Latest Articles

Let’s Face It: Some Members of Congress Like Oil Executives Better Than You

“We’re only talking about four billion dollars.” That’s how former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin defended the tax breaks going to the some of the world’s richest corporations: oil companies. It may “only” be four billion dollars to these entities; after all, they are reaping windfall profits from rising gas prices. The “big five” oil companies […]

The bike economy is booming

We don't want to underestimate Americans' ability to buy things they don't use, but bike sales were up 9 percent this quarter. There was an even bigger jump — 29 percent — in sales of road bikes, implying that people are using their new vehicles to commute. Gas-powered scooter sales went up even more — […]

Two hours of your work day goes to paying for your car

Americans work 500 hours a year — two hours every work day — just to pay for their cars, says James Schwartz of the blog The Urban Country. That's 12 and a half working weeks. Basically, you only work to pay your rent, feed your family, clothe yourself, buy iPad apps, etc. through about the […]

Penguins are losing ground in Antarctica

Although climate change guarantees that all penguins are screwed in the long term, some are more screwed than others. On the Antarctic peninsula, Adélie penguins have lost almost 90 percent of their population over the past three decades — while the population of gentoo penguins, which don't need ice to survive, has grown by 14,000 […]

Peabody Coal’s new site is too awful to be believed, but some of you believed it anyway

Hey, did you hear about Peabody Coal's unconscionable new site, Coalcares.org? They're offering free Dora the Explorer and Justin Bieber-branded inhalers to kids living near coal plants! They have a "Kidz Koal Korner" with these cartoon characters called "Puff" and "Ash," and they say clean energy will kill you, and they want to make kids […]

The iPhone is the new Prius

Ditch the car and get a bike, a transit farecard, and a smartphone.Photo: NoktonCross-posted from Shareable. Two years ago, my California driver’s license expired. Living in Chicago at the time, where the smart resident uses bikes or public transit to avoid traffic, I hadn’t found a compelling reason to get behind the wheel of our […]

U.S. finally catching up to rest of world on solar

In the U.S., solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are, somewhat unexpectedly, suddenly the belle of the renewable energy ball — and their dance card is wide open. There is now more solar PV capacity planned for the immediate future than any other renewable you can name. Wind, solar thermal, geothermal — it's like they all showed […]

Saudi Arabia scrambling to get off own oil, build 5 gigawatts of solar power by 2020

What do you do when you're basically a giant welfare state whose stability depends on keeping the money tap open, yet your population is set to double and your electricity consumption to triple by 2032? If you're Saudi Arabia, the answer is build renewable energy as fast as you can. The first volley is a […]

Is climate change causing the Mississippi flood?

Mother Jones has posted everything you might want to know about the record flooding along the Mississippi, including the big question: Is this destruction just the ravages of an angry Nature, or is it the ravages of an angry Nature that's pissed about climate change in particular? The answer to "did climate change cause this?" […]

Not just better for bikes: New York completes its streets [VIDEO]

Something has been lost in the recent kerfuffle over bike lanes in New York City. The rethinking and redesign of the city’s streets is not just about bikes (and it is not a terrorist plot). It’s about what is known in the land of urban wonkery as “complete streets,” and it is a concept that […]