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Talking about Van Jones

The resignation of President Obama’s green jobs adviser was touched on during several of the TV networks’ Sunday morning political gabfests. Here are the relevant excerpts: NBC’s “Meet the Press“ HOST DAVID GREGORY: Another domestic matter — Van Jones, who has been an advisor to the White House on environmental policy, resigned overnight because of […]

Green jobs adviser Van Jones resigns White House position

Around the web: WASHINGTON, Sept 6, 2009 (AFP) — President Barack Obama’s special adviser for green jobs has resigned under pressure from leading Republican politicians and revelations about his controversial past statements. Van Jones, a former civil rights activist from California, had been working for the White House Council on Environmental Quality since March. “I […]

Regulatory standards save money

Business Week‘s September 14 issue reports: Second-Class Solar Panels? Sun-soaked New Orleans should be a great place for solar power. Yet according to TÜV Rheinland PTL, a testing lab, up to 30 percent of photovoltaic panels installed in such steamy areas of the U.S. are likely to fail in less time than the 25 years […]

Thoughts on Van Jones’ resignation

Van Jones had to resign. It became inevitable when Gibbs offered no support. Much of the blame for this incident lies squarely on the White House. The information used against Jones was freely available on the web. All it took was a search. I thought by hiring Jones they intended to take a chance on […]

EPA’s failure to publicize drinking water data prompts rethinking in agency, Congress

This story was written by Danielle Ivory. There is some evidence that Congress — and the Environmental Protection Agency — are rethinking their policies on a commonly used weed-killer after disclosures that the EPA failed to notify the public about high levels of the herbicide in drinking water. As the Investigative Fund revealed last week, […]

Going back to school? Here’s a green cheat sheet

OliBac via flickrAh, back-to-school season. The rustling of leaves, the squeak of new sneakers, the reassuring sound of chalk on a blackboard. Wait, does anyone still use chalk? And if they do, is it emitting some sort of toxic dust that’s dooming our children to a life of bad health and environmental despair? School, once […]

Friday music blogging: The Low Anthem

The Low Anthem originally released their debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, last year. It’s been a sleeper hit (as these things go), gradually spreading by word-of-mouth to the point that label Nonesuch felt compelled to re-release it this year. It’s a really special album — been steadily growing on me for a while. I’ll […]

In dark times, back to the garden

While climate change rages ahead, the climate bill is flat on its back and the most progressive green on President Obama’s staff looks on the verge of being forced out of office for silly reasons. Let’s not talk about healthcare reform or Afghanistan.  But … there’s an organic veggie garden! On the White House lawn! […]

A stunt or not a stunt? That is not the question

Last week, Elizabeth Kolbert, a respected New Yorker journalist who writes admirably about our climate catastrophe and the environment, wrote a scathing attack on my book, No Impact Man. Sadly, casualties on the battlefield of Kolbert’s wrath included not only me, but also the work of James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith (authors of 100 Mile […]

‘Localwashing’ in pictures — bogus marketing at its finest

Local food, local goods, local everything is in, as you’ve no doubt heard. Local is fresher. Local burns less shipping fuel. Local keeps the wealth nearby. Naturally, there’s money to be made off local, so big businesses are muscling into the game. The emerging term is localwashing—a variation on greenwashing wherein businesses claim to be […]