Uncategorized
All Stories
-
Bush taps a GMO flack as his chief agricultural trade negotiator.
When Bush wants to kill a program or a department, he picks a clown to run it. Think of FEMA's disgraced "Brownie," who did such a "heck of a job" when disaster struck the Gulf Coast.
When the president sees something real at stake for his corporate clients, though, he tends to anoint an ultra-qualified pro: someone, typically, with direct ties to the industry in question. In surely the most spectacular example, Bush placed responsibility for creating energy policy in the crude-stained hands of Dick Cheney.
The world of agriculture presents its own examples. Over on Bitter Greens Journal last year, I documented how the president planted an industrial-corn man, with ties to corn-processing behemoth Archer-Daniels Midland, as deputy head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Now I present you with Richard Crowder: erstwhile president of the American Seed Trade Association, a 15-year veteran of Dekalb Genetics Corporation (now part of Monsanto), former exec at Conagra and Pillsbury -- and newly minted chief agricultural negotiator for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman.
-
Peter Jackson campaigns to save gorillas.
Inspired by the plight of his film's über-gorilla, King Kong director Peter Jackson is backing efforts by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme to save Kong's smaller, less fictional friends. The Independent reports that Jackson's efforts include charity premieres of the film and plans for the King Kong DVD to include a documentary film about wild gorillas.
There are thought to be fewer than 1,000 gorillas left in the wild, and some folks predict that the species will become extinct within the next few decades. Also, according to Jackson:
Gorillas are truly amazing animals -- without them there wouldn't be entertainment like King Kong.
What? My entertainment is endangered? Where do I sign??
-
Rebuilding: Compare and contrast
The city's official blueprint for redevelopment after Hurricane Katrina, to be released on Wednesday, will recommend that residents be allowed to return and rebuild anywhere they like, no matter how damaged or vulnerable the neighborhood, according to several members of the mayor's rebuilding commission.
To encourage people to return to New Orleans ... without funding the only plan that can save the city from the next Big One, is to commit an act of mass homicide.
(via The Poor Man)
-
Send it to the fishes.
I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have not yet rid yourselves of your "holiday tree" because you're lazy ... I mean, because you're beset by qualms about the eco-consequences of tree disposal. Never fear! The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will take your old tree and send it to the fishes.
Cast-off trees are submerged in man-made lakes to create "natural" habitats for fish, including bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish. Hee hee, crappie.
The fish are happy, the fisherpeople are happy, the tree-discarders are happy ... Awwwwwww. Group hug.
A quick search brought up tree-recycling programs that are still accepting donations in Pennsylvania (PDF), Georgia, Arkansas, and California, and a DNR-funded marsh-restoration program in Louisiana. Search for a tree-recycling program in your area, because c'mon, it's about time to be getting those Valentine's Day decorations up.
-
The Mod Quad
Green buildings, sustainability studies going mainstream on campus More than 110 colleges and universities around the U.S. have or are building eco-friendly structures, saving on energy costs and attracting students […]
-
Northern Blights
Flame retardants are yet another toxic threat to polar bears New research confirms that polar bears — for years known to be victims of northward-spreading toxic substances — are accumulating […]
-
Where There’s Smokescreen There’s Ire
U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries gear up for not-Kyoto climate meeting The first meeting of the Asia-Pacific climate partnership will kick off this Wednesday in Australia. The six participating nations — […]
-
Get Richard or Die Tryin’
Enviros plot to beat Pombo in November We’re just one week into this election year and already a cadre of D.C.-based environmental leaders is elbow-deep in plots to green Congress […]
-
Sign it and … well, not sure what will happen.
Like Jeff, I'm in full agreeance with CleanPeace.org's just-published "Declaration of World Energy Independence, Energy Security and Sustainability." Here are the four principles:
Principle One: Make Transitioning to Renewable Energy a Strategic Objective of all Energy Policies.
Principle Two: Require Equal Funding, Fair Play and Competition in Energy Markets.
Principle Three: Accelerate Construction of Sustainable Energy Infrastructures.
Principle Four: Provide for Peace and Prosperity in Times of Oil Shortages.CleanPeace wants you to sign it.
Also like Jeff, I'm not exactly sure what they intend to do with the declaration once people have signed it.
-
Consumer Reports on organic
One of my beefs with Consumer Reports has always been its refusal to present sustainability as a standard measure of quality. They did launch Greener Choices, but so far that's been pretty underwhelming, and anyway, it will never reach as large an audience as the mothership.
So imagine my delight when reading this week's CR, which has a short piece about the impact of global warming on insurance premiums (not online), and then later on a long, detailed, and fair look at when it is and isn't worthwhile to buy organic. Worth a read. I hope it's a sign of things to come.
