Latest Articles

‘Citizen’s Guide’ primes readers for climate activism

The following post was written by Lois Parshley and Ben Wessel, students at Middlebury College. Download a PDF copy of the guide.According to The Center for Public Integrity, more than 770 companies and interest groups hired an estimated 2,340 lobbyists to influence federal climate policy in 2008. That means every morning, 2,340 briefcase-holding and business […]

Treasure hunting during building demo

Hippies on the Boston CommonPhoto: Nick DeWolfeOne of the joys of demolition (in addition to anger management) is the hunt for treasure. When pulling apart old walls and closets you just can’t help dreaming about unearthing a cache of old coins or silverware (I’ve found both). Mostly pickings have been slim at the JP Green […]

The EPA ignored internal non-expert comments cut-and-pasted from anti-science deniers

Many of the top climate scientists in the world issued a major synthesis report reviewing the scientific literature since the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4).  They found “greenhouse gas emissions and many aspects of the climate are changing near the upper boundary of the IPCC range of projections.”  In short, actual observations show things […]

Study finds “mass biodiversity collapse” at 900 ppm

In 2007, the IPCC warned that “as global average temperature increase exceeds about 3.5°C [relative to 1980 to 1999], model projections suggest significant extinctions (40-70% of species assessed) around the globe.”  On our current emissions path, we will warm far more than that this century, which suggests we risk the high end of species loss. […]

Quitter-in-chief Sarah Palin attacks climate action and clean energy in falsehood-filled piece

Memo to Washington Post and editorial page editor Fred Hiatt: We get it already. You don’t like clean energy. You don’t mind publishing unfact-checked articles again and again. And if somebody wants to publish an op-ed attacking climate legislation focused exclusively on the cost of action while never actually discussing climate change or the cost […]

10 ways to support charity through social media

This post is a collaboration between Mashable’s Summer of Social Good charitable fundraiser and Max Gladwell‘s “10 Ways” series. The post is being simultaneously published across more than 100 blogs. Social media is about connecting people and providing the tools necessary to have a conversation. That global conversation is an extremely powerful platform for spreading […]

The perfect lawn doesn’t require a gas-powered mower

The following essay was written by Paul Tukey, founder of SafeLawns.org and the author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual. The perfect lawn doesn’t require gasoline or synthetic fertilizer.Muffet via FlickrGrass Happens. As a former lawn care professional, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when I first saw that bumper sticker on a passing […]

Calif. Audubon: Putting birders to work to build a case for climate action

The following essay was written by William B. Monahan, Senior GIS Scientist with Audubon California. The Yellow-billed Magpie’s native habitat in California is threatened by climate change.Alison Sheehey / California Audubon SocietyThey traipse through forest, grass and wetland, through mud, rain and even snow. They carry binoculars and take careful notes of everything they see. […]

Palin eschews facts and economics in blasting cap-and-trade bill

The cap-and-trade climate and energy bill passed by the House last month is not a perfect piece of legislation. Critics on the right and left have leveled tough criticisms at it, questioning whether it will do much to accomplish its stated goal of cutting carbon emissions or if it will overburden average consumers with high […]

“Smart” appliances that talk to the grid are coming your way soon

Sure, it’s smart, but is it a good conversationalist?So the oven says to the refrigerator, “Don’t be so cold.” That line will soon be more than a bad joke. The Jetsons are coming to life as dishwashers, washing machines, and other home appliances begin to talk to each other and to the electricity grid in […]