Latest Articles

Following USDA dietary guidelines can be hazardous to your health

Jill Richardson flagged this op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle co-authored by a nutritional biochemist and a doctor. In their commentary, they indicate that current government dietary guidelines might be an eensy bit flawed: Here is a daily diet that meets those nutrition guidelines: Breakfast: 1 cup Fruit Loops; 1 cup skim milk; 1 package […]

Salmon czar could coordinate better protection, rule over peasant salmon

Because nothing signals a democracy on the mend like a profusion of czars, salmon defenders are now calling for a federal salmon czar. According to Wikipedia my deep and nuanced understanding of Russian history, we can expect a salmon czar to quickly go drunk with power, lord over peasant salmon, and assassinate political rivals in […]

Farmers markets need rules if we want them to help the food system

Daniel Duane in Mother Jones warns you about farmers markets becoming “farmers markets”: In 1994, there were 1,755 farmers markets in the United States; by 2008, there were 4,685. In the big scheme of things, this is terrific news; it means Americans are learning to feed themselves properly. But not all parts of the country […]

Time to get charged up about advances in smaller, faster lithium-ion batteries

Battery advances seems to be flowing as fast as electrons these days — and super fast charging batteries may hit the market in as little as 2 to 3 years. And that’s critical because the car of the very near future, plug in hybrids, are a core climate solution (see here). And electricity is the […]

How would rebating carbon revenue to taxpayers give anyone incentive to reduce emissions?

There are lots of people who want to return money raised by a carbon program back to taxpayers via rebates. (A “revenue neutral carbon tax” is one way to do this; “cap and dividend” is another; Obama’s proposal is to auction pollution permits and return roughly 80 percent of the revenue via payroll tax rebates.) […]

Washington legislature gives green bills thumbs down

Looks like blue is the new green around here — blue as in sad, that is. In the last week or so, Washington state legislature failed to pass the Transit Oriented Communities bill, “mortally wounded” the cap-and-trade bill, and is seriously considering altering the voter-approved Initiative 937 that would require utilities to seek out more […]

Umbra on hot tubs

Cool your jets. Dear Umbra, We purchased a home with an existing four-person, 500-gallon wooden hot tub with a two-stage electric pump. When should a hot tub be turned off to save energy? City Light recommends that our tub be on a timer to save electricity; our tub manufacturer insists that, unless we’re not using […]

New legislation would make the meat industry ‘just say no’ to antibiotic abuse

As debate around food safety regulation heats up — some might say, overheats — sublimely named Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) has introduced a House bill that would significantly affect farming practices in the United States. Called the Preservation of Antibiotics for Human Treatment Act, the bill would effectively prevent CAFOs (confined animal feedlot operations) from dousing […]

Rep. John Larson pushes a carbon tax bill in the House

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) knows “tax” is a dirty word in Washington. He’ll tell you as much. But that doesn’t mean he’s backing down from his assertion that a tax on carbon would be the most effective way to curb planet-warming emissions. One could say he’s reclaiming the word tax and owning it. “The worst […]

The net’s best introduction to the smart grid

Lynne Kiesling is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics and in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a member of the GridWise Architecture Council, and the proprietor of the excellent blog Knowledge Problem. She has written the best general introduction to the smart grid available (and I’ve read a lot of […]