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The BP coffee spill [VIDEO] [AWESOME]

“Don’t worry … it’s a small spill on a very large table.” From the Upright Citizens Brigade: Find all the coverage we’ve spilled on the Gulf of Mexico spill here. Looking for more laughs? Check out: 1962 oil ad: Oil — enough energy to melt glaciers! [PHOTO] The BP oil spill reenacted by cats in […]

Call Your Senators Now to Stop Big Coal, Big Oil in Murkowski Vote

Today will see a major vote in the U.S. Senate – one that could hugely benefit Big Oil and Big Coal if it passes. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will introduce her disapproval resolution that would block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action to limit global warming pollution – even from the biggest polluters […]

A pedestrian test-drives Audi’s ‘clean-diesel’ luxury ride

Photo: Ashley BraunI’m a reluctant driver. I’ll be the first to admit it. I do have a Zipcar subscription, mainly for the late-night runs to the airport to pick up my long-distance boyfriend when he sweeps through town. But I haven’t owned a car in nearly three years, instead opting to untangle the labyrinthine routes […]

Take the Green Laundry Challenge — and you could win green laundry goodies

Photo: alessandraelle via Flickr [UPDATE, 01 Jul 2010: Thanks to our many commenters for sharing your advice and experiences. We’ve randomly chosen a winner from your ranks: luinigh, you’ll soon be getting a green laundry kit in the mail!  Bummed out that you didn’t win the prize?  Maybe you’ll be luckier if you enter Seventh […]

How the agrichemical industry turns failure into market opportunity

It’s always blue skies for the agrichemical industry Monsanto rolled out seeds genetically engineered to withstand its Roundup herbicide back in the mid-1990s. Today, Roundup Ready crops blanket U.S. farmland. According to USDA figures, 90 percent of soybeans and 60 percent of corn and cotton planted in the United States contain the Roundup-resistant gene. Back-of-the […]

Will the EPA score the true costs AND benefits of the climate bill?

This afternoon, the EPA is said to be sending its economic analysis of the climate bill proposed by Kerry and Lieberman to the Senators’ offices. It’s a scoring of how the legislation would affect the American economy. Hopefully that analysis will include the benefits, not just the costs of the measure. The agency has not […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]