Latest Articles

How a river went from diversity to dumpsite

A sign near the Cal Sag channel, part of the Calumet River System, warns against “any human body contact.”Photo courtesy Tom Gill via FlickrThe Grand Calumet River is about 13 miles long and flows through one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. At one time, the river’s branches and tributaries flowed throughout […]

Fear of job losses and oil-industry incompetence feed debate over drilling freeze

A stormy debate is brewing over the offshore drilling moratorium.On Monday, the Obama administration unveiled its do-over plan to temporarily stop deepwater drilling. On Tuesday, the heads of the commission created by President Obama to investigate the BP spill told reporters that maybe the moratorium should be lifted sooner rather than later. “What’s up with […]

Would you wear a garment brewed by bacteria?

Left: A tasty vat of bacteria turning tea into trendy textile. Right: The trendy result, a “Veggie” faux leather jacket for when you’re riding your hog.biocouture.co.uk Suzanne Lee is out to infect the fashion world with an idea that’s been brewing for a while — in a vat of bacteria, that is. A Senior Research […]

N.C. chef Vimala Rajendran tells how cooking can save a family — and build a food ecosystem

An underground legend goes legit: Vimala Rajendran with staff in her gleaming new kitchen. (Kathryn Stein photo) In our New Agtivist interview series, we talk to people who are working to change this country’s f’ed-up food system in inspiring ways. When Vimala cooks, everyone eats–well. (Shannon Barry photo)When the going gets tough, the tough get […]

Against odds, Democrats will bring climate bill to Senate floor

The push for a climate bill in 2010 isn’t ending with a whimper after all. Senate Democratic leaders are going to take a bill to the floor and bet that they can find 60 votes to pass it, Darren Samuelsohn reports in Politico. And it could happen by the end of July: Senate Majority Leader […]

Raids are increasing on farms and private food-supply clubs — here are 5 tips for surviving one

When the 20 agents arrived bearing a search warrant at her Ventura County farmhouse door at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday a couple weeks back, Sharon Palmer didn’t know what to say. This was the third time she was being raided in 18 months, and she had thought she was on her way to resolving […]

Ambitious plans afoot to save turtles in the Gulf

The Gulf spill threatens loggerhead turtles, who are nesting along the Florida coast right now.Photo courtesy Crazy Creatures via FlickrSea Turtle Conservancy Director David Godfrey took a minute to update me on what is being done to safeguard sea turtles swimming and nesting along Gulf shores this summer. He described transporting 70,000 loggerhead turtle eggs, […]

The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity

A dangerous geopolitics of food scarcity is emerging in which individual countries, acting in their narrowly defined self-interest, reinforce the trends causing global food security to deteriorate. This began in late 2007 when wheat-exporting countries, like Russia and Argentina, attempted to counter domestic food price rises by limiting or banning exports. Viet Nam banned rice […]

Paleoclimatologist studies sea levels in a desert

Exactly how much did the sea level rise three million years ago? Okay. Probably not a question you’ve asked yourself lately. But the question and, more importantly, its answer are significant. They will help scientists understand how fast and how high our current sea levels are likely to rise as today’s global warming trend melts […]

Hitachi and Schwarzenegger

Hitachi’s Plant Technologies division and two cities in Japan are selling treated sewage water to an iron ore mining company in West Australia for use in industrial processes that today consume scarce drinking water. Ore ships go to Japan fully loaded, but come back to Australia empty, taking on seawater as ballast for that return […]