Latest Articles

Markey/Waxman = Roadmap for Coal

As an upstart state rep from Malden, Mass, Ed Markey had the temerity to support rules reform, which got him kicked him out of his office by Speaker Tom McGee. Markey set up desk, chair and phone in the statehouse hallway and burnished an image of integrity which vaulted him to the top of a […]

The breakthrough technology illusion

[A misleading Newsweek piece, “We Can’t Get There From Here” that I will respond to in detail later this week is the inspiration to update this earlier post on the breakthrough myth.] This post will explain why some sort of massive government Apollo program or Manhattan project to develop new breakthrough technologies is not a […]

Catching up on food news after two weeks in the fog of travel, speechifying, and redesign

After two weeks in the fog of travel, speechifying, movie screenings, and redesign, I’ve missed commenting on a bunch of important stuff. I’ve emerged extremely energized by the potential of our new food “kingdom” — a place to dive deep into all sorts of issues relating the food we eat to the health of the […]

Building green in Birmingham

“People think a green-constructed home is going to look like a mushroom or have solar panels everywhere. But you won’t be able to look at it and tell it’s a green-constructed home.” — Emmit Stallworth, Alpha Home Builders, Birmingham, Ala.

Empire State Building to get efficiency overhaul

I’ve been wanting for a while to start a column called “Sexy Retrofits,” exploring the idea that the key to green building is overhauling existing buildings, not starting from scratch. Despite what Larry Page might think. It’s not the most glamorous notion, but it is energy efficient, cost effective, and exciting. I swear! So consider […]

Republican enviros challenge Boehner’s misinformation

Republicans for Environmental Protection is calling on House GOP leaders to stop spreading misinformation about the climate and energy legislation Democrats released last week. In a pointed press release issued last week, the group challenged allegations made by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) that a plan to reduce climate-warming emissions amounts to a “light […]

Umbra advises on tuna and mercury

Dear Umbra, Big, mature tuna have a lot of mercury in their bodies and are often caught with longlines that snag endangered sea turtles and sea birds; smaller juvenile tuna have less mercury, swim near the surface so they can be caught with less destructive fishing gear, but they have not had the chance to […]

A plea to West Virginia’s legendary Senator to stop mountaintop removal

With daily ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosions from mountaintop removal operations rocking his home and dismantling the mountain above his community, Bo Webb, a Vietnam vet, recently penned an appeal to his West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd to co-sponsor the Appalachian Mountain Restoration Act to stop mountaintop removal and launch a green jobs initiative in Appalachia. […]

Heirloom tomato debate

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that George Will keeps repeating his half truths to deny the degraded state of the climate, but what exactly Scientific American was thinking with this article about how heirloom tomatoes are “hardly diverse and are no more “natural” than grocery-store varieties” is a mystery to me. Except that sacred cows make the best hamburger, […]

Climate policy question #1 is simple: “Are we in?”

It’s all about the cap Photo: ne* via Flickr Climate and energy policy touches everything. So it’s no surprise that as Congress finally sets to work on a national climate policy, it confronts a blizzard of complexities. But at the end of the day, Congress will face some stark questions. Will they step up to […]