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USDA recalls 96,000 tons of beef … from one family

Yes, it’s a video from the Onion, and one of its finest. But with burger-grilling season heating up, and bacteria-friendly temperatures rising across the nation, it’s worth taking the meat of the video’s message with a grain of salt. (Gagging from my puns yet?) If you can find beef at your local farmers market, you’ll […]

‘Hands Across the Sand’ protests are a hit [SLIDESHOW]

Code Pink forms the words “End Oil” on Venice Beach, Calif.Photo: Lisa SmithlineProtesters gathered in 860 locations around the world on Saturday, June 26, to protest offshore drilling and call for clean energy. The events are being billed as the largest protests against offshore drilling in history. Although they had an expected anti-BP feel, Hands […]

Where the Smart Money Goes Next

As thousands of young scholars bid farewell to familiar homes and high schools to enter college in the fall, it made me wonder where the smart money will be going (other than the contents of my son’s 529 account, which I know is headed to Penn) as it leaves the old economy behind and moves […]

What Role Will Senator Murkowski Play in Climate and Energy Negotiations?

Speaking at a sparsely-attended luncheon in Fairbanks, AK on Friday, Senator Murkowski (R-AL) touted her failed effort to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions as a ‘badge of honor.’ She went on to explain why she considered the maneuver, which went down by a 53-47 margin on June 10th, a qualified success. “We […]

A Salon debate on cap-and-trade and energy politics: day one

Last week, I took part in a debate at Salon.com on the merits of pricing carbon (and related matters). My debate opponent was Steve Everley, manager of policy research at American Solutions and a contributing author to To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine, by Newt Gingrich. Salon has graciously agreed to let us republish […]

Ask Umbra on turning oil spill depression into transformation

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I always love reading Umbra’s Q&A’s.  But right now with the oil spill taking over the Gulf and ruining so many ecosystems, I just don’t know if anything I do really makes a difference. I live in southern Louisiana and remember feeling the same way after Katrina. […]

G8 leaders stand still on climate; will G20 backtrack?

It was a tale of two cities Saturday in Toronto for this climate activist.  One of hope and the other of boredom. Saturday morning, I joined Greenpeace, Oxfam, the Canadian Labor Congress, and about 5,000 activists at a peaceful rally calling on G8 and G20 leaders to take stronger leadership on a variety of progressive issues.  […]

Women who can’t get birth control spotlighted in new short film — watch it here

The new short film Empty Handed: Responding to the Demand for Contraceptives showcases the plight of women in Uganda who want birth control but are being failed by a dysfunctional distribution system.  The average Ugandan woman will give birth to 6.7 children — that’s the second-highest fertility rate in the world, behind only Niger.  The […]

Friday music blogging: Phosphorescent again [UNFORTUNATE UPDATE]

UPDATE: I’m bumping this old FMB back to the top because this excellent band just ran into some truly cruddy circumstances. After the very first show on a planned six-week tour, their van and equipment were stolen from in front of an apartment in N.Y.C. They’re estimating their losses at around $40,000 but many of […]

Nearly a fifth of American women skip childbearing

Almost 20 percent of American women end up going childfree, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.  In 2008, 18 percent of women reached ages 40 to 44 without having borne a child, compared to just 10 percent in 1976. “The fact that nearly one of five women does not have a […]