Latest Articles

Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces a challenger from the left, but is he any better on the environment?

Blanche Lincoln Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) is mounting a primary challenge against conservative Democrat Blanche Lincoln for the U.S. Senate seat she’s held for two terms. Environmentalists and progressives have it in for Lincoln, angry over her opposition to high-profile Democratic issues like a public option in health care and cap-and-trade. The Sierra […]

Indigenous voices challenge Royal Bank tar sands policies, supported by hundreds at shareholder meet

Today more than 170 people rallied outside of the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC’s) Annual General Shareholder meeting (AGM) in Toronto after a series of creative non-violent actions all morning. Inside, First Nations Chiefs and community representatives from four different Nations demanded RBC phase out of its Tar Sands financing and to recognize the right […]

Supermarket medleys are a fruit-smashing success

The world may be a vicious place, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all pear up to make it a cherry-er place. “Look at what’s in your cart, then look at what’s in your heart.” Who knows? We all might eat our fruits and veggies more often if we could squish ’em together in organic […]

Murkowski wants to save Alaska by destroying it

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. As Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) work to craft comprehensive climate legislation that can overcome a fossil-fueled filibuster, swing vote Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is trying to dig the carbon hole deeper. Before climate policy had a chance of becoming reality, Murkowski claimed to […]

Getting back to our green roots with potlikker soup

Collard greens, pork stock, and corn dumplings soak in the rich broth of history.  (Photos by April McGreger) Recently I was one of more than 1,000 Southern farmers, chefs, and co-producers attending the Georgia Organics Conference in Athens, Ga. The theme of the conference was “Reclaiming Agriculture,” with the spotlight on “culture.” The keynote speaker, […]

Nothing will drive the suburbs away

Photo: FrankMaurer FlickrThe news that GM will cease production of Hummers revived the brewing argument that suburbia is in fatal decline.  Hummers are the perfect corollary to McMansions, symbols of excess, leftovers from the roaring aughts that now seem outlandish, indulgent and environmentally offensive. No buyers for Hummers plus no buyers for homes in far […]

Putting Wal-Mart’s green moves in context

What journalists and even environmentalists so often fail to do in reporting on Wal-Mart’s sustainability announcements is to provide some context. Context is everything. Consider Wal-Mart’s latest announcement: It will push some of the factories that supply its stores to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a good thing in and of itself, but what […]

Stop the Attacks on the Clean Air Act

A Senate vote is looming on a measure that would gut the Clean Air Act, proposed by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. The resolution’s passage would give big polluters a bail out by blocking President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action to limit global warming pollution – even from the biggest polluters […]

Maybe locavores can save the world after all

Financial blogger Felix Salmon has an essay in Foreign Policy called “How Locavores Can Stop World Hunger.” Salmon normally focuses on issues involving economic crises, monetary policy, complex derivatives, macro-economics and governmental oversight of financial markets  — but here is talking monocultures, sustainable agriculture and GMOs. Tom Philpott has opined on the similarities between financial […]

The N of an era: America’s nitrogen dilemma — and what we can do about it

There are three things on which the mighty engine of U.S. agriculture depends: water, fuel, and synthetic nitrogen. Like water, nitrogen is elemental to life. It’s the essential building block of the plants we eat. Farmers remove it from the soil when they harvest the year’s crop, and they must replenish it for the following […]