Bob McDonnell Wants To, Uh, Y'Know, Do The Thing That Gets The Oil

For someone so anxious to drill for oil just miles from Virginia Beach, Bob McDonnell is awfully terrified to say the word "drill." In his op-ed today in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Gov. McDonnell never uses the words "drill" or "drilling" - not even once.

And with good reason! You might remember the image at right, produced in the very early days of the Deepwater Horizon disaster to show what the slick - just a fraction of the size it would eventually become - would look like if it happened off the Virginia coast.

As much as Gov. McDonnell would like us to forget about those thousands of dead birds, hundreds of dead endangered sea turtles, and more than a hundred dead dolphins, he's wrong dismiss the Gulf oil disaster as an "accident." The Gulf oil disaster was no random twist of fate - the bipartisan commission that investigated the blowout said it was the result of a series of bad decisions by the people doing the oil drilling, called the disaster "avoidable," and warned that without significant reform (which we're still waiting on), it could happen again.

But even if oil drilling was less dangerous than it is, would drilling off Virginia do us any good? The U.S. consumes 22% of the world's oil but holds only 1.5% of global oil resources. During the Obama administration, U.S. oil production is up sharply - but that hasn't done a thing to stop gas prices from rising sharply as well. The same story is true on a global scale - worldwide oil production is up, but oil prices are up too. Worldwide consumption is up and the dwindling supplies of oil left underground are getting more & more expensive to drill.

We can't drill our way out of our energy problems. The only way we can reduce our oil costs over the long term is to use less oil - fuel-efficient cars in the short-term, renewable energy-powered electric cars in the long term, and building more transit options & more walkable communities over the really long haul so our lives aren't tethered to the gas pump.

But hey, Bob McDonnell didn't get $33,150 from Exxon Mobil by pushing for hybrid school buses! He got it by promising to open up Virginia's coastline to drilling & leaving it to some future governor to worry about apologizing for how no one could possibly have predicted an oil disaster here.

The Environemntally Sensitive Climage Candidate

Arlington County Board Member Barbara Favola kicked off her campaign for Virginia State Senate with a series of embarrassing gaffes - hiring a campaign consultant only to see her reportedly quit soon after, falling victim to a fake Twitter account, announcing the wrong date for her campaign kickoff, and letting her Facebook account get phished. Not the kind of stuff that makes you think she's a bad person or lousy candidate - but does make you wonder if she's running a tight ship.

At last night's Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting attended by 250 local Democrats, Favola's campaign clearly didn't bother to proofread her campaign flyer. It had not one but two typos under "Protecting the Environment":

Favola is giving the appearance that she isn't worried about dotting "i"s and crossing "t"s because she thinks she's guaranteed to coast to victory in the primary thanks to her support from the Virginia State Senate Democratic establishment.

At the same meeting, another candidate entered the race - one who isn't afraid to challenge Virginia's failed Democratic State Senate status quo. Watch the announcement speech of Jaime Areizaga-Soto:

Maryland's Montgomery County Passes Bag Fee

Following in the footsteps of DC's successful bag fee, the Montgomery County Council has passed a 5 cent fee on disposable bags. The fee applies to both paper and plastic bags at nearly all retail establishments.

The fee is a win-win:

• If consumers keep using disposable bags, the county will now have an additional $1 million to help fund cleanups of streams & rivers
• If consumers switch their habits to reusable bags, the county will have dramatically reduced its need to clean up streams & rivers

The Virginia General Assembly has not only refused to pass a disposable bag fee, it's refused to even let communities like Arlington impose their own. So we don't get the funding to clean up waterways and we don't give consumers a nudge to change their habits - a lose-lose.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has also introduced a national bag fee with proceeds going to fund conservation programs, but House Republicans seem way too busy trying to protect Big Oil subsidies to act on a bag fee.

Learn more about why a bag fee makes economic & environmental sense at TrashFreeVirginia.org.

Bay Oysters Held Hostage: Virginia Demands Everything For Nothing

It's not something you'd expect to hear from a government run by people who claim to be fiscal conservatives: Virginia is threatening to pull out of oyster restoration work because federal officials won't give free handouts to Virginia businesses.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission is objecting to federal rules that say oyster reefs restored with federal money can't be commercially harvested. It's also balking at the $500,000 contribution to receive $2 million in federal oyster reef restoration money.

But those federal rules exist to protect taxpayers. After all, why should public tax dollars be used to subsidize an oyster reef, only to have those oysters turned over to private watermen as a political favor? If Virginia officials want to enrich private businesses with public dollars, why not just save the time & effort and hand tax dollars directly to the watermen? Oh, right - because that would make Gov. Bob McDonnell look like a tax-and-spend socialist. Much better to demand the feds do it for him!

Of course, there are plenty of benefits of healthy oysters besides their commercial value. They'll make new oysters, provide food for other tasty things like crabs, and filter Chesapeake Bay water that's in desperate need of cleaning. So why not chip in the 25% to get a federal windfall?

Despite Gov. Bob McDonnell's claims that Virginia's in the money, Virginia is so short on cash it's basically collecting bottles to return for the deposit:

Lacking cash, the state has been using the value of old oyster shells as its matching share; shells are the building blocks of new reefs.

But the state is running out of oyster shells and already is being forced to mine ancient shells buried within river beds to keep pace with construction needs.

You see, ever since they cut a deal in 2004 with then-governor Mark Warner to raise taxes to fund things like roads & schools and Warner got the credit, Virginia Republicans refuse to raise taxes for any reason ever. Then, thanks in large part to George W. Bush's economic policies, the economy crashed, dramatically reducing tax revenue. Combine the two and, well, Virginia's now literally scraping the bottom of the river.

Forced to pay our bills with oyster shells - and now demanding a free ride because we've run out of even those. Is this any way to run a state? Why won't Gov. McDonnell put aside politics and figure out how to sensibly raise the cash we need to pay our bills?

Mystery Monster By The Meadowlands Unmasked

For years, I've driven past the Meadowlands on the New Jersey Turnpike wondering about the absolutely humongous building next door. First it was under construction ... then it seemed finished ... and since then it's just sat there completely unmarked (unless you count the multi-colored aluminum siding, which, in the immortal words of Wayne Campbell, looks like a plate of hurl). I'd asked friends in New York City about it and they'd had no idea what it was.

Finally today I learned the answer at Andrew Sullivan's blog - it's a massive, unfinished shopping mall, formerly known as Xanadu, currently known as American Dream Meadowlands.

In this era of new urbanism, walkability, and online shopping, what better idea than a multi-billion dollar shopping mall in the middle of nowhere that you literally can't walk to with terrible traffic that makes you wish you'd just gone to Amazon.com?

Atlantic Wind Connection: Energy Playing Field Tilting Towards Windmills?

David Roberts writes in Popular Science about the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC), a proposed $5 billion undersea power grid. The plan by Maryland-based Trans-Elect would provide the infrastructure for wind farms stretching hundreds of miles down the Mid-Atlantic coast, from northern New Jersey to southern Virginia. David walks through the technical aspects in easy to understand way and talks about how the AWC would ease strain on our existing power grid, concluding its biggest advantage would be its scale:

It would tie together wind farms distributed over hundreds of miles of coastline, and because the wind will usually be blowing somewhere, its breadth would compensate for the unpredictability of wind at any individual site. Together, the steadier flow of power, combined with the money that wind-farm developers will save by feeding electricity into an existing network, could make wind power cheaper than electricity generated by natural gas or, in some cases, even coal.

Obviously, there is a long way to go. Multiple regulatory authorities will have to sign off before the AWC becomes reality. But the large-scale, holistic approach to offshore wind power that it represents is already echoed by at least two undersea power-transmission proposals being considered in Europe. And if the AWC succeeds in delivering predictable, low-cost, low-carbon power to the mid-Atlantic, expect the number of imitative projects to grow.

That $5 billion price tag may sound like a lot at first, but let's put it in context. The AWC would support wind power equivalent to 10 coal-fired power plants, which cost $1-2 billion each, if not more. (Cost overruns have just pushed the price tag of a new coal-fired plant in Wisconsin up 9% to $2.4 billion.)

Some 5/1/11 Closure for 9/11/01

Every night as I fall asleep, I turn on the old analog TV in my bedroom to SportsCenter and set the sleep timer to 30 minutes. Usually I don't make it 30 seconds before the dulcet tones of Neil Everett have me out cold.

But tonight before I could set the timer I noticed the "BREAKING NEWS" icon on the ESPN Bottom Line news ticker. Some major hockey injury news? I wondered. I didn't have my glasses on so I had to sit up and lean in close to see the tiny letters: "President Obama announces U.S. Special Forces have killed Osama bin Laden."

I haven't literally leaped out of bed like that since I was a little kid waking up on Christmas morning.

Killing bin Laden can't bring back any of the innocent victims of the September 11th attacks. But I do hope justice finally being done provides some comfort to their families. From the crowds in front of the White House & at Ground Zero to the U.S. Special Forces that carried out the near-flawless operation to President Obama, we all deserve to celebrate this very good news.

Parody Becomes Reality: Exxon Mobil Profits Up 69 Percent

Considering how much we're getting screwed by high gas prices, dangerous oil & hydrocarbon gas drilling, it seems only appropriate that Exxon Mobil's $11 billion profit in just the first three months of 2011 represents a 69 percent increase from last year.

I'm sure the number is just a coincidence (or is it, Donald Trump???). But it's depressingly reminiscent of BP's new name from last year's South Park parody (NSFW):

Coon 2: Hindsight
Tags: SOUTH
PARKEric Cartman,more...

Why Does Arlington Fight New Highways?

Because Arlington (and DC, Fairfax, etc.) continues to get failing grades for air quality that can be linked directly to excessive pollution from cars, SUVs & trucks.

The American Lung Association gave DC and every Virginia suburb an F for ozone pollution. What effects can humans expect from ozone and other smog-inducing photochemical pollutants?

Ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. It can inflame breathing passages, decrease the lungs' working capacity, cause shortness of breath, pain when inhaling deeply, wheezing, and coughing. It can cause eye and nose irritation and it dries out the protective membranes of the nose and throat and interferes with the body's ability to fight infection, increasing susceptibility to illness. Hospital admissions and respiratory deaths often increase during periods when ozone levels are high.

DC and Loudoun got Ds for particle pollution, while Arlington and Fairfax got Cs. And what does that mean for your health?

[Particulate] pollution is estimated to cause 22,000-52,000 deaths per year in the United States (from 2000) and 200,000 deaths per year in Europe. The effects of inhaling particulate matter that have been widely studied in humans and animals now include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, and premature death.

Why does Arlington fight new highways and distant coal plants? To steal a line from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, in the contest between pollution and children's lungs, there's a case to be made that someone should be standing up for children's lungs.

Of course, debates about air quality will be nothing more than hot air if Republicans on Capitol Hill succeed in gutting the Clean Air Act. Democrats and several moderate Republicans in the Senate have already beaten back several attacks, but please make sure your members of Congress know you support strong clean air protections.

Arlington GOP Loves Subsidies For Cars But Not For Bikes

Cars pollute our air, leading to our nation's capital having one of the nation's highest asthma rates, particularly among children. Subsidized space for cars disproportionately benefits those who can afford cars in the first place and probably don't need a handout. And let's not forget that cars hit, in declining level of frequency, people, homes, and Rhodeside Grill.

Bike sharing, on the other hand, leads to zero pollution or childhood asthma, takes up very little space, and is free for the first 30 minutes of each trip (though you do need a credit card to register).

But somehow the Arlington Republican Party thinks cars are more in need of taxpayer support. As Matt Yglesias writes, ‎"It's all just a reminder that sincere devotion to free markets plays almost no role in economic policy debates. It's identity politics all the way down."

Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining: Dumber Than Rocks

Check out this Mark Fiore cartoon.

SomeECards.com Manages To Combine Earth Day, Easter Into Single Card

Green Groups Giving Up Carrying The Torch For Carbon Pollution Limits?

In yesterday's post on how we need a climate bill not just individual action on Earth Day, I wanted to include a link to email your member of Congress to ask them to pass clean energy & climate legislation.

So I checked the website of the Sierra Club ... then Repower America ... then NRDC ... then the National Wildlife Federation ... then Greenpeace ... then Friends of the Earth ... and there could have been more ... before I finally found a climate bill action alert at the Environmental Defense Fund. I'm not saying there are definitely no climate bill email links at those groups' sites, but I couldn't find them with a few clicks & quick scanning.

If national conservation organizations aren't going to keep talking about limiting carbon pollution, who will?

I understand House Republicans aren't going to do much of anything that's positive on energy or environmental issues at all this year, never mind try to solve our biggest problems. When it comes to protecting public health & wildlife, we're playing defense this year, beating back attacks on the Clean Air Act & Clean Water Act. And after years of rallying around a climate bill, I can understand mixing in some other issues as well to keep people's eyes from going crossed.

But what I don't understand is the conservation groups' continued focus on compromises like renewable energy standards. If we're in a political climate in which nothing is achievable, why focus on the achievable? If you're going into a negotiation and you know the other person's going to say no, why water down your ask? Why not ask for what you really want?

The next milepost in this debate is January 2013. The House can only get more friendly to tackling the climate crisis, the Senate has about a 50/50 chance of staying where it is or getting friendlier, and President Obama is a good bet for reelection against a weak GOP field.

Now is the time to push the reset button and set the goal for the debate after the 2012 election (there can be plenty of watering down after that). Where do conservation groups want the carbon pollution debate to start? A carbon tax? Cap and trade? Cap and dividend? In a dreary time, let's dream big.

Fallen Fruit

Via NRDC's Jessica Lass, check out this cool new website for making sure fruit doesn't go to waste, called FallenFruit.org. It has maps for cities in California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, but nothing out east (yet).

Earth Day Can't Solve Our Biggest Challenges - But We Can

What's Earth Day 2011 about? Consuming!

That's right, new AOL subsidiary Huffington Post declares, "There's no better way to celebrate the planet than with free goodies!" Because nothing says conservation like using more than you need.

Shameless corporate co-opting aside, I'm cynical about Earth Day for one reason: No major environmental problem has ever been solved through voluntary individual action. Voluntary individual actions didn't solve DDT, water pollution, air pollution, ozone destruction, or acid rain - federal government action did.

Right now, our biggest environmental challenge is our addiction to dirty fuels and all its destructive effects - a climate in crisis, polluted air and water, destruction of communities & habitats thanks to oil drilling & mountaintop removal, the list goes on. But on EarthDay.org, you have to make two clicks to get to anything about legislative action, and that's only an ask to sign a petition ... which feels more like it's about collecting your email address than driving action.

What Earth Day CAN do is raise awareness, especially among Earth's newest residents, about our environmental challenges. You can join an event in Arlington on Saturday, or find an event near you at EarthDay.org. And there is one giveaway worth checking out - Capital Bikeshare is giving out bike maps & membership coupons in Rosslyn today.

But none of that is a substitute for the concerted action needed to change our national policies and keep energy & environmental issues at the top of the political agenda.

If you too find yourself feeling a bit cynical this morning and are in need of an Earth Day laugh, you can watch last year's NWF Climate Capsule Earth Day flashback. Or join Stephen Colbert some Earth Day jingoism by yelling SUCK IT, OTHER PLANETS:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Earth Is Awesome
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Sheraton Shares Savings With Guests Who Make "Green Choice"

UPDATE 6/16/11: Should've said this is a Starwood Hotels program, so you may find it at a Westin, a W Hotels, etc.

Forget 5 cent fees and rewards - Sheraton Hotels are putting some real weight behind their effort to get customers to buy in to conservation efforts. And since hotels can save big bucks on staff time and water costs if they don't have to strip and wash your still-clean sheets every night, why shouldn't conservation-conscious customers share in the savings?

With the Sheraton's Green Choice program, guests who decline housekeeping service get a $5 voucher per night towards food and non-alcoholic drinks:

Worth noting that Sheraton has also been a leader in going smoke-free.

I would show you a picture of the food I purchased with the vouchers, but it's long gone. After a long couple of days on Louisiana's Bay Jimmy, I was in no mood to conserve the freshly-fried fish in front of me.

The Green Miles Back In The Gulf

I'm in Louisiana this week for the National Wildlife Federation as the one-year mark of the Gulf oil disaster approaches. Here's my first post at NWF's blog.

TVA Moves Away From Dirty Power As Coal's Long Sunset Continues

I wrote last year about how, by helping kill clean energy & climate legislation, politicians claiming to be on coal's side were actually helping accelerate coal's inevitable decline. Without a Congressional mandate to pretend "clean" coal is real and massive subsidies for technology research, coal wouldn't be able to compete against natural gas, solar and wind power.

States like Colorado have already begun shuttering coal plants and moving to cleaner energy sources. Dominion Virginia Power is switching coal plants to natural gas & biomass. And now the Tennessee Valley Authority is announcing plans to phase out 18 units at three dirty, coal-fired power plants and install modern pollution controls on three dozen additional units:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at 11 of its coal-fired plants in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The settlement will require TVA to invest a TVA estimated $3 to $5 billion on new and upgraded state-of-the-art pollution controls that will prevent approximately 1,200 to 3,000 premature deaths, 2,000 heart attacks and 21,000 cases of asthma attacks each year, resulting in up to $27 billion in annual health benefits. TVA will also invest $350 million on clean energy projects that will reduce pollution, save energy and protect public health and the environment.

"This agreement will save lives and prevent billions of dollars in health costs. Modernizing these plants and encouraging clean energy innovation means better health protections and greater economic opportunities for the people living near TVA facilities,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Investments in pollution control equipment will keep hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful pollutants out of the air we breathe, and help create green job opportunities that will reduce pollution and improve energy efficiency."

But coal state politicians continue to insist all is well. Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston (WV) Gazette's Coal Tattoo blog has a must-read post on West Virginia politicians denying the reality of coal's decline:

Never mind that a handful of West Virginia counties account for the vast majority of the state’s coal production, while at the same time being home to a very small share of our population. Or that many of those same counties areamong the poorest in West Virginia. Or that coal is a very small share of West Virginia’s gross state product. [...]

As so often seems to happen with coal, though, the answer to that is not to follow the law, but to try to change it. And that’s what Sen. Rockefeller is trying to do with his legislation to block EPA action. [...]

[Rockefeller] oddly refers to EPA’s “rush to regulate” greenhouse gases. Rush to regulate? Seriously?

Come June, it will have been 23 years since Dr. James Hansen warned Congress that global warming was already underway … and with a GOP-controlled House, does Sen. Rockefeller really believe there’s much chance of a comprehensive climate change bill becoming law — or would the success of his EPA-blocking legislation just be a way to again protect coal from having to "embrace the future"?

My only question is, why won't politicians like Barack Obama, Tim Kaine & Mark Warner level with voters that the age of coal is ending? Instead, we get lots of empty rhetoric about how "clean" coal will someday appear out of thin air. Do they really think voters can't handle the truth?

Arlingtonians Want Hyper-Restrictive Zoning, Except When They Don't

According to Charlie Clark of the Falls Church News-Press, it looks like Arlington's zoning administrator is holding up yet another improvement in Arlington's Westover neighborhood, this time a proposed farmers market:

[John] Reeder's vision, which he says is backed by Westover merchants, would start with 20 farmer-vendors on McKinley St., on the grounds and parking lots of the Reed School/Westover Library. He and 25 fellow enthusiasts foresee the market as being open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., supervised by a new nonprofit created with civic associations. The newly renovated Reed, he says, was designed with a front plaza and sidewalks with just such a use in mind.

This November, Reeder won verbal approval from the School Board, which has jurisdiction over the Reed property.

But there's a snag. "The county zoning staff has indicated they will not issue a use permit until after an elaborate change in the county ordinance pertaining to farmers markets," Reeder says. Officials asked for detailed plans that require the blessing of school board and superintendent. "The staff told us it will likely not be till September or later this year before we could get a use permit," Reeder says. "That means essentially there will be no Westover farmers market in 2011."

What, do you expect Arlington's zoning administrator to go rushing in blind to something as dangerous and controversial as (gasp!) a farmers market! Won't someone think of the children???

But Arlingtonians have asked for this type of hyper-restrictive regulation. At the same time Westover residents are shaking their heads at the regulatory maze to set up a simple farmers market, Lyon Village residents are asking for new ways to restrict parking on their streets. And while the project is finally moving forward, it took a concerted community effort to overcome citizen & County objections to the Westover Market Beer Garden.

Look at the East Falls Church redevelopment plan and the top citizen complaints about the area - "Lacks unifying identify or central focus," "Has underused land and prevalent surface parking," "Lacks neighborhood-serving retail." Historically, Arlingtonians haven't see those as bugs - they were features. In 1986, EFC residents had the county create zoning bans on business or multifamily homes to keep those loud young people out of their neighborhood. And now 25 years later they're wondering why their neighborhood is boring and isolated.

Photo via Arlington Green Party

"God Seems To Will That The Creeks Rise A Bit More Often"

Via Andrew Sullivan, a great post on the impact of mountaintop removal on Appalachian communities.

Metro's Olden Days: When We Were Willing To Pay For Nice Things

Do you think some day, my grandkids will temporarily turn off their GoogleApple iMmersion Suits 2053 and say, "Grandpa Grant, will you tell us the story again of how Metro used to have carpeting and nice seats?"*

Since DC, Maryland and Virginia (well, mostly Virginia) can't get on the same page about a dedicated funding source for Metro, the transit agency continues to cut wherever it can. Most of the changes aren't visible to riders, like slashing funding for maintenance & long-term improvements.

But last night I got to experience one of the most visible changes for the first time - new cars with dark wool fabric seats instead of the usual orange/brown fake leather and hard floors instead of carpeting:

When Metro first opened, carpeting & padded seats were seen as a good investment to lure finicky DC commuters out of their cars. Now, the theory goes, Metro has plenty of customers and can scale back on the luxury items.

I'm torn on the carpeting - while it does seem unnecessarily expensive, the car felt cold & barren without it. The fabric seats were a bit more alarming. How can I put this? I'd much rather my seat repel whatever was spilled on it rather than absorb it.

* - Of course they'll never turn off their iMmerison Suits. If anything, I'll have to turn on mine to talk to them. Right after I make sure the sea wall's still holding. I told you people about the global warming! But you didn't listen! (Shakes fist at cloud.)

Update 9:11am: Michael Perkins of GreaterGreaterWashington.org adds on Twitter, "I'm telling my grandkids how we used to run trains more than once/hr outside of peak of the peak of the peak of the peak time." But running trains more often, getting more people to work on time & getting more cars off the road would require raising taxes on Virginians each year by $1! SOCIALIST.

An April Reminder of the Anthropocene

DC's had an odd spring - stretches of cool, damp weather mixed with record highs. After Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport set a record high of 81 on March 18, Monday's forecast of 88 threatens the records of 91 at National, 87 at Dulles and 85 at BWI. Then we're right back down to lows in the 40s on Tuesday & Wednesday.

Globally, the trend remains clear - NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reports January-February temperatures were 0.72 degrees F above the average for the 1900s. That means that the first 2 months of 2011 tied for the 17th-hottest on record.

The March edition of National Geographic took an in-depth look at the Anthropocene: Age of Man. This NOAA graphic highlights some of the extreme weather events around the world in February:

Why Do Bird Types Show Up at My Feeders in Twos?

Interesting that I haven't been getting new species at my bird feeder one at a time - they've shown up in twos.

The tufted titmouse & Carolina chickadee made sense - similar habitats, similar feeding strategy, safety in numbers (especially given the toughs that hang out around here).

But this week two very different birds showed up on the same day. A White-breasted Nuthatch flew up to the suet feeder:

Then a Dark-eyed Junco came hopping along looking for stray seeds from from my sunflower seed feeder:

While I've seen rabbits, hawks, and even a bald eagle in this area, I hear I haven't met some of the most interesting neighbors. A National Wildlife Federation coworker who lives in Arlington's Madison Manor tells me he regularly sees foxes ... and on trash night, has heard a coyote yipping in the darkness.

Read all my backyard birding posts under my birdwatching tag.

Will GOP Shut Down Government Over Mountaintop Removal Mining?

We already knew Republicans might be willing to shut down the government to de-fund family planning & block enforcement of the Clean Air Act. But in a surprise turn, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) now says it looks like the GOP might be willing to furlough nearly a million federal workers to keep blowing up mountains:

"Curiously enough, mountaintop mining was put on the table late in the game. Who knew that was going to lead to the shutdown of the federal government?" Conrad said on CNN.

The move comes on the same week that over 150 citizens with the Alliance for Appalachia converged on Capitol Hill for the Week in Washington to end mountaintop removal:

Mountaintop removal mining relies on heavy explosives to blast off several hundred feet of mountain to expose coal seams, and has impacted over 500 mountains in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee to date. According to the EPA, the practice has also buried or destroyed more than 2,000 miles of streams in those states.

Residents who live in proximity to mountaintop removal mine sites complain of orange and black tap water flowing from their faucets, breathing in coal dust floating in the air outside their homes and higher-than-normal cancer rates.

“If we are serious about moving America toward a clean energy future, banning mountaintop removal must be the first step,” says Jane Branham of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “For our economy, for our health, and for our heritage—we need this administration and this Congress to act.”

Watch my interview with Matt Wasson of Appalachian Voices:

From That Day On, If I Was Ever Needing Beer, I WAS RUNNING

I was in the beer aisle of Harris Teeter last night when a guy next to me in his 20s shook his head ruefully and said, "Man, I'd kill for some good, strong beer. Any chance you know anywhere like that around here?"

"Absolutely," I said. "Go to Westover Market up on Washington Boulevard. Three of the four walls are packed with beer."

His eyes lit up. "Is that far?"

"Nah, about two miles from here," I told him.

"Thanks!" he said, then spun around - and I am not making this up - and RAN DOWN THE BEER AISLE AND OUT OF THE STORE. Hey, when you need good beer, you need good beer.

I tell this story only as an excuse to link to this ArlNow.com story updating the progress of Westover Market Beer Garden in clearing Arlington's regulatory hurdles. So far, so good!

Genuine or Greenwashing: Carbon-Neutral Domino Sugar

Was in Harris Teeter last night looking for sugar & noticed Domino has gone carbon-neutral with CarbonFund.org:

Going carbon-neutral definitely gets filed under genuinely green - other than switching to 100% renewable energy, I can't think of much that'd be higher on the green list.

And this seems like a great example of an opportunity to use a legit environmental effort to differentiate your product in a category where brand loyalty probably isn't very high. I mean, if Skippy peanut butter goes carbon-neutral & you're a Jif man, you might not want to give up the taste that reminds you of mom's kitchen. But I can't imagine anyone being like, "Screw you, Domino! I'll never leave Dixie Sugar! Do you hear me, Domino? Never!"

DC Metro vs. NYC Subway

The Green Miles spent last weekend in New York City. Riding the subway, I couldn't help but notice the comparative advantages of DC's Metro:

• Much smoother
• Much quieter
• More seats
• Padded seats
• Most seats face forward or backward instead of the constant sloshing of sideways seats
• Carpeted floors
• Vastly cleaner due to the ban on food & drink
• Escalators (I only took one escalator on the NYC subway all weekend, at Times Square, and of course people stood on both sides of the escalator so you couldn't walk up)
• A lot less in-car advertising
• A lot fewer construction detours & delays

Obviously the NYC subway is a much older system tasked with carrying a lot more people on a lot more lines that service a lot more stops and they're doing the best they can. But it was a good reminder that, for all the complaining, we have it pretty good here in the DC area.

What's This Spring Been Like in DC?

Imagine Seattle. Cold, gray, damp.

Now take away the mountains. And the ocean. And the good music.

Then make all the people really uptight. Oh, and add lots of tourists. Many of them riding Segways.

That's DC in the spring of 2011.

Or, as Federal News Radio's Amy Morris posted to Facebook:

INSTALLING SPRING...
████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
33% DONE. Install delayed....please wait.
Installation failed. Please try again

Saturday Volunteer Event: Clean Off the 'Shed!

The Alice Ferguson Foundation is organizing its annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup on Saturday morning (April 9th) from 9am to noon. The Green Miles will be joining the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment volunteer group at Glebe & Chain Bridge Road, you can RSVP on Facebook. There will be events along the Potomac in DC, Maryland and Virginia, so go to PotomacCleanup.org to find a project near you.

Also, Will Ferrell will be wandering up & down the banks of the Potomac to shout at litterers:

(OK, not really. But that would be awesome.)

Dominion Virginia Power Switching Three Coal Plants to Biomass

Dominion is upgrading three power plants from coal to biomass & it's also moving forward with a study on the transmission of power generated by offshore wind. Read all the details from Lowell over at Blue Virginia.

The Difference Between Climate Science Skeptics & Global Warming Deniers

Richard Muller has been unconvinced so far by data pointing to a warming world. So he did his own study of temperatures, which revealed a definitive warming trend. Muller didn't hide his findings - he presented them to Congress this week. Richard Muller is a climate science skeptic.

When Richard Muller initially announced his study, Anthony Watts hailed it as "good news." But when Muller's conclusions contradicted Watts' political beliefs, Watts ripped Muller as someone with an "agenda" and "an axe to grind". Anthony Watts is a global warming denier.

Hope that clears things up.

New Coal Plants Fall Far Short On Job Promises

A new study by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies finds communities that accept new coal-fired power plants are getting burned on promises of jobs:

“I think the overarching issue here is that for a lot of the communities that are being asked to host these plants, there’s an extremely difficult cost-benefit analysis that they’re being asked to make,” said David Eichenthal, the president of the Ochs Center. “They are aware of the environmental and health issues that you take on when you have a coal plant put in your backyard. But many of these communities are in dire economic straits, and it tips the balance for them to allow this to occur.”

“But what they’re being promised,” he said, “isn’t what’s being delivered.”

The analysis looked at the six largest new coal-fired power plants to come online between 2005 and 2009, including facilities in Pottawattamie County, Iowa; Milam and Robertson Counties, Tex.; Otoe County, Neb.; Berkeley County, S.C.; and Marathon County, Wisc. All were plants exceeding capacity of 500 megawatts. [...]

The results: only a little over half, or 56 percent of every 1,000 jobs projected, appeared to be actually created as a result of the coal plants’ coming online. And in four of the six counties, the projects delivered on just over a quarter of the jobs projected.

What do new coal-fired power plants deliver 100% of? Their admitted emissions. Virginia's new coal-fired power plant in Wise County is projected to emit 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, 4,132 tons of carbon monoxide, 604 tons of sulfur dioxide, 1,920 tons of nitrogen oxides, 329 tons of particulate matter, 139 tons of volatile organic compounds, and 5 pounds of mercury. Every single year it's in operation.

Photo via Flickr's Wigwam Jones

Note: This post was updated to reflect the latest permits for the Wise County plant

Vote: Worst Thing Koch Brothers Have Done to America?

Watch this video, then vote here.

White House Getting Ready to Sell Out on Clean Air & Water?

Is the White House getting ready to trade away protections for clean air, the Chesapeake Bay, and Appalachian Mountains & their streams in an attempt to appease Congressional Republicans and their polluter friends? (UPDATE: A friend points out I'm wrong here - "'Trading away' would assume some sort of savvy quid-pro-quo where we actually GET something.")

The Associated Press updates budget negotiations:

The White House said Vice President Joe Biden and budget director Jacob Lew planned to meet Wednesday evening at the Capitol with Senate Democratic leaders.

A Democratic lawmaker familiar with a meeting Wednesday between Obama and members of the Congressional Black Caucus said the administration made it clear that some House GOP proposals restricting the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory powers would have to make it into the final bill. In order to characterize the White House's position, the lawmaker insisted on anonymity because the meeting was private.

It's not clear which proposals the White House might accept, but those backed by Republicans would block the government from carrying out regulations on greenhouse gases, putting in place a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and from shutting down mountaintop mines it believes will cause too much water pollution.

Sadly, I don't think progressives will find this news all that surprising. These days, from tax cuts for the wealthy to oil drilling, it seems like there's no issue on which the White House will stand up for what it believes in.

UPDATE 3/31 8:10am: In this morning's Environment & Energy Daily (sub. req.), Rep. Jim Moran asks the White House to take a stand:

The chief House Democratic appropriator for EPA and the Interior Department echoed environmentalists' wary response to the speech. It was up to Obama "and his speechwriters" to decide if EPA merited a mention yesterday, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia quipped before adding that calling the CR riders "totally unacceptable" should be a top priority.

"I hope he understands that promoting more energy -- even more sustainable forms of energy -- is not the same as protecting the environment in all cases," Moran said of Obama. "I just don't see any room for compromise on those riders, and I would hope that he would take a definitive position in that regard."

Sign the Sierra Club's petition asking the White House not to compromise away our clean air & water.

UPDATE 3/31 11:45am: According to Politico Pro (sub. req.), "A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment." Bye bye, environmental protections.

Photos of the 2011 DC Cherry Blossoms

It's cherry blossom time at the Tidal Basin. The Green Miles is skipping it this year because it's been freezing. And added bonus today: Rain mixed with sleet! Which as we all know makes me feel like this.

Fortunately for the cold-and-rain-phobic among us, my friend Sarah visited the blossoms and took some wicked awesome photos:

Obama Compromising With Himself on Energy, Again

In March 2010, President Obama came out for increased oil drilling. Result? He won over exactly no one to his clean energy & climate plan, and had to publicly reverse himself after the Gulf oil disaster.

Obama also promised massive subsidies for nuclear power plants. Result? The senators he was trying to win over, Lindsey Graham and John McCain, walked away from the clean energy & climate bill anyway, and now Obama is faced with the prospect of yet another public reversal after the Japanese nuclear disaster.

Now it looks like President Obama is once again giving up ground on energy with no guarantee of anything in return:

Many facets of his program will be familiar. The president will propose wider use of natural gas, including incentives to use it to fuel fleet vehicles such as city buses. He will back greater production of biofuels and will vow to establish at least four commercial-scale refineries producing cellulosic ethanol or advanced biofuels within the next two years. He also will pledge to establish higher fuel-efficiency standards for heavy trucks, just as he did for passenger vehicles early in his administration.

Obama will also urge oil companies to make greater use of the federal leases both onshore and offshore to prop up domestic oil output. The oil industry and GOP lawmakers have been loudly complaining about delays in the permitting of offshore drilling in recent months. But an irked administration, which had pledged tougher scrutiny of drilling applications after last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, fired back Tuesday with an Interior Department report that revived earlier debates about whether oil companies were exploiting the leases they already have.

There are some good ideas, like increased fuel efficiency for trucks. But they're more than outweighed by the bad ones:

• We've already been drilling for more oil recently under the failed Bush/Cheney energy policies. And how are gas prices doing?
• Natural gas may be less polluting than oil at the tailpipe, but comes with major concerns about the safety of a drilling procedure called fracking.
• And politicians have been touting next-generation biofuels for ... well, for a generation. Now it's 2011 and they're still not ready. Why throw more money down that hole when wind, solar and electric cars are ready now?

For all these giveaways, what exactly does the White House expect to get? Does anyone expect Congress to get off its butt and act on energy when GOP leaders seem happy to cash polluter checks and blame others for our national energy inaction?

In the face of Congressional inaction, President Obama should be defining the choice for voters. They're for buying more polluting oil from countries that hate us - I'm for making America more self-sufficient with home-made clean energy. If voters want the latter, they need to not only give Obama another term, but give him a Congress that will pass real reform.

Instead, we get more White House attempts to negotiate with people who want them to fail, and more "me too" energy policy, always a disaster for Democrats.

Have national Democratic leaders learned nothing from the 2009 & 2010 elections? Seems like they think the lesson is they haven't compromised enough, adopted GOP-lite stances enough, or depressed the progressive base enough. Sounds like a perfect prescription for more of the same on energy, and more of the same in the 2011 & 2012 elections.

Insignificant Nuclear Risk: Terrifying! Guaranteed Widespread Coal Deaths: Yawn.

Even though "multiple monitoring systems across the Commonwealth continue to show no levels of public health concern," the Virginia Department of Health is warning residents to avoid drinking rainwater collected in cisterns.

You have to wonder: If insignificant health risks posed by a distant nuclear disaster are worth a health update, why isn't VDOH giving constant updates on the known devastating effects of coal?

Mercury contamination is so widespread that one out of every six pregnant women have mercury levels in their blood high enough for levels in the fetus to reach or surpass the EPA's safety threshold for mercury.

According to the latest government data, this means that 630,000 children are born each year with a strong chance of developing serious mercury-related health effects.

According to the American Lung Association, 24,000 people a year die prematurely because of pollution from coal-fired power plants. And every year 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions and an additional 550,000 asthma attacks result from power plant pollution.

Now that's truly terrifying. Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people may be killed in rare nuclear disasters (to say nothing of the risks posed by uranium mining). But coal kills tens of thousands of people every year by design.

Unfortunately, the risks we've known & lived with for years aren't nearly as good at scaring up ratings as the new & unknown ones. Isn't that right, Nancy Grace?

Crappy Car > Christmas Cookies?

You know what sucks? Christmas cookies! And pets! You know what's awesome? A car that gets a terrible 18 miles to the gallon city and that Edmonds.com says is a lousy choice!



Call me crazy, but considering their target audience thinks driving sucks, you'd think it would make more sense to gear their message around "our car will help you do the things you like and let you do them more often by saving you money on gas" rather than "our car will make life worth living."

If The Clean Air Act Didn't Block Pollution, Where Would It Go?

The "American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity," a coal industry front group responsible for sending forged letters to Rep. Tom Perriello, is on the air in the DC area with ads shamefully attacking the Clean Air Act.

But as this video points out, if the Clean Air Act wasn't keeping pollution out of our atmosphere, it'd be going someplace else:



Please take a moment right now to contact Sen. Jim Webb and ask him to stand up for full enforcement of the Clean Air Act. You can also "like" the Clean Air Act on Facebook.

Claw on Pa: More National Zoo Lion Cub Cuteness

After the National Zoo's entertaining Hop on Pop lion video, there's a new slideshow I think we should refer to as Claw on Pa:

Japan Disaster Proves Wind Power's Sustainability

In the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Japan's food supply is being poisoned by nuclear radiation. That's after oil refineries and natural gas storage tanks exploded and burned. But wind power - whose reliability is constantly questioned by advocates of our energy status quo - survived the disaster without a scratch:

While Japan's water-dependent nuclear power plants suck and wheeze and spew radioactive steam, "there has been no wind facility damage reported by any [Japan Wind Energy Association] members, from either the earthquake or the tsunami," says association head Yoshinori Ueda.

Even the country's totally badass Kamisu offshore wind farm, with its giant 2 MW turbines with blades big as the wings on a jumbo jet, and only 186 miles from the epicenter of the largest quake ever recorded in Japan, survived without a hiccup thanks to its "battle proof design." As a result, the nation's electric companies have asked all of its wind farms to increase power production to maximum, in order to make up for the shortfalls brought about by the failure of certain other aging, non-resilient 20th-century technologies.

Wind's clutch performance is especially notable in light of how much Japanese power companies have resisted it.

Here in the United States, when we're making our energy choices we ignore things like how well they'll survive a disaster, or how vulnerable they'll leave us to global price shocks, or how many cases of asthma they'll cause. Instead, we pick our energy sources almost solely on how cheaply they can produce a unit of electricity. We get low prices in the short term, but like Japan's shaky nuclear construction, what long-term bills may come due?

This Squirrel Is Either Blind Or Has Brass Balls

I came around the corner the other day to find this scene, a squirrel nosing around for stray bird-feeder seeds on my patio as a sharp-shinned hawk watched from the patio fence. The squirrel is bigger prey than could be handled by a sharpy, America's smallest hawk. But ... a chance worth taking? I say no.

A few moments later, the hawk turned around and plunged into the holly bush on the other side of the fence, sending sparrows scattering. It came up empty, but returned a few minutes later to make another dive. The more you pay attention to wildlife, the more it ruins your preconceived notions - I'd assumed hawks were only maneuverable in open air, but turns out they're adept at chasing down birds in dense brush.

This is now the third time I've seen a sharpy in my backyard. Looks like I've got great sharpy habitat:

The population of USA and Canada has rebounded since and might even exceed historical numbers today. This is probably due to the combination of the ban on DDT and the proliferation of backyard birdfeeders in North America which create unnaturally reliable and easy prey for all Accipiters.

Think I can train the hawk to catch only invasive sparrows & starlings while leaving the cardinals, wrens and other natives alone?

The Green Miles & Tom Coburn: BFF?

I couldn't disagree more with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on a wide range of issues, like woman's right to choose, or climate science, or Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) being a slimeball.

But suddenly this year, I've found myself agreeing with Tom Coburn. I agree with him on cutting excessive mortgage subsidies. And I agree with him on cutting corn ethanol subsidies.

What's next? Will Coburn get behind repealing oil subsidies? Could we be seeing a new partnership between conservationists & fiscal conservatives on environmental issues that make economic sense?

I'm not holding my breath - but I won't turn my nose up at progress either, no matter what strange bedfellows are uniting behind it.

Video: Why Congestion Pricing Works

Why not do congestion pricing in DC & give the money to Metro?

Senate to Launch Surprise Late Night Attack on Clean Air?

As NRDC's Pete Altman reports, the U.S. Senate could be planning a late-night vote with limited or no debate on a bill that would gut Clean Air Act protections:

A common strategy for passing unpopular legislation is to launch a swift sneak attack that doesn't allow for much discourse or debate ahead of time and enables lawmakers to get through the process with as little scrutiny as possible.

That's what is happening right now in the US Senate, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is trying to amend a small business bill with the unrelated language from Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton's Asthma Aggravation Act of 2011 (more formally known as HR 910) in order to sneak through a law that would block the Environmental Protection Agency from making badly-needed updates to clean air safeguards to protect public health from carbon pollution.

As Pete reports, a full 64% of Americans think Congress should let the Environmental Protection Agency do its job - and that even includes 57% of Republicans. It's clear that any senator voting for this bill would be ignoring what Americans want to do the bidding of the billionaire polluter Koch brothers.

Please call Sen. Mark Warner at 202-224-2023 and Sen. Jim Webb at 202-224-4024 and ask them to oppose the Inhofe-Upton bill.

Rainbow Six: Bird Feeder Edition

One of the biggest myths of wildlife-watching is that you have to be at a zoo, a state or national park, or a wildlife refuge to see anything.

But here in East Falls Church, my simple bird-feeder stocked black oil sunflower seed continues to attract a wide range of birds. In fact, a bird showed up last week that I don't think I've ever seen before. When I first saw it, my brain thought "blue jay lite" - blue back, white chest, crested head - but it was way too small and not nearly as shrill. My National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds told me it was a tufted titmouse. (Yes, I keep a bird guide under the window. If the interns at work are going to call me a dorky old man, why not own it?)

The titmouse crept up on the feeder in a precision assault, picking off one seed at a time, always in the same fashion - from a tree across the parking lot, to my fence post, to the feeder, to the balcony upstairs to eat - pausing for only a moment at each stop to reassess the situation.

Another first-time visitor showed up the same day: A Carolina chickadee. The bird guide indicated that likely wasn't a coincidence, as the titmouse is known to hang out with other birds, maybe for protection in numbers.

So far, the species I've spotted in just the few months since I started putting out birdseed:

• Tufted Titmouse
• Carolina Chickadee
• Sharp-Shinned Hawk
• Carolina Wren
• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove
• English Sparrow
• European Starling

And of course, plenty of squirrels. The National Wildlife Federation can teach you more about making your own yard (or even a porch, patio or balcony) a friendlier place for wildlife. I wouldn't be disappointed if all you get is sparrows the first few weeks, especially if you're right in the city. But spotting even one cardinal or blue jay in the morning can make the commute to work seem a little less dreary.

UPDATE 3/15/2011: The original post referred to the second bird as a black-capped chickadee. However, I told the story to my NWF colleague Doug Inkley, who says it was much more likely a Carolina chickadee. Doug says the two birds look nearly identical, but in this region the black-capped hangs out at higher elevations (like the Appalachian Mountains) while the Carolina is at lower elevations (like Falls Church).

A Look At Flooded Potomac River At Great Falls

With the Potomac River swollen by last week's heavy rain & having crested just above floodstage on Saturday, I went to Great Falls Park on Sunday for a look:



While the Potomac provided an amazing sight - the most powerful rapids I've ever seen that close up - the river remained far from the record. That takes a lot more than a few inches of rain. For example, the near-record flood of 1996 followed not just two feet of snow, but 60 degree temperatures accompanied by an inch of rain. All that combined to cause the Potomac at Great Falls to rise a mind-boggling 85 feet in just two days. Capital Weather Gang has the story & some incredible photos.

Today's river level couldn't touch that, but it was plenty to provide some interesting images:

High Gas Prices Not Cramping Style of Virginia Democratic Party Staffers

Don Mark, political director of the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA), tweeted the picture at right with this note:

About to hit he road with @davemillsVA to Wytheville in our sweet Grand Cherokee.

Dave Mills is DPVA executive director. Depending on the model, a Jeep Grand Cherokee gets 14-16 miles per gallon city & 20-23 mpg highway. With Virginia gas prices ranging from $3.19 in Troutville to $3.79 in Alexandria, should DPVA employees be blowing members' money on a gas guzzler?

I tweeted:

@donmark82 @davemillsVA Maybe a little tone-deaf to be bragging about driving SUV at time of $3.50+ gas, no?

Dave's response:

actually guys, we're riding horses to Wytheville. Don's horse is named Grand Cherokee.

Ha ha?

Setting a better example was Del. David Englin, who tweeted, "heading to NYC on Bolt Bus for weekend getaway w/family & friends." A ticket on Bolt is not only cheaper than a single day's worth of parking in NYC (never mind gas & tolls), you can get work done with their free WiFi instead of grinding your teeth in traffic on I-95. And oh yeah, your energy use & carbon pollution will be rock bottom.

I'm aware the Bolt Bus doesn't stop in Wytheville. But a Ford Focus would be just as capable of handling that gritty, tough off-road drive on ... um, I-64 right to I-81. And it wouldn't send the message that energy, environment & fiscal responsibility take a back seat at DPVA.

Japan's Nuclear Crisis Reveals Difference in Communication Styles

Shortly after the earthquake & tsunami in Japan, statements by Japanese nuclear officials prompted both TPM's Josh Marshall and Matt Yglesias to express hope that the plants in question were out of danger. But if you go back and read the statements, Japanese officials weren't saying there would never be any danger; they were specifically saying "no release of radiation had been detected" so far.

I wonder if there's a cultural difference there - while we're used to hearing nightmarish warnings from U.S. officials, Japanese officials have simply related the current facts without inference, speculation or prediction.

Why the difference? Some U.S. officials say nothing short of the worst-case scenario will get Americans to heed any threat. And even then, they may ignore emergency instructions - among the Galveston, TX residents who heard the dire warning they faced "certain death" if they didn't evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ike, 50% stayed put anyway.

So when Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says "there is no immediate danger" after this morning's blast at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, who can be sure what to expect next?



Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

The GOP's Disastrous Budget Cuts

We already knew that in the face of the building climate crisis, Republicans want to block climate pollution rules & gut clean air laws. And that Republicans think monitoring deadly volcanoes is a waste of money.

Now as a tsunami devastates Japan, with Hawaii & the West Coast dodging a bullet, we learn the House GOP budget would slash funding for federal government tsunami tracking, warnings & response.

Sen. Webb Takes Stand Against Corn Ethanol Giveaways

While I disagree with his disinterest in climate action, I strongly support the effort by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) to end the $6 billion a year subsidy for corn ethanol fuel. And maybe next we can eliminating the $4 billion in subsidies we shovel to Big Oil every year while oil companies turn record profits?

Do Environmentalists Have a Fear of Heights?

Must-read article from The Atlantic on why, in most cases, conservationists shouldn't support height restrictions on new construction.

Genuine or Greenwashing: Fortune's Green Stars

My friend Every Day Father asked for my quick take on Fortune magazine's 8 green stars at Most Admired companies.

My problem with articles like this is that there's no yardstick for measuring results. Is it nice that McDonald's has turned three of its locations into LEED-certified green buildings? Sure, but what about the other 13,000 U.S. locations? Is Coke switching its bottles from a petroleum base towards a sugar base a net positive? Probably, but sugar has its own problems and the article makes no effort to quantify the difference. (To be clear, I'm questioning the quality of the reporting, not the quality of Coke's efforts.)

I'm more impressed with Fortune's write-up of the efforts at FedEx and Amazon, using new technology to do the same work using fewer resources and at lower costs - an obvious win-win. In Amazon's case, smaller packaging might actually improve their customer service ratings - the article mentions that The Green Miles isn't alone in his concern about Amazon's excessive packages.

Diners in Danger of Becoming Breakfast

A birdfeeder doesn't just bring birds - as I learned a few years ago in Arlington, it brings the birds that feed on the birds.

As I was getting ready for work the other morning, I noticed a hawk sitting on my patio fence and was able to take a quick Flipcam clip before it flew off. Nice to work at the National Wildlife Federation where I can ask a certified wildlife biologist for help identifying it. Here's what Doug Inkley had to say:

This is definitely either a sharp-shinned or Cooper’s hawk. They look very similar and hard to tell apart. The Cooper’s hawk is larger and much less common.

Banded tail, gray back, reddish eye and probably looking for songbirds around a bird feeder. My money is on a sharpy.

Bye Bye, AAA Credit Card

The Green Miles had a AAA-affiliated Visa card since shortly after I graduated college. A friend had gotten me a AAA membership as a college graduation gift and AAA called offering a card with something like a 5% rebate on gas. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

But as the years went on and I learned more about AAA's anti-smart growth, pro-oil lobbying, I let my AAA membership lapse and eventually stopped using the card.

Thanks to David Alpert's reminder at GreaterGreaterWashington.org this week that anyone who cares about building a better community shouldn't give their money to AAA, I finally got around to canceling the card today. When the customer service agent handling my call asked why I was canceling and I told him it was because of AAA's political policies, he didn't miss a beat. Made me wonder if he heard that from customers fairly often.

WTOP Believes in the Plastic Bag Fairy

WTOP apparently thinks plastic bags are created for free by magic fairies and delivered fresh each morning to the steps of your local grocery store.

"It'll soon cost you more to go to the grocery store." That's how an anchor began a story this week on a proposal to put a fee on plastic bags in Maryland's Montgomery County.

Plastic bags cost retailers $4 billion a year, a cost they pass along to us in the form of higher prices. As DC's experience shows, a small plastic bag fee can dramatically increase reusable bag usage. That cuts overhead for the store, prices for consumers, and taxes for all of us as communities spend less money picking up plastic bag litter.

Learn more at TrashFreeMaryland.org and TrashFreeVirginia.org.