Kerry Trumpets the Benefits of Coal In 2000, Al Gore narrowly lost the swing state of West Virginia, which (like so many other things) cost him the election. Many observers speculated that the loss resulted from Gore's reputation as a "radical" environmentalist, particularly his opposition to coal, which many state residents depend on for their livelihoods. John Kerry seems determined to avoid Gore's fate. In a campaign press release last week, he was quoted as saying, "Coal is abundant, coal mining creates jobs, and I believe that with the right investment and commitment coal can be an even cleaner part …

Dear Umbra, When I see the Energy Star rating on an appliance, can I trust that some government or consumer group is monitoring the ratings, or is that just a commercial ploy? Who profits from the Energy Star thing? Not Starry-EyedBridgewater, N.J. Dearest Not Starry-Eyed, A green screen. Photo: EnergyStar.gov. Energy Star is a project of our very own U.S. EPA, with assistance from the Department of Energy. Products that meet Energy Star standards are permitted to carry a flier that displays the Energy Star logo and compares the energy use of the product against other similar products, usually in …

Report Warns Europe Particularly Vulnerable to Climate Change Europe will suffer worse, and sooner, than other parts of the world from climate change, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency. The report "pulls together a wealth of evidence that climate change is already happening and having widespread impacts, many of them with substantial economic costs, on people and ecosystems across Europe," said the EEA's Jacqueline McGlade. The continent can expect more severe heat waves and more frequent and violent storms of the kind that led to the flash flood this week that virtually destroyed the U.K. village …

A coal-fired power plant. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey. It may have sounded like the understatement of the year when a lawsuit was filed last week against five major U.S. energy companies, alleged to be among the biggest global-warming culprits in the nation, on the legal grounds that they're causing a "public nuisance." In reality it may have been one of the gutsiest legal maneuvers the U.S. has ever seen on climate change -- and some observers say it could have the strange side effect of encouraging energy companies to ask the feds for mandatory emissions caps. Last Wednesday, the chief …

Dear Umbra, We just moved to the steamy climate of Washington, D.C., from the other Washington. Faced with our first experience using air-conditioning to cool our home, we've got some questions about efficiency. The house we're renting has a central AC unit that we can control with a thermostat. It also has a roof ventilation system that circulates air under the roof using a fairly noisy and probably pretty old and inefficient fan. Here's the thing: The fan is on a thermostat, but there doesn't seem to be any way to control it. (We think there's a switch in the …

Dear Umbra, My friend and I have been having a debate that I hope you can help us settle. What is the rule of thumb when turning off the air and opening the windows? I live in Texas and in the spring we have one or two days in a row that are cool enough for open windows followed by four that are not. Should I open the windows when it is nice only to have to close them again and turn the air on in a day or two? Does it cost more to re-cool my apartment than it …

Boiling PointBy Ross Gelbspan,Basic Books, 256 pages, July 2004 Journalist Ross Gelbspan's new book, Boiling Point (out in late July from Basic Books), reveals how politicians, big oil and coal, the media, and even activists have fueled the climate crisis -- and how we might still avert disaster. This excerpt traces what Gelbspan describes as a corrupt relationship between the Bush administration and the fossil-fuel industry. Under the administration of George W. Bush, the White House has become the East Coast branch office of ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, and climate change has become the preeminent case study of the contamination …

Dear Umbra, I love to freeze fresh veggies at their peak of ripeness during the summer. Then, in the winter, I don't have to buy commercially frozen veggies or long-distance transported ones. In order to do more of this, I'd like to move my 1985 refrigerator to the basement and use its freezer entirely for this purpose. I would buy a new one designated Energy Star. Would this end up being environmentally a plus, a minus, or a wash? EnidAmherst, Mass. Dearest Enid, Veggie tales. Photo: USDA. Your 1985 refrigerator has passed its own peak of ripeness, as you may …

Gas Prices Not At Record High -- and Proposed Solutions Wouldn't Lower Them Gasoline prices have become a political hot potato in this election season, but most analysts agree there is very little substance behind the sound and fury. Current gas prices, hovering around $2 per gallon, do not constitute a "record high." Adjusted for inflation, prices are below the historical average of $2.07 per gallon; for comparison, consider that in 1981 consumers paid an inflation-adjusted $2.87. Americans pay half or less what consumers pay in other countries (e.g., $6 in the U.K.), and they pay only a fraction of …