these just needed to be forwarded

[Guest guest]

1.

I'M MISTER HEAT MISER

The Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances is the poster

child for international environmental agreements; thanks to its

success, chlorofluorocarbons (and, we hope, the ozone hole) are on

their way to oblivion. But is there a dark side to this happy tale?

HCFCs and HFCs, the chemicals replacing CFCs, are powerful greenhouse

gases -- in some cases, 1,300 times more potent than carbon dioxide

in warming the planet. Yet non-ozone depleting, non-greenhouse gas

alternatives are readily available for the same applications. What

gives? Reporting from an annual Montreal Protocol meeting in --

where else? -- Montreal, Grist correspondent Jason Anderson takes on

the fragmentation of environmental issues, only on the Grist Magazine

website.

 

only in Grist: The hole in the ozone layer policy -- are higher

temperatures the price of saving the ozone layer? -- by Jason Anderson

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/maindish/anderson121401.asp?s\

ource=daily>

 

 

 

2.

OIL IN YOUR STOCKING

This holiday season, be sure to take a little time to think about ...

oil. Yep, oil. The stuff that helps define U.S. foreign policy and

could be conveniently pumped through Afghanistan given a friendly

government. Also the stuff that powers your trip to grandmother's

house and fills the tanks of the trucks and ships and airplanes that

bring a Harry Potter action figure to every Toys " R " Us in the world.

And, oh yeah, the stuff that releases greenhouse gases when burned.

Don't want to be a part of that? Taking the holiday season as a

starting point, Grist columnist Elizabeth Sawin pulls on the thread

connecting her to the big tangled mess of oil dependency, only on the

Grist Magazine website.

 

only in Grist: Deck the halls with CFLs -- an oil-free holiday

season -- in our Global Citizen section

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/citizen/citizen121401.asp?sou\

rce=daily>

 

do good: Take action to change a habit

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/climate.asp?source=dai\

ly#tips>

 

 

 

3.

BUY, BUY, MISS AMERICAN PIE

Uncle Sam wants you to go to the mall! With the White House,

Congress, and the media flacking for the financial sector in the name

of patriotism, surely the least you can do for your country this

holiday season is max out your credit card. David Helvarg takes on

the war economy and the new urgency behind the " shop till you drop "

ethic, only on the Grist Magazine website.

 

only in Grist: Everything's changed, including zero-down financing

-- by David Helvarg

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/helvarg121401.asp?source\

=daily>

 

do good: Take action to boycott Discover Card

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/rivers.asp?source=dail\

y#discover>

 

 

 

4.

I WANT YOU ... TO BUY MORE STUFF!

World War I was fought to make the world safe for democracy; World

War II for ourselves and our allies. Is this new war being fought

largely to make the world safer for consumption? Jane Holtz Kay

compares the " use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without "

ethic that governed the WWII home front with the

consume-for-your-country campaign currently underway, only on the

Grist Magazine website.

 

only in Grist: Gluttony at home is not necessary for victory abroad

-- by Jane Holtz Kay

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/kay121401.asp?source=dai\

ly>

 

do good: Take action on waste issues

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/waste.asp?source=daily\

#junkmail>

 

 

 

5.

STEAL THESE BOOKS

Consumption and land conservation are the subjects of two very

different books reviewed this week in Grist. " Affluenza, " by John de

Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor, takes a look at materialism run

amok, while " Red " by Terry Tempest Williams argues that the

minimalism and grandeur of the red rock wilderness provide a critical

escape from the corrosive forces of capitalism. Reviewer Elizabeth

Grossman looks at our desire for the good life and our need for wild

places, only on the Grist Magazine website.

 

only in Grist: A review of " Affluenza " and " Red " -- in our Books

Unbound section

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/grossman121401.asp?sour\

ce=daily>

 

do good: Take action and crush capitalism with your pen

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/consumption.asp?source=dail

y#capitalism>

 

 

 

6.

I GOT YER HOLIDAY CHEER RIGHT HERE, BUDDY

Species going extinct. Warming temperatures. Environmental skeptics

on the rise. An all-oil team in the White House. Yep, we at Grist

sure do have fun writing about the despoiling of Mama Earth. But

even Grist staffers need to take time out once in a while. We'll be

on vacation for the last two weeks of the year 2001. We know you'll

miss your daily fix of green news, but fret not -- we'll be back at

work on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002, in better humor than ever. Thanks

for all your support this past year!

 

Happy holidays:

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha121201.asp?source=daily>

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha121500.stm?source=daily>

<

TARGET= " _blank " >http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha122099.stm?source=daily>