Latest Articles

Americans worry less about climate change than drinking water, rainforests or sprawl

The good news is that 75 percent of Americans are worried about air and water pollution, and a majority are concerned about the extinction of plants and animals. The bad news is that Americans are less worried about all things related to the environment than they were 10 years ago. Oh, and for anyone who's […]

America falls to third place in global race for clean energy

Globally, clean energy investment and finance reached $243 million in 2010, up 630 percent from 2004 and 30 percent from 2009. Germany experienced a 100 percent increase in investment, to $41.2 billion, trouncing the U.S., which came in at $34 billion despite having nearly four times the population of Germany. China, of course, was number […]

Einsteinium on the Beach: Japan’s nuke crisis spreads to ocean

Plutonium* has escaped the fuel rods in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and has now been found on the beach adjacent. Workers are struggling to keep radioactive wastewater from reaching the ocean, where radiation has already begun to spread. Rumor has it that the Japanese government is so frustrated with the performance of TEPCO, […]

World’s cities are the ‘battleground’ in fight against climate change

Or, the other option.The world’s cities are going to have to move aggressively to curb their greenhouse-gas emissions, or the whole planet is going to pay for it. That’s the word in a new report from the United Nations Human Settlement Program, or UN-HABITAT. The report is called “Hot Cities: Battle-Ground for Climate Change,” (you […]

Alexis Madrigal chats about boom-and-bust fossil fuels and the promise of cheap electricity

This is the second in a series from my conversation with Atlantic tech channel editor Alexis Madrigal about themes and stories from his new book, Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology. You can read part one here. DR: Earlier you mentioned technological momentum. But in a lot of these episodes [from […]

New Jersey leads U.S. in Superfund sites, spray tan and … solar power?

Jersey’s not all gym, tan, laundry. It’s also got more photovoltaic solar power capacity than any state except California (which is 19 times bigger). Even with a small square mileage, wishy-washy East Coast sun, and reality-show meatheads hogging the rays, Jersey’s managing to shore (ha) up its economy with solar — the state has more […]

Indian tigers make a comeback

Please, extinction, you think you can beat tigers? Have you SEEN tigers? Okay, so we’ll pass lightly over what happened to their saber-toothed cousins. And tigers aren’t out of the woods yet. But India’s latest tiger census showed a population stronger than it has been in some time — more than 1,700 tigers, about 300 […]

BP execs may face manslaughter charges

Here’s a novel concept: Cause people to die, get charged with manslaughter. It doesn’t usually work that way with corporations, which apparently get all the benefits of being legally considered “people” with none of the consequences. But federal officials are looking into manslaughter charges for BP managers who presided over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The […]

There’s an EPA showdown on the way

Playing in Congress this week: Gunfight at the EPA Corral. And the GOP has an itchy trigger finger. Age-old enemy of the planet Sen. James “global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” Inhofe has introduced a bill to nullify the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Sen. Mitch McConnell has […]

Charging ahead: Report predicts 3.8 million electrics on road by 2016

The Volt is still charging up.As the first mass-market electric cars start to, slowly, hit the streets, the big question is whether battery-powered vehicles are the future or a fad. The answer won’t be known for years but a new report from GTM Research offers some interesting insights into where the electric road might lead. […]