Latest Articles

The only defense of electric cars you really need

Maggie Koerth-Baker is one of the most responsible energy journalists on the planet, in part because she writes for the blog of all blogs, BoingBoing, which has never felt the need to cloak its writers' opinions in trumped-up objectivity and false balance. So it was refreshing to see her refute the latest turd lobbed over the wall by the internet's favorite tabloid, Gawker Media: "You Are Not Alone. America Hates Electric Cars.”

These Republicans believe in climate change. And they vote

Watching this excellent short film by James West about that rare-but-not-as-rare-as-you-think species, the Republican who believes the science of climate change, I was reminded that there was a time in U.S. politics when science was not a partisan issue.

Coal-burning energy company demands more regulation

Baltimore company Constellation Energy has retrofitted two coal-burning power plants in anticipation of new EPA emissions laws. Now a lawsuit has delayed the new regulations from being enacted, and Constellation is pissed; if they're going to shell out $885 million to be in compliance, by god everyone else should have to, too. So they're flipping a Uie from usual energy company behavior, and agitating for stricter rules.

Mmm, vegan beefcake

There are vegan bodybuilders. Yes, this is going to blow the minds of people who look at vegetarians blankly and ask, "But how do you get enough protein?" A New York Times trend piece (it's in the Sports section! That makes it more real than a trend piece in the Style section) features a few, plus reports that while "there is little official data on competitive bodybuilders who are vegan," a website called veganbodybuilding.com "has more than 5,000 registered users."  

St. Louis Zoo builds love hotel for salamanders

Ozark hellbenders, aka "snot otters" and "lasagna sides," are among the world's largest and least cute salamanders. Looking at them, it’s probably not a big surprise that they’re having a hard time breeding -- although inexplicably, scientists think it’s NOT because of their pancake heads or beady little eyes, but some problem in the natural environment. Now that there are fewer than 600 hellbenders left in Ozark rivers, scientists at the Saint Louis Zoo decided to step in and create a place for the salamanders to get it on.

The salamanders' love nest is a simulated river built to bring out amorous feelings in hideous beasties:

The zoo has built a kind of honeymoon resort for salamanders, assembling a mini water treatment plant and carefully tweaking water chemistry to recreate their cold, fast-flowing Ozark streams — minus any distracting predators or pollution. ...

Critical List: Toxic chemicals on the rise; baby seals in trouble

The EPA may retest water in Dimock, Pa., where residents have linked polluted water to fracking operations. In its first round of testing the town's water, the EPA declared it safe.

GM is fixing up the Volt in order to avoid in real-life battery fires like the ones that started during testing.

As winter sea ice disappears in the Arctic, fewer baby harp seals are making it.

The amount of toxic chemicals shunted into the environment went up 16 percent between 2009 and 2010, according a new EPA report.

Bourbon of proof: Is Kentucky’s heritage spirit compromised by GMO corn?

As an American, corn-based spirit, bourbon has changed rapidly in recent decades. Now, the question is: How long do we have until it's all made with genetically engineered grain?

Thanks to climate change, maple syrup faces a sticky future [VIDEO]

This farmer and amateur scientist has taken on the plight of the sugar maple, a valuable species that is changing rapidly and in danger of disappearance within the next century.

Not all Republicans are climate deniers [VIDEO]

In the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, former Rep. Bob Inglis, climate scientist Kerry Emanuel, and other Republicans talk about why climate action is a conservative value.

Time to be angry, not cynical, about corporate money in politics

We're unfazed by things that should shake us to the core, like how Big Oil pays Congress to do its bidding. We need to get naïvely angry again.