Latest Articles

How an energy bill could fuel more global warming

Cross-posted from NRDC Switchboard. As President Obama and senators consider their options on energy and climate legislation, it’s important to be clear about what will move the country forward and what will move it backward. Will our leaders put us on the road towards the carbon pollution cuts desperately needed to take back control of […]

Good News From the Past and the Dump

In a week that saw more oil wash over Gulf of Mexico shores and more oil lobbying money wash over Congress – – both with predictable results – – I thought we could all use some good news and reasons to be hopeful. I found that inspiration on a trip to Germany and the UK […]

The mystery BP Twitterer revealed!

Leroy Stick is the brains behind a fake BP Twitter account called BPGlobalPR that’s racked up more than 180,000 followers. Need to Know‘s Erin Chapman grabbed an exclusive on-camera interview with him at the TEDxOilSpill conference. Stick (an alias) began feeding his updates to humor-starved news junkies on May 19 and — like the oil […]

Winning on climate may require reforming the U.S. Senate

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)The chess game of climate politics — or, more specifically, of putting a binding limit on climate-changing pollution from dirty fuels — is at a moment of great uncertainty. President Obama continues to push for putting a price on carbon, and Senate action may come in July or August. But there’s every chance […]

The Return of the Bicycle

The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car. Bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land […]

New June daily high temp records beat new cold records by nearly 5 to 1

“We’re getting a dramatic taste of the kind of weather we are on course to bequeath to our grandchildren,” says Tom Peterson, Chief Scientist for NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. An “excessive heat warning” has been issued this week for parts of the East Coast, home of the status quo media, so please send me […]

Philly’s Greensgrow farm: An unconventional hybrid that works

Mary Seton Corboy sweating in her bee suit on the living roof of the Greensgrow farm’s storage trailer.(Photos ©Michael Hanson) It’s sunny and 94 degrees, and the pavement’s steaming after a thunderstorm rolled sideways through north Philly. Mary Seton Corboy wears a full-body, white bee suit. She stands atop a small trailer’s grassy roof on […]

Ask Umbra on hair dye that won’t kill you or the planet

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I’m sure you’ve already addressed this, having bright red hair and all, but I was wondering about your advice on hair coloring.  I’d like to hide my grays without damaging the environment or myself.  And, if it’s possible, to do so in a cost efficient and time […]

Exclusive: Obama admin unable to resolve shutdown of PACE clean-energy program

Obama administration officials have failed to resolve a dispute with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that has shut down Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), according to an email obtained by Grist. The impasse will likely kill the promising clean-energy financing tool until Congress passes legislation addressing it, according to Cisco DeVries, who first created the […]

Friday music blogging: Sarah Harmer

In 1999, I jumped ship from a PhD program in philosophy and moved to Seattle to live with a girl I’d been seeing on and off for years. Having no practical skills of any kind and no employment history to speak of, I was working in customer service at Amazon.com and wondering what I’d do […]