Latest Articles

‘What I did on my summer vacation’ — by Congress

Let’s hope Congress is ready to get to work on a climate bill…Tonya Ricks for GristWhile most Americans spent August working, taking Facebook quizzes, or using some of our hard-won vacation days (we get 17 days a year, on average), members of Congress spent the month on recess. They tacked on a chunk of September […]

Mont St Michel — flushing the meadows

Restoring the natural topography around Mont St Michel will result in a sandy stretch at low tide, prompting locals to suggest sand and eventual climate change will replace the region’s famous “pre-salted” lamb with pre-salted camel.Tim BromfieldThe lambs gambling in the meadows around Mont St Michel have a hard life. Grazed on the bay’s low-lying […]

Labor Day of Infamy

How easy to be cynical on this Labor Day, and declare it a day that will live in infamy for coal miners and coalfield residents and green job advocates across the nation. But thanks to United Mine workers like Terry Steele, and West Virginia military veterans like Chris Carey, and green job advocates like Van […]

Honoring Van Jones by reaffirming who we are

In his decade-long obsession with Dr. Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover revealed himself as one of American history’s most reprehensible figures.  Feeding on a stew of racism and anti-communism, Hoover used his considerable power as FBI Director to try to torment King into leaving public life.   His tactics were noxious – illegally taping King […]

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 […]