Latest Articles

A high-fructose corn syrup researcher answers his critics

This is Part 1 of 2 posts of in-depth analysis into the breakthrough work on high-fructose corn syrup and weight gain by Princeton researchers. _______________ I have to admit that I was fascinated to watch the fallout over the Princeton HFCS study. What I thought would generate a “oh, look, another great reason to avoid […]

Rotten eggs, stampeded rain forests, and more

In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. ————- Nasty, brutish, and short: the facts of life for hens in an egg factory. Moral of this story on inhumane practices in the egg industry: when a few huge companies dominate production of a commodity in a low-profit-margin industry, […]

Ask Umbra’s Book Club: Are you a possum?

Dearest readers, Thank you all so much for joining me this week as we got down and dirty with our first book club selection, Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money, hitting all the hot buttons like leaving the rat race, eating meat, and bucking the education system. […]

World Bank bombs with decision to fund South African coal plant

Today the World Bank approved a loan to build the fourth largest power plant in the world. The project is to be financed with a $3 billion loan to Eskom — the South African electricity company — and is the largest coal-plant loan in the Bank history. The 4,800-megawatt Medupi power plant would emit 25 […]

Northwest mountain towns become home efficiency lab

The American pet-food industry spends more on research and development each year than the American utility industry does, according to a mind-blowing line in Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded. In most competitive industries, companies spend perhaps 8 to 10 percent of total revenues on R&D. Utilities, which don’t have to compete with each other, […]

Wal-Mart stores are littered with wasteful products this month

This month, in honor of Earth Day, Wal-Mart is selling garbage next to the garbage already on the shelves. The only difference is that these new products have been reincarnated into useful items thanks to the upcycling company TerraCycle. Until April 29, these kites, pots, and bags made from waste are being sold right next […]

What does coal mining have to do with geoengineering?

The other day, an MSNBC producer asked me, “What is the connection between this coal-mine disaster in West Virginia and geoengineering the planet?” The question is not as strange as it sounds. A few years ago, I wrote a book called Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future. Among other things, I spent […]

7 weird, yet helpful green tips from celebrities

From cooking recipes for gas-free beans to sipping on sustainably sourced biodiesel, find out which of your favorite celebrities are serving up (at times) more than a little weird, yet helpful tips to leading greener lifestyles. A star finds an unusual cure for acne, excess phlegm, and other unmentionables; a Hollywood heartthrob and HBO star […]

Smokers to get their greenbutts in gear with compostable cigarettes

green-butts.com We’re not sure how Sir Mix-a-lot would feel about these butts, but hipsters would probably be all over them. Although … if so-called “100% natural” cigarette filters do become a biodegradable, flower-seeding reality, will it also unleash an invasion of smug litterbugs?* *Disclaimer: Smoking is gross. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– Like what you see? Sign up to […]

Nuclear arms reduction is better than nuclear warfare

Today President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a nuclear arms reduction pact that slightly limits each country’s stockpile, reinstates inspections, and restores relations between the two countries. This is good news. Nuclear warfare is not sustainable. The New York Times explains how it works. Money quote: While the treaty will mandate only modest […]