San Francisco is trying to name their sewage treatment plant after President Bush.

“We think that it’s important to remember our leaders in the right historical context,” said McConnell, a member of the group that was formed after friends came up with the renaming idea.

“In President Bush’s case, we think that we will be cleaning up a substantial mess for the next 10 or 20 years,” he said. “The sewage treatment facility’s job is to clean up a mess, so we think it’s a fitting tribute.”

Interesting. Any takers on renaming the the Johnston landfill “The Dick Cheney Stinking Heap of Garbage and Corruption”? What, too much?

From LiveScience.com comes this rather alarming report on ice thickness at the North Pole, as scientists have discovered the region is covered entirely with first-year ice, not the layers of ice that are usually built up over years of freezing. What this means for the North Pole –where there is no land, only ice– is that for the first time in human history the pole could be reached by sailing through open water. One of the effects of this melt is the opening of the Northwest Passage, which allows for shipping lanes between Europe and Asia above Canada, and not the much longer journey through the Panama Canal.

Meanwhile, two Russian vessels reached the area last summer in an attempt to plant a flag on the Arctic seafloor and claim the now-accessible area which many believe holds large oil and natural gas reserves. Denmark, however, claims the area is an extension of its territories via Greenland

What everyone agrees on is that within a few decades the North Pole may have no ice at all, and that increase in water will effect coastlines worldwide.

Look, folks over at the Associated Press… I know things are bad. Real bad. Still, when you’re penning the End Times journalism pick of the week, write a decent headline.

Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.

Horatio Alger, twist in your grave.

Twist, damn you!

In other sad news, and a subtle reminder of how ridiculous this headline is, Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is dropping out five days before the the presidential runoff election there.

At a news conference, Mr. Tsvangirai, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, or M.D.C., said he was unwilling to ask the party’s supporters to go to the polls on Friday “when that vote will cost them their lives.”

Mr. Tsvangirai’s decision came on a day when governing party youth militia armed with iron bars, sticks and other weapons beat his supporters as they sought to attend a rally for him in Harare.

Alright, alright, Rhode Island State Legislature, I get it.

I used to treat my finances the same way you are treating the budget. I liken it to the way I used to use my credit card. I’d charge and spend without really recognizing that eventually, I’d have to pay it all of. And I’d have to pay it with interest.

I remember the attitude I carried around with that credit card. And I get the sneaking suspicion that our elected officials have adopted the same ideas - Why pay now when you can pay later?

See, the framing of the budget issue makes it seem like the legislature is doing us a favor, like they are being fiscally responsible, like they are “cutting back” on unnecessary programs. In truth, they are screwing over, like, everyone in Rhode Island. Farmers, college students, any student, state employees, immigrants, and children, etc., etc., etc. more »

So, Dennis Kucinich brought 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush the other day, and shortly after his website mysteriously stopped working.  (It’s back now.)  It’s quite the interesting, if incredibly depressing, read.

Meanwhile, the world is running out of water and Africa’s running out of everything.  Oh, and the people who decide who goes to prison can’t really be bothered. None of it’s exactly new news, but it’s all depressing the crap out of me right now anyway.

So, anybody got anything happy to share? Even if it’s just a cute puppy video or something, I need something to cheer me up by the time I play music for all you nice people tonight, or else you never know what I might throw on.

Fresh off of their annual meeting tonight, and as a second wind turbine goes up in Portsmouth, People’s Power & Light will be holding a ‘Turbine Festival’ this Saturday, June 14th, 12-3pm:

A celebration of renewable energy in Rhode Island; also, an event intended introduce the general public, especially members of New England GreenStart to a New England GreenStart green power source: the Portsmouth Abbey Wind Turbine, a 660 kW wind turbine that has produced nearly 2.5 million kWhs since it was first erected on March 30th, 2006. (2.5 million kWh is enough energy to power 5000 average New England homes for a month). There will be games, live music, exhibits & snacks.

The ground-breaking for the new Portsmouth turbine is on Friday:

On June 13, 2008,at 4:00 PM, the official groundbreaking is planned for the turbine project. The ceremony will be held at the turbine site. The site is in the North corner of the field behind the tennis courts (above the gym). Portsmouth High is located at 120 Education Drive in Portsmouth. Parking is available adjacent the tennis courts.

I recently saw a photo of outdoor material covering the door of a home in Italy, with the caption that it keeps the house cool. Great! I thought, and went out to by some material…didn’t work - so I’ve googled my brains out and came up with some good advice to keeping your house cool and prevent you from sudden death while saving on the electric bill (meaning, you don’t have to turn on the a.c.). Here goes:

Run your dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, and other heat generating appliances at night, when it’s generally cooler. Better yet, ditch the dryer all together and use a clothes line. Your whites will never be whiter, and the sun provides a natural antibacterial quality you won’t get in detergents.

Make sure you have the BEST light blocking shades on the South and West windows. I take it a step further and shade them all during the day. Also, keep your windows closed until about 8 pm to combat the heat and humidity. If you don’t want to close the windows, grab a squirt bottle and spray down the curtains. They cool the house naturally as they dry.

A bowl of ice in front of a fan works just like an air conditioner, but much cheaper.

more »

Killer tomatoes on the loose!

From USA Today:

The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that 145 to 150 people in 16 states have been sickened by salmonellosis, which has been linked to the consumption of raw red tomatoes.

States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Grocery stores, restaurants and fast food joints are pulling tomatoes from their shelves and menus.

All of this leads to multi-million dollar losses on FL farms, with farms placing distribution at a halt until they are sure the crops are uncontaminated:

more »

Bug eating, AKA entomophagy, is the big new thing, as evidenced by the splashy TIME magazine story covering America’s torrid/nonexistent love affair with eating insects. Also, eating bugs is so green its like driving a Prius into a windmill.

But while the Dose has been all over the bug-eatin’ trend for some time, we missed the boat on giraffe. That’s right - it turns out that the world’s largest ungulate is also a kosher snack, provided you slaughter it correctly. My hebrew school teachers claimed that kosher slaughtering was impossible for giraffes, but it turns out they were either wrong, or lying to keep all the sweet giraffe meat for themselves. With dairy-product-friendly Shavuot coming tonight, why not guzzle some giraffe milk too?

One thing to remember, particularly when devouring exotic creatures: Do not eat unless Mike Huckabee is around to perform the Heimlich maneuver on you. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Saturday and Sunday, 7th Annual RI Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo

Finally.

The Hope High Farmers’ Market celebrates its official opening tomorrow.

Every Saturday, starting June 7th

9:30am-12:30pm

In front of Hope High School at Hope and Olney St. on the East Side.

What’s at this market? More after the jump.

more »

Kiss livestock-generated methane goodbye, thanks to some plucky New Zealand fart-doctors.

New Zealand scientists claim to have developed a “flatulence inoculation” aimed at cutting down on the massive amount of methane produced by its sheep and cows.

Such animals are believed to be responsible for more than half of the country’s greenhouse gases, causing huge environmental problems.

I smell a Nobel prize… by which I mean sheep flatulence. more »

You don’t need 8 bottles of water a day, that was always a scam. Look, since the economy is tanking anyway, let’s just put the bottled-water people out of business while we’re at it. If you can’t get worked up about the problem of plastic persisting in the environment and the food chain, think of the money you could save. For anyone lucky enough to be tapped into the Scituate Reservoir, buying water is a complete waste of money. The annual Water Quality Report from Providence Water arrived in today’s mail. Based on 2007 testing, things look pretty good. (I wish that under ‘Substances that Might be in Drinking Water’ they had addressed the issue of hormones, mood stabilizers, etc., traces of which have appeared in water supplies elsewhere. And the person responsible for writing the following sentence — “During 2007, Providence Water had an exceedance of the lead action level.” — should be beaten about the head. Of course, maybe he or she was exposed to high levels of lead as a child.)

The Alan Weisman book The World Without Us includes a chapter called ‘Polymers are Forever’ which describes the North Pacific Garbage Gyre. Some thing called VBS.TV has finally gotten a film crew out to this place. These intrepid investigators (more Scooby-Doo than 60-Minutes) with admirable ambitions if limited articulation sailed out with Captain Charles Moore to examine ‘Garbage Island’. (Video after break. Also, Lewis Black on hydration and those douchebags who need to wear a bottle in a sling to walk 3 blocks.)

more »

More tonight, but a good start yesterday –

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Senate last night passed a series of energy bills designed to encourage and embrace renewable energy projects, both large and small, in order to make the state less dependent on electricity produced by traditional fossil fuels.

The House of Representatives approved one of its own and started debate on another. But in this corner of the State House, the debate escalated into allegations the bill had been stuffed “chock-full” with so many “treats” that it had been turned into the legislative equivalent of a piñata, and then rammed through a House committee without the opportunity for public comment on the potential added costs to ratepayers.

The 7th Annual RI Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo!

Saturday, June 7th, 10 am to 8 pm and Sunday, June 8th 10 am to 6pm RAIN OR SHINE at the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living in Western Coventry. Festival parking at Western Coventry School on Route 117 near 102.

Sustainability workshops featuring a pre-festival mini conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns; eco-mall; all day children’s program; alternative energy vehicles; exhibits; guided environmental house tours; and much more!

Music from Cheryl Wheeler, The Nields, Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Diamond Eyed Jack: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead, Forever Young: A Tribute to the Music of Neil Young & many others.

Tickets on sale now visit www.livingfest.org or call 228-7930.

This is a huge step — Rhode Island is about to truly become a national leader in the movement towards a ‘green economy’.

The Senate Corporations Committee just passed bills 2850, 2851, and 2852, which would require National Grid to procure and distribute large sums of renewable electricity, and which would substantially broaden the ability of households, businesses, and municipalities to make use of “net-metering” — basically allowing them to recoup the full value of the electricity the generate.

The House versions of those bills are likely to pass the House Environment Committee tomorrow night, and become law within weeks.