As WHO Declares Air Pollution Causes Cancer, Some MA Towns Fight Clean Energy

As the World Health Organization declares definitively that air pollution causes cancer, the Massachusetts town of Shelburne has declared the real threat to the public is looking at wind turbines.

Shelburne is just a few miles up the road from the infamous Mount Tom coal-fired power plant, one of just three coal plants left running in the state that still kill an estimated total of 22 people a year. Among the town's recommended anti-wind turbine measures:

• "Maximum electricity capacity should be limited to 10 kilowatts for homes and up to 30 kilowatts for farms or businesses." Capping capacity is the tell that these rules aren't serious. If someone designs a more efficient turbine that can generate more than that at the same height, it's banned, because everyone knows efficient wind turbines give off INVISIBLE DEATH RAYS.
• "Noise is not to exceed 5 decibels above ambient noise levels." Planes, trucks and motorcycles can rattle your windows all they want, but if a wind turbine makes so much as a whisper, it's HOLD YOUR BREATH KIDS TIME TO FIRE UP THE COAL PLANT.
• "The setback recommendation from any roadway, structure or property line is to be twice the height of the turbine." Because god forbid a car should have to see a wind turbine as it goes by at 45 miles an hour, amirite?

Meanwhile, Kingston is spending $22,000, enough to hire a new teacher or cop or fireman for the rest of the year, on a consultant to study the insidious effect of deadly shadows. That amount is on top of the taxpayer money being spent on acoustical consulting to study the poisonous near-silence.

As Michael Novinson reported in the Worcester Business Journal this week, small distributed wind energy projects are taking off in Massachusetts. But added up, these NIMBY battles can have a big negative impact. Even with wind energy being so economical and so healthy, the added red tape and expense may serve as a deterrent to those considering proposing new wind projects.

Want to show your support for wind energy? Go like the Better Future Project and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on Facebook.

Bored Boston Cops Taunt Bicyclist

A friend who lives in Brookline bikes to work every day and reports he got hassled by some apparently-bored Boston cops recently:

After cresting the hill and crossing Washington street in Brighton, I began pedaling to build up speed for my mile descent to a steep climb over a bridge before leaving the main roads for the bike path along the Charles. I had noticed the Boston Police Department paddy wagon turning behind me on Washington street.

As I cruised slightly behind the pace of traffic I was cut off half way down by a driver who exited a side street without stopping. She was talking on her cell phone, her hand blocking her view of me. Moments after the cut-off, the police siren chirped several times behind me. I instinctively slowed as the street signs reflected the the flashing blue lights. I felt a sense of happiness thinking that maybe the officers had seen the woman pull into traffic while engaged in probably a very important call.

I was astounded when a voice over the loudspeaker summoned "Cyclist on the blue bike please stop!" I did as I was told as the paddy wagon pulled along side me. Still talking through the loudspeaker the driver and his smiling partner admonished me publicly for exceeding the speed limit by 6 miles an hour. He continued "You are required to abide by all the laws of the road just like an automobile. "Don't shake your head when someone pulls out in front of you when you are exceeding the speed limit!"

I felt the heat in my face and I imagine my mouth was open from the shock. The smiling officer rolled down his window and took a drink from his standard issue large Dunkin regular. The driver turned off the loudspeaker and asked if I understood. I didn't answer immediately because I thought it was a joke and my brain was short circuiting. "We don't have a problem do we?" he asked. I quickly responded "absolutely not".

They pulled away with the smiling officer never removing his gaze from me. I watched the light turn green and began the climb up the hill that I had hoped momentum would make vanish.

As Casey Neistat demonstrated in New York City, police often seem more concerned with the needs of the big polluting metal boxes than keeping the humans on the bicycles safe:

America Chooses to Make Bicycling Dangerous (Video)

A lot of the public discussion about bicycling gets caught up on a circular debate: Do we have little bike safety infrastructure because relatively few people bike, or do relatively few people bike because we have such unsafe bike safety infrastructure?

It's distracted us from a much more important question: Do the people in the giant metal polluting boxes need the extra safety measures, or do the people on the bicycles? As this video details, bicyclists are 30 times more likely to be injured while riding in the United States than in the Netherlands:

Massport Won't Say Climate Change, Then Won't Say Why

Massport took another step forward in its long-term plan to confront the impacts of climate change last week ... but there was something missing from its news release:

As the Massachusetts Port Authority develops its long range strategic plan over the next year, a key component of that effort will be how to protect Boston Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston and waterfront real estate against long-term sea level rise, storm surges and intense weather events like superstorm Sandy.

The first part of the study, currently underway, is to assess both the expected number and intensity of future storms and assess the vulnerability of Massport facilities. Both elements are required to understand the issue better in order to develop appropriate resolutions.

“Good work on looking at rising sea levels is already being done and we want to work collaboratively with federal, state and local officials on this pressing issue," said Thomas P. Glynn, Massport CEO. “Resiliency planning will be critical for Massport and the region to reduce the likelihood of damage from an event and will accelerate the recovery process when an event occurs."

There's no link to the release, but Morgan Rousseau of Metro.us has a report that includes most of the information from the release (and also doesn't make the bridge to climate change).

I asked a Massport spokesman why the agency wouldn't use the words climate change. He never wrote back. It's not like Massport's in denial here - they're quite obviously talking about climate impacts and they absolutely deserve credit for that.

But this is Massachusetts - exactly who is Massport afraid of? Gov. Deval Patrick is a strong advocate for climate action. The Massachusetts legislature passed the Global Warming Solutions Act. The entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation supports climate action. Massachusetts is one of America's leading states for clean energy jobs and is home to several groups like Ceres that organize business leadership on climate change. The Boston Harbor Association's report on sea level rise mentioned climate change in its very first sentence.

Does Massport think it would be defenseless against criticism from the few climate science deniers in Massachusetts? Or that those deniers will be thrown off the trail if they don't see the words climate change? Weird.

Breaking: Big New England Wind Contract Much Cheaper Than Coal, Nuclear

What if the debate about Environmental Protection Agency limits on climate-disrupting carbon pollution was all hot air? What if the falling cost of clean energy has already planted a stake in coal's polluting heart?

As Erin Ailsworth of the Boston Globe reports, a new onshore wind contract just signed in New England is a game-changer for how we talk about energy:

The state’s biggest utilities, in a milestone for New England’s wind power industry, have signed long-term contracts to buy wind-generated electricity at prices below the costs of most conventional sources, such as coal and nuclear plants.

The contracts, filed jointly Friday with the Department of Public Utilities, represent the largest renewable energy purchase to be considered by state regulators at one time. If approved, the contracts would eventually save customers between 75 cents and $1 a month, utilities estimated. [...]

John Howat, senior energy analyst at the Boston-based National Consumer Law Center, said he needed to review the details before he could provide a thorough assessment of the contracts. But his initial reaction to the price — on average, less than 8 cents per kilowatt hour? “Wow.”

For a comparison, in the same time frame gas is projected to cost 7 cents/KWH, coal 10 cents/KWH and nuclear 11 cents/KWH.

A dollar a month may not seem like a lot. But if wind is cheaper than coal, why would you ever build a new coal-fired power plant? And that's not even starting to account for all the climate change, public health and wildlife benefits that come with switching from coal to wind. When the cost of pollution is factored in, both wind and solar power blow the doors off of coal and are competitive with gas.

Why should we go all-in on wind when gas is projected to be slightly cheaper? Because New England is already dangerously dependent on gas, leaving us vulnerable to price spikes like we saw last winter. And since gas can fire up much faster than coal plants, gas and wind actually go very well together. (No, that was not a fart joke. Let's keep moving.)

In this context, the hot air being spewed in Washington over carbon regulations seems quaint at best. At worst, it's a war on consumers as polluters and their allies try to force us to keep buying expensive, dirty energy.

Remember When the Coal Industry Loved "Clean Coal"?

The Environmental Protection Agency is unveiling carbon pollution limits for new power plants today. The coal industry is screaming bloody murder that no one could possibly expect new coal-fired power plants to implement carbon pollution-cutting technology, but it was only a few years ago that Big Coal was promising Americans it could do exactly that.

The rules will require that coal-fired power plants stop treating our skies like an open carbon sewer. While the rules are only being made public today, the coal industry has spent all week promising to send an army of corporate lawyers to fight the pollution restrictions:

Utility companies with large coal fleets already are preparing to challenge the rule, if it is finalized, on the grounds that the agency is requiring pollution controls that have not yet been “adequately demonstrated” in the marketplace. Joseph Stanko, head of government relations for the law firm Hunton & Williams, said the EPA’s reliance on “federally funded demonstration projects” as the base for its new standard “is illegal, it doesn’t ‘adequately demonstrate’ technology for normal use.”

Remember the coal industry was buying billboards promising us coal could be "clean and green with new technologies"?

Ah, but that was before the coal industry blocked a clean energy and climate bill that would've provided billions in taxpayer subsidies for "clean coal." Without taxpayers footing the bill, suddenly the idea of "clean coal" seems crazy to coal lobbyists:

Hal Quinn, president and chief executive of the National Mining Association, said the new standard “effectively bans coal from America’s power portfolio, leaving new power plants equipped with even the most efficient and environmentally advanced technologies out in the cold.” He accused the EPA of “recklessly gambling with the nation’s energy and economic future.”

The last time you heard from the National Mining Association here at The Green Miles, the NMA was suing the Bush administration to strip polar bears of endangered species protection.

Back to that reckless gambling with our energy and economic future. Remember when the coal industry bought millions of dollars worth of ads promising "clean coal" would bring "energy security" AND "affordability"?

Big Coal always puts its own profits above a safe climate and America's public health, and will gladly lie to us to protect them. It's a lesson to remember as the EPA carbon pollution limits move forward.

Tell the EPA you support strong carbon pollution standards for power plants.

5 Years Later, Still No Compelling Case for Keystone XL

The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was proposed 5 years ago today. Since then, US oil production's up 44%, gas prices are down 14% and oil consumption's down 1.6%. We've had 3 major pipeline disasters (Kalamazoo River, Arkansas, Yellowstone River). 2012 was America's hottest year ever and 2001-2010 was the world's hottest decade ever. 

But hey, Congress must know some reason it's good for the little guy or they wouldn't be pushing so hard for it, amirite?

Wind Turbines Raised My Cholesterol!

Yes, a Falmouth resident actually said that:

Ford said his cholesterol has “gone wild” since Wind I started operating, and he was prescribed blood pressure medication for the first time.

Again, I'm sure he truly believes that. But it's not a basis for creating sound public policy.

Plymouth Zoning Board Ignores Law, Blocks Wind Turbine

If you're going to deny a local business the right to do what it wants on its own property, shouldn't you have an actual reason? Not according to the Plymouth Zoning Board, which rejected a local Stop & Shop's request to build a wind turbine strictly based on personal preference, reports Wicked Local's Emily Clark:

After three hours of listening to protracted and sometimes confusing arguments for and against a proposal to site a wind turbine behind Stop & Shop off Exit 6, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted Wednesday night to deny the special permit request.

While ZBA Chairman Peter Conner and ZBA member Bill Keohan said the project meets the town's bylaw requirements, the rest of the board expressed concerns of its proximity to residential areas and other issues.

Now, according to WATD's Charles Mathewson, the turbine would be 600 feet from an apartment complex, which would be awfully close. A GE report recommended wind turbines be placed no closer than 900 feet to residential areas.

The answer to that is to pass a law that says wind turbines should be placed no closer than 900 feet to residential areas. That's how we do things in this country - we make laws and we follow them.

Instead, the Zoning Board rejected the turbines based not on any law, but on "conflicting evidence of health effects of large turbines," which is basically like saying you're worried the wind turbines will give people herpes. Meanwhile, Plymouth will continue relying on a rickety old nuclear power plant that threatens local wildlife.

Zoning Boards are the worst.

Tipping Point for Home Rooftop Solar?

My fiancee and I are in the process of buying a home, which means I'm constantly worried about what amenities that are popular now will still be popular when we're thinking about selling the place. Granite countertops are the big thing now, but will they still be popular 10 years down the road, or will something else be the next big thing?

I'd never have guessed that the next big thing is rooftop solar:

Solar panels are the next granite countertops: an amenity for new homes that’s becoming a standard option for buyers in U.S. markets. At least six of 10 largest U.S. homebuilders led by KB Home include the photovoltaic devices in new construction, according to supplier SunPower Corp. (SPWR) Two California towns are mandating installations, and demand for the systems that generate electricity at home will jump 56 percent nationwide this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“In the next six months, homebuilders in California and the expensive-energy states will be going solar as a standard, and just incorporating it into the cost of the house like any other feature,” Jim Petersen, chief executive officer of the PetersenDean Inc., the largest closely held U.S. roofing and solar contractor, said in an interview.

Lashing panels to roofs during construction is about 20 percent cheaper than after a house is built. Homeowners who can afford the extra $10,000 to $20,000 cost in return for free power threaten the business of traditional utilities such as Edison International of California or Kansas’ Westar Energy Inc. Power companies are losing business because they can’t cut their rates in line with the tumbling prices of residential solar systems. Those cost about $4.93 a watt in the first quarter, down 16 percent from a year earlier, according to the Washington-based solar association.

It makes sense to promote home solar even if you don't own a system - every home powered by solar is one less home that needs to be powered by a multi-billion-dollar central power plant.

If you're interested in home solar, check out Sungevity - you get a discount and the National Wildlife Federation (my day job) gets a donation. Oh, and the planet gets a tiny bit saved. Everybody wins!

Pleasing NIMBYs Means Less Affordable Housing

Construction isn't even finished yet, but already Arlington, VA has seen 3,600 people apply for 122 new units of affordable housing, according to a Washington Post report by Patricia Sullivan.

But there's one thing the article doesn't say: Arlington shrank the size of the affordable housing complex to please neighbors:

In preparation for its proposal, [Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing] staff met with many stakeholders in the Arlington Mill community to hear concerns and ideas. From these meetings, it reduced the number of units to address concerns of the Park Glen community that the complex was too large for the space, adjacent  to the Park Glen condos; and some of the concerns about the density of the project with resulting traffic and crowd-control issues.

From an APAH presentation on the project:

Responds to community issues and County goals: The building height was lowered and the unit count was reduced from 192 (256 bedrooms) units to 122 (245 bedrooms) units.

Note that this building is only about four stories. I've literally heard some people who live on Columbia Pike say allowing a building like this to be eight stories would turn Columbia Pike into lower Manhattan.

Artificially limiting the amount of housing a developer can build comes with real-life consequences. By limiting height, restricting the number of units, or in the case of suburbs, mandating each unit be built on a certain lot size, you're telling a certain number of people they're not allowed to live there and will have to look elsewhere for housing.

When at least 3,600 people are in such urgent need of affordable housing, every unit counts. As Slate's Matt Yglesias has detailed, limits on building size in urban cores have devastating effects.

Fortunately, the tide is slowly turning in favor of allowing taller buildings and denser developments in urban centers. Boston Mayor Tom Menino's newly-unveiled affordable housing plan does just that.

Fracking and Earthquakes Come to Timpson, Texas

Until fracking for natural gas came along, Timpson, TX had never experienced an earthquake. Now it's home to 27 active fracking and fracking wastewater disposal wells, and it's had three earthquakes of at least magnitude 4, including two in the last week. One Timpson earthquake in May registered 4.8, the largest quake in East Texas history.

It's a reminder that, like all other fossil fuels that produce "cheap" energy, someone's paying the price, whether it's up the line in Timpson, or down the line on climate change.

Best Time of Year at Farmers Market

Got all this for just $13 at the downtown New Bedford farmers market. This time of year, they're practically giving away things like salad greens & eggplants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a great online tool to find a farmers market near you:

Wind Turbines Have No Impact on Nearby Home Values, New Study Confirms

Wind turbine opponents do not like looking at wind turbines. But in the face of strong public support for non-polluting, locally-produced clean energy, that's not an effective argument, so they make outrageous claims about health impacts and property values.

Study after study has proven claims about health impacts are false, and now a new study confirms nearby wind turbines have no impact on property values:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) analyzed more than 50,000 home sales near 67 wind facilities in 27 counties across nine U.S. states, yet was unable to uncover any impacts to nearby home property values.

“This is the second of two major studies we have conducted on this topic and in both studies [using two different datasets] we find no statistical evidence that operating wind turbines have had any measureable impact on home sales prices,” says Ben Hoen, the lead author of the new report. [...]

“Although there have been claims of significant property value impacts near operating wind turbines that regularly surface in the press or in local communities, strong evidence to support those claims has failed to materialize in all of the major U.S. studies conducted thus far”, says Hoen. “Moreover, our findings comport with the large set of studies that have investigated other potentially similar disamenities, such as high voltage transmission lines, land fills, and noisy roads, which suggest that widespread impacts from wind turbines would be either relatively small or non-existent.”

Distant wind turbines are at most a minor inconvenience, something you might not pick as part of your new home in a perfect world, but one that wouldn't deter you from buying a home in the real world.

Look at Falmouth, Fox's favorite example of the WIND MENACE - home prices are up in the last year. And they're flat in other places with wind turbines like Fairhaven, Hull, Kingston and Scituate, a far cry from the outrageous claims of home price decimation made by clean energy opponents.

Hope Lady Liberty Can Swim

Just got the latest National Geographic. Makes climate change-fueled sea level rise a lot easier to understand than the IPCC's percentages & certainties, don't you think?

Not One But Two Oil Spills Fouled New Bedford Harbor Today

I've covered oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and in Arkansas, but today the oil came to me.

This morning a local journalist alerted me to reports of an oil spill right down the street from me in New Bedford Harbor. I headed down and found hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel (dyed red for tax purposes) coating the water off Pier 3. Some television crews were filming the spill, so I talked to WJAR and WLNE generally about the potential impacts of oil spills - concern for the people who make their living off the water, the fish who swim in it, and the seabirds who land in it.

As soon as I finished, a Coast Guard staffer angrily told me, "You shouldn't be talking to the press. We should be presenting a united front."

"I work for the National Wildlife Federation, not a federal agency," I said. "I'd be happy to work together on this - just tell me what's going on."

She stared at me and said nothing.

"OK, well so much for a united front," I shrugged.

Coincidentally, the Energy Exodus march was passing through New Bedford at the exact same time as the oil spill. The climate activists are marching all the way from Somerset's Brayton Point coal-fired power plant to Hyannis in support of Cape Wind.

In less of a coincidence, the moment the Coast Guard staffers saw the dozens of Energy Exodus folks arriving, they threw up yellow caution tape and ordered all civilians away from the oil spill.

As it turns out, this was the first of two oil spills in New Bedford Harbor today. I understand tracking down the culprits is hard, but do the local authorities have to sound so fatalistic already? Welp, lotsa boats, they all look alike, whaddya gonna do?

Southeastern New England faces a choice - move aggressively towards a clean energy future, or face more oil spills.

Cabbie Teaches Taxi To Fly, Lives To Tell About It

I woke up early this morning and, being a red-blooded New Englander, decided to go for a Dunkin Donuts run. At 5:30am, the only other customers were New Bedford EMTs killing time.

Just as I turned up Maxfield Street from Purchase Street on the walk home, I heard an engine rev, tires squeal, and a huge crash from around the corner. I ran back and ... nothing. Empty street. Was I crazy?

But there was a guy across the street holding his bicycle and staring. I said, "Did something happen?" He pointed across the street towards a walkway under the arch of the New Bedford Health Department building. Still, I saw nothing.

I kept walking closer and saw the heavy handrail bent over. I looked down the walkway and it took my brain a second to register what I was seeing. A cab had hit the handrail, gone airborne, and was now resting on its side:

I started dialing 911 and ran up to the back windshield of the cab. I could see the driver curled up against the driver's side door. "Are you OK?" I yelled. "I don't know. I think so," he said.

"I'm calling 911. Stay there," I said and went out in the street to flag down the ambulance. As I was waiting, two other cab drivers pulled over and offered to help.

About two minutes later, the ambulance arrived and the EMTs jumped out ... the same ones I'd seen 10 minutes earlier at Dunkin Donuts. They talked to the cabbie and it seemed like other than a bump on his head, he was OK. He said he'd just picked up his cab for his morning shift when the engine suddenly revved and he lost control. He seemed pretty embarrassed, so I got out of the EMT's way as they figured out the best way to help him out of the cab.

The Green Miles on The Green Front

I joined the Progressive Radio Network's On The Green Front with Betsy Rosenberg yesterday to talk about solutions to climate change, how climate change is covered in the media, conservatives facing climate reality. Listen to the segment here.

David Roberts' Sabbatical and the Decline of the Free-Range Blogger

Grist's David Roberts, who blogs on the best policies to solve our climate & energy challenges and the politics that perpetuate our problems, has announced he's taking a one-year sabbatical from blogging, reporting & tweeting. I'll miss his work while he's gone but understand his motives - what's more disappointing is the void he leaves behind.

When I first started blogging here at The Green Miles, David's writing challenged me to improve. It's easy to make fun of climate science deniers, but it's much harder to figure out why they reject it. When I later got to meet him at Netroots Nation, I was struck by his work-life balance (he calls it The Medium Chill) and ability to keep his eye on the climate prize - to maintain his passion without becoming too embittered by small setbacks & petty disputes.

Knowing he values that balance, I wasn't surprised by his decision to step away. If you spend a lot of time working on the climate crisis OR interacting online OR reporting, burnout is a major problem. David does all three. With President Obama having already rolled out his plan to act on climate and Congress in gridlock, now's the best time in years for a climate activist to take some time off.

But what bugs me is that in David's absence, there are few great climate bloggers to fill his shoes. It's a reflection of how much of blogging has evolved from free-range to factory farming:

• Blogging as career. While pioneering bloggers like Markos "DailyKos" Moulitsas, Duncan "Atrios" Black, and Heather "Digby" Parton still blog independently, many of the next generation of bloggers have been hired by emerging progressive news websites (i.e. Huffington Post & TPM), by mainstream media blogs (i.e. the Washington Post's WonkBlog) or by organizations in need of online help (I got hired by the National Wildlife Federation). Which is understandable because ...
• Blogging for free sucks. It's a lot of work for very little reward. I can understand why many first-generation bloggers gave it up and why younger folks choose to use Facebook, Twitter & Tumblr instead. But combine these first two points and now we have ...
• The blanding of blogging. Many of those who do blog spend less time trying to break the mold and more time trying to impress the Beltway establishment that might hire them. What Dave Grohl said about American Idol destroying the next generation of musicians applies here - they spend less time trying to find their own voice than trying to make their voice sound like everyone else's. I read lots of nibbling around the edges and "smart takes," but who'll stand up when necessary to say shit is fucked up and bullshit? And their middle manager editor at a newspaper website - they're going to run that?

So who are the climate must-reads? Here's my list (add any that I overlooked in comments):

• The Washington Post WonkBlog's Brad Plumer
• Huffington Post's Kate Sheppard
• National Journal's Coral Davenport
• Andrew Freedman & Heidi Cullen of ClimateCentral.org
• Joe Romm of ThinkProgress.org
• Tim McDonnell of Mother Jones & Climate Desk
• RL Miller of DailyKos

Enjoy the break, Dave. And don't worry - unless a secret alien wizard breaks the spell of climate denial currently hanging over Congressional Republican leadership, shit will still be fucked up and bullshit when you get back.

What's in the New UN IPCC Climate Report?

Check out some good recaps from Chris Mooney at Mother Jones and Jason Samenow at the Washington Post.

Can You Support Local Fishermen AND Conservation?

I love local seafood AND local fish & wildlife. It's frustrating to hear local fishermen constantly oppose any and all regulations geared towards conserving natural resources for future generations.

This week's example: As federal regulators seek to protect endangered whales from entanglement in lobster trap lines, Cape Cod lobstermen have come up with a laundry list of reasons to oppose the rules, but (at least according to the article) not a single alternative solution or possible compromise. As someone who doesn't think we have to choose between a thriving seafood industry and a healthy environment, it's frustrating when fishermen come to meetings with nothing to say but NO.

Fishermen have been open-minded when it comes to offshore wind development. It would be nice if they sought a similar role in regulating their own industry.

Short Books Under $10 You Should Read

I've read a few really good, really short, really cheap books lately that shed new light on some of America's thorniest problems. You should read them too!

• Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy
• America's Climate Century: What Climate Change Means for America in the 21st Century and What Americans Can Do about It 
• Making Transit Fun!: How to Entice Motorists from Their Cars (and onto their feet, a bike, or bus)

Get them on your Kindle or iPad. Or if you're like me, get the used paperback, read it yourself, then give it to a friend or family member who you think would appreciate it.

Block Island Wind Would Cut Climate Pollution and Power Bills

I have an op-ed in this month's issue of WindCheck Magazine on a proposed wind farm off Rhode Island's Block Island:

Block Island has some of America’s best breezes, a natural resource that's lured sailors for generations. Now the community is on the verge of harnessing that resource in a new way with offshore wind energy.

One of those unique New England treasures, Block Island hits a perfect balance – close enough to the mainland to warrant a daysail, while its pace and landscape assure you that you’re on vacation. Yet somewhere along those 13 miles the price of your Mudslide, and everything else, managed to skyrocket. No one would expect bargain basement prices in a vacation paradise adjacent to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, but then you get to your hotel room and realize there’s no air conditioner. “If we put an air conditioner in your room, we’d have to double your rate,” the desk clerk tells me. “We pay some of the highest electricity prices anywhere in the country.”

While offshore wind energy is usually talked about as a higher-priced electricity source, on Block Island the five-turbine, 30 megawatt project proposed by Providence, RI-based Deepwater Wind will be a huge money saver. Americans pay an average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour for their electricity and 15 cents per kilowatt hour in Rhode Island, but out on Block Island, thanks to the community’s antiquated and highly polluting diesel electricity generator, electricity averages an incredible 47 cents per kilowatt hour. Some hotels pay as much as $50,000 per month in electricity bills. Offshore wind is projected to save Block Island residents and businesses 42 percent on their electricity bills – even more when demand is high.

Read the whole thing at WindCheck Magazine.

Are More Gas Pipelines the Answer?

A natural gas pipeline explosion in Iowa provides more evidence that more natural gas dependence isn't the answer for Massachusetts.

The Case for More Dogs in More Pubs

With rare exceptions in outdoor seating, regulations effectively prohibit dogs in U.S. bars & restaurants, citing hazily-defined health concerns.

But as one look at DogsInPubs.com will tell you, we're missing out. In Britain, the onus is on the establishment owner is to make sure there is no risk of contamination and that all food preparation areas are up to specified hygiene standards. And as in all other aspects of dog-owning life, the onus is on the dog owner to make sure the dog's OK around people.

In addition to the fact that life is simply more fun with a dog around, there's a growing body of science that humans have evolved hand-in-paw with dogs and that we actually need them around to keep us healthy.

America would be better off with more dogs in more bars.

They Deny Climate Science. Why Won't Reporters Call Them Science Deniers?

After the party's drubbing in the 2012 elections, many political pundits speculated that Republicans would spend 2013 trying to seem less extreme. Instead, many are spending the August Congressional recess assuring the Tea Party that they are, in fact, 2 Extreme 2 Quit.

As first reported by +The Nation's +Lee Fang, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has a bizarre theory that neatly ties his climate science denial into his broader delusions:

“Just so you'll know, global warming is a total fraud,” the 13-term lawmaker told a Tea Party group Thursday. Rohrabacher said the fraud has its origins with liberals at the local government level who want decision-making ceded to higher levels of government.

“You’ve got liberals who get elected at the local level [that] want the state government to do the work and let them make the decisions. Then at the state level they want the federal government to do it. And at the federal government they want to create global government to control all of our lives,” he said.

Republicans want to ban oral sex, ban gay marriage, ban a woman's right to choose, deport undocumented immigrants & send their children to massive government-run orphanages, ban workers from organizing into unions, and restrict which Americans get to vote. But it's liberals who want to use government to control your lives?

The Hill's Ben Geman adds:

Rohrabacher, whose remarks Thursday on climate began by disputing links between wildfires and global warming, is a longtime climate skeptic.

The science connecting man-made carbon pollution to climate disruption is much older and just as well established as the science connecting cigarettes to lung cancer. If a politician denied the link between cigarettes and cancer, we'd call them a science-denying shill who'd say anything for his friends at Big Tobacco.

Why do reporters tiptoe around politicians who attack climate science by calling them "skeptics"? As if they might judiciously change their minds depending on what's in NOAA's next set of satellite data? Dana Rohrabacher is a science-denying shill for industrial carbon polluters. It's OK to say that!

Here's the problem: Dana Rohrbacher hates to be called a science denier. Sure, he'll deny science all day. But if you call him on it, he'll claim to be a great student of science, because that's how Dana Rohrabacher would like to think of himself! That doesn't make it so.

Calling a science-denying politician like Dana Rohrbacher a science denier is 100% fair & accurate and reporters should do it more often. Are they really more interested in staying on politicians' good sides than being fair & accurate? (Don't answer that.)

If Cooking Spray's Chemical Propellant Sticks To A Non-Stick Pan, Why Eat It At All?

I bought a new non-stick hard-anodized pan recently and noticed this warning in the intructions:

DO NOT use aerosol cooking sprays. Aerosol sprays contain a chemical propellant that is difficult to remove. Instead, use an oil mister filled with olive or vegetable oil, or dab a bit of oil on a paper towel and carefully wipe the interior of the pan.

Now, in a lot of cases like this I'd be suspicious that they were just trying to get you to buy more crap you don't really need, or establish one of a hundred ways they'll try to get themselves out of fulfilling the warranty.

People are already way too mistrusting of government and American regulators do a very good job of protecting us from major health threats, so I don't want to sow too much mistrust. But after learning that McDonald's "egg whites" have 15 ingredients, that Velveeta contains sodium phosphate (also used as a bowel cleanser), or about any of the shady food practices banned in Europe but allowed in America, I'm beginning to wonder if smart consumers need to do more self-policing on stuff that's on the "somewhat to moderately" end of the awful scale.

I bought a Misto olive oil sprayer, which an exhaustive 15-second review of ratings at Amazon revealed was the best/cheapest one. Apparently they're a bit of a pain to take care of - you need to clean it once a month & even then they only last about a year. But I'd rather struggle to clean the oil out of my sprayer than figure out how to clean the propellant out of my small intestine.

5 Ways Climate Changes are Hammering Cape Cod This Summer

Flooding on Cape Cod, 2007 (Flickr/Chris Seufert)

How is global warming changing Cape Cod? Sean Gonsalves of the Cape Cod Times lists five ways, concluding:

5) New waterfront property.

"Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps" are being released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Surprise! They show flood hazard zones in Cape towns will significantly expand, which means skyrocketing flood-insurance premiums — as high as $10,700.

This comes on the heels of several studies showing sea levels will continue to rise. Again, I refer you to the Department of Energy report: "Floods are projected to increase in frequency and intensity" especially in areas "that are expected to receive increased annual precipitation, such as the Midwest and the Northeast."

Let us now give thanks for this costly gift bequeathed to us by previous generations and the expensive lesson in adaptability it will provide.

Fortunately for Cape Cod, the same clean energy solutions that cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution will also create jobs and bring energy stability on the Cape. Show your support for Cape Wind.

You Are Not Allowed to Make Fun of Big Oil CEOs on NBC

Don't believe the game is rigged in Washington in Big Oil's favor? WRC-TV, the NBC owned & operated affiliate in DC, has aired ads in support of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, but it refused to air this ad opposing it:

When Richmond, CA Fights Big Oil, Chevron Fights Dirty

Thinking about hosting an oil pipeline, refinery, fracking operation, etc. in your town? Better hope everything goes smoothly. If it doesn't, as The Rachel Maddow Show reports, Big Oil is ready to get personal:

The 3 Things Missing from the Republican Case for Climate Action

Two articles make the Republican case for Congressional action on climate change today, one in the New York Times by former Environmental Protection Agency administrators under GOP presidents William D. Ruckelshaus, Lee M. Thomas, William K. Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman, and one in the New Jersey Star-Ledger by former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC).

1. Republican leaders aren't representing Republican voters on climate action. Poll after poll shows anywhere from 30% to 50% of Republican voters say climate change is happening and we should do something about it, but only a handful of Congressional Republicans advocate climate action. Why aren't Congressional Republicans representing their own voters on climate change? These articles ignore the disparity altogether.
2. No one likes a carbon tax better than carbon limits. Both articles argue that a revenue-neutral carbon tax is superior to Environmental Protection Agency limits on carbon pollution, citing conservative economists who say that's the most virtuous way to go. The problem is that among non-economists, Americans across party lines agree taxes are bad and Environmental Protection Agency regulations are good. Even if it was popular, as Grist's David Roberts has detailed, a carbon tax is trickier than you think.
3. Why is inaction untenable? Neither article lays out the scientific urgency of addressing climate change - for example, the number of American communities that inaction will literally put underwater. Neither article lays out the political urgency - for example, that young voters think Republican climate denial is ignorant, out-of-touch and crazy. Both articles focus on economic solutions, which again, is compelling to economists but won't win you many arguments at a neighborhood picnic. A much stronger case was made by a young conservative Congressional staffer ... who wrote under a pen name for fear of losing his job for speaking the truth about the scientific & political urgency of climate action.

Much like with immigration reform, Congressional Republicans have painted themselves into a political corner: They're screwed in the short-term because they've opposed sensible solutions for so long, they'll get none of the political credit for their passage. But that would leave them screwed in the long-term as the ignoramus party. Wouldn't you rather take the short-term hit and move on to topics that you can win on?

I'd rather these articles have dealt with that reality, rather than blaming "gridlock" and pushing plans no one likes. Where does that get us?

Put Transit Where People Need to Go (Especially If They're Drunk)

Tonight begins New Bedford's 99th annual Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, a drinking-intensive event with no nighttime public transit.

Just this week, New Bedford Standard Times columnist Steve Urbon lamented how the city's recently-launched downtown shuttle service has few passengers. Urbon speculates the route was designed not around where people already need to go but where tourism officials would like people to go.

Why not take advantage of the opportunity to introduce thousands of potential new customers to the service by offering a special & late-running Feast Shuttle? Give them fliers for the normal shuttle routes that they can read the next morning while they're recovering from their skull-crushing Madeira wine headaches?

Handicapped Match: Cardinal vs. Three Blue Jays. Who You Got?

Just watched it unfold on my deck. Your winner: The cardinal. Was surprising since blue jays have always struck me as assholes and cardinals as fairly mellow, but the cardinal really took the fight to them. The blue jays quickly retreated.

Will Gov. Patrick Listen to Anti-Coal Protesters and Shut Down Somerset's Brayton Point?

Protesters delivered a powerful message to Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) on Sunday, asking him to shut down the coal-fired Brayton Point power plant:

Organized by 350.org Massachusetts Action and Better Future Action, protestors carrying mini wind turbines and signs like "Coal is stupid" called for Gov. Deval Patrick to close the coal plant and "ensure a just transition for workers and host communities from the West Virginian mines to Somerset," according to a press release. [...]

Chanting slogans like "All coal is dirty coal, leave it in the ground," a line of protesters snaked past area homes, drawing some bystanders.

"We live nearby and we are concerned about the power plant but didn't realize (the protest) was going to be that big a deal," said Missy Pimentel, surprised by the turnout. "I'm glad they are here."

Police arrested 44 protesters. Show your support by emailing Gov. Patrick asking him to shut down Brayton Point now. (Its recent sale shows Brayton Point is nearly worthless anyway.)

Despite the $30,000 in riot gear that Somerset Police Chief Joseph Ferreira bought especially for the event, all went peacefully. Somerset is now considering a sizeable solar project near the current site of the Brayton Point coal plant that could generate $500,000 a year in revenue for the town.

The event garnered widespread media coverage, though lines like this give me a headache (emphasis mine):

The plant has long been the ire of environmental groups worried that the plant's emissions can cause nerve and brain damage to nearby residents. The latest protest comes after a boat blockade attempted to stop coal shipments to the plant earlier this year.

Dominion Energy, which owns the plant, paid a $3.4 million penalty in April for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. In documents online protesters allege the plant spews 15,000 pounds of mercury, arsenic, lead, and other hazardous air pollutants into the air each year.

Why are the health impacts and pollutants attributed to environmental groups, as though that's a he said/she said debate rather than scientific fact? If environmental groups stop worrying, will the health impacts go away? Can't we objectively measure the pollutants?

Check out a more in-depth review of the event from Wen Stephenson in The Nation and sign up for updates from the Better Future Project.

Local Police Chief Ready to Crack Skulls at Peaceful MA Coal Protest

Ahead of a peaceful anti-coal protest planned Sunday at Massachusetts' Brayton Point power plant, Somerset Police Chief Joseph Ferreira has invested $30,000 of town funds in full riot gear. Click the link so you can see the accompanying picture - the chief had his officers pose for media looking ready for war while brandishing billy clubs.

You get the feeling that if the protest is as peaceful as its planners intend, Chief Ferreira will be disappointed.

Yes, Wind Energy is Clean & Affordable, But THE VIEWSHED

I don't understand people who say wind turbines are eyesores that ruin the view. Personally, I like looking at them - simple & elegant. Even on mountains, in fields, or in the ocean, they seem to belong there harnessing nature's abundance.

But even if you don't like looking at them ... well, so what? Since when did we start holding new projects to that standard? Big box stores, highways and power lines aren't exactly works of art, but we put up with them because they perform important services and support jobs. We should be at least that willing to tolerate things that collect clean, affordable, locally-produced energy.

Now go like Friends of Fairhaven Wind.

Google: We Never Said Anything About Being Stupid

Google, the company whose motto is "don't be evil," recently hosted a big money fundraiser for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the Senate's climate science denier-in-chief. Watch Andy Cobb take a look at how that might affect Google's search performance, then tell Google to stop funding evil:

Billionaire Polluting Kochs Think Disclosure Is For The Little People

Billionaire polluting energy kingpins the Koch brothers have taken to personally attacking journalists who report on their shady dealings, according to the Washington Post's Paul Farhi. But as the Better Future Project pointed out this week, the Kochs think full public disclosure is only for the little people - Oxbow Carbon baron and Cape Wind opponent William Koch not only thinks he should be able to hide behind a front group, he thinks he should get a tax break for his trouble:

New England climate movement leader Craig Altemose and several other concerned citizens have co-signed a letter to the Internal Revenue Service urging it to investigate the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound after its repeated failures to properly document its donations and expenses.

They point out that the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has forwarded $394,000 to the Town of Barnstable to pay for its litigation against the Cape Wind project, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has failed to properly account for these grants as required in its recent Form 990 filings.

It's part of an admitted strategy by the Kochs - invest in the political process to maximize their own interests and profits. But they know that billionaire polluting energy kingpins are the least-persuasive public spokesmen possible, so they fund a series of front groups and puppet spokespeople to make their case for them. And on top of that, the politicians they fund constantly fight for laws to help hide that funding and its connections.

All that stands in stark contrast to clean energy and its supporters. Cape Wind's conservation, public health and labor allies are so transparent they put all their names on one website.

Show your support for Cape Wind by asking federal regulators to speed the development of clean, affordable offshore wind energy.

Learn Why Keystone XL Isn't in America's Interest in Under 2 Minutes

The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would cook our climate, threaten wildlife and drain money from American families. What's not to like?

Political News is Filtered Through Lens of Well-Off White Political Junkie

That the House Republican farm bill would quite literally starve low-income families while shoveling billions in subsidies to agribusiness corporations? BOOOO-RING.

But hey, did you hear who's going to a pancake breakfast in Iowa this weekend? The Iowa caucus is only 30 months away! Never mind that it's failed to predict the Republican nominee two cycles in a row. HORSE RACE! It's on!

Your national political news is almost always filtered through the lens of someone who's white, middle to upper income, lives in the DC or New York City suburbs, drives more than relying on walking/biking/transit, never worries about where their next meal will come from, cares much more about political spin than policy impact, and thinks everyone sees the world the exact same way.

As Ezra Klein often says, "The first rule of being a political junkie is to always remember that you are a very weird person, and most people are not like you." Seems like very few political journalists ever get that introspective.

Amusement Park Ride Looks Exactly Like Wind Turbine

Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire has a ride called Equinox that looks just like a wind energy turbine. A park spokesman tells me it's just a coincidence, but for the few, the proud, the wind energy fanatics, this seems like a rare chance to experience being strapped to a working wind turbine:

See What Happens When Local Tea Party Group Thinks For Itself

The Georgia Tea Party supports diversifying the state's energy sources to take advantage of the Peach State's abundant solar energy, saying consumers have the right to choose where their electricity comes from. Right now, Georgia utilities provide only gas-fired, coal-fired, and nuclear power, with only tiny amounts of hydro-electric and other renewable energy mixed in.

But Koch Industries founded the Tea Party to fight limits on corporate pollution, not promote solar power. So the Koch collective is now sending piles of cash to put down the pro-solar insurrection, as Kiley Kroh reports at Climate Progress.

The moment anyone bucks the pro-polluter party line, those Tea Party muskets of freedom turn into a firing squad.

Ask The Green Miles: Are Smart Cars the Greenest Choice?

The quintessential auto show picture

When folks ask me for advice on car-buying, they almost always bring up Smart Cars. They're so small, they must be the most fuel efficient, right?

But smallest size doesn't necessarily mean the best fuel efficiency. Sure, the Smart ForTwo gives you a really good 36 miles per gallon combined city/highway at a very low base price. But a nice gas-sipping subcompact - say, a Ford Focus or a Toyota Yaris - will give you very similar fuel efficiency (low 30s) with TWICE the passenger volume for only a couple of thousand more.

If you're a short-to-medium distance commuter, all-electrics like the Ford Focus Electric or Nissan Leaf will deliver absolutely amazing savings on fuel cost and pollution. And for folks who regularly make longer drives and need a hybrid, the Toyota Prius is still king.

The Environmental Protection Agency's FuelEconomy.gov gives a great rundown of the most fuel-efficient cars, along with the most and least fuel-efficient SUVs and trucks.

That brings me to a related pet-peeve: When people think I'm reflexively anti-SUV. Yes, if you're a single person driving a Chevy Suburban because you might go skiing once next year, you're wasting money and polluting our air for absolutely no reason. But if you need some room for your family, get a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and you'll be getting only somewhat worse mileage (28 mpg combined) than those Smart Car drivers.

Help Fund Forest Film-Making

My cousin Rebecca Billings and her documentary partner Jacob Wise are kickstarting project on Vancouver Island's old-growth forests. Watch the video below, then if you can spare it, kick them $10 to help their project to protect these ancient wildlife habitats.


IndieGoGo Promo Video from Jacob Wise on Vimeo.

Top Wildfire Fighter: "We've Had Climate Change Beat Into Us"

Just posted to the National Wildlife Federation blog on how climate change is fueling the Arizona wildfires and may be permanently changing Western wildlife habitats.

Watch more as Scott Pelley of +CBS News' 60 Minutes interviews Tom Boatner, the federal government's chief of fire operations, on the front lines on the connection between global warming and wildfires:

Beltway Journalists Now Writing Polluter Fan Fiction

The National Journal's Amy Harder fantasizes about how President Obama could lay the smackdown on his administration's own experts and anyone who wants a stable climate by approving the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Tim DeChristopher and Our Upside-Down Punishment Priorities

Wall Street bankers crashed the global economy. Not a single one was put on trial, never mind sent to prison. Not one, not for a day.

Climate activist Tim DeChristopher pranked one oil and gas leasing auction as an act of civil disobedience. Despite the Interior Department subsequently canceling those leases saying they had been rushed into auction with insufficient environmental and scientific review, authorities decided to make an example of DeChristopher. He was sent to prison for 21 months and is now serving an additional three years of probation.

DeChristopher told his story to +Late Show with David Letterman this week:

How GOP Consultants Convinced a Polluting Energy Heir to Waste $1.5 Million Fighting Ed Markey

John Jordan, heir to a polluting energy fortune who now runs his family's California vineyard, decided to dump $1.5 million into trying to defeat Ed Markey in the special election for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Markey won by 10 points, a big win for a Democrat in a low-turnout special election.

Why did Jordan think he had a shot at beating Markey? As the Wall Street Journal's Neil King, Jr. reports, a busload of Republican consultants paid for their three martini lunches in DC this spring by convincing the political neophyte Jordan to waste a considerable chunk of the family fortune on a race that was never particularly close:

The creation of Mr. Jordan’s super PAC, Americans for Progressive Action, stirred speculation earlier this month about the group’s origins and backers. Its treasurer, Nancy Watkins, used to work for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, while its spokeswoman, Sheena Tahilramani, once served as chief of state to former Bush White House aide Karl Rove. [...]

Mr. Jordan has allied himself in recent months with conservative activist Dick Morris, who is also helping advise on Mr. Jordan’s campaign to assist Mr. Gomez. In February, Mr. Jordan financed and helped craft a poll of Latino immigrants to the U.S. The poll’s methodology was widely panned by critics.

Many of these same consultants just got done freeloading off the campaigns of the entire Republican ticket, from Mitt Romney on down, while running it straight into an Election Day ditch. Dick Morris famously predicted a Romney "landslide." Jordan apparently hired him anyway.

Look, when I started writing this post, I was going to make fun of John Jordan. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, posts lots of pictures of himself at fancy parties on Flickr, and actually kind of looks like a Chris Farley character - sure, he has fun stompin' grapes in the family vineyard, but can he take the reins of an oil & gas fortune? Hilarity ensues!

But the poor guy just got swindled out of $1.5 million by Republican consultancy hucksters. His chosen candidate of Gabriel Gomez was utterly clueless on how to solve America's problems. Jordan says he's a centrist, and if he is, I hope he learns from this experience and refocuses his efforts to get the Republican Party out of the fever swamp of consultant-run campaigns.

Obama to Unveil Climate Action Plan Tuesday - Watch Preview Video

Republican Science Denial Hits New Low

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a molecular biology denier.

GOP Rebranding: Gabriel Gomez Edition

Massachusetts Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez says he's green!

That's it. That's the whole rebranding. Opposes climate action, just like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Supports building the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, just like House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Opposes Cape Wind, just like big polluting Republican bankrollers like the Koch brothers. Backs the same old oil-and-coal-above all energy policies that Tea Partiers do.

But did you hear the part about he SAID GREEN? Totally new and improved, you guys!

Greenpeace Rips Canada For Funding More Tar Sands Promos (Video)

Can you believe Canada is spending $16 million this year on television advertisements trying to convince people that tar sands aren't as environment-destroying and climate-disrupting as you think? Learn more at Greenpeace Canada:

Proof Republicans Aren't Pro-Business: Tesla Motors

The Green Miles doesn't hate Republicans. I don't! I respect principled conservatives, like former Senators Bob Dole or John Warner.

What I hate are Republican politicians who claim to be pro-business or anti-regulation, when really they're willing to do whatever it takes to protect powerful special interests.

Case in point: Republicans doing auto dealers' bidding by blocking Tesla's efforts to sell cars directly to consumers in North Carolina and Texas. It's not about growing the economy or creating jobs or any other GOP tropes. It's using the law to shield existing businesses from an upstart business that would save consumers money. In effect, the Republican lawmakers' actions constitute a tax on consumers that subsidizes auto dealers.

Drought, Gas-Fired Power Plant Nearly Snuff Out Providence Waterfire

With southern New England in a mild drought and Providence River water needed to cool Dominion's natural gas-fired Manchester Street Power Station, last week Providence's famed WaterFire had to ditch the gondolas:

Organizers of the popular public art display, featuring small bonfires on rivers in downtown Providence, say Friday night's partial WaterFire lighting in the Waterplace Park Basin will be done by volunteers in waders. Typically, boaters keep the flames lit, and Friday's plans called for the city's hurricane barrier to be closed to ensure sufficiently high water levels.

But with high temperatures forecast this weekend, a power plant on the river bank may need to run at full capacity. So the hurricane barrier must be opened to ensure a constant flow of coolant water.

New England remains overly dependent on nuclear and natural gas-fired power, with a lingering but shrinking slice of coal-fired power, all of which are extremely water-intensive. As global warming continues fueling more droughts, water-intensive energy sources are at risk of becoming increasingly unreliable.

Which makes some other news this week especially important: New Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is moving forward with offshore wind leases off Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Offshore wind and solar power will not only strengthen our energy security - hopefully they mean we won't have to get used to the hip waders at WaterFire.

Solar-Powered Robot Boat To Attempt Atlantic Crossing, Because Guys

At a certain point in your life, you realize how much of scientific progress relies on dudes without girlfriends. Today's example: The Rhode Island students who want to shatter a world record with their solar-powered robot boat:

For the past three years the two along with three other friends have been working on an autonomous vessel named Scout to make the trip across the Atlantic. If Scout makes it, it will be the first ever autonomous vessel to make the crossing. Brendan Prior, one of the vessels builders and partners, says, "our first goal is to have it break that 60 mile world record which we can hopefully do in two days."

Once Scout is launched, it will be GPS guided and will send back information every twenty minutes of the 3000+ mile trip. Dylan says, "Scout sends back it's position, course, and the heading. Conditions of the sea, whether it's calm or rough, pH, salinity, barometric pressure, and three temperature readings.

I am only assuming they do not have girlfriends, because if they did, good luck making it through an inning of watching a Red Sox game, never mind three years building a robot boat, amirite guys?

Follow SCOUT's trip at GoTransAt.com or on Facebook.

Jobs and a Safe Climate or Bill Koch's Estate View: Whose Side Are You On?

When Cape Wind begins construction, it will be the leading edge of an offshore wind industry that's already created 35,000 jobs in Europe. As Cape Wind's Hannah Wood writes in the Cape Cod Times, those jobs are critical to a region in transition:

I know for some, concerns about Cape Wind stem from a desire to keep the Cape as it is. But, like it or not, climate change is already affecting the Cape.

The question for all of us is whether we try to control the change or let it control us. If we don't start using cleaner sources of energy, we are on a course to see much more severe erosion from our beaches and dunes and continued harm to fish and other wildlife, as well as to the plants and trees that we all enjoy.

Constructing this offshore wind farm is the type of change we need to ensure that future generations can appreciate the Cape as much as we do now.

Young people on Cape Cod also need more sustainable industries here that pay decent salaries year-round so more of them stay here to raise families of their own. Offshore wind is a move in the right direction, and Cape Wind is a crucial first step.

But what about the view from Bill Koch's vacation estate? And what about all the other wealthy Cape Cod landowners hiding behind front groups to attack Cape Wind? What should come first - our economic development, public health, and long-term climate security, or their pristine estate views?

Sign the Conservation Law Foundation & MoveOn.org Civic Action petition to stand up to Bill Koch and build Cape Wind now.

In Local Traffic Reports, Roads Always Come First

In the middle of this morning's commute, Boston's MBTA B Line was briefly shut down due to an electrical issue, forcing hundreds if not thousands of commuters to get off at Packard's Corner and take shuttle buses to Kenmore Square, then get back on trains.

This news was presented last in the local traffic report, after a long list of highway stop-and-go's at all the usual gridlock spots that have been stop-and-go every single weekday morning of my life.

It's been the same anywhere I've lived in this great country: Even if aliens came down from space and started space-lasering multiple trains and buses full of commuters and GOOD GOD WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T TAKE THE 16B, that news would have to come after a car in the breakdown lane of I-95 right before exit 24, so watch out for that one.