By John Sutter
Here’s a bit of what I’m following this week, or found interesting in recent environment news:
Energy: The Economist’s cover story this week is about the need for innovation in the energy sector. As their charts show, changes in the energy sector have been slow, but major economic booms have occurred when new types of energy are discovered and used. Oil has been cheap, so there’s been little incentive for change until recently, the magazine writes. But those times are over. Wind and solar can compete with coal, and, in California, groups like google.org are searching for further alternatives. Oklahoma is situated to be a top-10 wind producer, but most of that potential hasn’t been realized.
Climate: James E. Hansen spoke on Capitol Hill yesterday, 20 years after the scientist testified before Congress that global warming is real and caused by humans. As The New York Times notes on its “Dot Earth” blog, Monday’s talk and Hansen’s previous comments have stirred discussion on this question: Are the leaders of big oil companies committing crimes by knowingly emitting pollutants known to alter the climate and cause extinctions? What do you think?
Sewers: The News-Leader, in Missouri, found that municipal sewers are leaking and fouling up rivers, despite fines from the government. Oklahoma sewer systems paid some of the biggest fines, according to the story:
- States where sewer systems paid the largest amounts in fines, both federal and state, were: California ($7.8 million), Tennessee ($3.4 million), New York ($3 million), Kentucky ($2.9 million), Maryland ($2 million), Florida ($1.5 million), Pennsylvania ($1.4 million), Indiana ($1.4 million), North Carolina ($1.2 million), and Oklahoma ($1.1 million).
Buses: As John A. Williams reports in The Oklahoman, some Edmond residents think riding the local bus sounds nice, but they won’t actually do it.
Climate: If you missed it last week, the U.S. government came out with its broadest report yet detailing the effects of climate change on extreme weather patterns. The report, issued by the Climate Change Science Program, says extreme weather “could seriously effect” agriculture, health and water, according to Reuters. Tying specific weather events to climate change is tricky, but in the long term, trends become more clear, according to scientists. In a center for severe weather like Oklahoma, I wonder what you all think of this report.
Drilling: George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain favor lifting a ban on offshore drilling to cut gas prices. Some have called that proposition disingenuous since the oil could take 10 years to actually hit the market. The Chicago Tribune looks at what offshore drilling could mean for Lake Michigan, and includes this bit from Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe:
America’s outer continental shelf holds some 14 billion barrels of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which according to Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is more than 25 years of Saudi Arabian imports. That’s in addition to the uncounted billions of barrels in North American oil shale, which, of course, is being extracted by Canada, but not by the United States.
Corn: NYT: Floods in the Midwest are leading the government to consider reducing ethanol mandates and planting conservation land with corn. That would off-set the crops that have drowned in floods. About a quarter of U.S. corn goes into ethanol, which has gained criticism from environmentalists.
Frogs: British scientists examine how Costa Rican tree frogs stave off a deadly fungus by sunbathing. Their skin absorbs and reflects the suns heat, so they don’t dry out. This video is cool, too.
Dish soap: Grist tests four green kitchen soaps. Most still contain potential carcinogens, the environment magazine writes, but read more to decide for yourself what’s safe, and what will tackle the grease on your pots and pans.
