Uncategorized

Mass Movements in the USA Today

What does it take to build a popular movement that has a chance of succeeding in its objectives? I thought about this a good bit during my recent vacation in the West Virginia mountains. I’ve been personally involved in several mass movements over the course of my adult life: the draft resistance and anti-Vietnam war […]

The city of the future is already here

Ever see those signs that say, “If you lived here, you’d be home by now”? They’re usually affixed to urban revitalization projects located near mass transit hubs (of course you’re commuting another hour to your sprawl development in the ‘burbs when you read it). Those projects represent a part of the city of tomorrow, but […]

CAFE still saves money

Sam Smith at the Progressive Review was taken by a press release that shouted “New gas MPG rules will cost over $6000 per car.” Mostly Sam knows that a basic rule of good journalism (as opposed to what the corporate media does) is think a bit about such press releases and looks for the flaws. […]

Gas is greener? Smearing renewables over land use exposes ignorance of fossil fuel lovers

Oregon’s solar highway. Photo: Oregon Department of TransportationA recent column in the New York Times suggested that land use is the greatest environmental problem facing new renewable energy.  While getting the facts terribly wrong, it opens a door to talk about the advantages of distributed generation rather than large, central-station power generation.  A prime example […]

Response to Wall Street Journal op-ed on clean fuels in the military

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an op-ed critical of the military's efforts on clean fuels. It was filled with factual errors and misunderstandings.

When the levees broke: the flood that made rock 'n' roll

An epic flood on the Mississippi River in 1927 spurred the northward migration that transformed Delta Blues into Chicago Blues.

Please enjoy this mariachi band performing for a beluga whale

One step up from "save the whales" on the environmentalism ladder is "do nice things for whales, they've had a hard time." You know, fruit baskets, flipper rubs, playing music outside their tanks because they don't have Spotify. This beluga is LOVING. IT. He's like "Christ, finally, after 30 years of people singing me that […]

The law of unintended consequences

The House of Representatives has proposed legislation to cut USEPA funding by almost 20% and curtail its ability to tackle a wide range of pollution issues. The regulated industries and their allies in Congress may be hopeful of reduced cost and a less intrusive government, but they should be very careful of the Law of […]

Solar could help with that

A major heat wave is causing record demand in Texas–Monday set a record of 66,867 MW, and Tuesday is expected to set another.  As a result, the grid operator is asking that people help avoid blackouts by reducing electricity usage between 3 and 7 PM.  And as of 3:45 PM today, Texas paid $3000 MWh […]

Grain Production Falling as Soil Erosion Continues

The thin layer of topsoil that covers much of the earth’s land surface is the foundation of civilization. As long as soil erosion on cropland does not exceed new soil formation, all is well. But once it does, it leads to falling soil fertility and eventually to land abandonment. As countries lose their topsoil through […]