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Republicans risk $1 billion in revenue to squash a trickle of funding for biking and walking

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is threatening to hold up the passage of the transportation bill over a tiny portion of its funding, which (of course!) happens to be the portion dedicated to forms of transportation other than cars and highways. Streetsblog explains what's at stake here:

Sen. Coburn, and possibly other members of Congress, are declaring their willingness to throw the entire transportation industry, as well as commuters, under the bus while they quibble about the pennies spent on bike paths. According to the White House, if the bill is delayed just 10 days, the country would lose over $1 billion in transportation funding — “money we can never get back.”

Kiss your snorkeling trip goodbye: We're wiping out coral

Environmentalists are always looking for allies who can blast away treehugger stereotypes. They should consider reaching out to the community of anyone who's ever gone snorkeling in a coral reef. (You remember that part of your Cancun vacation, don't you? It happened sometime between the margaritas and the … margaritas.) According to a new book called Our Dying Planet, humanity is on track to wipe out all coral reefs. No more bright, awesome fish and crazy plants. Ever.

Meet Scott Rosenberg, Grist's new executive editor

We're excited that Scott Rosenberg is joining Grist. He's a co-founder of Salon.com, founder of MediaBugs.org, and pioneer in online community-building.

The largest outdoor green wall in North America

Why just have a green roof when you can have a green wall? This 3,000-square-foot wall, which fronts a public library in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada, was installed by green wall company Green Over Grey. It consists of over 10,000 plants in over 120 species.

Critical List: Enviros want Lisa Jackson to stay; a Penn. town could ban fracking

Enviros are hoping Lisa Jackson, their one stalwart ally high up in the administration, will keep on keeping on, despite the White House's decision to undermine her work on smog regulations.

A Pennsylvania town could vote to ban natural gas drilling.

One organizer of Rio+20, a U.N. summit next year on climate issues, says the conference should split environmentalism away from climate change issues. Basically, he says, we’re at the point where it’s much more important to embrace sustainability and prepare for climate change than it is to resolve the Green vs. Brown faceoff.

Securing a food future in cities: a case study in repurposing military bases

Farm programs on abandoned military land are opportunities to strengthen food deserts.

Rick Perry stumbles and mumbles as he tries to defend abstinence education [VIDEO]

"Abstinence works." That's Rick Perry's response to a question about why Texas is sticking with abstinence-only education despite its high teen pregnancy rate.

Fat lady sings: Gore gears up for 24 hours of climate reality [VIDEO]

Al Gore is going big in his fight against climate deniers, with "24 Hours of Reality" on Sept. 14. Opera singing may or may not be involved.

Asphalt to Ecosystems

Say you were abducted by aliens, flown around the galaxy, then finally dropped off in what appears to be an American town.  There’s not a soul about.  What kind of place is this? Are you among friends or are there going to be more of those ‘probes’?  Then you notice a school.  You walk closer. […]

Chinese cheaters? How China dominates solar

Chinese companies overwhelm the solar manufacturing sector. Could they be using predatory pricing to squash the competition?