 Punt and Center Super Bowl to be powered by renewable energy America's obsession with large men in tight tights will reach its annual peak at Sunday's Super Bowl in Arizona, and organizers are working to make the whole sporty spectacle greener. Enough renewable-energy credits will be purchased to offset the power used in the stadium, the adjacent NFL theme park, and two nearby luxury hotels. The NFL will plant thousands of trees in fire-ravaged Arizona forests in an effort to offset the league's 3,000-vehicle ground-transportation fleet. In addition, legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg's celeb-studded 22nd annual Super Bowl Party -- to which you were not invited -- will aim to be zero-waste and feature electronics recycling. While neither team will be playing at home, let's not forget one potential sobering effect of climate change, says Nathan Willcox of Environment America: "Congress must get serious about global warming before rising temperatures fumble away cold-weather teams' home field advantage." We'll guzzle beer to that. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The Press Democrat, Salt River Project, Marketwire, FOXBusiness, Environment America see also, in Grist: A noncarnivorous path to Super Bowl-snack nirvana, 15 Green Sports Stars |
Compare and Contrast the Candidates. Forget boxers or briefs. You want to know about candidates' stances on energy and the environment, right? Well, Grist is here for you with our handy side-by-side chart comparing each of the presidential contenders' green positions.
TODAY'S NEWS
| As I Lei Dying Hawaii climate conference ends, scant progress made The U.S.-led climate talks in Honolulu, Hawaii, ended yesterday without much fanfare and without much progress achieved. By most accounts, it was a closed-door, bureaucratic nothing-fest wherein delegates from the 17 biggest-polluting countries spoke about the need to act, but no one actually did. The United States finally agreed to take part in forming climate-change plans with the rest of the world by 2009, but that concession came only after the intransigent host country's repeated objections, eventually eliciting loud boos from many of the delegates. Also, if past experience is any indicator, U.S. participation rarely translates into anything but interference in climate negotiations. Nonetheless, many Hawaii invitees seemed willing to concede what seemed to be the whole point of the meeting -- that the U.S., by simply holding the conference, is making some progress on its attitude toward climate change. Jim Connaughton, the top White House environment official, summed it up nicely, saying, "We like to prepare, plan, and announce. This is what the president has done consistently since 2001; as you can see, it's gaining increasing appreciation." Indeed, they do have the announcement part down. What more could the world want? [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Xinhua |
 The Consent of the Governator Schwarzenegger endorses McCain for president, cites green credentials California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially endorsed fellow Republican John McCain Thursday in the presidential race. The announcement, held at a solar-energy company in California, is expected to give McCain's campaign a nice boost, much as did an endorsement from green-leaning Florida Gov. Charlie Crist before that state's primary. Schwarzenegger cited McCain's green credentials in his endorsement, saying, "he's a crusader, and has a great vision, in protecting the environment and also protecting, simultaneously, the economy." Said McCain, "Gov. Schwarzenegger, I commit to you, you and I and all of the others who are concerned about our globe, not just our states ... [will] hand our children a cleaner planet." [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Associated Press, CNN.com, The Washington Post |
| The Greenest of Chem All California hopes to spur development of less-toxic chemicals California officials yesterday unveiled their proposals to kick-start a "green chem" revolution, aiming to spur development of less-toxic chemicals as safer alternatives to widely used toxics. The list of more than 800 proposals does not include any additional bans or restrictions on the use of toxic chemicals. Instead, ideas range from grants for R&D to beefing up consumer-protection laws to changing the enforcement system and training more green chemists. California eco-groups were generally hopeful, but said the state still needs to do more to decrease citizens' toxic-chemical exposure. "We applaud the process, but there's not enough detail in there to applaud the policy," said Dan Jacobson of Environment California. "These proposals aren't going to reduce people's exposures to dangerous chemicals." Exposure to toxics costs California residents an estimated $2.6 billion a year in lost wages and medical expenses, according to a recent study. In July, final recommendations will be sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Los Angeles Times |
| Gridlock Step Commission approves NYC congestion charge A New York commission has approved a plan to charge a fee to drivers entering Manhattan during peak hours. The proposal, aimed at reducing traffic congestion and pollution, differs only slightly from what Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed in April; it would charge $8 to drivers entering a certain area between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and put the funding toward public transit. The plan must now be approved by the city council, Bloomberg, and the state legislature -- where some expect it will hit a snarl. But if the state does approve the plan, the federal government has allocated a few million bucks to help rev it up. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The New York Times, Associated Press see also, in Grist: Milan, Italy, institutes congestion charge |
| The Spin on Hurricanes Warming oceans lead to more frequent hurricanes, says study A new study published in Nature weighs in on the effect-of-climate-change-on-hurricanes debate, postulating that a warming North Atlantic has made hurricanes stronger and more frequent. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters, CBC News |
| Weather 'Tis Nobler in the Mind China announces plans to modify weather for Olympics The Olympic stadium in Beijing, China, will be dry during the opening ceremony, officials said, but not because the structure has a roof (it doesn't). Instead, Chinese meteorologists claim they can stop rain from falling over the stadium, despite the fact that the games will take place during the monsoon season this August. The process of stopping rain from falling is similar to cloud-seeding procedures that meteorologists around the world have used to try to prompt rain to fall. Stopping the rain involves shooting liquid nitrogen and silver iodide into clouds to force water droplets to shrink in size and, if all goes well, keep the rain in the clouds. "If you're talking about a small rainfall, you can eliminate it," said weather modifier Wang Guohe of the Chinese Academy of Meteorology. "But if it's going to be raining cats and dogs, there's nothing [people] can do about it." Just try not to step in any poodles! [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Los Angeles Times, Reuters |
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GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES
| Focus Feature Campuses focus the nation on climate change Yesterday, universities across the U.S. participated in Focus the Nation, a series of climate-change-related events aimed at educating students and inspiring action. And what could be more inspiring than a group of earnest co-eds encouraging their peers to join the cause? Curious to see what it was all about, Grist's Sarah van Schagen headed to Seattle's University of Washington campus to find out if the students behind Focus the Nation could teach her a thing or two. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] new in Gristmill: Undriving Miss Daisy |
Coming Monday: Advice columnist Ask Umbra on vinyl records
It's the New Year all right, but will it be a greener year? Let Grist's eco-solutions be a part of your New Year's resolutions -- grab a copy of Wake Up and Smell the Planet, Grist's eco-guide to everyday life.
Grist: Environmental News and Commentary
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