Interesting NPR Interview

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4809996

Peter Maass on 'The Breaking Point' for Gas Demand

Fresh Air from WHYY, August 22, 2005 · The government of Saudi Arabia -- the world's largest oil exporter -- says the country can keep up with global oil demand for 30 to 50 years. But experts dispute that claim, especially since demand continues to grow in the United States and China.

Journalist Peter Maass traveled to Saudi Arabia to examine the country's oil reserves and the Saudi government's claims. His article "The Breaking Point" is the cover story of the Aug. 21 New York Times Magazine. He talks about the political, financial and environmental implications of continued dependence on foreign oil and dwindling reserves.

Maass is currently working on a book about how oil shapes global politics and the world economy.

more wolves

I've long thought in my wilder moments that one of the things the world really needs is more wolves.

Well here ya go. Or rather, here I go. And having done some work around this one, I am very pleased, though if it goes as well as I hope, I may well go ahead and get a couple of Irish Wolfhounds if and when we get livestock here ;> We do already have coyotes about, and they tend to be significantly bigger here than further south and west, because the niche which used to be filled by the wolves has been mostly empty. Not for long, tho'...

Environmentalists Declare Victory Over Judge's Order To Step Up Wolf Preservation Efforts in Northeast

August 22, 2005 — By David Gram, Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A federal judge Friday ordered the Bush administration to step up efforts to restore the gray wolf to four northeastern states, a ruling environmentalists called a major victory.

"The wolves are howlin'" in celebration, said Patrick Parenteau, director of the environmental law clinic at Vermont Law School.

Judge J. Garvan Murtha found that the Department of the Interior violated federal law in 2003 when it issued a rule saying no further efforts to restore the wolf were needed. The ruling covers Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York state.
(Full article)