Latest Articles

The jobs are in the trees

With Congress and the White House considering spending scarce dollars to jump-start employment, they’ll need to get the biggest jobs bang for the buck to give Americans confidence that they’re spending our money wisely. Probably the biggest jobs generator of all, and one of the least recognized, is investing in forest and land restoration and […]

Small is beautiful (and radical)

Biodiversity in action: lettuces grow at Four Season Farm. Photo: Four Season Farm This post was adapted from an address Coleman gave at this year’s Eco-Farm conference in California. ——————— When a friend told me of two of the proposed discussion topics for a major agricultural conference–“What is so radical about radical agriculture?” and “Is […]

With climate legislation flat on its back, Collin Peterson goes in for the kill

Collin Peterson, right: plowing over attempts to reign in greenhouse gas emissions. House ag committee chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) spent much of last summer gutting the Waxman-Markey climate change bill. Before the legislative process started, Peterson and his allies had made sure that the legislation would place no cap on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. […]

On talking to our kids about the future

Now that the first month of the new year in the new decade has come to an end, a first month that has brought much to mourn and not much to celebrate, I’ve been thinking again about hope. What some were calling “Hopenhagen,” did not, as we all know, and perhaps should have known from […]

Rescuing failing states

One of the leading challenges facing the international community is how to rescue failing states, those countries most at risk of collapse due to a combination of weak governance, internal violence, and social upheaval. Continuing with business as usual in international assistance programs is not working, as evidenced by the continuing deterioration of places like […]

A Critical Moment for Energy Leadership

One of the most powerful moments during last week’s State of the Union came when President Obama warned that while Washington stalls, other nations are moving quickly to dominate the global clean-energy industry. “China is not waiting to revamp its economy,” Obama declared. “These nations aren’t playing for second place… They’re making serious investments in […]

How personal actions can kick-start a sustainability revolution

Step it up! Small is the new big.The environmental movement is divided over the importance of small steps — are they a critical starting point or a distraction from needed policy and institutional changes? A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but will small changes add up to the kind of […]

How to talk to your friends about climate change

I may soon end up walking the streets of Boston with a sandwich board and a tinfoil hat. I know you’ll all remember me fondly when that day comes, and stop to say hello and maybe buy me a sandwich. But in the meantime, with my wits still somewhat collected, I’m going to tell you […]

Earl Pomeroy (D-Global Warming Denial)

Cross-posted from Wonk Room. In a bald attempt to defend coal industry profits, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) has joined a predominantly Republican push to overrule the Environmental Protection Agency’s scientific finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous pollutants. Earlier this month, Pomeroy introduced the Save Our Energy Jobs Act (H.R. 4396), which would rewrite the Clean […]

Cleantech execs learn to lobby

Dirty energy lobbyists long ago mastered the art of lobbying on Capitol Hill, as evidenced by their copious government subsidies. Now clean energy companies are playing catch-up. Jim Snyder at The Hill reports on executives flying in to Washington to learn about the happy ways of our capital: The executives mostly represent clean-energy companies and […]