Latest Articles

Critical List: Chevron execs face ‘environmental crime’ charges; even small doses of BPA are dangerous

Everything about Frozen Planet is awesome, except Alec Baldwin’s narration. Chevron execs in Brazil must surrender their passports and face criminal charges for “environmental crimes” connected to oil spills off the country’s coast. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like bisphenol A and the pesticide atrazine can have significant health effects even for people exposed to only small doses, […]

‘Pink slime’ is the tip of the iceberg: Look what else is in industrial meat

Think added ammonia is bad? Try pool disinfectant, fabric bleach, and a variety of germicides!

Trainspotting: Transit vote could bring new life to a gritty city

This summer, voters in metro Atlanta will decide whether to plow $8.5 billion into regional transportation infrastructure. The bigger question: Is a suburban nation willing to reinvest in its cities?

Ask Umbra: Should I buy my drinks in bottles or boxes?

A reader wonders about the greenest beverage packaging. Umbra sorts through the materials.

Air play: Could we capture carbon from the atmosphere?

A start-up company thinks sucking carbon from the air (instead of from coal plant smokestacks) could be a feasible way to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Mr. Daisey and the fact factory

Mike Daisey's lies about Apple on This American Life don't only hurt him, they hurt the workers he aimed to help -- and teach us a big lesson about truth and trust.

Touring Joseph’s fields and cooking South Carolina gold [VIDEOS]

The Perennial Plate crew takes a tour of a South Carolina farm and makes a meal with chef Sean Brock.

Off-ramp: How demolishing freeways is reviving American cities

Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist talks about why it makes economic sense to tear out urban expressways, and why a little gridlock might actually be a good thing.

Earth out of balance: The challenge of controlling corporate greed

Author and man-about-the-planet David Rothkopf was once a champion of free trade and the magic of the free market. Now, he says we’ve gone too far.

Heartland Institute tried to steal documents from Greenpeace

Okay, we don’t want to beat a dead horse here — like, say, the way certain organizations kept harping on the Climategate non-scandal — but allow us just one more instance of pointing and laughing at the Heartland Institute’s gross hypocrisy. When we last left our intrepidly two-faced heroes, they were wounded to the core […]