Latest Articles

Extreme warming in Arctic will cause colder winters — and political gridlock

The political (or at least the Senatorial) tides are running strongly against a muscular policy response to climate change. Now a top NOAA scientist tells us that even the winds are blowing in the wrong direction — actual winds, mind you, not political. Via Science Daily: A warmer Arctic climate is influencing the air pressure […]

Who would win the 2010 Green World Cup?

The 2010 World Cup is underway! Brazil and Spain may be the favorites, but superstars Kaka and Fernando Torres won’t help their countries score on clean air and low greenhouse-gas emissions as they compete with some of the world’s environmental powerhouses in the bid for the 2010 Green Cup. To celebrate the World Cup soccer […]

Official oil spill estimate doubles to 20,000-40,000 barrels per day

This is devastating: Most of the experts have concluded that, given the limited data available and the small amount of time to process that data, the best estimate for the average flow rate for the leakage prior to the insertion of the RITT is between 25,000 to 30,000 barrels per day, but could be as […]

Rolling Stone piece oils up Obama

Obama listens during a briefing on the BP oil spill by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Photo and caption: The White HouseBarack Obama is doing his darnedest to show his world now revolves around the BP oil spill — he’ll make his fourth trip […]

Climate Vote Shows Gulf Gusher Changed Nothing In Senate

If you thought one of the biggest oil spills in history would automatically propel strong legislation to cap carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis, think again. Democratic Senate leaders beat back a conservative attempt to kneecap the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but not without six Dems defecting. Only 53 Senators backed […]

Libertarian answer to oil spill: Privatize the ocean

Industrial disasters create cleanup jobs. See, the system works!If there’s one thing the leaking gash in the Gulf of Mexico seems to make clear, it’s that private companies shouldn’t be left unwatched to meddle with the messy innards of our planet. They shouldn’t be allowed to open a hole they can’t close, as William Saletan […]

Tiny desert town goes solar in a big way

Nipton, Calif. solar arrayGrist’s Dave Roberts sent out a Tweet to his Tweeps today asking which city has installed the most solar. I’ve got an answer for you, Dave: Nipton, California. The desert micropolis — population 38 — announced Thursday that it had installed a solar array that will provide 85 percent of the town’s […]

World Cup: Should U.S. team wear “BP sucks” shirts vs. England?

Original photo: g55 via Flickr, Lame Photoshopping: the author Since the U.S. and Britain are totally BFF’s and the British Petroleum oil spill is definitely not a sore point between the two nations, we’re happy to see these tender feelings of friendship manifested in the international sports arena as the U.S. gears up to take […]

Backstreet Boys and KORN boycott BP. Oil problem solved

Backstreetboys.comPress release of the week: The Backstreet Boys join popular hard rock band KORN to boycott the purchase of BP oil. Currently on a 35+ North American tour in support of their new album, THIS IS US, BSB promises to embark on a BP free tour. “I’m devastated by what I’ve seen first hand and […]

Should I have accepted a government farm hand-out?

These granaries once stored this farm’s corn. No more. (Steph Larsen)Experience is the best teacher, but there’s been a big gap in my experience I couldn’t fill. I’ve worked in food and agriculture policy for a good number of years now, yet I had never once tried to apply for any of the programs for […]