Bill McKibben

D.C. police have arrested 160 people and counting, in response to a non-violent protest against the Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline. Among those arrested-- Bill McKibben, prolific environmental author and co-founder of 350.org. Released today after three days in jail, McKibben encouraged the continuation of the two-week protest, which is taking place in front of the White House.

The proposed pipeline, which would in fact be a network of pipelines spanning the U.S. and Canada, is a disaster waiting to happen – a plan to tap an enormous carbon reserve that would dramatically increase CO2 emissions and put millions of Americans and Canadians at risk.

Oil spills in America’s heartland and water contamination from drilling byproducts would become commonplace. Not to mention that oil from tar sands is an inefficient energy source, requiring enormous effort to extract – a desperate asset that oil companies plan to exploit only because they have nowhere else to turn. In May, Earthjustice filed a suit against the State Department, which refused to release communications with lobbyists for the pipeline.

Courtesy Treehugger.com

Non-European airline carriers are up in arms over new EU regulations that would require all planes in the European airspace to either reduce their emissions or pay a carbon-offset fee after 2012. Backed by industry, the airlines are wielding the Revolutionary War cry -- “No taxation without representation” --  as their righteous slogan.

Only this time, it’s a very different Tea Party.

The new regulations, which form the “Aviation Amendment” to the EU Emission Trading Scheme, are not designed to oppress carriers from outside of the EU. They are a red flag warning to the U.S. and the rest of the world that Europe is moving to combat climate change, and we had better keep up.

When it comes to climate change, the fact is that most Americans don’t know the facts. A study by Yale professors revealed that while a majority (63 percent) of Americans believe in global warming, only half understand that it is anthropogenic (caused by human activity). And when the study tested the public on the science behind the warming, the results weren’t pretty.

On a straight grading scale, more than half of the population surveyed scored an F. Over three-quarters scored either a D or an F. Even once a curve was applied to account for the greater difficulty of some questions, two-thirds still received a C or below. Not exactly cum laude.

However, the study also revealed a surprise.

It happens to me every spring. The flowers start to bloom, and the days become warm and full of sunshine. All I want to do is be outside, sit in the grass with my dog and play my guitar, and then…

Bam. My eyes start to stream, and my voice sounds like someone duct taped my nostrils shut and gave my throat a sandpaper rubdown. I have to pause after every third word to sniff. Hay fever.

About 10 percent of Americans suffer from this annoying allergy, caused by ragweed pollen. For those of us with seasonal allergies, the responses become automatic. We take meds, we carry tissues, we square our jaws and push through. But one thing we don’t think to do is cut down our carbon footprint.

Anyone who has seen the “Planet Earth” episode on jungles has witnessed the colorful plumes and remarkable displays of the Birds of Paradise.

But when you’re hiking (read: struggling) through the dense growth of Papua New Guinea’s rainforest, one of the world’s largest at over 100,000 square miles and home to 38 of the 43 Bird of Paradise species, it’s pretty difficult to catch a glimpse these magnificent birds.

You can’t help but hear them, though. Jungle life has a soundtrack, and the BOPs are the lead singers.

However, a new voice is about to join the New Guinea chorus, threatening to drown out the unique birds.