Latest Articles

More birth defects in mountaintop removal mining areas

Babies born in West Virginia regions where mountaintop removal mining takes place suffer from higher rates of birth defects than those born in non-mining regions. Mining regions tend to be low-income and deal with the slew of problems correlated with that, but the birth defect rates are higher even when accounting for "socioeconomic disadvantages."

The American suburbs are a giant Ponzi scheme

Our current pattern of autocentric development does not create real wealth. It creates the illusion of wealth. Today we are in the process of seeing that illusion destroyed, and with it the prosperity we have come to take for granted.

Critical List: U.S. nuclear plants leak radioactive materials; Big Oil is the bad guy in Cars 2

Three quarters of nuclear power plants in the U.S. have leaked radioactive tritium.

The White House promised to put solar panels on its roof by the end of spring but didn't. Come on -- the environmental community can’t even get a symbolic gesture now? Throw us a bone, dude!

Global warming was supposed to save a few lives by creating milder winters in which fewer people would freeze to death. But by 2040, deaths from heat waves will outstrips lives saved in the winter.

Is the 'Clean 15' just as toxic as the 'Dirty Dozen'?

Is the Environmental Working Group's Clean 15 list of low-pesticide produce as toxic as its Dirty Dozen? For farm workers, the answer is often yes.

Do environmentalists need shrinks?

Is the sorry state of the planet dragging you into the dumps? Psychologist John Fraser thinks a lot of enviros are suffering from traumatic distress.

Many power plants already have equipment to slash mercury

Many power plants have already installed pollution-control technologies that can significantly reduce mercury as well as other pollutants.

Me, on The Majority Report, talking EPA and Great Places

While David Roberts was at Netroots Nation, he dropped by to chat with Sam Seder on his radio show The Majority Report about the EPA. Take a listen.

Dumpster diver says: Trader Joe’s must stop wasting food

I feed my family food from the dumpster, as explained in my new documentary "Dive!" But we need supermarkets to stop throwing good food in the dumpster in the first place.

Why the Senate ethanol vote doesn't matter much

Even if the Senate's ethanol vote makes it through the White House, it won't stem the flow of corn from Midwest farms to distillers to gas tanks.

Digging for permafrost in the Last Frontier

How much carbon is being released by the thawing of the Arctic's so-called permafrost? Ecologist Ted Schuur braves Alaska to find out.