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A global ranking of the top 10 resilient cities [SLIDESHOW]

Following up on his list of the 10 U.S. cities that are most forward-thinking on climate change, Boyd Cohen of CO2 Impact goes global. Here, in reverse order, is his ranking of the top 10 cities around the world with the policies and the political will to best face the challenges ahead.

A True Grassroots Victory in San Antonio

We’re still celebrating last week’s announcement by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro that not only will the city shut down its 900 megawatt Deely coal-fired power plant by 2018, but San Antonio plans to replace the power with a combination of traditional sources like natural gas, renewable energy, including solar energy, and energy efficiency. In […]

Your bike seat could ruin your sex life

Bike seats may contribute to erectile dysfunction -- and it's no surprise, when you consider where you shove 'em. “When you sit on a regular bike saddle, you’re sitting on your penis,” says reproductive physiologist Steven Schrader. If that didn't just make you cross your legs, don't get comfortable, ladies: More than 60 percent of you will experience genital pain, numbness, or tingling from sitting on a bike seat. According to this New York Times article, at least, bike seats are the worst threat to your junk since America's Funniest Home Videos.

Voters Strongly Oppose Michele Bachmann's Proposal to Abolish the EPA

Building on an idea that seems to have originated with Newt Gingrich, Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has spent the past few weeks calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to be abolished. In the June 13th GOP debate, Bachmann said she would pass the “mother of all repeal bills” to target “job-killing regulations.” She indicated that […]

D.C. schools chancellor defends decision to ditch chocolate milk

D.C. Public Schools officials apparently have no intention of reinstating chocolate milk in local cafeterias despite a recent grilling by D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown and the pleadings of a first-grader who polled his fellow students. In an email to Brown dated June 22, newly-confirmed schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson says the decision to remove chocolate […]

Cars vs. bulldozers: a look at road construction GHGs

Photo: Joost J. Bakker IJmuidenThis post originally appeared on Sightline Institute’s blog. Here’s an interesting study (not free, unfortunately) by University of Washington engineering professor Stephen Muench, reviewing the literature on the energy and CO2 impacts of road construction. His study looks mostly at the construction phase itself, rather than the use of the road. […]

'Natural' gas fails the sniff test

Top decisionmakers in Washington seem to have forgotten that “natural” gas is a fossil fuel, with some of the same damning negatives as coal and oil. For instance, unlike renewables, “natural” gas is an energy source we will exhaust — possibly sooner than previously thought. Let’s not forget that the recent rise of hydraulic fracturing […]

Youth and Positive Social Change

“That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with peoplePassing on to others that which was passed on to meTo me young people come first, they have the courage where we failAnd if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the galeThe older I get the […]

Friday music blogging: The Chemical Brothers

An old favorite of mine, The Chemical Brothers, have just done a soundtrack for the new movie Hanna. It's awesome!

Outrage: As mountaintop removal linked to birth defects, politicians gut Clean Water Act

I just can’t stop thinking about a new scientific study published this week that found there are “significantly higher” rates of birth defects near mountaintop removal coal mining operations As a mother of a 1-year-old, I can vividly remember the long wait of pregnancy. I was so excited to meet my new daughter, and so […]