Latest Articles

Does sprawl development drive away talented professional people?

Troy, Michigan: can this place be saved?Photo: Wayne Senville, Planning Commissioners JournalThere’s a great discussion going on at the indispensable blog about the industrial Midwest, RustWire.com. It was prompted by their posting last week of a letter from Andrew Basile, Jr., the CEO of a legal firm with offices in Troy, Mich., entitled “Why our […]

Wanna green your ride? Ditch the Prius, hop on a train

Chart: EPA Here’s one to piss off the yuppies: Driving your hybrid car from your Energy Star home to the food co-op is not as green as hopping on the subway from your apartment. A new EPA study says that moving from a car-oriented to a transit-oriented community has the biggest impact on your energy […]

Polluters have the tech they need to reduce toxic mercury and make Americans healthier

Listen up, polluters.Photo: sara b.Yesterday, EPA released plans for its long-awaited “utility MACT” rule, which would regulate toxic air pollutants like mercury. I want to address one contested point in particular — the availability of technology to reduce mercury emissions — but first some scene setting. The benefits of making Americans healthier From a health […]

Japan’s tsunami gets the Pixar treatment in realistic animation

This reporter didn’t really appreciate how a “subduction zone earthquake” of the kind that afflicted Japan causes a tsunami, until he watched CGI-ish animation of one in progress. Watch out for the explosive kick around 0:06: Read more: Animation: Subduction Zone Tsunami Mother Jones    

Romney may be the Koch mule of Campaign 2012

Meet the new boss, whose boss is the same as the old boss’s boss. Looks like David Koch has already hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. Romney has in the past acknowledged the existence of global warming, which is pretty good considering, but now we’re waiting for him to cut and paste […]

Your iPod is polluting China and L.A. — and Wyoming might be next

Your 4.9-ounce iPod is responsible for at least 200 times its weight in greenhouse-gas emissions.When you bought your last Apple iPod, you may have been aware that it had been manufactured at a factory in China, perhaps the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen in the province of Guangzhou. (Let’s put aside for the moment the working […]

Rachel Maddow explains nuclear meltdowns, with props

We did our best to break down what’s happening with Japan’s reactors, but this is some complicated shiz. We need to call in the big guns: A scintillating TV personality with props and a nuclear physicist friend. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.10773502&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D42080592%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320]

Nervous China to break up with nuclear, run back to coal

China is suspending its development of nuclear power plants amid rising public anxiety. As the country’s economy develops rapidly, nuclear power had been seen as key to answering the need for rapid growth in production of electricity. Some 28 reactors – or 40 per cent of the world’s total under construction – are being built […]

German sustainable energy lobby steps up to fill the nuclear hole

Can we replace fossil fuels without going nuclear? One German company says so. Unlike nuclear power, coal doesn’t have to wait for failed safety features to pollute the groundwater, pollute the air, and make people sick for miles around. So getting off fossil fuels is a priority — but now a lot of people are […]

Actor/activist Mark Ruffalo will follow you on Twitter if you donate to Japan relief

Last seen agitating for a ban on fracking, actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo is now using Twitter as a platform to raise money for relief efforts in Japan. Dude is following and retweeting the sh*t out of anyone with good news about the island nation, and/or anyone who pledges to donate. Go Mark go!