Los Angeles gets plenty of sunshine, but the city government has dropped the ball on boosting solar power and other clean-energy sources. Almost four years after the launch of a $40 million initiative meant to shift the city toward renewable power sources, the L.A. Department of Power and Water has increased the amount of clean energy it produces by less than half a percentage point, and the city continues to rely on coal, nuclear power, and natural gas. Tens of thousands of L.A. power customers signed up to pay about $3 extra per month to support the development of clean …

For the first time, residents of North Carolina will be able to buy their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and biomass. Under "NC Greenpower," a new plan approved by the state earlier this week, industrial electricity customers can choose to pay about 2.5 extra cents per kilowatt hour for green power; residential consumers would pay roughly 4 cents extra. The plan was delayed by a dispute over whether discarded wood should be considered a renewable energy source. Opponents were reluctant to include timber products in a supposedly environmentally friendly energy measure, but advocates, who eventually won out, …

Going green could save Wisconsin more than $225 million over the next two years, according to a coalition of state environmental groups. Yesterday, the groups released a "Green Budget" itemizing ways Wisconsin could save money while protecting the environment. One of the budget's simplest recommendations -- using more efficient lighting and turning off unused electronic equipment in state office buildings -- would save between $9.2 million and $18.4 million per year, and far more if public schools followed suit. Purging the state's car fleet of gas-guzzling vehicles like the Ford Excursion would also save a chunk of money, according to …

If Michigan environmentalists get their way, the state will dramatically expand its bottle law to cover 750 million additional beverage containers per year, including juice, water, and tea bottles that currently wind up as litter or in landfills. The state's 1976 bottle law, which quickly cleaned up roadside litter, is both popular and successful. Every year, Michigan residents redeem 95 percent of the more than 4 billion bottles and cans covered by the bill. Now, enviros want to add a 10-cent deposit to other drink containers, but grocers and beverage distributors say the move would be costly and solve only …

Russian journalist and environmental muckraker Grigory Pasko was paroled from prison yesterday after serving part of a highly contested term for treason. Pasko became the poster-child for concerns about Russian limitations on press freedoms when he was convicted for taking notes during a 1997 meeting of Russian naval commanders. The court claimed that Pasko had planned to pass the notes to Japanese reporters, but his supporters say the conviction was punishment for Pasko's coverage of national environmental abuses, including the Navy's practice of dumping radioactive waste into the ocean. Pasko has consistently maintained his innocence and hopes to clear his …

In a sign of increasing international concern about the ecological challenges posed by China, one of the world's most prominent greens has moved to Beijing and set up shop as an environmental consultant. For more than three decades, Canadian Maurice Strong has been a major player in global diplomacy, environmental and otherwise; earlier this month, he intervened in the North Korean nuclear crisis as a special envoy for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Now, Strong plans to help tackle pollution, deforestation, pesticide use, and other environmental problems in China by advising business and government on ecological matters. A forceful critic of …

In an effort to conserve water, landscapers in Arizona have turned to the wild cacti of West Texas for decoration, creating an unsustainable demand that could imperil some species. According to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, agaves and yuccas are being harvested from the Chihuahua Desert to feed a demand for drought-tolerant landscaping in Tucson and Phoenix. (Both species also grow closer to home, but Arizona boasts far stricter rules for gathering native plants than Texas.) Adding to the problem are rare-plant collectors in Europe and elsewhere, who will pay top dollar for cacti. All told, succulent …

Dear Umbra, I may be asking the wrong person, but I hope you can help out. I am a student at the University of North Carolina and my group, the Student Environmental Action Coalition, is undertaking an ambitious campaign to raise student fees by $4 per semester in order to bring renewable energy to our campus. While $4 doesn't sound like a lot, in the end it would amount to nearly $300,000 per year, which we hope to increase by corporate matching-grant programs. This, then, is a two-part question. First, can you think of any creative ways to convince the …

Dear Umbra, Here in Texas, where it is very hot in the summer (granted, we deserve to be in hell for having produced George Bush), some of us have been enthusiastically switching our light bulbs to cooler compact fluorescents. Is this a bad thing due to the mercury they contain? Lisa Smithville, Texas Dearest Lisa, Thanks for your question, as it will allow me to keep shedding light on the compact fluorescent issue. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) last far longer and use electricity more efficiently than conventional incandescent bulbs. Buy them if you can. They do contain a minuscule amount …

Dear Umbra, You'd be so proud of us! We just had an hour-long meeting about conservation and environmentalism here in our office. In the course of our discussion, the topic of leaving the lights on came up. I am a religious light-switcher, meaning I turn lights off in the bathroom or wherever they're left on. One of my colleagues was under the impression that it takes more energy to turn fluorescent lights on and off than it does to leave them on. I'm shocked! Is this true? And are there eco-sensitive alternatives to standard fluorescent tubes? In the dark, Matt …