Latest Articles

Coal-fired power on the way out?

The past two years have witnessed the emergence of a powerful movement opposing the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States. Initially led by environmental groups, both national and local, it has since been joined by prominent national political leaders and many state governors. The principal reason for opposing coal plants is […]

Ask Umbra on eating in

Dearest readers, Look, Ma — no takeout!The sharper among you already know from yesterday’s video that HuffPost Green is exhorting us all to board the cooking-at-home train via its Week of Eating In experiment. Not one to ask of others what I myself am not willing to do, I have taken the pledge. That’s right; […]

Hipster puppies hate on cars

Hipupcracy What do you get when an insufferable breed of the two-wheeled species meets a fey brand of urban canines? Hipster puppies: Photo: elizabeth e via hipsterpuppies.tumblr.com lola bean believes “cars suck” and cyclists have a “right to the road” — but has no idea how mean and annoying she is to pedestrians. Furthermore, hipster […]

Avatar: The Prequel

Cross-posted from TomDispatch. The anticipation may be building, but we’ll all have to wait for the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7th to find out just how many Oscars the global box-office smash Avatar will receive. That 3-D sci-fi spectacle, directed by James Cameron, has garnered nine nominations, including ones for Best Picture and Best […]

Is there too much ‘Let’s Hope’ in the ‘Let’s Move’ anti-obesity campaign?

The industry talks a good game, but keeps churning out the same old junk. It’s no mystery that Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move anti-obesity campaign is built on industry cooperation. It’s also true that many experts are skeptical of the wisdom behind it; nutritionist Marion Nestle has been particularly critical both of the government’s food industry […]

Inspired transit: Portland gets around

Photos: flickr users b and Jason McHuff Portland, Oregon, is consistently ranked as one of the country’s most livable cities (and it was a Fast City in 2007). And it continues to show solid growth despite having the second lowest per capita transit spending of the 28 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. A system of trains, […]

Why Bill Gates is right

Bill Gates speaking at the TED conference.Photo: jurvetson via Flickr“If you gave me only one wish for the next 50 years,” declared the world’s wealthiest man during last week’s TED 2010 conference, “I can pick who is president, I can pick a vaccine … or I can pick that [an energy technology] at half the […]

New research: synthetic nitrogen destroys soil carbon, undermines soil health

Just precisely what does all of that nitrogen ferilizer do to the soil?“Fertilizer is good for the father and bad for the sons.”–Dutch saying For all of its ecological baggage, synthetic nitrogen does one good deed for the environment: it helps build carbon in soil. At least, that’s what scientists have assumed for decades. If […]

EPA’s Jackson establishes deliberative path to control global warming pollution

Big oil, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and senators including Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are whipping up hysterical fears that the Environmental Protection Agency will use its existing authority under the Clean Air Act to immediately restrict global warming pollution for even the smallest of emitters. For instance, NAM President John […]

Garden Girl TV: Indoor gardening, part one

I’ve taken over a small section of my house, the sun porch, and dedicated it to my indoor garden project for apartment dwellers as well as for the seedling factory for all my outdoor garden beds. This part of my house is south facing and gets pretty good natural light. I wanted to capitalize on […]