Latest Articles

Will Ray LaHood be our next transportation secretary?

People are saying that Ray LaHood, a downstate Illinois Republican representative, may get the nod for DOT. So far, the things mentioned as being in his favor are — friendship with the president-elect and his chief of staff, some pro-Amtrak votes, experience managing big projects as a member of the Appropriations committee (?), and his […]

Green groups propose nominees for lower-level admin posts

With Obama’s environment-oriented Cabinet posts now filled, some in the green community are floating the names of individuals they’d like to see in lower-level positions in the administration. The “Green Plum Book” [PDF], put out by the Arabella Legacy Fund on behalf of “several of the nation’s most significant conservation leaders,” lists the names and […]

Climate crusader Richard Cizik forced out of evangelical association over gay marriage

We’ve written a good bit over the years about Richard Cizik, who was until a few days ago policy director for the National Association of Evangelicals. (Here’s an interview Amanda did in 2005, a video interview we did earlier this year, a special series I put together on God & the Environment, and lots more.) […]

Journalist interrogates head economist of International Energy Agency

Joe mentioned this the other day, but I want add my voice to the chorus. George Monbiot is in the midst of a kick-ass interview series. This week he met with Fatih Birol, chief economist for the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s new report is substantially more pessimistic about future energy supply than its previous […]

2030 Challenge Stimulus Plan: Emission reductions, jobs, and economic benefits across the country

President-elect Obama has committed to economic recovery, energy independence, carbon-neutral buildings by 2030, and an 80 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Architecture 2030 has developed a groundbreaking economic stimulus plan [PDF] that simultaneously addresses all of these issues, with a single investment. Kristina Kershner and I presented the 2030 Challenge Stimulus […]

One thousand new species discovered this decade

Watch the slide show to answer the riddle. Check out the dragon centipede and night stalker while you’re at it. No mention of the who-knows-how-many species that have gone extinct in same decade — species that will never be discovered.

Brushing aside pressure, Obama taps a big-ag man as USDA chief

"Tom Vilsack was one of the first governors to see the promise of biotechnology. He has a very balanced view of agriculture and understands its potential." — Ted Crosbie, vice president of global plant breeding and director of Monsanto’s Iowa operations "Governor Vilsack would be an outstanding choice for Secretary of Agriculture. He would bring […]

Carter to Obama: Don’t chip a tooth!

“It was like gnawing on a rock.” — Former president Jimmy Carter, on his efforts to change America’s energy habits

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack chosen as Obama’s agriculture secretary

President-elect Barack Obama will nominate former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) to be secretary of agriculture, Democratic sources say. Vilsack has been a big booster of ethanol, including corn-derived ethanol. “I think corn was a great way to start the conversation on renewable fuel,” he said in an interview with Grist last year. “But we […]

Post-Kyoto international climate negotiations will depend on China’s cooperation

[Given the importance of China to the fate of the climate, I am happy to introduce a new guest blogger, Robert Collier [PDF]. He is a visiting scholar at U.C. Berkeley, writing a book about China and global warming. He is a former senior foreign-affairs correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle who reported “from a […]