Environment

Global Warming: the (Non) Magnitude of Man’s Role

By Monique Chartier | September 22, 2009 |

President Obama speaking today at the United Nations: And yet, we can reverse it. John F. Kennedy once observed that “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.” It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat.…

The Obama MO?

By Justin Katz | September 18, 2009 |

With the economy at best slowing its wobble (and reason to be wary even about that), the Obama administration has added requirements for “better gas mileage for cars and trucks and the first-ever rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions” to its list of desired drags thereon. Note this now-familiar feature: The proposal will cover vehicle…

Waxman-Marke: Bad for the Economy

By Mac Owens | August 12, 2009 |

i have a piece in today’s ProJo about Waxman-Markey, which will be debated later this year in the Senate. The link is here. This legislation is on a par with Obamacare as an economic nightmare.

A Relieving Outcome to a Long-Standing Issue

By Justin Katz | July 10, 2009 |

It’s a relief to see the issue of soil contamination in the Bay St. area of Tiverton headed toward resolution: A settlement of the massive Bay Street area lawsuit has been agreed to and the contaminated neighborhood is expected to be cleaned up by the end of this year, the state Department of Environmental Management…

Fish Ladders

By Marc Comtois | July 1, 2009 |

Conservative. Conservation. Fish Ladders. For years, a consortium of government agencies and advocacy groups has struggled for funding to knock down dams and build fish ladders to help restore local fish migrations. That work was jump-started on Tuesday when the federal government came forward with $3 million in stimulus money for six projects on the…

Evening Music Video: We’re Going Green!

By Justin Katz | June 29, 2009 |

Any song with the line “and estimated environmental impact is not really calculable” would be worth a listen, but I’ve been humming this one all day: (via the Corner)

Rhode Island, Always Striving to Make Life That Much More Difficult

By Justin Katz | June 27, 2009 |

So, with legislation to make energy more expensive for all Americans making its way through Congress, what can one say about this? Governor Carcieri on Friday signed into law legislation that could pave the way for offshore wind farms in Rhode Island. The bill, passed by both chambers of the General Assembly earlier this month,…

BREAKING: Dark Days Getting Darker

By Justin Katz | June 26, 2009 |

Well, it isn’t law yet, I suppose, but when legislative supporters of a government change as well as the Associated Press admit substantial cost to an initiative, it certainly gives pause: In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation’s first limits on pollution…

About those Extra and Missing Frog Limbs….

By Marc Comtois | June 26, 2009 |

Remember how concerned we all were about frog limbs? Answers!: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, researchers started getting reports of numerous wild frogs or toads being found with extra legs or arms, or with limbs that were partly formed or missing completely. The cause of these deformities soon became a hotly contested issue.…

The Cap and Trade Scam

By Marc Comtois | June 26, 2009 |

OK, what’s this “cap and trade” thing all about? Well, first its a bid to massively change some fundamentals of our economy all for the sake of reducing global warming (by a few tenths of a degree Celsius in a few decades). Although the powerless House GOP has offered arguments against its passage, Democratic leaders…