Latest Articles

Me, on BloggingHeadsTV with Andy Revkin

A few days ago I did a BloggingHeadsTV episode with Andy Revkin, formerly environment reporter for The New York Times, now senior fellow at the Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies at Pace University. (He still writes the indispensable DotEarth blog in NYT.) We talked about the oil spill, nationalizing BP, the climate change bill, […]

The absolute worst thing that could happen with the oil spill, according to Michael Bay

If blockbuster film director Michael Bay had anything to do with it, the expanding oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico would hail the Armageddon and Matt Damon would be wearing top hats and taking junk shots at Pearl Harbor. At least, according to genius webcomic xkcd. (Move over, James Cameron!) ——————————————————————————————————————————————– Like what you […]

Ditching shopping carts one-ups bans on plastic bags

Why would we want to teach our little rascals that shopping carts and cars don’t go together?Sean Dreilinger via Flickr Creative CommonsCalifornia may think it’s bag-ass for its progress toward banning plastic shopping bags. However, Sydney, Australia’s city council is pushing the limits of grocery-getters by telling a small supermarket to park its shopping carts […]

BP oil heading toward Atlantic? Looks that way

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo: This nightmarish model comes from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which predicts that BP oil “might soon extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer.” “I’ve had a lot of people ask me, ‘Will the oil reach Florida?'” NCAR scientist Synte Peacock said in […]

‘Green’ California utility PG&E attacks local renewables

California’s largest electricity provider — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. — has gotten some understandable love from the environmental world recently. It’s part of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an enviro/business alliance calling for a national climate plan. It told off (and quit) the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for hating all over clean energy and […]

The battle for comprehensive energy and climate legislation has just begun

It has been almost a year since the House passed comprehensive energy and climate legislation. It has been 7 months since the Senate Environment Committee passed comprehensive energy and climate legislation. Many supporters are frustrated by the slow pace of progress and the obstacles that remain in the way. But it has only been one […]

Moving U.S. energy policy to a decentralized grid

The future of America’s domestic energy supply has become as murky as the waters of the Gulf as the oil spill fallout has legislators scrambling to rewrite offshore oil drilling provisions in the latest versions of the climate bill. Critical to reducing American dependence on fossil fuels is the development of alternative clean energy sources, […]

Urban farms don’t make money — so what?

City Slicker Farms in West Oakland does more than just grow food for the local residents.(Bonnie Powell photo)Over on Earth Island Journal, Sena Christian has an excellent, rigorously reported article about the tough economics of urban farming. She focuses on some of the more famous city farms of the Bay Area, where EIJ is based […]

The Climate Post: Obama retrieves energy, climate debate from Gulf

First things first: Just as discussion of climate change and clean energy dipped below the oil-stained surface of the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama yesterday tried to reach in and offer Climate Policy Resuscitation. He delivered a broad address on the U.S. economy at Carnegie Mellon University, touring the financial crisis, health care reform, […]

Children’s books about saving rainforests actually destroy them

You’re killing me, kid.marko2marko via Flickr Creative Commons OK, parents. We know it’s tough raising kids, but as you read Junior a touching tale about sloths in the Amazon, you may be doing more razing than you think. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an environmental activist group, perused the pages of children’s books and found […]