 Boogie Woogie Google Boy An interview with Google's green energy czar, Bill Weihl The phrase "to Google" has become synonymous with "to search." But soon it may connote something altogether different: "to green." That is, if the internet titan can successfully pull off its latest ambitious endeavor: making renewable energy cheaper than energy from coal. Google's green energy czar, Bill Weihl, is the man responsible for making it happen, and he'll have hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposal to get the job done. Grist chats with Weihl about why Google is getting into the green scene, why solar thermal technology is hot, and how he plans to invest that great big chunk of change. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] new in Grist: An interview with Google's green energy czar, Bill Weihl |
Compare and Contrast the Candidates. How green is your candidate? Take a look at Grist's in-depth coverage of the presidential candidates' green stances, including exclusive interviews and fact sheets on their energy and climate platforms.
TODAY'S NEWS
| Curb Uranium Enthusiasm Exploratory uranium mine near Grand Canyon given go-ahead The U.S. Forest Service has granted a permit to a British mining company to drill exploratory uranium mines just miles from Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona and just three miles from a popular lookout. Officials in the county voted unanimously to try to stop the exploration, but their opposition has had little effect since the mine is on national forest land. An antiquated mining law from 1872 allows mining companies to stake claim to public lands in the U.S. West for as little as $2.50 an acre, get away with scant environmental oversight, and eschew responsibility for post-mine cleanup. Forest Service officials said that due to the 1872 law, they had little choice but to approve the uranium-mining permit even though a full environmental assessment was never conducted. Activists and locals stressed the absurdity of the law. "If uranium mining operations are about to start on the edge of the Grand Canyon and federal officials say there's nothing we can do, the time is now to reform the 1872 mining law," said the Environmental Working Group's Dusty Horwitt. The House of Representatives passed mining law reform last year, but the bill stalled in the Senate due to opposition from key lawmakers. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The New York Times |
| Now We've Senate All Clean-energy-boosting economic stimulus bill falls one vote short in Senate The Senate version of the economic stimulus bill, which included clean-energy incentives as well as taxpayer rebate checks, was shot down in the chamber last evening. The loss was predicted, though the closeness of the vote perhaps wasn't -- had one more senator voted "aye," the package would have passed. Green group Friends of the Earth blames the loss on Sen. John McCain, who failed to show up for the vote. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both voted in favor of the bill. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: MarketWatch, The New York Times, Friends of the Earth see also, in Gristmill: Green stimulus bill falls short by one vote -- McCain's vote -- in Senate |
| Threatened Level: Salmon Oregon coast coho salmon re-listed as threatened Coho salmon off the Oregon coast have been re-listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Tuesday's move was compelled by a court-ordered deadline mandating that the NOAA Fisheries Service reconsider its 2006 decision to delist the coho since it wasn't based on the best available science. The Oregon coastal coho stock has been the subject of contentious debate and litigation for over a decade and was originally listed as threatened in 1997 as the result of a court order. NOAA Fisheries officials made it clear they preferred the voluntary approach to protections that Oregon has been conducting under its management plan, but NOAA begrudgingly complied with the latest court order nonetheless. "As the court ordered we have made a new determination based on the information available to us in this limited time," said NOAA's Bob Lohn. "Had it not been for these limitations, we may have reached a different conclusion. I continue to believe that there is great value in the Oregon plan." The Oregon coho's re-listing could affect logging and development plans in the area. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Los Angeles Times, The Oregonian, NOAA Fisheries Service |
| We Owe You a Debt of Platitude Range of green credit cards offer carbon offsets for purchases Major banks in the United States last year started offering green credit cards that use about 1 percent of the amount of customers' purchases to offset their emissions. So far, the cards seem to be taking off, benefiting credit card companies and, arguably, the planet. The cards come complete with hokey names like GreenPay MasterCard, GE Money Earth Rewards MasterCard, and Brighter Planet Visa. As customers spend, no doubt on eco-friendly purchases, they accumulate points toward offsets or carbon-mitigation projects. The going rate is roughly one ton of carbon offset for about $1,000 in credit card purchases. Green credit cards have earned scorn from some critics who argue they foster the illusion that a few offsets will solve the world's environmental woes and encourage carbon frivolity. But credit card execs disagree, saying the cards are just one more way consumers can lighten the planet's environmental load. "We don't pretend to be the only answer," said Bank of America's Michael Rhodes. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: The Wall Street Journal |
| Give and Lake Fast-growing Atlanta loses rights to major source of drinking water A record drought in the U.S. Southeast has been fanning the flames of an 18-year rivalry among three states battling each other for water rights. Alabama and Florida stepped up the fight recently when Atlanta, Georgia -- on the verge of losing its drinking water supply -- managed to secure coveted water rights to almost a quarter of what's left of Lake Lanier, a formerly massive reservoir. Alabama and Florida soon sued, arguing the change would unfairly divert water from their states in a time of need. An appeals court agreed, voiding the agreement that increased Atlanta's water supply. Now the sprawling city's drinking water is once again in question and the three states are trying to negotiate a new agreement as the drought rages on. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The New York Times, Associated Press see also, in Grist: Housing slump is slowing sprawl in metro Atlanta |
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Tip #5 from Grist's new green-living guide, Wake Up and Smell the Planet
Q. Valentine's Day is coming up, which sex toys are safest?
A. Playthings that are free of phthalates and PVC. Click here for more green-living tips, or buy the book!
Q. Valentine's Day is coming up, which sex toys are safest?
A. Playthings that are free of phthalates and PVC. Click here for more green-living tips, or buy the book!
GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES
 The Butz Stops Here A reflection on the lasting legacy of 1970s USDA Secretary Earl Butz This past weekend, the U.S. lost a legendary civil servant. Indeed, news of the passing of Earl "Rusty" Butz caused men and women across the land to pause from their routines, if only momentarily, and say, "Rusty Butz. Heh, heh." But Grist's Tom Philpott sees something more in the bureaucrat's death: a reminder of the powerful agricultural legacy he leaves behind, a "bigger is better" mind-set that profoundly changed the country's farm practices. He explores Butz's imprint on the landscape in today's Victual Reality. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] |
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