Latest Articles

A near thumbs-up for Joe Romm’s ‘Straight Up’

Joe Romm is pissed off — and I’m delighted. His latest book, Straight Up, takes on the oil and coal companies, the skeptics, and the press. His unfailing sense of priorities shines through his startlingly thoughtful and brutally blunt writing. I have one problem with his book — but more about that later.    As […]

Obama blandly invokes ‘American Dream’ in tribute to miners who were denied it

This weekend there was a memorial service for the 29 miners killed in the explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) all spoke. I found Obama’s address infuriating. Look, obviously, it’s a memorial service. The focus was on the miners and […]

Shape shifting bike trailer-cart-strollers.

My 1994 Oregon-made Burley bike trailer-stroller (above) is still dear to my heart, but innovations in newer Burleys and in other companies’ offerings show that tools for human-powered urban mobility are developing at a rapid clip. The 31-year-old Eugene company Burley and four manufacturers outside the Northwest offer bike trailer-stroller-cart-jogger hybrids that convert into so […]

Why immigration reform is getting more traction than climate change in the Senate

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) decision to withdraw from discussions with his Senate colleagues regarding climate legislation has been greeted by some well-meaning environmentalists as a reason to bash President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for their alleged lack of commitment to climate legislation. I think this is a mistake. Instead, the […]

Cuba’s urban-ag revival offers limited lessons

Cuba’s flourishing urban agriculture comes with a strong dose of government control. This post originally appeared on Civil Eats. Many of us in the U.S. sustainable-food movement idolize Cuba’s experience in building a vibrant urban-farming sector. This idealization is due to the lack of information available on the Cuban system, as caused by the travel […]

Ask Umbra on fertility awareness, grilling, and Earth Day pledges

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I’ve been following the discussion of GINKs and birth control on Grist the last week or so. In your most recent post, I thought there was a pretty big type of birth control missing: Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)—which is not to be confused with the “rhythm method” […]

Bolivia ‘people’s conference’ calls for system change, not climate change

Photo: The City Project via FlickrCOCHABAMBA, Bolivia — A fundamental critique of capitalism as the source of climate change pervaded the People’s World Conference on Climate Change, from the opening speech of Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday to the final declaration agreed upon Thursday. On the first day, as 15,000 people from 125 countries […]

Graham says he’s going to bail on the climate bill

Photo: Wonk RoomIt looks like an ass-covering decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is about to scuttle efforts to bring a climate/energy bill to the floor this year. As Juliet Eilperin reports in WaPo, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he’s about to bail on the bill he’s been working on for months: I […]

Los Angeles without traffic—in pictures

Courtesy Tom BakerToday in happy urban eye candy (previous installations here and here), photographer Tom Baker gives us a look at what some Los Angeles thoroughfares would look like without traffic. Point being, L.A.’s built environment is one manner of placemaking — one that uses a lot of cement, takes up a lot of space, […]

Whales bring up the rear in the fight against oceanic acidification

Photo courtesy nestor galina via FlickrAnti-whaling advocates can take a giant load off their shoulders. An article on Treehugger shares yet another reason not to whale on whales: They crap ecosystem gold. Ocean acidification, caused by seawater absorbing too much carbon dioxide, is a major problem facing marine ecosystems. As water’s pH drops, so does aquatic […]