Latest Articles

We need real relief, not a junk shot, to solve the energy problems that led to the BP blowout

BP couldn’t stop the oil gusher with a junk shot of golf balls and tire shards and Congress can’t solve the energy problems that are the root cause of the gusher with a junk shot of unenforceable goals and unfunded subsidies. Eventually the gusher will be plugged by drilling a new well that can be […]

G20 may punt on fossil-fuel subsidies in Toronto

Among the highlights of last fall’s G20 summit in Pittsburgh was a joint pledge to phase out wasteful fossil-fuel subsidies (which amount to a dizzying $550 billion worldwide). Now ClimateWire reports that change may not come as fast as greens would like: President Obama and other heads of state are poised to water down a […]

The real options for U.S. climate policy

The time has not yet come to throw in the towel regarding the possible enactment in 2010 of meaningful economy-wide climate change policy (such as that found in the Waxman-Markey legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June, 2009, or the more recent Kerry-Lieberman proposal in the Senate). Meaningful action of some kind […]

Hoping for a shakeup at the G8/G20

I arrived in Toronto yesterday and, along with thousands of activists, media, and government officials arriving for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits, was promplty greeted by an unusual earthquake centered a few hours away outside of Ottawa.  Unfortunately, if our Canadian hosts have their way, that could be the only groundbreaking event I’ll witness […]

New Agtivist: Shakirah Simley wants to preserve justice

Shakira Simley at the San Francisco Underground Market.(Photo by Monica Jensen/SF Public Press via Flickr) 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. Shakirah Simley is a food justice activist with an unusual weapon: pectin. She’s the founder and creative […]

California: Jerry Brown kicked off clean energy revolution once, aims to do it again

Jerry Brown, then and nowTrivia questions for energy geeks: Which state approved the country’s first energy-efficiency standards for appliances? The first green building codes? The first big wind farms? And who was governor when all those fine things happened? The answer is California under Gov. Jerry Brown — aka Governor Moonbeam — who just happens […]

Acid rain is back, and thanks to farming, worse than ever

When you gargoyle with acid rain, you’ll get that grin wiped right off your face.(Nino Barbieri via Wikimedia)Policy makers, environmentalists — even Republicans — like to congratulate themselves on the “victory” over acid rain. As this American success story is usually told, acid rain’s effects were addressed by a 1990 update to the Clean Air […]

Tell me again why we mandate parking at bars?

They’re not all this big, but you get the pointPhoto: jgrimm FlickrOne of the silliest barriers to green urban development is mandatory sprawl, i.e. local zoning codes that require sprawl-style development, even when consumers (in the “free” market) want to buy property in walkable, compact developments. And one of the craziest examples of this dilemma […]

Why, yes, mass transit stations should always have a slide

I submit that slides automatically up the fun factor of nearly any place in the world. Try to think of a place that is solemn or ordinary. Say, a church or a transit tunnel. But then if you happen to be in Oruro, Bolivia, like I was, you could get a rush of glee from […]

Obama Vows To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before: Passing and Signing Climate and Energy Legislation

Given the emotional reserve of a man whose aides once referred to as “no drama Obama,” the president is getting pretty fired up about energy.  On Wednesday President Obama concluded an all hands cabinet meeting at the White House by publicly declaring again his resolve to develop a “new energy strategy that the American people […]