Latest Articles

Little does this Libyan rebel know he’s fighting for our right to cheap gas

At the request of Libya’s resistance forces, the U.S. and its NATO allies have just promised to shoot down anything Ghaddafi puts into the sky. Which means that rebels like the one in the video above may think they’re fighting a war of liberation, but now that we’re on the scene, it’s about oil, as usual: This […]

Dairy cows frolic in meadow to celebrate spring [VIDEO]

Still trying to keep it positive! One thing that that makes it easier is that spring really has arrived up here in the North Carolina mountains — it must be 70 degrees, and the arugula we planted a few weeks ago in cold frames is taking off. Evidently, it’s spring-time in England, too. I dare […]

Bahraini government tries to destroy a place that inspired its people

Protesters gathered at Bahrain’s Pearl Monument in February.Photo: Mahmoud Al-YousifThe Bahraini government is apparently hoping that by destroying the monument that gave the Pearl Roundabout its “placeness,” it will diffuse the energy of protesters who have been gathering there since Feb. 14. Some have died there. From CNN: Security forces in Bahrain on Friday demolished […]

How plastic could help save the environment

Plastic isn’t the problem, you are, says science writer Susan Freinkel. Freinkel argues that plastic could actually help save the environment — it takes less energy to produce than many other materials, it makes a lot of green tech possible, and it replaces materials that are “sustainable” only because they come from destroying animals or […]

Is your area solar-ready? Check out this gorgeous map

Chart: National Renewable Energy Laboratory The places you would go to get some sun aren’t necessarily the places with the most potential for solar energy. The Southwest is a giant hotspot; Florida and Hawaii are only okay. Check out this map to find the solar potential where you live. Read more: “Good Sun,” Xcel Energy

Representative warns against ‘overreacting’ to tsunami by saving lives or whatever

Shorter Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.): “If the GOP cuts tsunami monitoring, people will die.” If you cut on detection of tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, severe weather events, weather buoys, satellite observation and weather patterns, those sorts of things, people will die. Shorter Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa): “Come on, let’s not overreact to a few thousand people dying […]

Japan’s wind farms save its ass while nuclear plants founder

Wind turbine in Yokohama, JapanPhoto: shibuya246If Japan’s wind turbines were to get a new theme song, it would be Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries“, and it would ring out from the hills upon which they stand triumphantly, unscathed by the the country’s earthquake/tsunami double whammy, lifting their skinny, still-turning blades like antennas to heaven. While Japan’s […]

Get freaked about hydrofracking: now!

Like the sign says.Photo: Not an AlternativeBabydolls, behold the obvious: The situation in Japan is horrendous. Indeed, it trumps anything else that might previously have fallen under the aegis of horrendous. Having said that, there is another horrendous environmental threat that is gearing up to gush out of our collective faucets right here in the […]

Here’s why you can’t afford food anymore

Food prices jumped 3.9 percent in February, the largest one-month increase since November 1974. It’s turtles all the way down: Grocery prices are up, wholesale food prices are up, prices for staples like corn and grain are up. Here’s a few things you won’t be affording in the future: Bacon. The retail price for bacon […]

Japanese video explains nuke disaster with poo

“If he poops and it leaks from his diaper, it still won’t be as bad as Chernobyl.”