevin […]