Latest Articles

Bill Gates on energy philanthropy, R&D funding, & why the U.S. will out-innovate China

Bill Gates goes casual at the Climate Solutions breakfast.Photo: nonfictionmediaThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — the richest in the world, with an endowment of $37 billion — doesn’t have plans to focus on clean energy and climate change, Bill Gates said on Tuesday. Speaking at a fundraiser for Northwest nonprofit Climate Solutions, he argued […]

A battle for the Earth’s last remaining frontier

In the Arctic Ocean, Big Oil is taking bigger risks than ever before.Photo: U.S. Geological SurveyThere are clear signs that a new Arctic oil rush has begun. Earlier this month, Shell submitted plans to the U.S. government for new drilling in the icy waters off Alaska’s north coast, and now a Scottish company has won […]

How bad ideas keep rebounding into public discourse: the rebound effect and its refutation

The rebound effect: a light that never goes out.Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Every few years, a new report emerges that tries to resurrect an old hypothesis: that energy efficiency policy somehow results in consumers using more energy instead of less. This hypothesis was introduced in the 19th century by economist William Stanley […]

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 […]