Latest Articles

Gulf oil spill: angst edition

Photo: U.S. Coast GuardWell, BP has finally lowered the dome over its leaking pipes. It’ll probably be Sunday before crews know whether they can actually start pumping the spewing crude to the surface. While we wonder why the huge containment device wasn’t built, tested, and at the ready all along (doesn’t anybody make multiple backup […]

Dmitry Orlov on why the U.S. is headed toward Soviet-style collapse

Dmitry Orlov“Really, there’s no one at the helm now,” Dmitry Orlov says nonchalantly. We are talking about the economic crisis and the way that the destructive system of our economy operates without anyone really leading it. It’s a perfect statement from a man who has traded in his house and car to live on a […]

As Nashville floods recede, an opportunity emerges

Homes in Nashville.Photo courtesy Eric Hamiter via FlickrNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four days after rainstorms pummeled my hometown, problems mount. Major portions of the city are still submerged beneath floodwaters. Thousands are displaced from their homes, the contents of their lives soaked, mud-caked, and molding. Thousands more have no electricity or plumbing. The city faces severe […]

New Jersey horse farmers fueled by hay, not oil

Steed for the tillerman: New Jersey farmer Tom Paduano at work(Photos by Jared Flesher) For the past year, I’ve been following around farmers in New Jersey with a video camera. For the most part, they are young, broke, landless, and optimistic. “I’ve hit the jackpot. I’m getting rich. I’m farming,” deadpanned Aubrey Yarbrough, age 28, […]

My review of Jeff Goodell’s new book How to Cool the Planet

What seems like a thousand years ago (I’ll never get used to print media pacing), I wrote a review of Jeff Goodell’s new book for the American Prospect. It appears in the latest issue and has now been published on their website. Here’s how it begins: —— How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the […]

“I’m in this to Win,” Graham says of Senate climate bill

Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn’t sound like someone who’s abandoned the push to pass a global warming bill…. “I’m not playing the game to win 43 [votes],” he said, referring to the high-water mark of past Senate climate bill roll calls. “I’m not in this to make a statement. I’m in this to win.” Lindsey Graham […]

Publicize or perish: The scientific community is failing miserably in communicating the potential ca

Physics World asked me to write for a special issue on Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change.  The article, “Publicize or perish,” is online and reposted below with links. The fate of the next 50 generations may well be determined in the next few months and years. Will the US Congress agree to a shrinking cap […]

255 National Academy of Sciences members, including 11 Nobel laureates, defend climate science integ

“There is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend.”   Tomorrow the journal Science publishes a remarkable Lead Letter supporting the accuracy of climate science.  The must-read statement, “Climate Change and the Integrity of Science,” is signed […]

Food safety reform is a mess

My considered analysis regarding food safety in the U.S. is this: It’s an unmitigated disaster. Salmonella in peanut butter made by a single manufacturer causes deaths, sickness and the recall of thousands of different products from store shelves. Over 10 million pounds of beef have been recalled since President Obama took office. Indeed, the ongoing […]

Home Star energy retrofit bill passes House; is backed by broad coalition; rules

For years, energy-efficiency advocates have been beating their head against a wall. Efficiency saves money, reduces emissions, creates jobs, and enhances economic competitiveness. It ought to be the first item on the energy policy list — the “first fuel,” as they say — and the subject of broad bipartisan consensus. And yet … it’s not. […]