Latest Articles

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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.

New Urbanist progress in Atlanta

Sick of those bloggers going on about sustainable urbanism and walkable neighborhoods? You might like the film version: the new American Makeover project has a short video about the Glenwood Park, a New Urbanist project in the sprawl epicenter of Atlanta. Unfortunately, they don’t get into the economics of who can afford to live in […]

Graham says he won’t vote for the climate bill he wrote

Lindsey Graham — an original cosponsor of the Senate climate bill — has been backing away from that bill for a while. Now, according to CongressDaily, he’s gone entirely: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., today said he would vote against a climate change strategy he helped develop with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., […]

State of the planet: Cynical tweets edition

Lindsey Graham, one of the “more sensible” Senate Republicans, said he won’t support a climate change plan, because, well, the challenge is too hard. The National Journal reports (behind a paywall): Graham said his advice to lawmakers is to “start over and scale down your ambitions.” This includes allowing electric utilities more time to meet […]

Tailpipe fumes are five times worse for bikers than for drivers, study finds

Well this is a bummer: A Belgian study finds that bicyclists on urban streets inhale tens of millions of toxic nanoparticles with each breath, taking in five times as much as drivers and pedestrians on the same streets. The U.K. Times reports on the new research:  Because they are exerting themselves, cyclists breathe harder and […]