Uncategorized

Crowdfunding helps community power become reality

The JOBS Act may finally allow thousands of regular folks to make a modest return by investing in local renewable energy projects.

John Farrell Climate & Energy

This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing

Pollia condensata looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish, but it’s a real living fruit that grows that way — in fact, it’s the shiniest living thing in the world. The principle behind P. condensata‘s gorgeous finish is basically the same as behind an iridescent beetle’s wings. The cells in the fruit’s husk contain layers […]

Jess Zimmerman Uncategorized

The mountains weep for Larry Gibson

“Hey buddy!” Like so many others, I always got this warm greeting from Larry Gibson, followed by a big hug. Like so many others, I saw mountaintop removal coal mining with my own eyes for the first time on Larry’s mountain in southern West Virginia, Kayford Mountain, and I’ve been fighting to end the devastation […]

Mary Anne Hitt Uncategorized

Hometown heroes: Three ways to win climate fights at the local level

Around the world, citizens are organizing and winning urgent local battles against oil barons, the coal industry, and other powerful opponents. Here are some of the keys to their success.

Jim Shultz Climate & Energy

Watch a turtle roller-skate into a store to steal lettuce

This roller-skating turtle could kick the pants off some overrated hare, but instead he’s turned to a life of crime. It’s so sad when our young chelonians go astray.

Jess Zimmerman Uncategorized

Can PACE Local Energy Financing Come Back?

It can with your help; submit a comment to the FHFA by Thursday, Sept. 13! After effectively suspending residential PACE energy efficiency and renewable energy municipal financing programs in 2010 and then being taken to federal court and required to do a revised rule making, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its revised ruling […]

John Farrell Uncategorized

Kids compete to name kid-killing asteroid

Whether or not you spend much time worrying about 1999 RQ36, the asteroid that might hit Earth in a couple hundred years, surely everyone agrees: If a giant formation of rock and space detritus is going to smash us all to kingdom come, it would be nice to at least be properly introduced first. To this end, […]

Sarah Miller Uncategorized

The man without a plan: Romney has no real food and farming platform

Even when pressed, Mitt Romney has very little to say about food and agriculture -- unless it's a question of food safety, in which case he wants to let Big Food off the hook.

Tom Laskawy Food

The Pope and his weird hat have a new electric car

Pope Benedict is considered the Green Pope. This does not mean that his weird hat is green, though that would be really cool. It means that he cares about the environment, so even though he is the Pope and also kind of scary-looking, he does cool, Norcal-y stuff like harness solar power for electricity and […]