Latest Articles

Cheap, genetically engineered salmon sushi, coming soon!

The only thing that stands between us and eating fish riddled with genes that some dude spliced together in the lab is the Office of Management and Budget. The FDA has finished its evaluation of genetically engineered salmon and recommended that the fish be commercialized.

The GE fish grows fast and big, which means more fish for all of us. But it also could have worrisome impacts on the environment, because it's a fish that we programmed in order to bend its entire existence to our will!

Population facts and figures at your fingertips

The number of people in the world is expected to reach 7 billion by the end of October 2011. Our rate of increase continues to slow from the high point of over 2 percent in 1968. Still, this year’s 1.1 percent increase means some 78 million people will be added to the global population in 2011.

Even Republicans favor the EPA rules that Republicans are trying to block

Yet another nationwide poll has found that the public overwhelmingly supports clean air protections, across demographic and party lines. Yes, even Republicans.

Bill McKibben: 'Wall Street has been occupying the atmosphere'

Here's Bill McKibben speaking at an Occupy Wall Street "mic check," where the crowd repeats back everything he says and acts as a sort of human-powered amplifier. The reason that it’s so great that we’re occupying Wall Street is because Wall Street has been occupying the atmosphere. That’s why we can never do anything about […]

What do banana peels and coal ash have in common?

Americans want strong protections against toxic coal ash — that’s why they submitted more than 450,000 public comments during the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) process to put long-overdue protections in place. Unfortunately, Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) recently introduced the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2011 (H.R. 2273), which would handcuff EPA’s ability to […]

Coal ash regulations would create 28,000 jobs

Republicans have been arguing that environmental regulations kill jobs. But research keeps showing that it's just not true. An independent analysis of the coal ash industry, for instance, reveals that stricter safety regulations would create 28,000 jobs overall.
 

America uses more corn for fuel than for food

In America, most corn is no longer meant for eating, at least by humans. Only 20 percent of all the gazillions of ears of corn the United States grows make it into a person's mouth as corn.

The rest goes to feed animals (which do make it into people's mouth as beef and other meats) and to brew corn ethanol. In one year, we used more than 5 billion bushels of corn for ethanol, which we don't even use that much of!

Critical List: Australia inches from passing a carbon tax; Rick Perry’s secret economic sauce

Australia's carbon tax bill passed its lower House by a thin majority; it should easily pass the Senate and make it into law.

An oil cleanup contest awarded $1 million to the winning Team Elastec/American Marine, which soaked up 4,670 gallons of oil per minute and got to 89.5 percent of the oil, on average.

China is going to tax the hell out of oil and gas and reinvest the money in nuclear reactors and wind farms.

To till or not to till

In farming circles, the debate about whether or not to till soil has been going on for years. Now the latest information from the Rodale Institute kicks up more dirt.

Riding the crimson tide: bicycling when you have your period

Elly Blue demystifies the one true women's issue in bicycling: biking on your period.