Latest Articles

What’s wrong with the USDA’s new MyPlate graphic? Plenty

The collective wisdom in press reports last week was that the USDA’s new “easy to understand” ChooseMyPlate image is “better” than the old pyramid. Well, that’s not saying much. But it’s also completely beside the point. Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at how bad the pyramid image was (and I had a ball doing […]

FDA admits supermarket chickens test positive for arsenic

Why is Big Ag playing chicken with our health?Back in March, Tom Philpott wrote about the “insane” practice of feeding factory-farmed chickens arsenic: The idea is that it makes them grow faster — fast growth being the supreme goal of factory animal farming — and helps control a common intestinal disease called coccidiosis. The industry […]

Ask Umbra’s Book Club announces ‘The Joy of Less’ is next book

Dearest readers, Spring cleaning has gotten me thinking about de-cluttering — and the larger minimalist movement. It sure feels great to get rid of things we no longer use or need, but what’s to stop us from just filling up our lives with more stuff? Minimalism and environmentalism have a lot in common — enough […]

No joke: This is the biggest battery breakthrough ever

A pioneer in battery research who already successfully launched a $350 million company to supply batteries to the likes of GE and Chrysler has done it again — only this time, "it" represents the complete reinvention of battery technology as we know it. This technology is in the research phase, but if it can be […]

Representative Tipton: My 150 isn't even my biggest truck

Recently U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton came to Aspen to speak to his Republican supporters here. He said that he drove an F150, and that that wasn’t even his biggest truck. And then he lamented the fact that it cost $78 to fill his tank halfway. And so we should drill for more oil in the […]

Bike shares are the new black

You know that bumper sticker on your Prius that says "My Other Car is a Bike"? You might want to slap on another next to it that says "And It's Not Even My Bike," because bikesharing systems are totally hot right now. There are now 400 bikeshares in western Europe, up from "a few" 10 […]

Hey Obama: Defend our public lands!

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.Cross-posted from ThinkProgress. The nation’s public lands are a central part of our national heritage, imagination, and spirit. Millions of Americans visit our public lands each year to experience history firsthand and wonder at some of the nation’s most beautiful natural spaces. That’s why one of my proudest accomplishments from the […]

Industry-funded climate crank becomes a media darling

A new study examining TV news coverage of federal proposals to regulate global warming pollution has turned up evidence of journalistic malpractice when it comes to accurately informing viewers about one of the most critical issues of our time. It also shows how the mainstream media turned a relatively obscure climatologist into a star — […]

GM’s CEO says a gas tax hike would help the auto industry

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson doesn't want tougher fuel efficiency standards. That's no surprise. Here's the surprise: What he wants instead is a $1-per-gallon gas tax increase. If given a choice between a gas surcharge and the increasing fuel efficiency standards that are set to phase in over the next 15 years or so, Akerson […]

Double standard for fuel efficiency is literally killing Americans

An economist at UC San Diego has made a startling finding: The peculiarly American system of having one fuel efficiency standard for cars and a different, less stringent one for SUVs and trucks is increasing highway fatalities. The problem is that under the existing, two-tiered system, increases in fuel efficiency standards force car makers to […]