Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
One of the nation’s most prominent voices on climate change, NASA scientist James Hansen, has announced that he will retire so he can spend more time on activism.
The New York Times noted in a story worth reading in its entirety that “his departure, after a 46-year career at the space agency’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan, will deprive federally sponsored climate research of its best-known public figure.”
But his increased activism could potentially bolster opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and increase pressure on the nation’s lawmakers to enact legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
The sand trucks are running. The bulldozers are spreading.
A nearly $1 million effort is under way to restore Delaware Bay beaches that are — or were, before Superstorm Sandy ravaged them — crucial turf for spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds that depend on crab eggs for refueling.
On beaches where there was once ample sand for the crabs to dig into and deposit their eggs, biologists surveying the area after the storm found rugged tufts of sod, which had underlain the sand -- part of $50 million in damages to bird habitats affected by Sandy.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Sea level rise is happening. In the last century, it’s gone up a foot in Delaware Bay, more along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey.
That changes everything, from the height of the twice-daily tides to what happens in storms like Sandy, which swept the coast and left more than $70 billion in property damage.
So should we prepare for more, or take our chances and simply react if it happens again?
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Twenty flame retardants are on a list of chemicals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will begin assessing, the agency has announced.
No word on how long this will take, but the goal is “to more fully understand any potential risks to people’s health and the environment,” the agency said in a press release.
Recent studies have found toxic flame retardant chemicals in everyday household items, such as upholstered furniture and computer housing, plus children’s nap mats and other products.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Call it a cheep trick if you will, but the American Bird Conservancy has done it again.
They have named the Peep -- that marshmallowey Easter candy -- their bird of the week.
They took similar action last year about this time, and perhaps thought that was the end of it. But no.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Earth Hour, an international event aimed at raising awareness about climate change by asking people to turn off their lights for an hour, is happening tomorrow. Darkness will roll around the planet, as in each time zone, from 8:30 to 9:30, the lights on buildings, bridges and homes will be turned off.
The event has attracted participants that are big in every way -- the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Tokyo Tower, the Sydney Opera House. This year, even the Kremlin is going to switch off.
Here in Philly and the surrounding region, some have participated. But overall, enthusiasm has largely been dim.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Last week’s introduction of a bill that would require labeling of genetically-engineered foods sold in Pennsylvania was only the first of several recent developments.
On Wednesday, a coalition of consumer, health, food safety and fishing groups announced that 2,000 U.S. grocery stores have committed to not sell genetically engineered seafood if it is allowed onto the market.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting a final review that could lead to the approval of genetically-engineered salmon. This particular fish would grow to market weight in half the time that salmon does now.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Happy spring.
I’ve been looking for the robins for weeks now. Already, my yard was cranking out a riot of birdsong. The bluebirds were here. The song sparrow was trilling. Where were the robins?
This morning, almost as if on cue, they showed up. Dozens of them. They hopped about the yard and ate like mad.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
For more than 20 years, Jon McGoran has been writing about food and sustainability.
Many in this area knew him as the communications director of the Weavers Way Co-op, and as editor of its newspaper, "The Shuttle."
As of today, he's editor in chief of Philly's Grid Magazine. So we'll look for interesting things to happen.
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
1.4 miles a gallon.
That's how much the mileage of U.S. vehicles has increased in in 2012.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has just released its annual report on fuel efficiency, and it estimates that between 2007 and 2012 fuel economy increased by 16 percent, and carbon dioxide emissions have decreased by 13 percent.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science. Reach Sandy at sbauers@phillynews.com.
- Former DEP secretary John Hanger
- A daily forecast of water quality in the Schuylkill River
- Academy of Natural Sciences’ Center for Environmental Policy
- All about Philly recycling
- Baltimore Sun’s environmental blog
- Bucks County Audubon Society
- California’s Beth Terry goes without
- Citizen journalism on the environment.
- Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
- Clean Air Council in Philadelphia
- Clean Water Action in PA
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
- Delaware Valley Ornithological Club
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Dumpster Divers of Philadelphia
- Energy Coordinating Agency
- Environment New Jersey
- Environmental issues and Transition Cheltenham
- Environmental news and commentary from grist.org
- Green Living from the Natural Resources Defense Countil
- Greenspace blog
- Interfaith Partners for the Environment
- Mayor’s Office of Sustainability
- Mother Jones' enviro blog
- National Geogoraphic’s Green Guide
- New Jersey Audubon Society
- New Jersey Environmental Federation
- NJ environmental policy expert Bill Wolfe
- NJ Pinelands Commission
- NJ PIRG
- NJ wildlife and conservation expert Larry Niles
- NJ’s American Littoral Society
- NJ’s Clean Ocean Action
- PennEnvironment
- Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education
- Pennsylvania environmental advocacy
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Philadelphia Air Management Services
- Philly urban sustainability
- PhillyCompost
- Philly’s Women’s Health and Environmental Network
- Pinelands Preservation Alliance
- RecycleNOW Philadelphia
- Regional air quality partnership
- Sierra Club, NJ Chapter
- Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter
- Sustainable Delaware County
- The Daily Green
- The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania Chapter
- Transition Cheltenham
- Transition Town Media
- Treehugger green living site
- Valley Forge Audubon Society
- What’s happening birdwise at Cape May
- Wissahickon Growing Greener
- Wyncote Audubon Society
