Latest Articles

Murkowski to Senate: Drill the Arctic or my state gets it!

Senator Lisa Murkowski (D-Alaska) gave a long impassioned speech when she introduced her “Dirty Air Act” – a Congressional Review Act resolution that would overturn EPA’s scientific finding that carbon pollution threatens public health and the environment. One of her complaints was that the threat of impending EPA Clean Air Act implementation would force the […]

Meryl Streep more of a food activist than Julia Child ever was

Big bird: Meryl Streep as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.”(Sony Pictures)On Sunday, veteran actress Meryl Streep has a chance to take home her third Oscar, for portraying Julia Child in Nora Ephron’s film “Julie & Julia.” (It’s Streep’s 16th nomination.) As charming as Streep is as the towering, funny-voiced woman who revolutionized American cooking, […]

Digital designer shows what future towns could look like

[vodpod id=Video.16106617&w=425&h=350&fv=] Honolulu, HawaiiIllustrations courtesy Urban Advantage Imagine some ugly, underused street in your town, marked by drab buildings, wide streets, and forbidding expanses of parking lot. If you have to go here at all, chances are you’d prefer to drive. Now imagine it remade into a place where you’d actually want to walk or […]

Are GMOs the ‘financial innovations’ of agriculture?

(Photoillustration by Grist)Financial blogger Felix Salmon has an essay in Foreign Policy called “How Locavores Can Save the World” — expanded, by the way, from a wonderful blog post he wrote after attending a panel discussion on world hunger at the Davos World Economic Forum in the company of Blue Hill Farm’s Dan Barber. Salmon […]

Ask Umbra’s pearls of wisdom on booze

Dearest readers, Sitting down in the stacks today, I’ve got a lovely chardonnay on the brain as we amble into the weekend, so I can’t help but revisit some past alcoholic inquiries. And yes, most of these deal with the small stuff that I usually tell you not to sweat, but, hey, people ask, I […]

Streetfilms: Seattle’s Link Light Rail the start of something big [video]

Right now, Seattle is making as serious a commitment to transit as any city in the nation. Recently, Streetfilms got to take a tour of the newest addition to the city’s network — the 13-station Link Light Rail, which opened in mid-2009. The route is beautiful, swift, and has great multi-modal connections. Service is frequent, […]

Green Oscar nominees to watch

“Avatar” is on top of the world at the Oscars.Photo: Official Avatar Movie’s photostreamThe carpet will still be red at the Oscars this Sunday, but there will be a little more green among the nominees. Leading the way is this year’s blockbuster “Avatar,” James Cameron’s self-proclaimed most successful environmental film of all time. Tied with […]

What to do when haters diss livable communities

Haters gonna hate. Click to see him walk it out, for realz.Omar Noory, http://thisisallido.com/work.html We can’t be certain, but we’re pretty sure this comic is commentary on a recent heated exchange between the Secretary of Transportation and a certain Missouri senator who be hatin’ on sidewalks and “livability”: “When did it become the responsibility of […]

Stupid things senators are saying about the Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman proposal

Over the weekend, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released some details about their upcoming “tripartisan” energy/climate bill. (I wrote about it here.) This has prompted a flurry of press coverage, as various senators and interest groups react to the proposal. The result? A torrent of confusion, nonsense, and outright […]

Is Bill Barrett Corp's Major Lobbying Spree Aimed at Ken Salazar?

In the fall of 2008, the outgoing Bush administration gave the oil and gas industry a parting gift that now threatens to destroy the Roan Plateau in Colorado, an area known for its stunning vistas, “beloved by hunters, anglers and hikers for its clear streams, herds of deer and elk, and rugged beauty.” The Roan, […]