Latest Articles
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Twenty years after the biggest oil spill in the U.S., we still have a lot to learn
The Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, March 1989. Tuesday marks 20 years since the Exxon Valdez dumped nearly 11 million of gallons of crude oil into Alaskan waters, resulting in the most severe impacts on the environment of any spill anywhere. I was there and will attest to the graveness of the situation […]
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A veritable flood of climate and energy bills in Congress
There’s been a deluge of bills on climate and energy introduced in Congress in the past few weeks. But the most notable news is that Congress is likely to omit a climate program from the budget resolution. President Obama’s budget proposal included a cap-and-trade plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but the House and Senate budget […]
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Top Republican on House energy committee: “when it’s hot we get in the shade”
I don’t think most people appreciate the level of stupidity that people in Congress consume and pass on every day. Witness this, the opening statement of Joe Barton (R-Tx.) at a hearing today on climate adaptation. It begins with the immortal tautology: “Adapting is a common way for people to adapt to their environment.”
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Van Jones: Talk to Eric Mathis About Green Jobs in Appalachia
Dear Van Jones: You need to travel to Mingo County, West Virginia and meet Eric Mathis, a scrappy young economist in the Appalachian coalfields, who is putting together one of the most dynamic green jobs consortiums in the country. Their underfunded but clear-eyed, desperately needed and brilliant project–JOBS, or Just Open Businesses That Are Sustainable–is […]
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Earthship’s Michael Reynolds on the Colbert Report
This is one of the most successful, least awkward Colbert interviews I’ve seen, with a guy named Michael Reynolds who builds houses out of trash and runs Earthship. [vodpod id=Video.16072011&w=425&h=350&fv=autoPlay%3Dfalse]
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Seattle updates recycling rules
Seattle’s adding a fourth “R” to the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra: required. Starting Monday, all single-family homes in the city will be required to sign up (and pay) for food/yard-waste service — though, curiously, not required to actually use it. The city is hoping to boost recycling stats to 60 percent of total waste — […]
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Press release fun
Just got a press release that begins thusly: David, Who knew that saving the earth could be as simple as switching brands of paper towels, napkins, facial or bath tissue? And I’d been so worried!
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Green Festival hits Seattle
Seattle’s Green Fest may be lacking feats of strength and the airing of grievances, but there’s plenty else to do when this “party with a purpose” hits the PacNW this weekend. Listen as presenters including actor Danny Glover, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and celeb-foodie Alice Waters offer thoughts on everything from racism to the green […]
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The New Yorker (!) parrots right-wing talking points on climate
[Please write an email to themail@newyorker.com about this outrageous piece and submit a question to author David Owen.] The New Yorker magazine has just published a lead story on climate, “Economy vs. Environment,” by David Owen, that is so bad, so filled with long-debunked right-wing talking points, it would barely qualify for the Wall Street […]
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Umbra on burning wood and gas
Hey Umbra, I’m from Quebec and there is a movement underway to prohibit the new installation of wood burning fireplaces. I’m curious about how much carbon is produced by burning a cord of wood in a fireplace, compared to a tank of gasoline burned by an automobile. Ron F.Montreal, Quebec How does firewood stack up? […]
