New Year's Resolutions: Less is More

I love this week's Green.view from The Economist. The post challenges the value in so-called "green" New Year's resolutions like super-small scale wind power and fluorescent bulbs in the home and suggests that simpler, more traditional resolutions such as quitting smoking and cutting back on drinking actually have a greater positive impact on the planet. Read it here for a refreshing reminder that less is more: less consumption means reduced CO2 emissions unless of course, as Green.view points out, it leads to a baby boom.

GW's environmental legacy

The Economist's Green.view wrote an interesting post about George W. Bush's environmental legacy and what he could do in his remaining time in office to "shake off his oilman’s legacy of environmental indifference, and acquire, rather surprisingly, a green halo." From the article:

Last year, Mr Bush established the world’s largest marine protected area—Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, in north-western Hawaii. The monument became the largest single conservation area in American history, home to some 7,000 species, including the monk seal, spinner dolphins and the green sea turtle. It was a big step, but now the question is whether he can pull off the same trick on an even grander scale, by fully protecting two vast areas of the Pacific Ocean from fishing and mineral exploitation.

Read the entire post here.