Earth Talk | ‘Clean’ coal?

AFP

Dear EarthTalk: As I understand it, “clean” coal really isn’t—yet the Bush Administration gushed strongly for it. What is Obama’s take on it? – John Zippert, Eutaw, Ala. Barack Obama and George W. Bush differ in many ways, but both have embraced so-called “clean coal” for providing an ongoing supply of cheap and readily available…

A clear direction on energy

Chris Graham

We may not yet have a firm grasp on exactly what we need to do to merge the words clean and energy in perfect harmony, even with the 219-212 vote of the House of Representatives on cap-and-trade legislation last week. But we do at least have direction, and considering how much muck was thrown into…

VDOT issues travel advisory for Fourth

Chris Graham

The Virginia Department of Transportation will help ease Fourth of July holiday weekend travel by opening lanes temporarily closed for construction or maintenance work on major roadways. The lanes will be open from noon Friday, July 3, until noon Monday, July 6. Long-term construction zones with concrete barriers and orange barrels will remain in place. 

Earth Talk | Sunspots, solar wind and oil shale

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: Don’t some scientists point to sunspots and solar wind as having more impact on climate change than human industrial activity? – David Noss, California, Md. Sunspots are storms on the sun’s surface that are marked by intense magnetic activity and play host to solar flares and hot gassy ejections from the sun’s corona….

Augusta County Board of Supervisors meeting agendas for Monday, June 22, and Wednesday, June 24

Chris Graham

The Augusta County Board of Supervisors will meet Monday, June 22, at 1:30 p.m., for its monthly staff briefing, and Wednesday, June 24, at 7 p.m. for a regular business meeting. The meetings will be held at the Augusta County Government Center, U.S. 11, Verona. The agendas for the meetings:

Another cheap shot from the far right

AFP

“Do you believe in the sanctity of human life? Do you believe in traditional marriage? If so, according to Chris Graham, you are as bad as Heinrich Himmler!” a local blogger informed a regular New Dominion and Augusta Free Press advertiser in an e-mail that the advertiser in turn forwarded to me this evening.

Earth Talk | Lowland gorillas

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations of lowland gorillas? How many are left? – Glenn Hammond, San Francisco, Calif. The short answer is yes, dramatically. Not to be confused with Western Lowland Gorillas, which are thriving in significant numbers in neighboring Congo (a recent census counted…

They can’t steal an election, can they?

Chris Graham

The ongoing news story involving the apparently tainted Iran presidential election hits closer to home than you might think. The key difference being that the controversy over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 60 percent-plus victory spilled into the streets, while the controversy that still lingers in some circles in Waynesboro over the May 2008 city election is still…