TOP STORY
 Seamly Behavior Three designers tell all during Seattle's first Green Fashion Week Forget your fleece and put away your socks 'n' sandals: this week is Seattle's first-ever Green Fashion Week, featuring 20-some designers eager to prove that eco-friendly frocks can be not only functional and fun, but fashionable. Before gussying up for the main event, Grist's Sarah van Schagen chatted with three of the designers who'll be sending their stuff down the runway: Lara Miller, Aiden Dinh of Sling & Stones, and Suzi Johnson of Souchi. Find out what each is doing to push green ideas (hello, seaweed fabric!) and browse their collections to see what else they have in store. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] |
TODAY'S NEWS
| Out of Shipping Shape Northwest Passage likely to be unpopular shipping route despite summer ice-free state While the record melting of the Arctic's sea ice this summer fully opened up the Northwest Passage for the first time since records began, it turns out few shippers would actually use the route even if the summer opening became more reliable. The shortcut route would shave off some 4,700 nautical miles from a typical Europe-to-east-Asia shipping journey as compared to a trip via the Panama Canal. But the NW route is somewhat labyrinthine and shallower in spots than many are comfortable with for the huge cargo ships now typically used. "The Northwest Passage in its entirety has often been described at shipping conferences ... as a rock pile. It's very tricky navigation through most of it," said Michael Gardiner of the Canadian Coast Guard. And then there are also thorny ownership issues; Canada claims much of the Northwest Passage as its own -- something the United States currently disputes, arguing it's an international route. But for those still prone to shortcuts, other top-o'-the-world shipping routes could eventually become viable, such as along the northern coast of Russia or over the North Pole. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Reuters |
| Happy Decouple States offer utilities incentives to encourage energy conservation It's a scheme that turns the traditional business model on its head: power companies can make more money by selling less power. Under "decoupling" plans, state regulators give incentive payments to electric utilities that encourage energy efficiency by their customers. "Before there was almost a disincentive to go hard at efficiency because we weren't recovering our fixed costs," such as plants and equipment, says a rep for Idaho Power. "Now the anticipation is that we will recover our fixed cost." Decoupling plans also reduce the need for costly new power plants -- a boon for both utilities and the planet. California has been decoupling utility profits from energy production for 25 years; Idaho, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont all adopted plans this year, and at least nine more states are considering it. Half of U.S. states have adopted or are considering similar plans for natural-gas utilities. And why not? It's a win-win-win: customers save money, utilities get money, and the planet gets a break. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: The Christian Science Monitor |
| Moving Stricture Corps may buy out coastal Miss. towns, encourage residents to move inland The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking support from three coastal Mississippi counties for a proposal to buy out 17,000 homes and encourage residents to move inland. The Corps generally reserves buyouts for areas prone to river flooding; the new proposal is an indication that the U.S. may be seriously considering the risk of sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and stronger hurricanes. Intentions of safety aside, resistance to the voluntary project is high. "The whole concept of trying to remove people and properties from the coast is very, very challenging," says Susan Rees of the Corps. "The desire to live by the water is strong." Also strong: the ire of residents who rebuilt their homes after Hurricane Katrina, only to learn that the government was considering turning their neighborhood into wetlands. The Corps hopes to present its plan, which also includes restoration of barrier islands and other flood-protection measures, at the end of the year for congressional approval. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Los Angeles Times |
| Quebec and Call Quebec introduces carbon tax Determined not to let British Columbia hog the green spotlight, the province of Quebec has introduced Canada's first carbon tax. The tax, to be levied on gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and coal, is expected to raise $200 million a year to fund the province's emissions-reduction plans. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Reuters, Associated Press, The Canadian Press see also, in Grist: Michigan Rep. John Dingell drafts a carbon-tax bill |
| We Wish We Could Say the Same of the Heiress The City of Love unveils an emissions reduction plan Paris has pledged to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions 30 percent by 2020. Gosh, who isn't introducing such plans these days? Oh. Right. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Agence France-Presse |
| McCormick and Quits President of Nature Conservancy resigns The president of The Nature Conservancy, Steven McCormick, abruptly resigned this week. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: The Washington Post |
| All's Fair and We Love More Fair-trade market boosted by consumer demand An ever-greener and ever-more-caffeinated world is boosting the fair-trade market -- not just for coffee, but for products such as cocoa, cotton, tea, pineapples, and flowers. The certification, which holds growers to strict standards per child labor, pesticide use, recycling, and more, is not a phenomenon specific to hippie shops: all Dunkin' Donuts in the U.S. and all McDonald's in England sell fair-trade coffee. Starbucks is also a big buyer, while Sam's Club just converted its private label of ground coffee to fair trade. It's still a niche market: in 2006, only 3.3 percent of coffee sold in the U.S. was fair trade, and only 27 percent of Americans said they were even aware of the certification. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't celebrate the trend with a glass of fair-trade wine. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The New York Times, PR Newswire see also, in Grist: Q&A with fair-trade fruit purveyor Jonathan Rosenthal see also, in Gristmill: The ethical and environmental dilemma of coffee |
GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES
 A Better Mousetrap On live trapping Q. Dear Umbra, In discussing potential remedies for a mouse problem with a fellow congregation member, I recounted how I recently trapped four mice in our home and transported them gingerly to fields and parking lots a couple of miles away. To my surprise, she expressed dismay ... Isn't it better to give mice a fighting chance to reestablish themselves in the wild than to break their backs or necks in those time-honored, spring-loaded Tom and Jerry devices? Didi Harvard, Mass. A. Dearest Didi, I'm with you. A tough transition to a new environment is better than death by mousetrap. This is not only my personal opinion, but ... Read the rest of Umbra's answer. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] new in Grist: On live trapping |
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