EcocentricEndangered Species
Horror at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) as The Daily Telegraph reports that one of Wimbledon’s greatest traditions—strawberries and cream—is under threat. Apparently, the mass decline in bumblebees and other pollinators will cause “wonky” strawberries—perfectly shaped strawbs are created only when every …
EcocentricOil
Since the beginning of the oil spill—70 days ago, unbelievably—most of the focus has been on the environmental damage. That makes sense—this is the biggest environmental disaster the U.S. has ever faced, almost certainly, and Louisiana’s oiled brown pelicans and crude-soaked marshes have emerged as the symbols of the spill. …
EcocentricPolitics
Over at the Curious Capitalist blog–which I admit has both a better name and logo than Ecocentric—my TIME colleague Stephen Gandel looks at the common assumption that carbon pricing is bad for the economy. We hear rhetoric about carbon pricing being a “job-killing national energy tax” (thanks, House Republican leader John Boehner), …
EcocentricHealth
Alarm bells have been sounding for a long time about the perilous state of the world’s fish supplies. Species are collapsing and once-fertile fishing areas are growing barren as global consumption—driven in part by the exploding popularity of sushi—is slowly strip-mining the seas. One answer is aquaculture. Farm-raised fish—like …
EcocentricOil
Almost exactly a week ago, executives from the major international oil companies stood before Congress for questioning. They defended the oil industry’s record on offshore drilling and distanced themselves from BP and its mistakes. But on one area they had to admit defeat. After Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts showed copies …
EcocentricOil
Back on May 11, I had a chance to meet up with Andrew Sharpless, the CEO of the major environmental group Oceana, in Washington. I’d met Andrew on an expedition to the Galapagos Islands, and he’s a guy I rely on to get a read on what’s going on among the green groups, a guy who’s frank, smart and funny. At the time the BP oil spill was …
EcocentricOil
Energy—never has a political topic had so many bold words expended on it with so little to show. As Jon Stewart pointed out in his usual skewering fashion last week, the last eight American presidents promised to move America off oil and onto renewable energy, and all we have to show for it is increasing dependence on foreign …
EcocentricTechnology
Given that it’s World Cup month, even soccer-phobic Americans are getting into football of the non-padded variety. Part and parcel with the World Cup sporting experience—especially in the first round of matches—is an acceptance of ties. Ties are not something we like to do in American sports, especially in baseball, where two …
EcocentricEcocentric
There’s no body of water on the planet that’s getting more attention—and causing more worry—than the Gulf of Mexico, and rightly so. Until BP’s gushing oil well is capped, that will be central fight in the environment wars. The good news is that even pessimists believe that the relief wells now being drilled will do the job and seal …
EcocentricEcocentric
If my primary care doctor suspected I had cancer, I’d certainly take it seriously; she’s a great physician. But she’s not an expert on cancer, so I’d go see an oncologist (that’s exactly what she’d tell me to do, of course). And I’d go out of my way to find one with the best possible credentials.
When it comes to …
