Latest Articles

Can today’s technology tackle climate change? Who cares?

Let’s ponder the real questions.One of the most heated arguments among climate policy analysts is over the following question: “Do we currently have the technology we need to tackle climate change?” For brevity’s sake, I refer to it as the “enough technology” debate. The way it usually breaks down is, those who say we don’t […]

Another Congressional Attack on Clean Air

Why should you care about the Cross State Air Pollution Rule? Because it could save your life, or the life of someone you love. Congress is continuing its attacks on clean air this week, and the latest target in their crosshairs is the life-saving Cross State Air Pollution Rule. This clean air safeguard would require […]

Energy companies get $24 billion of corporate welfare from taxpayers

Cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. Tax breaks and subsidies for energy companies have gotten so extreme that dozens of top companies have made billions in profits while having negative taxes — actually receiving taxpayer welfare instead of paying anything to the federal treasury. An analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and […]

‘The Story of Broke,’ Annie Leonard’s new video

Annie Leonard made a splash with her viral video about our consumerist society, “The Story of Stuff,” which inspired a book, an in-depth website, and a series of spinoffs. Her latest installment in the series is “The Story of Broke” — watch it here: The video in a nutshell: The Story of Broke: Why there’s […]

IEA’s bombshell warning: Act now or climate change is here to stay

Cross-posted from Climate Progress. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued yet another clarion call for urgent action on climate. Their 2011 World Energy Outlook (WEO) release should end once and for all any notion that delay is the rational course for the nation and the world. The U.K. Guardian‘s headline captures the urgency: World […]

Study: We have five years to stop climate change, or it will be too late

According to a comprehensive analysis by the International Energy Agency, the point of no return on climate change is fast approaching. Either we halt it in five years, or … well, imagine I'm drawing my finger across my throat while making a "kkkkkhhhhhh" sound. Basically, any fossil fuel infrastructure that goes up in the next […]

It’s not dead yet! The electric car makes a comeback, again, maybe

There are a couple of things you ought to know about the new film Revenge of the Electric Car, director Chris Paine’s sequel to his 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? First, this would be more aptly named The Running Saga of the Electric Car, or better yet, How The Electric Car Gets Its […]

Map shows how hard it is to escape McDonald’s

Scientist and data visualization expert Stephen von Worley got curious how far it was possible to get from "our world of generic convenience." So he made up this map of the U.S., color-coded by distance to the nearest McDonald's. Conclusion: The fast food giant is basically breathing down your neck anywhere east of the Mississippi, […]

China committing climate blackmail with super-powerful greenhouse gas, say critics

China is threatening to vent super-powerful greenhouse gases if Europe cuts off its supply of valuable carbon credits next year. The climate Kryptonite in question is hydrofluorocarbon-23. One ton of this stuff has the same greenhouse gas punch as 11,700 tons of carbon dioxide. Most of China’s $6 billion in carbon credits have been intended […]

How’s it feel to already be living in a post-peak oil apocalypse?

The International Energy Agency says peak oil came and went — in 2006. The only reason we're not already paying $10 a gallon for gas and generally Mad Maxing it up is that there was this thing called a recession. Well, that, and cough cough the tar sands saved our asses cough cough. Unconventional sources […]