Money talks and bull**** walks, as the old saying goes. When it comes to the debate over Global Warming, a formidable quantity of the latter is in evidence. Ideology and partisanship have badly skewed the debate over public policy, as journalists, politicians and special interests on both sides of the debate cherry pick the evidence…

Underwater grasses are coming back in the Chesapeake Bay, increasing their domain by about 10 percent last year, according to a survey overseen by Bob Orth with the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. Grass beds are a critical part of the Bay ecology, offering shelter for baby crabs and fish, breathing oxygen into the water,…

In an earlier post, I questioned Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s environmental credentials, so it’s only fair to take note of important environmental initiatives that he has supported — even if he couldn’t get them through the legislature. As Kaine noted in a statement yesterday after the adjournment of the 2008 General Assembly session: “Unfortunately, the…

OK, folks, here’s the map you all wanted to see: What happens to Virginia’s Tidewater under a doomsday global warming scenario, a three-meter rise in sea levels? Answer: About 1/3 of of south Hampton Roads slips under the waves. (Click on map to view a larger, more legible image.) Not shown on the map: When…

The Governor’s Commission on Climate Change dug into some meaty material yesterday, exploring what would happen to Virginia if commonly accepted scenarios for rising temperatures and sea levels pan out. Bill Geroux with the Times-Dispatch hits the highlights of the meeting, held in Williamsburg, but lacked either the time or news hole to recount much…

Is Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s political future being destroyed by his support for Dominion Virginia Power’s plans for a $1.8 billion coal-fired plant in Wise County? You may not read about it the mainstream state newspapers, but it’s all over the Democratic Blogosphere and even The Wall Street Journal. Fervor over greenhouse gases has reached…

Some of my best memories growing up 40 years ago were of standing at the end of the wooden pier on hot, sticky summer afternoons and throwing chicken necks on strings into the Elizabeth River. We kids would patiently tend the lines and whenever we felt a strong tug, it meant that a blue crab…

There are many, many environmental concerns associated with the use of coal as a fuel for electrical power plants. One of the most intractable has been the emission of mercury, a highly toxic chemical that tends to concentrate in the food chain. Now Albemarle Corp., a Richmond-headquartered manufacturer of specialty chemicals, has signed a letter…

It is fascinating to observe the politics behind Dominion’s effort to a coal-fired power plant in Wise County. Although Dominion loaded it up with all manner of clean-coal technologies — circulating fluidized bed technology, waste coal-burning capabilities, sulfur dioxide pollution controls, water-conservation condensers — some environmentalists have made it a cause celebre. Their problem isn’t…

As the governor’s commission on climate change starts digging into the impact of Global Warming on Virginia — a particular concern is the expected three-foot rise of sea levels by the end of the century — it would do well to acknowledge the evolving state of climate science. Nearly every day brings some new discovery…