Latest Articles

China working on solar yaks

China is going to increase its solar capacity 10-fold in the next five years. Driving this solar great leap forward will be the "feed-in tariff" -- Chinese citizens who install solar panels will be paid 15 cents for every kilowatt-hour they produce. Germany uses the same strategy, and as a result it has more solar power than any other country in the world.

Swedish mining company could move an entire town to get at valuable iron ore

The town of Kiruna, Sweden, is very cold, very close to that awesome ice hotel, and very much on top of a valuable lode of iron ore. The Swedish state-owned mining company, LKAB, wants to get at the ore by fracturing that portion of the ground, which wouldn't be so great for the people who live on it. Solution: Make the people live somewhere else. A large portion of the city is being entirely relocated so that mining companies can get in underneath.

Here's a food label people can understand at a glance

Designer Renee Walker's food labels, which just won the Rethink the Food Label contest, are elegantly simple. They're dominated by a color-coded box that shows the breakdown of ingredients, including unappetizing shades of gray for additives and preservatives. So in one glance you can tell, say, which of these peanut butters has added filler and which one is mostly ground-up nuts. 

Born after 1976? You've never experienced normal global temperatures

If you're under 35 and you think you've lived through a cold year, you're wrong. Think Progress notes that the last year mean global temperatures were below normal was 1976.

That means more than a quarter of the population (and statistically more people reading this, since it’s on the internet) really has no idea what the global climate would feel like if humanity hadn't been messing with it for more than a century.

Critical List: Wind power can be dangerous; the U.S. gets average marks on clean energy

Wind power's not entirely safe: A watchdog group warns that "one of these days, a turbine's going to fall on someone.”

The U.S. gets a C for renewable energy development from an alternative energy analyst.

Colorado's going to require fracking companies to disclose what's in their fracking fluid.

The natural gas boom is also creating demand for silica sand.

The new normal: billion-dollar disasters

The U.S. has racked up more mega-expensive natural disasters in 2011 than ever before.

Debt and (carbon) taxes: Obama's last chance for climate redemption

Just into Obama's hypothetical second term, when the Bush tax cuts are poised to expire, could be the best time to enact a carbon tax.

Not your grandma’s strawberries

Your fruits and veggies are less nutritious than they used to be -- find out how much less with this handy interactive infographic.

Solar could help with that

A major heat wave is causing record demand in Texas–Monday set a record of 66,867 MW, and Tuesday is expected to set another.  As a result, the grid operator is asking that people help avoid blackouts by reducing electricity usage between 3 and 7 PM.  And as of 3:45 PM today, Texas paid $3000 MWh […]

Storm chaser: Sen. Durbin carries on lonely fight against climate change

While Obama lifts the "cloud of uncertainty" over the economy, Dick Durbin looks like one of the only lawmakers still worried about the real weather.