Tuesday, November 13, 2007

A Hummer that gets 60 miles per gallon!!?? You must be joking!

No we aren't. This interesting tidbit comes from fastcompany.com and tells the tale of Johnathan Goodwin dubbed the "Motorhead Messiah" because he takes the largest, heaviest vehicles available and retrofits them to increase the gas mileage of these monstrous behemoths to match their physical size. LARGE.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Predictions for our warming planet are coming true

The recent increase in wildfires in California are just one of many predicted effects of a warming planet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-romm/global-warming-and-the-ca_b_69695.html

Industry goes after Leslie March

Clearcutting cypress cannot be justified

Timber industry spokesperson Buck Vandersteen's inaccurate data and personal attacks demand that I set the record straight ("Best practices used in managing our forests," Oct. 4). There is no justification for clearcutting cypress, our state tree, because nearly 80 percent of the trees will never regenerate once they are cut. Indeed, many cypress swamps logged up to 100 years ago have not regrown. These trusted data come from scientists and the U.S. Global Change Program. Big Timber often claims growth based on the controversial data that compared cypress "apples" in 1991 to "oranges" in 2005.

The Save Our Cypresses Coalition - of which Sierra Club is a member - supports conservation easements and other ways of compensating landowners for protecting cypress. Cypress forests are our best natural storm protection, and they are the natural legacy we will leave for future generations. Instead of mocking my passion, Vandersteen should help lead our state toward responsible stewardship of our cypress forests.

LESLIE MARCH
SIERRA CLUB
MANDEVILLE

The letter that started it all:
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/OPINION03/710040310/1014/OPINION