Latest Articles

Losing Earth Day in the eco-babble

Jennifer OladipoOnce I started to honestly contemplate the issue at hand, a tiny wave of anxiety came over me. I’d sat down ready to list all the reasons why Earth Day Matters, but none came. None that I believed in wholeheartedly. OK, the commemorative day is certainly a useful tool for organizing events, and a […]

Eating your veggies doesn’t have to be scary

Tip #5: Eat your vegetables. Save some moolah (and Ma Earth) by switching out meat for veggies at least one day a week. Don’t let them sense your fear.Jeremy E.W. Fredericksen via Creative CommonsIt’s tried and true advice, from the USDA to First Lady Michelle Obama to your mom: Eat more veggies. Considering 78 percent […]

California utility bets on space-based solar power

A conceptual image of what a space-based solar power plant would look like. The image was commissioned by the National Space SocietyMafic Studios, Inc. Space… the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of PG&E. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new technologies, to seek out new sources of renewable energy and new revenues, to boldly […]

Every job can be green, part two

This is part two of my chapter, “Green jobs in a sustainable economy”, published recently in the book “Mandate for Change”.  You can also read part one, in which I discuss the first three ways in which to create an environmentally sustainable economy. Fourth, in the United States today, about two-thirds of our electricity and […]

Ads call for green jobs to revitalize steel towns

Environmental Defense Action Fund, United Steelworkers, and the Blue Green Alliance unveiled new television ads this week in support of a cap on carbon and a comprehensive green energy and jobs bill. The ads focus on the disappearance of steel-industry jobs from Braddock, Pa., and the mayor’s hope that new green jobs will replace them. […]

Nevada senator plans to revive ‘drill here, drill now’ mantra

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was on Ed Morrissey’s internet radio show, Hot Air, earlier this week, where he said Republicans plan to revive the “drill here, drill now” call this summer. He said they need to be “on guard” against “liberalism” on issues like energy. Here’s the quote, via ThinkProgress: MORRISSEY: In 2008, when gas […]

We're F*cked

Very interesting, very positive response from 200+ at  American Friends Service Committee conference on the triple threats of security, economy and climate to blunt assessment of the state of climate change and climate politics. Another strong indicator that our organizations are fast losing touch.

Palin says global warming harms Alaska, still wants to drill

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (from left), Senator Mark Begich, Congressman Don Young and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar arrive at a public forum meeting in Anchorage Tuesday to discuss Outer Continental Shelf development.Courtesy Alaska governor’s officeSarah Palin seems to have discovered global warming, and she’s got just the thing to do about it. Yesterday […]

Why two climate bills are better than one

As this is written, two House Committees — Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means — are considering climate legislation.  Both are following similar timetables, and hope to report bills by June.   In the case of Energy and Commerce, chairman Henry Waxman has released a 648-page discussion draft.  The draft creates a large and […]

A shopping mall becomes a city

The poor shopping mall. That once impenetrable fortress now seems as susceptible to the ailing economy as the rest of us. Vacancies are at an all-time high. Dead and dying malls continue to plague the landscape. And, perhaps worst of all, the mall has transformed from an icon of American life — see Fast Times […]