Latest Articles

NOAA: “Business as usual” means scorching over inland US

If humanity stays near our current greenhouse gas emissions path, then Americans face hell – every state will be red: The thermometer in this landmark U.S. government report puts warming at 9 to 11°F over the vast majority of the inland U.S. – and that is only the average around 2090 (compared to 1961-1979 baseline).  […]

Who, really, is inciting Americans to violence today?

NYT columnist Frank Rich has a terrific column on the hate-mongering being pushed by the some of the right-wing media these days, “The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers“: WHEN a Fox News anchor, reacting to his own network’s surging e-mail traffic, warns urgently on-camera of a rise in hate-filled, “amped up” Americans who are “taking the […]

Week of Aug. 3 planned for cap-and-trade markup, given “50-50 or better odds”

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) plans to wait until the week of Aug. 3 to mark up climate change legislation in order to have a series of hearings on the issue and the bill first, she said today. This timetable, reported late last week in E&E News PM (subs. req’d), is […]

Ask Umbra on rinse aids

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dearest Umbra, While pleased as pie to have a new super-efficient dishwasher, I remain curious as to the chemical composition of the required rinse aid. This dishwasher relies on a hot water rinse and its stainless steel tub to somehow dry the dishes — there is no energy-sucking, plastic-melting […]

More riding tips and evolutionary insights

Got some more riding tips to share. I’ve learned that nothing catches people’s attention like a hand wave. It has been hypothesized that our brains have literally evolved the ability to detect hand waves against a cluttered background. I always wave at drivers before crossing in front of them. Try it. They can’t seem to […]

White House hopes new climate report is a ‘game-changer’

Hey, remember the Florida Keys? You might have to, considering they won’t be there much longer if we continue pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at current rates. Have plans to check out the Lone Star State? Well, you might want to get there soon, as Texas can expect up to 100 days of temperatures […]

Stand up for rural America while you still can

The assault on rural America continues unabated. For the past six months dairy farmers across the country have suffered a historic drop in milk prices while operating costs remain high. Since December 2008, the price that farmers are paid for the milk they produce has plunged over 50 percent, the largest single drop since the […]

NYC sends veggie carts to underserved areas — and they’re a hit

New York City took a baby step recently towards a state role in distributing healthy food. It significantly expanded a program to bring fruit and vegetable “carts” to low-income neighborhoods that lack good food options — so-called “food deserts.” And if the early response as reported by the NYT is any indication, the program looks […]

What the U.S. climate report says about your state

Sarah van Schagen recounted how climate change will mess with salmon, skiing, and other essentials of life in the Pacific Northwest — according to the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States report released today. As we say in Seattle, um… I don’t think we have a local saying for “oh crap.” globalchange.govLest you […]

Obama’s voice absent from release of big climate report

The podium awaits you, sir.Courtesy JoshBerglund19 via FlickrOn a day when the executive branch released a major report on the effects of climate change already underway in the United States, where was President Obama? Not at the official release of “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States.” Two of his top science officials, John […]