Latest Articles

NRDC says video games’ huge energy suckage easily cut

Video game consoles in the United States consumed some 16 billion kilowatt-hours last year, or about enough juice to power the city of San Diego for a year, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. However, cutting down video games’ impact is relatively easy since the three most popular video game […]

Intelligence report stresses climate change a security threat

A new intelligence report released Thursday that’s intended to brief President-elect Barack Obama on future security threats mentions climate change as a major barrier to national security and international stability. The report echoes climate scientists’ predictions of increased drought and flooding, while also focusing on climate change’s impacts on world food supplies, U.S. military installations, […]

USDA close to approving relatively weak organic standards for fish

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week inched closer to approving organic rules for fish for the first time that would let “organic” fish eat up to 25 percent of their diet from non-organic sources, a move which has irked organic advocates worried about sullying otherwise relatively strict standards for organic meat products.

Schwarzenegger’s conclave ends with pledge to cut emissions

Arnold Schwarzenegger.   California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) two-day climate gathering ended Wednesday with the adoption of a pledge by 26 governors and regional leaders from six countries to work together to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The two-page statement commits the signers to achieving “quantifiable greenhouse gas emission reductions collectively.” In a clear nod to […]

Rahm Emanuel: First Obama priority is stimulus via green infrastructure

Incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, speaking to a gathering of CEOs and other business leaders: Mr. Emanuel promised that a major economic stimulus would be "the first order of business" for Mr. Obama when he takes office Jan. 20. The focus of spending will be on infrastructure, specifically "green infrastructure," which he said would […]

Not 2030 as originally reported

The first rule of journalism: Do not talk about journalism. No, that isn’t it. The first rule of journalism is “If your mother says she loves you, check it out,” which is to say never rely on any non-primary sources, especially other journalists. So this recent post, “Ahnold going to pump it up: Schwarzenegger mandates […]

Sad sentences can say so much

“The Federal Highway Administration has approved Utah’s plan for a Mountain View freeway — if the state can afford it.” — “Freeway gets greenlight from the feds,” Salt Lake Tribune

Cell-phone chargers rated on energy efficiency

How energy-efficient is your cell-phone charger? (And why have you never thought to ask?) The world’s five biggest cell-phone manufacturers have rated the chargers they sell, from an energy-sucking one star to an eco-friendly five stars. If everyone with a cell phone “switched to a four- or five-star charger,” declares Nokia, “this could save the […]

ProPublica keeps a close eye on Bush’s last-minute shenanigans

As the Bush administration tries to cement W’s anti-environmental legacy by pushing through last-minute evildoing, ProPublica is keeping a close eye on the shenanigans. Here is a big-picture article on 11th-hour regulations, including speculation as to what President Obama could do to reverse ’em. Here is a list of 20 rules and regulations that the […]

Grist talks to Kansas regulator who took on dirty coal

Grist readers are quite familiar with the coal fight in Kansas, where Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) earned props from enviros for repeatedly vetoing (and effectively shelving) plans for new coal-fired power plants. But the unsung hero in that battle was Roderick Bremby, the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, who in October […]