Latest Articles

Oyster sex to the rescue

Centuries ago, the Chesapeake Bay was filled with oyster reefs so large they sank ships. Today, in search of a cleaner bay, Maryland is looking to revitalize its once-booming oyster population. But to do that, the state needs oysters — lots of 'em — and to get oysters, the state needs scientists at the University […]

Critical List: Fracking connected to flammable tap water; eco-friendly paintballs

Remember those people with flammable tap water? Yup, hydrofracking is responsible, according to Duke University scientists. Chile wants to dam two incredible rivers, despite opposition from both locals and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. A judge in Utah shut down Koch Industries' search for the clever people who sent out a fake press release claiming the […]

In Texas, Obama faces test on border-wall promise

President Obama speaks today about immigration in El Paso, Texas, along the U.S. border with Mexico. Although the subject is immigration, the backdrop will be purely environmental: the 640 mile long border wall with Mexico. The wall has done nothing to reduce illegal immigration, but it has had enormous negative effects on the extraordinary wildlife […]

A conversation with Bill Gates on climate and clean energy [VIDEO]

This morning, Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talked with Climate Solutions Board Co-chair Jabe Blumenthal about climate change and innovations in clean energy. Watch the video here and read the transcript below — or just catch the highlights. Watch the video Afterward, KC Golden of Climate Solutions […]

Jack in the Box surprise: How E. coli became a household word

Double your trouble.Photo: theimpulsivebuyFor most of us working in food policy, it’s hard to remember a time when food outbreaks of bugs like E. coli didn’t happen pretty much weekly. But reading the new book Poisoned by Jeff Benedict made me realize that bacteria-contaminated hamburgers are a relatively recent phenomenon. It’s a striking reminder of […]

Want local communities to support wind? Put them in charge

Let’s turn NIMBYs into YIMBYs.Photo: Eddie CodelThis post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Last month, Grist’s Jess Zimmerman noted sarcastically that “Money is a miracle cure for ‘wind turbine syndrome.'” It is. And environmental advocates frustrated by the (spurious?) health and aesthetic complaints raised […]

New study: How to get your kids to become environmentalists

LEAF participants enjoy an afternoon at the beach after a morning of work at the Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge in the Delaware Bayshores region.Photo: Erika Nortemann/TNCCross-posted from Cool Green Science. Want your kids to become ecologically conscious as adults? Get ’em into nature now — that’s the most reliable way to build their […]

Climate change could ruin the internet

Sure, climate change threatens animals and people and cities and all that life-as-we-know-it stuff, but apparently it can also make Bejeweled Blitz run super-slow. OUTRAGE! Something must be done! Seriously, I half suspect this of being a hoax by old people who think young people are only motivated by the Facebook anymore, but a government […]

D.C. will bribe people to shorten their commutes

If you live in the D.C. area, the Office of Planning wants you to get paid up to $12,000 to avoid a car commute. Wait, really? Car commuting costs a metric pantload in fuel and destroys your soul — isn't this like trying to pay someone not to slowly pummel themselves to death with Faberge eggs? But some […]

Breaking the link between energy consumption and economic growth

Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. There are skeptics of energy efficiency who claim that, paradoxically, all the energy and money we have been saving due to energy efficiency, across all sectors of the economy, has actually caused us to increase our energy consumption. This “economy-wide rebound” theory is a startling, but ultimately unsupportable, […]