AltWeeklies Wire
Give Beijing a Breaknew

In the "one world, one dream" spirit of the special family-reunion feelings that fill my heart just once every four years (because the Winter Olympics are lame), I request a 16-day moratorium on China-bashing, at least where their crap environmental record is concerned.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Coco Tanaka |
08-08-2008 |
Sports
Some Illinois Residents Push to Get State to Overturn a Mine Permitnew
Richard Fuller, who described himself as a "75-plus-year-old" farmer, suggested that Capital Resources Development Co.'s plan to strip-mine a 430.6-acre tract near Banner -- a village 25 miles southwest of Peoria in Fulton County -- would destroy the area's topsoil and make future planting nearly impossible.
Illinois Times |
Amanda Robert |
07-31-2008 |
Environment
Clean Energy Act Makes the Ballot in San Francisconew
It isn't the only charter amendment on the November ballot, but it's already shaping up to be the political lightning rod of this fall's election.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Janna Brancolini and Sarah Phelan |
07-31-2008 |
Environment
Wall St. Demands Earth-Friendly Buildings, but Main St. Doesn'tnew
Demand for sustainable living remains low, and even during the height of the housing boom, homebuilders didn’t really go for the green. So why do executives and taxpayers demand environmentally sensitive buildings, and then go home to their wasteful old houses?
San Diego CityBeat |
Eric Wolff |
07-30-2008 |
Housing & Development
Ecoholic: Is Your Cottage a Lakefront Menace or an Earthly Paradise?new

Though I feel a little guilty about the drive, I love going to the cottage. Any advice on greening the experience?
NOW Magazine |
Adria Vasil |
07-28-2008 |
Advice
Ken Ortiz Hopes No One in Chicago Will Ever Simply Demolish a Building Againnew

Ortiz is a contractor who takes down buildings and saves almost all the pieces. After doing construction for 25 years and throwing away "tons of good building materials," he delights in being able to save 23-foot-long two-by-sixes for reuse as two-by-sixes. And pretty much everybody else is delighted too -- environmentalists, preservationists, antiques dealers, even the folks who live around the houses he's taking down.
Chicago Reader |
Harold Henderson |
07-28-2008 |
Housing & Development
Logging Companies Look to Flip Forests in British Columbianew
Despite the province's climate-change policy and a social contract with the public to maintain properties as forests, more and more logging corporations are hoping to convert private forestlands into real estate.
The Georgia Straight |
Carlito Pablo |
07-28-2008 |
Environment
Vermont Eco-Designer John Todd Aims to Heal the Planetnew
In the last three decades, Todd has received numerous accolades for his work, but his recent honor may be the most fitting. In June, he won the first annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge, an international competition among hundreds of scientists and inventors from 27 countries.
Seven Days |
Ken Picard |
07-25-2008 |
Environment
Memo to McCain: Offshore Drilling Won't Reduce Gas Pricesnew
McCain -- who has accepted more than $1 million from Big Oil donors -- is hoping that voters who are outraged by the high cost of gas will support his desire to find new domestic sources of oil and natural gas. But according to the "official energy statistics" from the federal government's Energy Information Administration, there isn't enough oil in the "off-limits" offshore areas to make a dent in world supplies or the cost of gas.
Shepherd Express |
Lisa Kaiser |
07-25-2008 |
Environment
T. Boone Pickens' Two Faces on Energynew
T. Boone Pickens may be supporting renewable energy -- but gaining a water monopoly is his real goal.
Tucson Weekly |
Tom Danehy |
07-24-2008 |
Environment
Monterey Bay Wildlife Has Come Back This Year, but Will the Resurgence Last?new

Cooling currents have sparked a huge comeback for life in the Bay this year. But scientists say global warming could put an end to the extraordinary conditions that breathe new life into local waters.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Steve Hahn |
07-24-2008 |
Animal Issues
It's a Nice Day for a Green Weddingnew
More couples are vowing to wed organically, and live environmentally-friendly ever after.
New Haven Advocate |
Jayne Keedle |
07-22-2008 |
Culture
Enviros Find Lame Excuses Not to Drill Offshore and in the Arcticnew
One of the more commonly used talking points of those who oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or on the Outer Continental Shelf is that it would be at least 5 to 7 years before any ANWR or OCS crude reached U.S. refineries. It's one of the dumber arguments environmentalists and their Democratic allies in Congress make, and if you want to know why, consider how long it would take to produce an equivalent amount of fuel from any alternative source.
Boulder Weekly |
Paul Danish |
07-21-2008 |
Commentary
Do Carbon Offsets Actually Work?new
The use of carbon offsets as a means of corporate responsibility is a relatively new phenomenon based on an idea that is almost 20 years old.
Philadelphia Weekly |
John Steele |
07-21-2008 |
Environment
A Sunken Tanker Off the California Coast Will Someday Leak Oil if Nothing is Donenew
There are growing concerns that the Montebello could offer up a second adventure/disaster story, this one of an ecological nature. Researchers are confident that the tanker still entombs its cargo, more than 3 million gallons of Santa Maria crude loaded from the Union Oil facility in Avila Beach.
San Luis Obispo New Times |
Patrick Howe |
07-21-2008 |
Environment