Latest Articles

How the ‘Arab Spring’ makes massive solar in North Africa more likely

Desertec is a massive project to to build solar thermal plants in the deserts of North Africa — you know, the same North Africa that had all the revolutions just now. But proponents are saying there’s no reason to put the project on hold just because of political unrest. In fact, they say, the economic […]

‘Ag-gag’ bills face tough row to hoe

As you were saying?Big Ag is having trouble installing its Iron Curtain. I am referring, of course, to the various “ag-gag” laws proposed in Florida, Minnesota, and Iowa that would make it illegal to produce (and, in some cases, possess) undercover videos from within factory livestock farms. The latest state legislature to pursue this dubious […]

GOP congressman: Stop climate change by destroying the rainforest

Republican representative Dana Rohrabacher has a novel solution for reducing greenhouse gases: Destroy the rainforest! While we’re at it, we should probably get rid of the ozone layer and those pesky whales, as well. Rohrabacher argues that since 80 percent of carbon emissions come from decaying plant matter, we should clear-cut rainforests in order to […]

A foolproof way to talk about climate change

If you’re like me and have to talk about climate science in public forums a lot, you struggle with the denier community and how to talk about the issue. Personally, I find the denial world so outrageously out of touch that I mostly hit the science head on and then blow the deniers out of […]

Residents Flood This Week's EPA Mercury Hearings

Americans made their voices heard this week, turning out in huge crowds at three public hearings to demand Environmental Protection Agency safeguards from coal pollution. You can see photos from all three hearings here. In Philadelphia and Chicago on Tuesday, and Atlanta on Thursday, hundreds of people from all backgrounds showed up to speak at […]

Confused Chris Christie embraces climate science, rejects climate action

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: The threat is real, and we should do less to fight it.Photo: Chuck WalkerThis post was cowritten by Stephen Lacey. Christie: “In the past I’ve always said that climate change is real and it’s impacting our state. There’s undeniable data that CO2 levels and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere […]

Mark Zuckerberg kills his meat with his bare hands

You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but Mark Zuckerberg is gunning to be the new Ted Nugent. The Facebook founder/Übernerd/kabillionaire is now only eating meat he slaughters himself. At least, that’s what he claims his status update reading “I just killed a pig and a goat” means, and issues or no, he doesn't […]

Obama administration overseeing explosion in renewables on public land

The Bush administration issued more than 40,000 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands, but approved zero solar projects (even though they received 300 applications). In contrast, in 2010 alone the Bureau of Land Management approved 9 solar projects representing 3,682 megawatts of electric power, reports Climate Central. Why the difference? According to […]

Greener cars and fuel mean fewer deaths tied to vehicle emissions

Cars idling in traffic lead to more than 2,200 premature deaths each year, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health. But lower vehicle emissions and cleaner fuels have been driving down that number for past decade, and the number of deaths will continue to decrease until about 2025, the study […]

Rick Santorum, the Only Consistently Anti-Environmental Candidate

Rick Santorum announced yesterday that next week, in a Western Pennsylvania coal field, he’ll announce he is running for President. The leaked announcement seems to have heavily emphasized the coal field angle, since several major outlets mentioned it prominently. On Twitter, Bill Scher asked a compelling question: “Can he win by tarring Mitt, Newt, Tim, […]