Forecast: Only moderate rise in gasoline prices

OK, that's good news for the gazillions of American suburbanites who commute hours and hours just so they can get enough cash to keep filling it up. The NY Times has this coverage. Actually, if American motorists had to pay what Europeans do, we might finally start using a lot less gasoline to keep ourselves moving.

Loons sound alarm on mercury pollution

Here's a solid bit of reporting on what has emerged as yet another threat to fish-eating birds, especially the Common Loon.

More than Lyme carried by ticks, research finds

I've had several close run-ins with ticks over the years, one of which required a trip to the emergency room to have two of the critters removed from the skin along my waistline. As the globe's climate warms, I think it's reasonable to expect that ticks will continue expanding their ranges northward. Read about the latest research.

Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will be shut down

Owner Entergy made the announcement this morning and Vermont media outlets immediately pounced on the company's "news" release. Here's what the Rutland Herald paper has on this matter at this moment. My primary thought is this: Why hasn't a utility shut down a coal-fired power plant? Think of all the megawatts now generated by solar-panel farms and wind turbines. Or are they just for show-and-tell, giving a sprawl developer an excuse to call his new "project" a "green" one?

Carbon dioxide and sea life

The NY Times today: "A new collection of scientific papers provide fresh insights on how the ecology of the oceans is being affected by the global buildup of carbon dioxide released by human activities."
Yes, the research papers found what journalists like to call "mixed results," but the underlying damage is still pretty horrifying, according to this citizen scientist, i.e., me.

Carl Hiaasen on bad water, campaign dollars and other ills

This is a great read from Carl Hiaasen. Proof again that campaign contributions from polluters are paving the way toward no action on pollution. Save the Everglades?

The nclear craze

The world-changing impact of climate change is no reason to go gaw-gaw over nuclear power, as the other of this op-ed makes clear.  Read on.