Latest Articles
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Tell California lawmakers to say ‘no’ to cancer-causing fumigant
Farm workers harvest strawberries in California. Photo: Holgerhubbs, under a Creative Commons licence. To grow strawberries on an industrial scale, you’ve got to sterilize the soil ahead of planting with harsh chemical fumigants. For years, growers have relied on a highly toxic, ozone-destroying fumigant called methyl bromide. The stuff is so awful that it was […]
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Report: New York solar bill could generate 22,000 jobs
Legislation pending in New York that would require the state to install 5,000 megawatts of solar power by 2025 could generate 22,198 jobs and boost the economy by $20 billion, according to a report released by Vote Solar on Wednesday. The cost to consumers would be just a 39-cent a month hike on their utility […]
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New poll shows (again) that public likes clean energy, doesn’t like taxes
I guess I should have something to say about the big new poll/survey from Jon Krosnick’s Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford. The results, in sum, are as follows: large majorities believe in climate change and want the government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, make polluters pay, and support clean energy. The one thing they […]
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Why urban businesses have better advertising
It’s no secret that there are lots of chain businesses in sprawling areas and relatively more independent businesses in urban cores. The blog Discover Urbanism has a fascinating explanation of how the built environment determines the kinds of businesses — and the types of marketing — that succeed in a given place: The urban and […]
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BP gets proverbial a** kicking from funny men
Since the oil keeps spilling in the Gulf of Mexico and there’s still not much you and I can do, it seems for now that laughter is the best solution. Yep, that’s pathetic. But this isn’t just a laugh for laughter’s sake. This satire is social commentary in its highest incarnation. Jon Stewart and Stephen […]
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What the Super Tuesday primary races mean for climate and clean energy
So much for the Gulf oil spill as a political game-changer. In Tuesday’s primaries, the BP stink didn’t sink anyone. In fact, the winners included a number of candidates with oil under their nails. Let’s survey the damage: Blanche Lincoln. Arkansas Senate race You’re not from around these parts, are ya?: If anyone was going […]
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California rejects shady Proposition 16
California voters yesterday swatted down the state’s misguided Proposition 16, which is a glimmer of good news for clean-energy expansion. The proposal was basically a market-share protection plan for the large utility PG&E; it would have made it more difficult for more ambitious, green-minded municipalities to create or expand their own public power services. The […]
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Can we just drive less after the Gulf spill? If only it were so easy …
Photo: Stephan Geyer via FlickrNPR reporter Brian Mann went talking to gas-station customers in upstate New York to find out what they’re thinking about the Gulf of Mexico oil leak and their own responsibility as gas-buyers. He gets some interesting responses, but I’d like to engage in some bloggerly quibbling with his conclusion. Mann finds […]
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Women’s rights are the right way to approach the population issue
Suzanne Ehlers, president of Population Action International.Suzanne Ehlers, the new 36-year-old president of Population Action International, likes to talk about “the magic of family planning.” If you give women around the world contraceptive tools and information, they’ll limit the size of their families of their own free choice, and that makes their families healthier, wealthier, […]
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The love child of a tractor and a bicycle
Some people really put the “alternative” in alternative transportation. Just meet the Monsterbike. After a few weeks with it, and you’ll have Monsterquadriceps. Via thecityfix.com.
