Latest Articles

Memo to WashPost, George Will: Cassandra was right

George Will and the editorial page editors at the Washington Post proved a long time ago they don’t know science (see “The Post, abandoning any journalistic standards, lets George Will publish a third time global warming lies debunked on its own pages“).  And they don’t do any fact-checking (see WashPost op-ed page remains the home […]

Weather Channel expert on Georgia’s record-smashing global-warming-type deluge

Stu Ostro, Senior Meteorologist at the Weather Channel, has written a must-read post on the recent record Georgia deluges, “Off the chain without a ‘cane” (reprinted below).  He makes a key point that had not occurred to me about the devastating September rainstorms: Usually during that month when there’s wild weather, including precipitation extremes, it’s […]

As the land disappears, an Indian tribe plans to abandon its ancestral Louisiana home

For at least 170 years, Isle de Jean Charles — a narrow ridge of land lying between Bayou Terrebonne and Bayou Pointe-aux-Chene in southeastern Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish — has been home to members of the Biloxi-Chitimacha tribe, native people related to the Choctaw and part of a larger confederation of Muskogees. But the tribe’s history […]

On climate, leading from the front (for a change)

Leaders of the world’s richest and fastest-growing economies are pushing for climate action even though their citizens have yet to wake up to the scale of the problem. Above, national leaders pose at the most recent G8 meeting last June in Italy. (White House Photo).Something unusual seems to be happening in the struggle to wake […]

Minnesota food system study — building trust is good business

I just published a new study of the Minnesota food system.  The main take-home message is that building trust is good for business.  Close relationships with suppliers and customers are exactly what allow food firms to respond to changing conditions. The report, “Mapping the Minnesota Food Industry,” was commissioned by Blue Cross and Blue Shield […]

Pollan shoots down organic myths at Grist event

Michael Pollan (left) and Tom Philpott talk food.Celebrated food and ag author Michael Pollan debunked some myths about organic agriculture Tuesday night at a Grist event in San Francisco, in a conversation with Grist food writer Tom Philpott and the audience. In response to a question about whether we can really feed the world without […]

Cap-and-Trade versus the Alternatives for U.S. Climate Policy

Let’s credit Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for raising questions in the National Journal about the viability of cap-and-trade versus other approaches for the United States to employ in addressing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions linked with global climate change. Senator Murkowski says that only one approach – cap-and-trade – has received significant attention in the […]

A video interview with Bill Moyers

Renowned journalist Bill Moyers has seen a thing or two during his career, including the incredible social change wrought during the LBJ administration. He talks with Grist about what it takes to change direction in America, whether it’s too late to act on climate, and what he thinks of climate skeptics.

Free Market Parking From Canada

My cries have been answered. In Canada, at least, there is such a thing as a free market think tank with a free market perspective on parking policy. The Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy recently published a concise little position paper, “How Free Is Your Parking?” by Stuart Donovan. It makes three points, briefly: 1. Parking regulations suppress […]

What to do with the utility handouts in the climate bill?

Passage of the Waxman-Markey bill through the House was a shock to the Beltway. Rahm Emanuel himself called its architects after the floor vote to express his surprise and admiration — and if anyone knows how to count votes, it’s Rahm Emanuel. One compromise more than any other enabled the bill to navigate the sticky […]