Articles

Minnesota can’t say no to coal power, judge rules

A Minnesota law aims to reduce fossil fuel use. Coal plants in North Dakota said no fair, and a federal court agreed, striking down part of the law.

John Upton Climate & Energy

Ukraine belatedly seeks renewable energy as weapon against Russia

Right now the embattled nation gets just 2 percent of its energy from clean sources. It's seeking U.S. investment in wind, solar, and biomass to help raise that number.

John Upton Technology

These shoes are completely made out of recycled trash

Watch three guys collect beach litter and reconstitute it into a pair of brightly marbled sneakers.

Holly Richmond Culture

Ask Umbra: How do I fight my city’s terrible litter problem?

A reader's burg is infested with litterbugs. Umbra says that with a little help, you can squash a problem like that.

Ask Umbra® Culture

Climate change got you down this Earth Day? Time for a badger mask

Hopelessness peddler Paul Kingsnorth keeps winning attention for his Dark Mountain project, but his climate fatalism looks more like midlife-crisis posturing than insight.

Heather Smith Climate & Energy

This Argentinian ranch sticks to the gaucho way of raising beef

Factory farms are replacing grass-fed beef in Argentina. Join Perennial Plate as they explore a ranch that's sticking to tried-and-true methods of cattle ranching.

Daniel Klein Culture

Wanna know what’s happened to the Gulf Coast since the BP spill? Read this blog, now

The Bridge the Gulf blog is hands-down the best source of post-spill news and insight, written by locals who have a stake in the recovery.

Brentin Mock Climate & Energy

Now available: 29 flavors of open source seeds, sans patents

Wisconsin researchers release the first batch of seeds designed to propagate the old-fashioned notion of sharing.

Nathanael Johnson Food

A surprisingly pleasant song about plastic pollution

Maybe you've never thrown a plastic bottle at a sea otter before, but chances are you're still responsible for ocean pollution. Now you can hum this catchy tune to remind yourself!

Amelia Urry Culture

Three Gulf Coast victories scored since the BP spill

As we mark the fourth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, not all the news is grim. Determined activists have made some real gains.

Brentin Mock Technology

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