Latest Articles

Latest podcast: How cancer-causing methyl iodide snuck past the EPA and onto farm fields

In the waning days of the Bush Administration, the EPA executed what will likely go down as the single most egregious decision in its less-than-stellar history: Ignoring strong warnings from independent scientists, it approved use of a pesticide so carcinogenic that scientists had previously used it to induce cancer in tissue samples. The chemical, a […]

This week, declare your independence from dirty energy

Pledge your allegiance to clean energy: declare your independence from dirty energyPhoto courtesy of NREL This weekend, we celebrate America’s independence from Britain. Brave people — the fathers and mothers of our country — stood together against the most powerful empire of the time and said, “We will be free.”  But as BP’s disastrous oil […]

One way to make cycling more appealing: offer better bike storage

Nearly every major city in the world wants to get more of its residents on bicycles, as transportation hotshot Tom Vanderbilt notes in Slate today. And with good reason: compared to driving, cycling is healthier, greener, safer, quieter, and easier on public roads and congestion. Vanderbilt digs into the idea of “bicycle highways” — dedicated […]

Organic farmers better at pest control, study says

Such large-scale pesticide application may actually reduce yields, a new study finds.Dovetailing nicely with Grist contributor and would-be farmer Steph Larsen’s account of her battle with the hated corn borer, a new study from Washington State University suggests organic growing techniques offer better pest control and larger plants. But first, let’s be clear: The debate […]

Can we get on the road to major emission reductions by starting with a cap on stationary sources?

President Obama hosted a bipartisan group of Senators at the White House on Tuesday to talk about the path forward on comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. He made a strong case for passing a bill that “makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy” by holding polluters responsible for their emissions. As expected, there […]

TV weathercasters and news directors are distorting climate coverage

Just a few months ago, we learned that one out of four weathercasters surveyed [PDF] thought global warming wasn’t really happening, and another 21 percent weren’t sure yet.  Now a new survey [PDF] reveals that 21 percent of TV news directors don’t think climate change is real, and 26 percent are unsure.  Bottom line: Almost […]

Green tech investment surges

President Obama examines a solar panel with Solyndra executives.Photo and caption: The White HouseGreen tech is back in the green. Global venture capital investment in green technology companies reached $4.04 billion in the first half of 2010, exceeding — slightly — the record set in the boom year of 2008, according to a preliminary report […]

Now you can actually just buy LEED certification

We are facing an unprecedented environmental crisis in the form of climate change (with the world at its all time hottest in recorded history right now) and yet we have a firm (and I use that term lightly) called Carbon Solutions Group sending me emails like the following: In short, it says: "You can BUY LEED credits for almost nothing! Green power is getting so cheap!"

Democrats may waste last chance for clean energy win

With the final seconds ticking down on the Congressional clock, President Obama and Senate Democrats emerged from a White House summit with Republican moderates Tuesday still lacking any plan to score a last minute win for clean energy. Wasted opportunity Establishing a price (any price) on carbon pollution through a(n increasingly weak) cap-and-trade system continues […]

Robert Cluck: Texas doctor, Republican mayor, clean-air champ

Deceptively clear skies over Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.Courtesy jacorbett70 via FlickrPhysician Robert Cluck spends his mornings working at Arlington Memorial Hospital and his afternoons as mayor of Arlington, Texas, a city of 375,000 that has one of the worst ozone problems in the country. Seeing children with asthma in the emergency room has led him […]