1824 Joseph Fourier discovers greenhouse effect.
1949 Richard Gere born.
1960 Dr. Seuss publishes One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.
1962 Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring.
1972 U.S. passes Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. (Amended 1977.)
1994 Knight Center for Environmental Journalism founded at Michigan State's J-School.

While many people probably assume that Hollywood is a magical, environmentally friendly Utopia where actors pull up to the fully biodegradable green carpets at their movie premieres in vehicles specially retrofitted to produce all-rainbow emissions, a UCLA study has found that the entertainment industry trails only petroleum manufacturing in terms of disgorging unfiltered, New Ice Age-beckoning, Al-Gore-sterilizing evil into the air of Los Angeles:

• We bet you're so excited for tonight's premiere of ABC's 32nd season of The Bachelor! In the latest incarnation, 25 psychotic single women compete in Rome for the affection of exotic Prince Lorenzo Borghese, who calls the city his second home. Except Borghese barely speaks Italian, had never been to Rome until he signed on with ABC, and is actually from Jersey. You could probably tell that to all 25 contestants, and they'd still go rabid competing for the final rose. [Radar]
• From here on out, the stupid smiley emoticon — :) — will be known as the "Foley." [Wonkette]
• The tables finally turn, and a Harvard man makes his bid to be a Trophy Husband. Alas, the best trophies would have no chance of getting into Harvard. [Feministing]
• Ever-increasing hotel prices keep tourists away from New York. Awesome! Jack the room rate on up! [Crain's]
• A very special, rocking evening with Don Rickles, the only man edgy enough to host the "2006 Music-Magazine Awards." [Idolator]
• A glossy magazine for pretty people who pretend to recycle. [NYSun]
• Giants/Eagles rivalry escalates to bagel-throwing, tire-slashing proportions. [Philadelphia Will Do]

So apparently Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and current incumbent of the lazy media's go-to genius avatar position, posed a recent query to Yahoo Answers concerning our future. "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally," asked the comically-voiced ALS-sufferer, "how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"

Graydon Carter, having long ago abandoned the idea of printing his "green" issue of Vanity Fair on recycled paper, thereby making it slightly less environmentally objectionable than a typical issue, finally gave up on any pretense of conservation.

It's no secret that Blackface Jesus is our new favorite downtown character, what with his half-naked traipsing and offensive facepaint. According to a reader, there is no limit to the depths of Blackface Jesus:

Blogger The Assimilated Negro is happy to report on his ride in one of the new hybrid taxis, which he says will slowly replace the current fleet over the next five years:

This email arrived the other day:

Yet one more advantage of living in our subway-riding city is a blissful ignorance of how fucking expensive gasoline has become. (Gas stations on the LIE and Garden State Parkway provided rude shocks on Labor Day weekend.)

• October 2004: New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission holds an auction for taxicab medallions that may be used only on vehicles burning natural gas or on electric-gas hybrids. Eighteen such medallions are sold, at significantly below-market prices.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission yesterday took a big step toward finally approving some fuel-efficient hybrid cars for use in New York's taxi fleet. As guilty liberals, we know we're supposed to be thrilled with the environmental benefits — 29 to 60 miles per gallon in the city, versus a Crown Vic's 18, is a good thing. Less gas, less foreign oil dependence, less pollution, all that fun stuff. In truth, though, we find it hard to get too excited about mpg. Here's what gets us hot and bothered about the new cabs: They'll be Lexuses. And it's about time we started riding in style.