Latest Articles

Watch a robot ride a bicycle

Man, it's not enough that robots take over all our jobs — now they have to steal our commute?

Is the Keystone XL pipeline actually worse than the alternatives?

Believe it or not, intelligent, informed people who are passionate about preserving a livable climate disagree about whether or not the Keystone XL pipeline is a target worthy of environmental ire. Keystone XL has been called "game over for the climate" by none other than NASA climate scientist James Hansen, and Bill McKibben (full disclosure: […]

Flooding hits Italian countryside; climate change will bring more torrential rains

Americans may not care about weather-related disasters in places like Tuvalu, but it's possible that mudslides and flooding devastating some of Italy's most beautiful tourist ares will make a blip on the country's collective radar screen. (How will we prove we're cultured if Italy's one big mud pile?) Six people have died and hundreds more […]

Democrats ask for investigation into Keystone XL

Congressional Democrats decided to stop being polite and start being real about the Keystone XL approval process. Twenty representatives had already petitioned Secretary of State Clinton to look into the issue, and now 14 members of Congress are calling for the State Department's inspector general to investigate. Given that at least some of the problem seems […]

Critical List: Senators call for Keystone XL investigation; orangutans to take over islands

A group of senators asked the State Department inspector general to investigate improper influence on the Keystone XL decision. After Keystone XL protesters pushed Obama on the issue during a Colorado speech, the president said, "We're looking at it right now, all right? No decision has been made." Getting to Amsterdam-style bike nirvana requires more […]

Food Day: Photos from celebrations around the country [SLIDESHOW]

Last weekend, eaters from around the country celebrated the first annual Food Day (Oct. 24). It’s an event modeled after Earth Day, but seeing as how the food movement is the new environmental movement, it wouldn’t surprise us if Food Day outpaced Earth Day within a few years.

Three’s a crowd: Is it unethical to have more than two kids?

In the U.S., many population groups try to smooth over controversy, preferring to highlight areas of broad agreement, such as making birth control universally accessible, educating girls, and empowering women. By contrast, the British group Population Matters (formerly Optimum Population Trust) tries to stir up controversy. It recently chided David and Victoria Beckham for adding […]

Underwater cities: Climate change begins to reshape the urban landscape

Flooding in Miami.Photo: kthreadDan Kipness, a retired fishing boat captain and a 60-year Miami Beach resident, has a video that offers a glimpse of where this coastal city is headed. In it, cars and trucks kick floodwater into the air as they drive down Miami Beach’s streets. This isn’t rainwater — the skies are at […]

Food Studies: Post-communist pork, the Goat Whisperer, and other stories from the field

Mangalica pigs in Hungary. Food Studies features the voices of volunteer student bloggers from a variety of different food- and agriculture-related programs at universities around the world. You can explore the full series here. Over the past few months I’ve visited food producers, large and small, all over Europe. I’ve been behind the scenes on […]

Direct subsidies to fossil fuels are the tip of the (melting) iceberg

In recent years, energy subsidies have risen to become a first-tier political issue. Lots of folks are thinking and talking about them, which is absolutely a Good Thing. However, the discussion has remained narrow and legalistic in a way that obscures some larger realities. The usual question that gets asked is, who gets more direct […]