We pick the most timely and relevant articles from our Info Hub and feature them here for your convenience.
Reading, writing and realizing nature: explore your local place this holiday season
Here are eleven activities you can use to strengthen your personal relationship with place – and maybe even share your experience with family, friends, or community members.
Should Chiapas Farmers Suffer for California’s Carbon?
“We are not responsible for climate change—it’s the big industries that are,” said Abelardo, a young man from the Tseltal Mayan village of Amador Hernández in the Lacandon jungle ofChiapas. “So why should we be held responsible, and even punished for it?”
Fall 2012 Convergence: When People Become a Snowflake
This fall, Butte College became the first community college to ever host a CSSC convergence. While some may have doubted how many people would haul up to the far north corner of our state, the magnetic power of convergence brought hundreds of students and the young at heart to the Butte College campus.
Convergence Logistics
Greetings! We hope you are all excited for the CSSC’s fall convergence held from November 9th-11th at Butte Community College, 3536 Butte Campus Dr., Oroville, CA 95965. We have prepared an incredible weekend complete with inspirational keynote speakers Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco, Anne Symens-Bucher, Adelaja Simon, Victor Menotti, Kirsten Schwind, and a variety of student-led workshops…Read more »
Fall 2012 Convergence: The Three Pillars of Sustainability
The Fall 2012 Convergence is just around the corner! This weekend we will be making CSSC history: this is the first time a convergence has ever been hosted at a community college. The team at Butte has cooked up an incredible, jam-packed, inspiring weekend for you all, so if you haven’t registered yet - get on it!
Election Day TUESDAY: Do you have a vote plan?
One of the biggest regrets I have is not voting in my first presidential election, the 2008 election.
Apply for a Scholarship at the Convergence!
Apply for a scholarship! A goal of our CSSC Convergences is to provide everyone with the opportunity to attend the Convergence regardless of their economic status; therefore we have created this fee waiver form that will allow you to register for free. Our deepest apologies that this is up so late.
Project We Own It
Why YOU should make a pledge to support the Isla Vista Food Co-op in Santa Barbara
GMOs: Too Big to Fail
We all fail. Our attempts, for example, at crafting an esteemed piece of literature or painting a revered portrait or impressing our friends with a delicious gourmet meal often end in disastrous disarray. But, most of us accept and learn from our failures.
Invitation: The Future of Higher Education Endowments
November 9, 2012, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA
Upcoming Opportunities
Check out these three fabulous opportunities to enhance your leadership in the sustainability movement:
Announcing the Fall 2012 Convergence
The CSSC Fall Convergence will be held November 9th to 11th at Butte Community College. Join hundreds of students from across CA to build community, share resources, plan action, attend workshops, and celebrate.
The Three E’s of Sustainability
The CSSC is committed to recognizing and working toward the “Three E’s” of sustainability: economy, ecology, and equity.
Reflections on the 2012 Summer Leadership Retreat
Twice a year, the CSSC hosts leadership retreats for students who are interested in getting involved or staying involved in the leadership of the organization.
Real Food Challenge Regional Training
The Real Food Challenge invites you to participate in our annual regional training for the West Coast happening on September 6-9th, to refine your organizing talents and connect with students across the region.
Sustainability, Here at Home with First Nations Peoples
I recently returned from a four day Coming of Age Ceremony with the Winnemem Wintu on the banksof the McCloud River in Shasta County. This experience has had me thinking a lot about the connections between culture, environment and sustainability.
Spirituality and Sustainability
A question that has been lingering on my mind this semester: is spirituality a necessary component of sustainability?
The Lexicon of Sustainability
“Words are the building blocks for new ideas. They have the power to activate change and transform societies.”
LA Approves Plastic Bag Ban
Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation Wednesday to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a major victory to clean-water advocates who sought to reduce the amount of trash clogging landfills, the region’s waterways and the ocean.
An Odious Investment: Moving Beyond Coal at UC Berkeley
Why is a world-renowned public university that prides itself on being a leader for social change, civil rights and progressive education investing without transparency in one of the most significant environmental problems of our time?
Voices from the Spring 2012 Convergence
From April 27th - April 29th, over 400 students from across the state of California gathered at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for a weekend of workshops, speakers, live music, and camping. The theme of this convergence was building a resoNATION - inspiring students to join together to make a positive, resounding impact in the world.
Occupy Comes Down to Earth
Occupy the Farm began on April 22 in Albany, just north of Berkeley, when 200 community activists cut through a chain-link fence surrounding a vacant patch of land owned by the University of California.
Everything You Need to Know About The Convergence!
Greetings, Earthlings! I hope you are as excited as we are for the CSSC’s Spring Student Sustainability Convergence beginning this Friday, April 27th! This post contains quite a bit of important information that will help you get prepared for one of the best weekends of your life! Just keep reading, just keep reading…
Connect the Dots
Across the planet now we see ever more flood, ever more drought, ever more storms. People are dying, communities are being wrecked — the impacts we’re already witnessing from climate change are unlike anything we have seen before.
Final List of Workshops
Here are the student-led workshops for the 2012 Spring Convergence!
- Ending Corporate Personhood
- Food Systems 101
- The Environmental Justice Movement
- Empowering Women Through Fair Trade
The Spring Convergence is Less Than One Month Away!
Have you registered for our Spring Convergence at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo yet? It’s happening in less than a month - April 27th-29th!
Can the University of California make campus food sustainable?
Fast food joints offer a quick and easy fix for hungry, busy students on college campuses. But at the University of California, they’ve also become a target for student activists intent on shifting their schools’ large dining budgets away from less healthy, industrially produced food…
Recharge! Retreat
Call for applicants! The Focus the Nation Recharge! Retreat is a week-long, expenses-paid retreat for young clean energy leaders.
March in March: Reclaiming California Education
On Monday, March 5th, I had the privilege of attending the March and Rally in Support of Higher Education at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Early Bird Registration Now Open for the Spring Convergence
Read the top reasons why YOU should attend this spring’s convergence!
NEWS RELEASE: Palo Alto Leading the Charge on CLEAN Programs
Silicon Valley leaders approve CLEAN Program to increase local production of cost-effective renewable energy.
California Considers a Cottage Food Law
Since the homemade food renaissance has taken root in California, there’s been no shortage of home picklers, jammers, and bakers. But under current state laws, it’s a misdemeanor for those home artisans to sell their goodies in the open marketplace.
Capitalism vs. the Climate (Part 1)
There is a question from a gentleman in the fourth row. His question for the panelists is this: “To what extent is this entire movement simply a green Trojan horse, whose belly is full with red Marxist socioeconomic doctrine?”
Wonders of Cookin’ with Cashews: Creamy Cashew-Pepper Penne
For my very first Green Grub post, I decided my grand debut recipe must be vegan, of course, and this thought naturally led to the decision to make one of the main ingredients this, a staple of vegan cuisine – cashews.
Submit a Workshop Proposal for the Spring 2012 Convergence!
We invite you to help us build a resoNATION! We each come to this convergence finding our individual places within the movement and how they connect and resonate together. We want to put this cohesion into action to build and create social, political, economic and personal change.
Spotlight on the CSSC End Coal Campaign
If you’re part of CSSC, you probably already save energy at your house: you turn off the lights when you leave the room, you don’t use unnecessary electricity guzzlers like hair dryers, and maybe you’ve even switched to energy efficient appliances or compact fluorescent light bulbs.
11 important clean energy provisions in Obama’s budget proposal
President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget invests in clean energy to help power the engine of economic growth. The budget would direct funds to efficiency and renewable electricity technologies to create jobs and boost domestic manufacturing, and would also make manufacturing more efficient.
Citrus Time is Here Again!
Oh beautiful and delectable, sweet and surprising citrus! Since we are the California Student Sustainability Coalition with a lovely Mediterranean climate, we get to celebrate the winter months with bright and fresh citrus fruits.
Beyond environment: falling back in love with Mother Earth
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh explains why mindfulness and a spiritual revolution rather than economics is needed to protect nature and limit climate change.
The New Student Activism
Ashley Ward, an aspiring idealist with waning faith in the world, was standing in the newsroom of her college paper at Humboldt State University in Northern California when a fellow student rushed in with startling news.
Battling The Bottle: Students And Industry Face Off Over Water
Bottled water is trickling away from college campuses nationwide, thanks to the efforts of student activists and the non-profit groups that support them with campaigns like Ban the Bottle. But that’s not going over too well with the International Bottled Water Association.
No, that’s not snow: Pesticides coat California’s Central Valley
I am driving along a state road with Becky, a local activist, who is narrating from behind the wheel. “I once stuck around to see them spray and I had to turn the car around and get out of there, the smell was so overpowering.”
Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France
A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.
24 Hours to Stop the Pipeline - Be the Solution
Every once in a while an opportunity comes along for all of us to be the solution. This is one of those times. We’re collecting a half million messages to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in the next 24 hours.
2012 Winter Leadership Retreat
The CSSC 2012 Winter Leadership Retreat took place January 12th-16th in the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs. Natural beauty and enough space for all of us under one roof made it the perfect setting to delve deep into the nuts and bolts, or rather, the roots and shoots, of the CSSC.
Our Fall Convergence is Around the Corner!
Our Fall Convergence will be here in less than 3 weeks! Tell your friends, post it on facebook and get people excited, because you’re in for a nice post-Halloween treat! Derrick Jensen, a prolific author on environmental and social justice issues, will be our keynote speaker! And Tony Gamboa (UBUNTU!) will be our student keynote to bring all us sustainabilibuddies together. Ready to join us yet!?
>> REGISTER NOW! <<
LEED Certifies 10,000th Project
In the midst of ongoing discussions on the program’s merit, the Green Building Certification Institute announced that the 10,000th commercial project has been LEED-certified, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The Live Oak Family Resource Center in Santa Cruz, Calif. was awarded LEED Platinum by the institute, — a community center providing families with…Read more »
Chile’s Commander Camila, The Student Who Can Shut Down a City
Camila Vallejo’s call for better and cheaper education has seen student protests transform into a two-day nationwide shutdown. Her press conferences can lead to the sacking of a minister. The street marches she leads shut down sections of the Chilean capital. She has the government on the run, and now even has police protection after receiving death threats.
Student Organizer Opportunities!
We are currently seeking to assemble a diverse team of 8 student Coordinators to assist our Campaign Director and Graduate Student Researcher to work on this campaign. Stipends are available, $500/quarter or $750/semester, with a 1-year commitment. Read more to find out about the different opportunities available!
I Do Not Want Mercy, I Want You To Join Me
Tim DeChristopher, who was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine for ‘disrupting’ a Bureau of Land Management auction in 2008, had an opportunity to address the court and the judge immediately before his sentence was announced. This is his statement:
Tim Galarneau receives 2011 UC Sustainability Champion Award
Tim Galarneau, UCSC’s Food Systems working group coordinator, is known for his far-ranging vision and his ability to advance the sustainable foods movement on campus and beyond. Now, Galarneau – described in a 2009 Mother Jones magazine profile as “the Alice Waters of a burgeoning movement of campus foodies”, is getting systemwide recognition.
Banning Corporate Personhood: How Communities Are Taking the Law Back from Big Companies
This is the story of individuals speaking up when the gas corporations are attempting to control their hometowns and of individual becoming increasingly involved in their local government, collaborating with each other as they face drilling throughout the area.
Join the Activist Network! Intern with Greenpeace
Do you want to join the fight for climate justice with the world’s largest independent environmental organization? Greenpeace has several incredible volunteer internships available in San Francisco! You’ll get the chance to work on the most pressing issues of our time - saving ancient rainforests, protecting our oceans, stopping toxic threats, and launching a clean energy revolution.
CSSC Hiring Now!
The CSSC is positioned to develop and launch a campaign to mobilize student leaders and the California system of higher education to eliminate our dependence on coal. We are currently looking to fill 2 PAID positions, a Campaign Director and Graduate Research Assistant. Read more to look at the job descriptions and apply.
Fuel-efficient vehicles could save $7.2 billion annually in California health costs
May 10, 2011 Susan Carpenter, LA Times California could save $7.2 billion in healthcare costs — and prevent more than 400 premature deaths — annually if the state adopts a 64 miles- per-gallon equivalent fuel economy standard, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Lung Assn. in California. The Road to Clean Air…Read more »
10th Annual Spring Convergence: Let the Countdown Begin!
Spring Convergence is so close I can smell the vegan food already! UC Davis has prepared a sensational weekend complete with energizing keynote speeches from Tim DeChristopher and Rikki Ott, a panel discussion with time for your questions, inspiringly innovative student-led workshops, and an incredibly delicious menu of local organic goodness to keep you going all day long. Online Registration ends April 24th at Midnight.
Why I Lived With My Garbage For a Year
From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010, I saved every piece of my garbage. No, I’m not homeless, and I didn’t lose my mind. I decided to save my trash—in my bedroom—because I started to realize how living in a consumer culture like ours means using a lot of “disposable” products. We buy things, use…Read more »
Tim DeChristopher found guilty, shows power of nonviolent civil disobedience
Climate activist Tim DeChristopher, who was put on trial in Salt Lake City, Utah, this week for his interference with an oil and gas auction held at the end of the Bush administration, on Thursday was found guilty by a jury. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years, to be determined by a…Read more »
Al Gore to Deliver Keynote to 10,000 Young Environmental Leaders at Power Shift 2011
Former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore will join 10,000 youth activists at Power Shift 2011 as the opening keynote speaker on April 15, 2011. Gore, who is chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection, will be speaking about climate change and how we can take action to solve the climate crisis. For four…Read more »
Environmentalists stand up to Obama, win big
Under intense pressure from green groups and their members, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) announced Friday that Republican proposals to gut the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act were off the table in budget negotiations. “Neither the White House nor Senate Leaders is going to accept any EPA riders,” Reid said. Reid’s pledge…Read more »
Our Chance to Get Clean Energy Right
It’s springtime and birders, rock climbers, wildflower lovers and maybe even some long-lost U2 fans are flocking to the boulder-strewn desert wilderness just east of Palm Springs. But unless we act quickly to curb climate disruption, soon the one thing they won’t be able to find in Joshua Tree National Park is an actual Joshua…Read more »
Koch-Funded Climate Skeptic’s Own Data Confirms Warming
This week, a climate hearing was held in the US House of Reps. Six ‘experts’ on climate were brought in, but only three were scientists. And it turns out that one of the GOP’s star witnesses — a scientist who’s been vocal in his skepticism of global temperature records, the physicist Richard Muller, of University…Read more »
Students gather at UCSC for food and justice summit
With journalists like Michael Pollan and books like “Fast Food Nation” bringing national attention to nutrition and food justice, it’s no wonder that 300 students from 40 California campuses gathered at UC Santa Cruz Saturday for the fifth annual “Real Food Challenge.” The conference, founded in 2007 with the intention of educating students about the…Read more »
The (Koch) Empire Strikes Back
On Sunday [January 29th], nearly 2,000 citizens converged on the resort town of Rancho Mirage, California to confront a secretive meeting of billionaires meeting behind closed doors. Sunday was NOT about liberals versus conservatives. Sunday was about We the People. It was about rebuilding a democracy of We the People – a country where you don’t need to have millions of dollars to have your voice heard.
Students Rally Against Prop 23 Supporters in Rancho Mirage
UCSD was one of several universities represented at a rally against oil company executives held on Jan. 30 in Rancho Mirage, where a secret meeting was held by energy conglomerate Koch Industries and Tea Party members. The rally was organized by the California Student Sustainability Coalition, an organization that works with universities across the state…Read more »
Thousands Converge on Koch Brothers Billionaire’s Caucus; 25 Arrested
Twenty-five protesters were arrested in Rancho Mirage, California today, at a protest in front of the Rancho Las Palmas resort, site of the “Billionaire’s Caucus,” an annual meeting put on by the Koch Brothers and other corporate entities and conservative movement operators. Riverside Sheriff’s deputy Melissa Nieburger said that the sheriff’s department did have contacts…Read more »
Let’s replace We the Corporations with We the People
Most Americans know that Washington is broken and is no longer working in the best interests of We the People. But, members of the Corporate Elite – spearheaded by the Koch Brothers (tied for the 9th richest people in America) – are plotting how to continue undermining our democratic system for private profit.
Strengthening the Roots Convergence 2011
Held at UC Santa Cruz Feb. 18-20, this year’s fourth annual Strengthening the Roots Convergence is going to be bigger than ever. Thanks to the help of partner organizations throughout the region, this year’s STR will strengthen the roots of our movement for just and sustainable food by bringing 450+ students and allies together for workshops,…Read more »
2010 Fall Convergence Reflections from Andrew Chang
The Convergence weekend was an incredible ride from start to finish. I am so excited to be able to share my experiences and favorite moments from the Convergence with you all. This was all about the community we built, so I would love for any and all of you who were a part of this to share your favorite moments from the Convergence on the comments page!
Young voters lead decisive victory against Big Oil’s Prop 23
Young voters celebrated a decisive victory against Big Oil by defeating a deceptive ballot measure, Prop 23. The initiative, funded with millions of dollars from oil corporations sought to wreck California’s clean energy economy and effectively repeal the state’s landmark clean air and clean energy laws.
Study: California’s Prop 26 undermines green, health laws
A little-noticed California ballot initiative would “erect significant barriers” to funding state environmental and public health laws, according to a new study. Proposition 26 “could have substantial and wide-ranging impacts on implementation of the state’s health, safety and environmental laws,” according to a Tuesday analysis by the UCLA School of Law. Prop 26 would expand…Read more »
Greens Vs. Big Oil and Prop. 23
To save California’s global-warming law, a 23-year-old finds his rage — and 60,000 friends Read more
Charles Koch Refuses to Accept Debate Challenge In-Person
Yesterday, Gabe Elsner, CSSC’s Power Vote Campaign Director accompanied Joel Francis to Koch Industries’ headquarters to deliver his debate challenge in person to CEO Charles Koch. Last week, Joel delivered his challenge through a highly publicized online video. Here is our video update from Wichita – Please share with everyone you know!
Obama: No on Prop. 23 and ‘corporate polluters’
Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Shultz, Robert Redford, Bill Gates, James Cameron, Leonardo Di Caprio and Al Gore have all weighed in to oppose California’s Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative. Now comes the uber-endorsement for the No on 23 campaign: President Obama. Read more
Will Texas oil companies pay for their support of Prop 23?
Snap! The Texas oil companies that are the chief backers of Prop 23′s bid to scrap climate regulations in California are now facing shareholder scrutiny of their political spending. Shareholders of Los Angeles-based Occidental Oil also filed a resolution demanding that the company evaluate the costs and benefits of that company’s controversial political spending. Read more
CSULA Student Challenges Koch Brothers to Debate
Cal State Los Angeles Senior Joel Francis issued this debate challenge to billionaire CEO Charles Koch, of Koch Industries today. Joel emphasized that if Koch Industries wants to spend millions of dollars in our state, the CEO ought to have the courage to debate Prop 23 in person. Mr. Koch has donated at least $1 million to the Proposition to suspend our state’s clean energy and climate change laws.
Investor groups balk at oil companies’ support of Prop. 23
Shareholder organizations are expected to offer resolutions challenging L.A.’s Occidental Petroleum and two Texas firms over their contributions to the campaign to suspend California’s emissions law. Read the full story
Convergence less than ONE WEEK away!
The convergence is less than one week away! Can you feel it in the air? It’s electric! The team here at UCSB definitely feels the buzz and has been working overtime to make sure this will be a weekend you’ll be talking about! Register now for only $20 for a weekend you won’t forget!
Global Work Party, 10/10/10
Today is 350.org’s Global Work Party as a way to tell our legislators “We’re getting to work, what about you?” There are events going on in over 180 countries-that means that almost every country in the world is partaking in a grassroots movement to push for serious action on climate change. This year, organizers and…Read more »
Van Jones Slams Koch Industries’ Role In Prop 23
Well before the conglomerate Koch Industries plunged $1 million into Prop 23 — a ballot initiative in California to essentially repeal the state’s revolutionary clean energy climate change law AB 32 — the Wonk Room revealed that front groups controlled by Koch had been working to promote Prop 23. Americans for Prosperity, the front group founded and financed by Koch Industries’ executive David Koch, had organized Tea Party rallies in favor of Prop 23 and produced online ads distorting California clean energy. Read more
Power Vote California takes on Big Oil
This election we face a major attack on California’s clean energy and global warming policy - Big Oil is pushing Proposition 23, a ballot measure to gut California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act. The California Student Sustainability Coalition, and young people across the state are mobilizing behind Power Vote California to defeat Prop 23. We…Read more »
California’s Climate Battle Heats Up
As temperatures reached a record-breaking 113 degrees in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday — it was so hot, a National Weather Service thermometer stopped working — the fight for California’s climate future is also heating up. Come election day, California voters are in danger of undoing “one of the most progressive pieces of environmental legislation ever enacted,” thanks to a ballot measure pushed by handful of big out-of-state oil companies to kill California’s landmark global warming law. Read more
Arnold Lashes Out at Valero, Prop 23
Proposition 23, the initiative that would suspend California’s greenhouse gas laws, is not about saving jobs. It is about greed, said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Speaking at a Commonwealth Club event in Santa Clara, the governor lashed out at the companies-particularly Valero, Koch Industries and Tesoro-trying to effectively get rid of the state’s carbon regulation law, known by its bill name AB 32. Technically, Prop 23 would suspend AB 23 until employment falls below 5.5 percent, something that has occured only sporadically in the last few decades. Read more
Convergence in T-Minus 17 Days!
Happy Tuesday everyone! The convergence is less than THREE weeks away and we here at UCSB are excitedly getting our campus ready for all your shining faces and brilliant minds! Get ready for a weekend in beautiful Santa Barbara that is at once intense and relaxing, inspiring and energizing. There will be amazing farm-fresh local…Read more »
U.C. Proxy Voting Skirts Review Guidelines, Documents Show
The UC Responsible Investments Campaign (RIC) is a push for UC’s to invest ethically, and to listen to the student’s concerns. The RIC has worked with the CSSC closely for some time now, and the movement has gone national, featuring in a new article in The New York Times! D’Artagnan Scorza and Becky Miller, both CSSC Board Members, have been actively involved in this campaign.
VOTER FEVER!
November 2nd is the most important day of 2010. This is the day Californians will elect a new governor and decide on multiple propositions. It’s important every Californian votes in this election. The future of education, immigration, sustainability and even our states nearly impossible two thirds majority rule to pass a budget will all be…Read more »
Save the Date: Governors’ Global Climate Summit 3
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other subnational leaders, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme, is hosting the Governors’ Global Climate Summit 3. This summit will take place November 15-16, 2010 at the Mondavi Center on the campus of the University of California, Davis. Join global experts from government, business,…Read more »
Report Unveils Greater Threat to Drinking Water from Coal Ash
Now nearly 140 coal ash sites have proven water pollution problems Knowledge is king, and now we know more about the extent of damage coal ash sites across the country are causing to our drinking water. A new report issued today by Earthjustice, the Environmental Integrity Project and Sierra Club offers data that documents water…Read more »
‘The Majestic Plastic Bag’ A Nature Mockumentary
With the California Senate preparing to vote on AB 1998 — a bill that would ban plastic bags statewide — Heal the Bay has released a hilarious mockumentary in the vein of a BBC nature film, following the travels of “one of the most clever and illustrious creatures: the plastic bag.” Narrated by Academy Award-winning…Read more »
Summer Love - CSSC Leadership Retreat
One hot summer’s weekend in mid-August, I was fortunate enough to attend the CSSC leadership retreat in Napa, CA. Hailing all the way from San Diego, I crossed my fingers that the long journey up would be worth it… it was. Immediately upon entering the room, I felt the sense of community that I have…Read more »
Floods, fire, and fiddling
Legend has it that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. These days, Congress fiddles while the world burns. More precisely, it’s Russia that’s burning at the moment, with a record heat wave and forest fires being blamed for as many as 15,000 deaths so far. Also troubling is the drought, which prompted the Russian government to…Read more »
Strong public support for climate law, but battle brews
Despite a whole lot of brouhaha over AB 32 and the proposition to derail it, two-thirds of California residents continue to back it — a percent unchanged from last year. So says a poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. But the results don’t put the climate law in the clear in November….Read more »
Paved with Good Intentions: Fiscal Politics, Freeways and the 20th Century American City
Stuck in traffic in Washington, DC in 1959, President Eisenhower was shocked to learn that the delay was being caused by Interstate Highway construction. Surely the Interstates were being built between cities, not in them. The President demanded to know who was responsible for this state of affairs, only to be told that he was;…Read more »
Ensuring Food Security Means Protecting Pavlovsk Seed Bank
Riddle me this: What’s more valuable, global food security or a batch of luxury homes? I know, seems like kind of a no-brainer. Keeping the world fed should obviously come before some new McMansions. But apparently a Russian court thinks otherwise. SIGN THE PETITION Yesterday, a Russian court declared that the Russian Federal Fund of…Read more »
Crabs provide evidence oil tainting Gulf food web
To assess how heavy a blow the BP oil spill has dealt the Gulf of Mexico, researchers are closely watching a staple of the seafood industry and primary indicator of the ecosystem’s health: the blue crab. Weeks ago, before engineers pumped in mud and cement to plug the gusher, scientists began finding specks of oil…Read more »
New ocean garbage patch discovered
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a mess of trash and plastic that moves around the north Pacific Ocean and is roughly the size of Texas. It has a high concentration of plastics and chemical sludge. Photos from the patch of trapped sea turtles and tires will snare the attention of even the most stone-hearted…Read more »
PowerVote 2010
Empowered. Connected. Strong. That’s how I felt after spending this past weekend in Chicago meeting and working with fellow youth activists from across the nation. The connections I made there are deep-seated and lifelong, and I am honored to call each and every one of them my friends. They are working on projects ranging from…Read more »
More Oiled Birds Than Ever Being Found
More than three weeks after BP capped its gushing oil well, skimming operations have all but stopped and federal scientists say just a quarter of the oil remains in the Gulf of Mexico. But wildlife officials are rounding up more oiled birds than ever as fledgling birds get stuck in the residual goo and rescuers…Read more »
