Latest Articles

Obama’s Interior pick still up in the air; Salazar and Berry cited as top contenders

Barack Obama is scheduled to officially announce his key energy and environmental appointments today at 5 p.m. EST, but one important spot is likely to remain unfilled for a few more days: secretary of the interior. Early on, it seemed like Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva was the likely pick. But sources close to the transition […]

Serena’s cautionary tale

On Oct. 18, 1929, just days before the stock market crash, Thomas Wolfe published his monumental novel, Look Homeward, Angel, unveiling the machinations behind small town life in western North Carolina. It took Wolfe several years to return to his Asheville hometown, and when he finally took his first glimpse of the Blue Ridge in […]

Umbra on children’s art supplies

Hey Umbra, I’ve got a niece with a second birthday coming up and I’d like to get her a present that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a computer or TV. So, I thought, how about an art set? What better way to get those creative juices going at an early age than some finger […]

Tom Friedman discusses foreign policy, green, and other ‘stachey matters

Charlie Rose is doing a series of year-end conversations with thinkers of note. He started on Thursday with our old friend Tom Friedman:

Why carrots and sticks are not interchangeable

David Roberts challenges carbon tax advocates. He says GHG policy should “penalize the emission of GHGs and reward the prevention of GHG emissions. Sticks and carrots.” As someone who thinks neither a carbon tax nor cap-and-trade can be the primary means to solve global warming, I’ll take on Roberts’ challenge just because it offers an […]

CNN on energy efficiency and waste-energy recycling

The coolest thing about this story? They called us. The word is getting out there!

Obama and Biden to take the train down to D.C. for the inauguration

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and their families will be taking a short tour of the northeastern seaboard by train as they travel to Washington for the inauguration, according to this note from the Presidential Inaugural Committee this morning: In the tradition of past Presidents-elect, the daylong trip will include a series of events on the […]

Bush admin exempts farms from reporting toxic fumes

In yet another late-in-the-game not-so-green move, the Bush administration on Friday issued a regulation that exempts factory farms from having to report to the government about releases of hazardous air pollution from animal waste.

The Golden State gets tough on diesel-truck pollution

California’s air regulators cracked down on diesel pollution from heavy-duty trucks on Friday, adopting tough new rules that will require older trucks to be retrofitted or replaced starting in 2011. Diesel trucks are currently responsible for a third of the state’s smog.

After Poland talks, a new reality starts to set in, says McKibben; 350 ppm must be the goal

I spent the last few nights of the recent Poznan climate conference sleeping in the By the Way youth hostel, an excellent accommodation filled with excellent young people who had done excellent work at the negotiations. After the final day of deliberations, many of these young people visited the doubtless excellent discotheques of Poznan, returning […]