Process a tonne of gold ore and you will get 5 grams of pure gold. Process a tonne of cell phones and you’ll get, on average, 150 grams of gold. And there is a bonus, you will also be the proud owner of 100 kilograms of copper, 3 Kg of silver plus other minor metals.

This bonanza has spawned a phenomenon in Japan called urban mining.

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My local supermarket recently introduced a tote bag that was fashioned from recycled plastic bags.

They are light, strong and stylish – a basic black with a discreet logo and they only cost 99 cents each. I now have about seven of them and I use them constantly. I still accept plastic bags to use as garbage liners but I secretly wish for an alternative.

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Science is an art of exploration. The dedication of the explorers is sometimes directed by other discoveries, a chance encounter or simply just the pure serendipity of a crazy idea.

Consider Peter Flynn when he began thinking about the Gulf Stream which carries warm water into the North Atlantic and returns cold water into the southern reaches of the ocean. The transfer of water operates like a continual pump.

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An unbridled celebration of life to start the weekend.

The original, “Where the H*ll is Matt?”

The tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati is laying the ground work to find refugee placement for its 91 thousand citizens who fear that the country is destined to disappear as the oceans keep rising.

The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, is asking Australia and New Zealand to open their immigration polices to the Kiribati people who may become the world’s first Climate Change refugees.

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The following reports, prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), are now available online through the Open CRS project. Links lead to a document summary, from which the full documents can be downloaded as PDFs.*

Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards
RL33413 - May 7, 2008

Climate Change: Current Issues and Policy Tools
RL34513 - June 3, 2008

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The temperature in Los Angeles is dangerously hot, Ohio is inundated with flood water and Toronto has only seen 3 normal summer days this June. Welcome to the new weather, and like the new math, it is hard to figure out.

A new United States government report is quite blunt about our weather future.

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Six new cases linked to salmonella tainted tomatoes were discovered today in New York City bringing the total of reported cases to 383 since the outbreak started on April 10.

There are now thirty states that have experienced salmonella outbreaks. New Hampshire and Pennsylvania reported their first cases this week.

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The latest scare of the salmonella infestation in our tomatoes has prompted renewed discussion about the food we choose to eat.

Mad Cow disease, e-coli sprouts, tainted spinach, suspicious chickens and more, have us all guessing about our family menu choices.

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While governments continue to fiddle about environmental action amid the growing evidence of the dangers of climate change, private enterprise is preparing to make profits.

Citigroup wealth managers are starting to push their investors towards companies and projects that focus on climate change and infrastructures.

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