Latest Articles

Umbra on store-brand organics

Hey Umbra, What with organic foods being so expensive, I’m often tempted to buy the store-brand organic produce that’s cropping up lately. Are the store brands as good (i.e., pesticide free) as any other brand of organic food? I can’t help but be suspicious. Thanks!Confused in Jersey Dear CJ, Organic is a USDA-certified labeling program. […]

Who will Obama tap to guide our oceans and atmosphere policy?

Washington Post columnist Andrew Freedman zeros in on the prospects for the top job at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The pick will oversee fisheries and atmospheric science research, among other things. “[T]he next few years are slated to be a rebuilding phase for NOAA; similar to a sports franchise that has hit a […]

Tribal leaders converge on Denver to protest Black Mesa project

It looks like another rushed “midnight regulation” from the Department of the Interior may be issued in favor of Peabody Coal, and the Navajo and Hopi people of Black Mesa are trying to stop it. A large delegation has traveled to Denver to meet with top officials in the Office of Surface Mining and hold […]

Green stimulus: Where can the money go, and how fast?

In his radio address on Sunday, Obama sketched a progressive stimulus spending package that’s kicked up quite a bit of chatter. Some transit advocates were ticked off that roads and bridges got a shout-out but there was no mention of transit. Michael O’Hare goes so far as to say that "Obama has, on the whole, […]

Rumors fly about who Obama will tap for Interior Secretary

Buzz in Washington right now is that the Obama transition team is considering two new candidates for Secretary of the Interior: Kevin Gover and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). Most speculation last week focused on Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), but these new names appear to be high on the list as well. The transition team […]

NRO’s media critic waxes moronic about my Salon piece

Sure, everyone knows National Review Online‘s climate blog is a must-not-read. But now the NRO‘s media critic Kevin D. Williamson has exploded (imploded?) over, of all things, my recent Salon piece, “What will make Obama a great president.” He headlines his post: “Head-Clutching Buffoonery: Salon, Romm, and Kyoto” but then hypocritically criticizes the mild sub-head […]

Spike in public transit ridership highest in 25 years

Public transit ridership in the United States continued its steady rise in the third quarter of 2008, jumping 6.5 percent overall compared to the same quarter last year — the largest quarterly rise in some 25 years. Americans took 2.8 billion trips on public transit from July through September, with ridership rising nationwide on buses, […]

Economics of recycling getting much worse

The world economic slowdown has hit recyclers hard as prices for everything from metals to plastics to paper have fallen dramatically in the last few months. While the downturn hasn’t yet completely shut down many municipal recycling programs in the United States, in some areas the precipitous price drop has led recyclers to stop collecting […]

Scientists using consumers’ computing power to develop new solar cell

Researchers at IBM and Harvard University launched a project recently that aims to use a network of consumers’ home computers to run calculations that could lead to new, more efficient solar panels. “It’s a way for people that have computers to do some good for the world,” said Joe Jasinski of IBM.

Anti-air-travel activists stage protest on U.K. airport runway

More than 50 environmental activists from anti-air-travel group Plane Stupid were arrested Monday in a protest at Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom, some 40 miles from downtown London. The activists broke into a restricted area where planes taxi between takeoff and landing and chained and barricaded themselves in place, declaring their opposition to a […]