Green Candidates (Cont.) and A Bit About Bird Feeding

The Grist ran its interview on John Edwards today, and recently had a column by Umbra about the eco-correctness of bird feeders. As one who feeds birds, I found it interesting (the thing about the feeders, though the Edwards interview is interesting, too).

How Green Is Your Candidate?

That’s the question posed by the Grist, which (along with Outside) is featuring a series of interviews and fact sheets on each of the presidential hopefuls, with “their current platforms, voting records, video, audio, and more” (to be updated as the campaigns plod along). They start the series with Barack Obama, but you can also read thumbnail descriptions on where each of them stand right now.

Hemingway Home Cats Getting Caught in Red Tape

Well, leave it the government to ruin a good thing. The cats that live on the grounds of Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home, some of them descendants of the late author’s six-toed pet Snowball, are facing a potential upheaval in their laid-back, Floridian lifestyle. Why? Because the US Department of Agriculture considers the place to be like a zoo or circus and wants to regulate the Hemingway House accordingly.

This would involve things like making the museum get an animal exhibition license and requiring staff to “protect” the cats from contact with spectators and cage them after their daily “performance” ends when the house closes for the day.

“Our cats do not do tricks. They don’t do flips and jump through hoops. They’re our pets!” said Jacque Sands, manager and 14-year veteran at the museum. “They own us. We don’t own them.”

The article goes on to describe how the dispute started and how the USDA got involved.

I suppose those supporting regulation have the best of intentions, but really, the place isn’t a zoo or a circus. There’s got to be a better way to handle this.

The Internet Doesn’t Leave Newsprint on Your Hands (Part Deux) Plus A Cynic’s View of Online Social Networks

Yet another report that newspapers are a dying breed and the Internet represents their salvation. The Washington Post, described here as “a first-class newspaper that dominates its local market” but is struggling from a business standpoint, is trying to stay in the game by making a long, difficult transition (as such transitions often are) from print to pixels. The article discusses some of the Post’s history, as well as the reasons for its relative good fortune compared with other local newspapers dealing with declining readership.

In contrast to the prevailing view that the Internet represents the future of journalism, along comes this fellow to say that online social networks like MySpace or Second Life are overhyped and will vanish by the end of this decade. He discusses some of the serious cons of participating in these networks. And he makes no bones about his lack of confidence in their survival. Well.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all actually shakes out in the next 10 years or so.

Boxer Takes A Few Jabs At EPA Head

Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., didn’t mince words when she grilled EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at a hearing yesterday about why his agency hadn’t decided yet whether to let Boxer’s home state require tougher vehicle emission standards than EPA. More like she made mince meat of him.

Boxer held the hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, not only to light into Johnson, but to promote an unusual bill that would force EPA to decide the matter by Sept. 30.

Boxer delivered several jabs and even a left hook when she said things to Johnson like, “You’re the EPA, not the Environmental Pollution Agency,” after Johnson said he needed more time to reach a decision, when it’s already coming up on two years after California made the request.

Accusing the agency of being “hostile to the public health and interest,” Boxer peppered Johnson with questions about the influence of industry lobbying on the decision-making process.

In response, Johnson claimed that his decision on the request was not influenced by industry lobbying, he knew nothing about such lobbying, that he’d be shocked, shocked to find there’s lobbying taking place on this issue (okay, I’m making that last part up) and that he would eventually (i.e., sometime before he dies or retires) issue an “unbiased decision.”

Boxer’s reaction was incredulous. “You won’t speak out against that lobbying? You’re part of this. I believe the administration has already decided not to grant the waiver. You’d have to be born yesterday not to see it.” Ouch! That had to smart.

Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has opposed Boxer’s bill in the past, continues to do so. “Rushing this process is unacceptable. In fact, it would be arbitrary and capricious–in law and in fact,” Inhofe said.

According to the article, Johnson’s predecessor at EPA, Christine Todd Whitman, told Rolling Stone magazine that she quit the job due to continual interference in the agency’s global warming reports and decisions by Vice President Dick Cheney and other White House officials.

Hmm. So . . . which of these people should we believe? Umm, let me think . . .

Declining Newspaper Readership or The Internet Doesn’t Leave Newsprint on Your Hands

This article discusses the decline in newspaper readership, particularly among young people who are getting their news online or on TV. What to do about it? Reach out for those younger readers, say some.

Harley Woos Women On Wheels

While Harley Davidson motorcycles have become well-known as “midlife crisis” toys for guys, it may not be as well-known that motorcycle ridership among women has increased exponentially over the past 20 years. Harley knows it and they’re gearing their marketing toward the ladies, accordingly.

Cutting Back On The Supersized McMansions

Now here’s welcome news. Cities and counties around the country, fed up with the proliferation of oversized houses (“houses on hormones” as I like to call them), are placing restrictions on building them.

Many cities are looking to limit lot square footage or charge people extra for the right to build on lots over a certain size. Salt Lake City, which is seeing its quaint bungalows and Craftsman houses get torn down in favor of mini-palaces, has imposed a height restriction in a bid to deter this trend.

There are those, of course, who complain that the restrictions interfere with property rights. It’s too bad it’s come to the point where anyone feels the need for regulation. But really . . . those houses are so ugly and ostentatious. And who needs all that space? It’s just more space in which to gather more junk you don’t really need. More space you have to heat and cool. And more space you have to clean!

Hunter Thompson Honored With ‘Gonzo Edition’ of Paper

One of my very favorite journalists, Hunter S. Thompson, was honored last Saturday with a special “Gonzo Edition” of the Aspen Daily News, which came out three days after what would have been his 70th birthday. Thompson was an amazing writer, who always injected himself into the story and believed that the only real “objective journalism” was limited to the sports scores and stock quotes. He was a masterful commentator and chronicler of the late Sixties and early Seventies, and it’s too bad he’s not around to issue the occasional rant about what’s going on these days.

‘Deathly Hallows’ Touted As Greenest Book Ever

Well, along with all the other hoopla and hype surrounding the release of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series, it is also being marketed as “the greenest book in publishing history,” according to this article.

A non-profit group is reportedly behind all this, persuading publishers and their contractors to use eco-friendly materials.

Raincoast Books, which expects to sell more than a million copies of DEATHLY HALLOWS, was the first publisher to back the initiative in 2003. Today, 16 publishing houses worldwide have committed to using recycled, or ancient forest friendly (AFF), paper for the last Potter story.

In addition to using recycled or AFF paper, Raincoast’s paper supplier for the Potter books uses other methods that reduce the impact its production processes have on the environment.

And now other authors, including David Suzuki and Al Gore, are also demanding their books be produced with eco-friendly paper. Maybe others will follow suit. Regardless of what you think of the Potter series, you have to like that.