This is another in a series of photo diaries intended as a brief respite from the struggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with an amazing variety of critters. I hope you enjoy your visit here.
Spotted Eagle Ray
This is a case of trying to salvage a low-contrast technically flawed photo using some software tools to give a different look. Maybe not entirely successful but better than the original.
Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.
Tonight's editor: patrick
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.
@RL_Miller has been hunting up all the climate zombies in Congress, but no one has breathed a word about the impending Climate Zombie Apocalypse.
The details aren’t fully revealed yet, but we have some sense of what is coming ...
In recent years, a growing meme that immigrants are bad for the environment has taken hold, fueling a rabid minority's xenophobic paranoia with good old-fashioned eco-angst about carrying capacity and population bombs.
Using climate change as a rallying cry, the basic premise goes something like this: since the U.S. has by far the largest per capita carbon footprint in the world we must by all means avoid adding more folks from countries with lower footprints (translate: poor), in effect converting them from being "climate-friendly" entities in their native countries into carbon-spewing Americans.
This rather dubious Machiavellian proposition, of course, begs the obvious question:
How about we become "climate-friendly" Americans?
Problem solved. No deportations needed. Thanks for your Econcern.
Lindsey Graham has just provided disturbing evidence that exposure to the Alberta tar sands impairs mental function. The U.S. Senator from South Carolina was in Alberta last week to visit the tar sands as part of a "fact-finding" mission. Graham does not have any energy-related committee assignments, so why he felt the need to conduct this taxpayer-funded mission is unclear. Perhaps the mission was to prove his loyalty to multinational oil companies after he committed the cardinal sin ofadmitting that climate change was real and we needed to transition to clean energy. His first step to mend fences with dirty energy companies and fellow Republican Climate Zombies was to proclaim that climate change did not need to be taken seriously.
"The science about global warming has changed. I think they've oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they've been alarmist and the science is in question.
His recent bizarre and deceptive statements about Canadian tar sands oil further establish his Climate Zombie credentials.
In this weekly series we have been discussing the benefits of a vegetarian diet including: better health , animal rights, frugal living, global food crisis , food safety, and the direct relationship between meat production and climate change.
Lesser consumption of animal products is necessary to save the world from the worst impacts of climate change, UN report says
"Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels."
The time is here once again. Time to gather around and take a well deserved hiatus from all the politics of the day. Science talk is here. New discoveries, new takes on old knowledge, and other bits of news are all available for the perusing in today's information world. Over the fold are selections from the past week from a few of the many excellent science news sites around the world. Today's tidbits include new antenna made of carbon nanotubes could make photovoltaic cells more efficient, artificial skin made out of nanowires, water that looks and smells bad may be toxic, the closest encounter with Jupiter until 2022, veterinarian says natural foods may not be best for pets, and Arctic sea ice reaches its lowest 2010 extent. Pull up that beach chair and relax. There is plenty of room for everyone. Settle in for one more session of Dr. Possum's science education and entertainment.
Today is time to take a moment to make a plug for a specific charity as I am about to write a check and you might want to as well. A bit of background first.
Combine the two and we have a real winner.
Energize US is a coalition of candidates united around one central message: we can fix our economy and put Americans back to work in good paying jobs by focusing our attention on renewable energy and conservation. Today's diary is the first in a series that will be introducing you one by one to the members of the coalition.
Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the federal Clean Air Act, providing an appropriate occasion to revisit the effects of sprawl and smart growth on air quality.
As noted in a report on public health and smart growth prepared by Lawrence Frank, Sarah Kavage and Todd Litman, the increased automobile trips and miles driven under sprawling land use patterns are "associated with higher levels of several air pollutants that have adverse respiratory health impacts. These harmful pollutants include fine particulates, toxins, carbon monoxide, NOx [nitrogen oxides] and VOCs [volatile organic compounds." (NOx and VOCs are precursors to ozone smog.)
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Egusi, a wild member of the gourd family, has the potential to spread its popularity on the global market nearly as quickly as it grows. Native to parts of Western Africa, this peculiar looking plant can grow just about anywhere, from humid gullies, to dry savannahs, to tropical highlands --making it possible source of food for farmers in even the worst conditions.
Please rec the new Mothership #119 here. This one has expired.
Gulf Watchers are currently discussing when and how we will change from the current Mothership format. Please join in if you have any ideas or preferences.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #388 - Sittin' Up With the Dead - khowell
The digest of diaries is here
Rules of the Road
PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!
(first published Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 at StarkReports.com)
The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program is simple and brilliant: Cities borrow money using their credit and then make that money available to homeowners who, in turn, use it to install solar systems and other green technologies. The money given to homeowners is paid back by special assessments on their property taxes.
By all accounts, the PACE program is remarkably successful: It's been adopted by 23 states and the District of Columbia. It creates jobs, lowers utility bills for homeowners, cuts pollution and easily transfers to new homeowners when homes change hands.