Latest Articles

ClimateGate is Watergate redux

Some environmental leaders have been working to minimize the scandal of ClimateGate, by focusing on the fact the hacked email archive of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit has nothing, besides a few cherry picked quotes taken out of context, that casts a shadow of a doubt upon validity of modern climate science. They are wrong. […]

A skeptical take on efficiency money in Obama’s jobs plan

King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived, had the difficult job of deciding which of two women was the rightful mother of a baby they both claimed to be their own. Amidst their cries of claims and counterclaims, Solomon did something unique, unexpected, and very, very wise. He acted based on […]

Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? [UPDATED]

Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? On Monday, as expected, the U.S. EPA officially declared that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health (the so-called endangerment finding), which means the agency is now “now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts” to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.  We asked our expert panel […]

Copenhagen day 1: Scandal! Bullying!

What better way to open the Copenhagen climate talks — the meeting of the UNFCCC that is supposedly going to decide the fate of the entire world — than with broad civil society outrage at the egregious lack of democracy in the process. Here’s the inside scoop: the Danish presidency is desperate for a positive […]

Google Earth tours Coal River Mountain at COP15

As a special presentation at the Copenhagen climate summit, Google Earth took world leaders on a virtual flyover of Coal River Mountain, selected as one of a handful of “global crisis hotspots.” Narrated by coal miner widow and Coal River Mountain resident Lorelei Scarbro, the tour looks at both the costs of mountaintop removal and […]

American Meteorological Society reaffirms warming

AMS Headquarters has received several inquiries asking if the material made public following the hacking of e-mails and other files from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia has any impact on the AMS Statement on Climate Change, which was approved by the AMS Council in 2007 and represents the official […]

EPA: Greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment

After a thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten the public health and welfare of the American people. EPA also finds that GHG emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat. GHGs are the primary driver of […]

Copenhagen deal “would save the planet at a price we can easily afford

Still, should we be starting a project like this when the economy is depressed? Yes, we should — in fact, this is an especially good time to act, because the prospect of climate-change legislation could spur more investment spending. Consider, for example, the case of investment in office buildings. Right now, with vacancy rates soaring […]

Anti-science idealogues spin the NY Times public editor

UPDATE:  With his latest story, one-time NYT science reporter Andrew Revkin embarks on a new career as drama critic — while utterly mocking Hoyt’s analysis.  I’ll discuss it at the end. If you think the NY Times public editor, Clark Hoyt, doesn’t have the whole story, doesn’t simply get a free pass from writing a […]

The end of deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest — for only $7 to $18 Billion?

In October, Brazil’s President announced, “I foresee that by 2020 we will be able to reduce deforestation by 80 percent; in other words, we will emit some 4.8 billion fewer tons of carbon dioxide gas.” Now, a new article in the December 4 issue of Science, “The End of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon,” (subs. […]