Returning from the dead like Lazarus, electric cars seem poised to return to America's roads. As gas prices are expected to stay above $4 a gallon, and people wait on 6 month waiting lists to buy a hybrid Prius, demand for low and no gasoline vehicles is huge. (A ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Energy Saving, Industry & Business, Transport (1 comment)
Environmental Guru Paul Hawken wrote that we ought to “design a system where...doing good is like falling off a log" (Ecology of Commerce) When it comes to plastic water bottles our current economic and social systems are making doing bad as easy as falling off a log. I'm ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Consumerism, Health, Philosophy & Religion, Recycling, Water
I used to think global warming would cause drought, storms, and rising sea levels. This June, scientists realized that global warming is also going to increase global earthquake activity. How? The answer has to do with glacier movement. Glaciers are huge rivers of ice, progressing in a stately fashion from ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Climate Change, Events (1 comment)
A recent Celsias posting about M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie, The Happening, reminds us that 'plant attacks' are not solely the property of Shyamalan's science fiction. Plants in the real world, just as in the movie, can release deadly toxins in response to threats. We haven't seen ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Agriculture & Food, Environment & Wildlife, Events, Philosophy & Religion
Two days ago, the Commission on Environment of the Turkish Grand National Assembly approved the Kyoto Protocol on Global Warming. The Kyoto Protocol, part of the International Framework Convention on Climate Change requires 36 developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, while 137 developing countries monitor and report their ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Politics & Government, Weather (1 comment)
In The Shaky Ground of Sustainable Development, Environmental historian Donald Worster worried that in the partnership between ecological sustainability and development “it will be 'development' that makes most of the decisions and 'sustainability' will come trotting along, smiling and genial, unable to assert any firm leadership, complaining only about the ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Consumerism, Industry & Business, Water
This week's Mars Landing is generating much press and excitement. Humanity's ability to land a rocket on another planet, and remotely control it from Earth is an impressive technological feat. But should we be spending U.S. government funds on Mars exploration when life on earth is threatened ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in June 2008, about Environment & Wildlife, Philosophy & Religion
On May 12, John McCain, the Republican candidate for US president, gave a major policy speech on Global Warming at the Portland, Oregon training center of Vestas Wind Corporation. In his speech he pointed out the obvious (if inconvenient) truth that "the facts of global warming demand our urgent attention ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in May 2008, about Politics & Government, Weather
Joe Brewer wrote in this space about one particular flawed mode of thought that shapes environmental discourse: hero myths. I'd like to add another inaccurate way of thinking that causes environmental destruction: individualism. The idea that we are individuals outside of nature, is flawed. Nature is often understood as ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in May 2008, about Philosophy & Religion
Sticking oil underground is wrong at this point in time. -- IHT At a time of globally altered climate due to burning oil, as the planet braces for a North American driving season that is sure to see massive emissions from the US car fleet, this is exactly the right time ... keep reading
Written by Eliav Bitan in May 2008, about Coal & Oil, Politics & Government, Weather
