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Northwest businesses weigh in — or bow out — on energy policy

This fall, Northwest-based global businesses Nike and Starbucks led a group of consumer brands to publicly champion muscular, science-based climate and energy policies. These companies are on the field, playing hardball politics in support of serious efforts to address climate change and jumpstart a clean energy economy. At a moment when the biggest climate and […]

Exclusive: Have China and the U.S. been holding secret talks aimed at a climate deal this fall?

For those of us who believe that maintaining a livable climate pretty much depends on a U.S.-China deal on greenhouse gas emissions (see here), the Guardian’s story Monday was a bombshell: China and US held secret talks on climate change deal • Negotiations began in final months of Bush administration • Obama could seal accord […]

GOP: defending little guys from corporations since a couple days ago

Just when you think you’ve gotten cynical enough, the GOP goes and tries to rebrand its energy policy as economic populism: In a strategy memo obtained by POLITICO, Republican staffers for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works say Republicans should argue that Democrats are embracing “Wall Street traders,” “polluters” and “others in corporate […]

From bee collapse to good cheap wine, tasty morsels from around the web

Can we pleazzzzze ban insecticides? When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. Way to bee, manOver on Salon, Julia Scott’s got a strong piece on that stubbornly persistent mystery, bee-colony collapse. Since 2006, the nation’s conventionally kept honey bees have been undergoing large annual […]

The iceman walketh

To study the conditions of sea ice, one must walk very carefully across it. Here, two members of the Catlin Arctic Survey team maneuver a supply sled through a rough patch.Courtesy Catlin Arctic Survey To millions around the world, Pen Hadow — the first person ever to trek to the North Pole alone without any […]

Ask Umbra on mowing with goats

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Google is replacing lawn mowers with goats. I’ve seen commenters make some interesting points (What is the impact of raising the goats? Transporting the goats? Watching goat poo run off into the Bay?). So what gives: is this a good idea? Is there a better one, like […]

Which natural toilet-bowl cleaner wins with a flush?

Sure, you’ve greened your bathroom – fixing leaks and retrofitting for low-flow flushes – but what happens when you clean your bathroom? Are you undoing all your good deeds by flushing toxins down your toilet? Many conventional toilet bowl cleaners contain corrosive ingredients like hydrochloric acid and chlorine bleach that can irritate eyes, skin, and […]

Obama nominates Superfund polluter lawyer to run DOJ environment division

Cross-posted from Wonk Room. President Barack Obama has nominated a lawyer for the nation’s largest toxic polluters to run the enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws. On Tuesday, Obama “announced his intent to nominate” Ignacia S. Moreno to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the Department of Justice. Moreno, […]

‘Jobs of the Future’ ad pressures GOP to support climate bill

The progressive group Americans United for Change unveiled a new TV ad today that seeks to put pressure on Republicans to support President Obama’s energy plan. Titled “Jobs of the Future,” it links Obama’s green-jobs ambitions to President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to the nation to put a man on the moon. “Today President Obama […]

Climate math: How the “Chicken Littles” cook the numbers

The transition to clean energy, reducing our dependence on dangerous foreign oil and protecting our environment will cost less than some would have you think. In April, the EPA estimated that the American Clean Energy and Security Act would cost households less than the cost of a postage stamp each day, roughly $100-$140 per year. […]