Latest Articles

Feds running a high-voltage gravy train for power transmission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gives bonus incentives for outdated and costly systems of energy transmission at the expense of ratepayers.

Cars vs. bulldozers: a look at road construction GHGs

Photo: Joost J. Bakker IJmuidenThis post originally appeared on Sightline Institute’s blog. Here’s an interesting study (not free, unfortunately) by University of Washington engineering professor Stephen Muench, reviewing the literature on the energy and CO2 impacts of road construction. His study looks mostly at the construction phase itself, rather than the use of the road. […]

'Natural' gas fails the sniff test

Top decisionmakers in Washington seem to have forgotten that “natural” gas is a fossil fuel, with some of the same damning negatives as coal and oil. For instance, unlike renewables, “natural” gas is an energy source we will exhaust — possibly sooner than previously thought. Let’s not forget that the recent rise of hydraulic fracturing […]

Taking sides in the latest natural gas battle

The New York Times has been running a series on natural gas. Here's David Roberts' take on the controversy behind natural gas fracking.

Half of the Bay Area's litter comes from fast food

Fast food is already a lot like pollution -- it's bad for you, but it's more convenient than the alternative, so it's really really hard to get rid of. Also it shows up frequently on the sides of highways. Now, environmental nonprofit Clean Water Action has found that, at least in the San Francisco Bay area, these two dirty birds flock together. More than half of the litter in the four cities the group studied came from convenience foods at McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Starbucks, and 7-11.

Climate change side effect: overworked doctors?

Hospital admissions diabetes, kidney stones, and suicide attempts will rise along with the temperature. An increase could overwhelm small hospitals.

Car costs may make it harder to save

Keeping money in the bank isn't easy when you're sinking dollars into your four wheels.

Over 1,000 new species discovered in New Guinea

Researchers found more than 1,000 new species in New Guinea over the ten years from 1998 to 2008, according to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund. Previously unknown species -- including an 8-foot river shark, a frog with fangs, and pink dolphin -- were discovered at a rate of two a week. But New Guinea could lose half its forest to logging by 2020, and already some of these new species are so rare that they went onto the endangered list as soon as they were discovered.

Court rules California's cap-and-trade program can advance

After a period of legal uncertainty, a California court has ruled that the state can proceed with developing a cap-and-trade program.

Flow batteries store electricity in giant tanks of goop

Even if we do manage to set up a shiny futuristic renewable smart grid made of glitter and staffed by zebra unicorns, there are still going to be times when it poops out. Maybe the wind isn’t blowing; maybe a mean old cloud got in the way. And when that happens, there aren't enough boat batteries in the world to store all the electricity we're going to need to keep everything running.