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Global Warming and Environmental Politics News of the Week

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Here’s some of the biggest global warming and environmental politics news and commentary from the last week or so, along with some fun cartoons. Rocket Fuel in Our Water? The inspiration for the cartoon above, among other things: information that there is rocket fuel (or a component of it) in water supplies across the U.S.

Letter to Obama: Clean Air Act Must be Defended

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The Clean Air Act is getting attacked by leading polluters and some members of Congress. Over a couple dozen scientific, environmental, and progressive organizations told Obama in a letter sent to him on Friday that he needs to make sure to stand up for this critical piece of U.S. legislation. Here’s the letter: Dear Mr.

Global Weirding News of the Week

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Since we had plenty of news last Friday and I was heading out of town, I decided to leave our weekly roundup of global weirding and environmental news (that we didn’t already cover) to Monday. Here’s the global weirding portion. Climate: Student Reporters Take on Climate Change and Security Coincidences abound—just after posting an item

Investing in Bicycling Creates Jobs, Improves Economy

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One good way to create jobs, as Obama and his secretary of transportation Ray LaHood know, is to invest in efficient, green transportation, like bicycles. One recent study in Wisconsin showed that bicycling adds $1.5 billion/year to its economy. Now, another study by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Estimating the

Environmental News of the Week: Polar Bears, More Plagues Likely, & More

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Here’s our roundup of interesting (good & bad) environmental and wildlife news of the week, other than what we’ve covered already. White House: Polar Bears Not ‘Endangered’ The Obama administration is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status. In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service

Shark Finning Banned in U.S.

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We’ve got some good news this week regarding sharks. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives just passed the Shark Conservation Act (apt timing considering our last 10 Friday Photos post was on sharks… and the fact that the lame duck session is drawing to a close soon in Congress). The Act will bring an end to shark

Bike Theft and Vandalism Not a Problem for U.S. Bike-Sharing Programs

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Bike theft and vandalism has been a bit of an issue for the world’s biggest bike-sharing program, Vélib in Paris, which has been, nonetheless, extremely successful and dwarfs U.S. bike-sharing programs (so far). But recent research on the matter has found basically nothing to worry about concerning bike-sharing theft and vandalism in the U.S. and

Running Out of P ? – World Nearing Peak Phosphorus

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It seems we always take the most basic things for granted. With regards to adequate water, air, and soil (things we assume will always be there) we are gradually becoming more mindful of them, and their limits. But how many of us are worried about phosphorus (P) running out? Well, lately, more and more agricultural

Investors Tell US: Take Action on Climate Change

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In a tremendous show of support for climate action, 259 investors with over $15 trillion in capital called on political leaders headed to Cancun at the end of this month as well as the incoming U.S. Congress that the time to take action on climate change is now. Ceres writes: Citing potential climate-related GDP losses

U.S. and Andorra Only Two Countries Not at Convention of Biodiversity

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The 2010 Convention of Biodiversity (CBD) was held in Nagoya, Japan last week. The atmosphere must not have been very pleasant, considering that most 2010 targets were not met. Nonetheless, representatives from all countries of the world except the U.S. and Andorra (pop. 83,000) met and worked on creating a strategic plan for 2011-2022. Yes, no

Macedonia Town Planting 5,000 Roses to Clean Up Toxic Soil

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Have toxic soil? Plant some roses. That’s what residents of a town in Macedonia have been advised to do since the lead and zinc mill that contaminated their soil isn’t doing anything to clean it up. Jess Leber of Change.org writes: For 30 years, nothing has come up roses for a Macedonia town suffering extreme

Money Does "Buy" Happiness, Up to A Point

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According to a report that analyzed 450,000 responses from 151 nations, personal income is indeed related strongly to two categories of subjective experience:  “life evaluation” and “emotional well-being“…but only up to an annual income of 75, 000.00. Beyond that level, subjective reporting of emotional well-being and “positive affect” do not change. Researchers sought to quantify

U.S. Wastes More Food Energy than Gained from Gulf Oil & Gas

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Wasted food energy in the U.S. totals some 2150 trillion kilojoules per year–more than the U.S. could produce in ethanol (grain) biofuels. Further, an article in the New Scientist asserts that this amount is greater than the energy produced annually from all the oil and gas extracted from the Gulf of Mexico.

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