Latest Articles

Three nuke-dependent communities vote for a nuclear phase-out

Illinois — home state of our new president-elect — is the most nuclear-reliant state in the nation, with 11 operating reactors. The Illinois communities of Oak Park, Berwyn, and Riverside are particularly reliant on nuclear power: it’s 75 percent of their juice, purchased from Commonwealth Edison, a local subsidiary of Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear […]

When in doubt, propagandize

The ethanol industry is in trouble because the market is rejecting its products, which turn out to have been wildly over-hyped. So it’s taking a cue from the coal industry and improving its product launching a massive advertising campaign. Fresh from my inbox: WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, November 11th, leading ethanol producers from around the […]

NYC mayor proposes plastic-bag fee

Urging New Yorkers to bring their own sacks to Saks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a 6-cent fee on plastic bags. One cent per bag would go to stores; the other nickel would go to the city, bringing in an estimated $16 million per year.

Louisiana’s coastal restoration efforts hit a costly snag

It seems that in the fraying marshes of southern Louisiana, we can’t afford to maintain both shipping and coastal restoration at the same time. Louisiana’s biggest freshwater diversion project — essentially, a set of gates in the Mississippi River levees that let river water to flow over marshlands, depositing much-needed silt — must be closed […]

Should Hagel and Lugar be considered for Secretary of State given their climate views?

It’s frequently suggested that Obama appoint a Republican to his cabinet to demonstrate his bipartisan (or is it post-partisan?) bona fides. When it comes to Secretary of State, he reportedly has Sens. Chuck Hagel and Richard Lugar on his short list. Of course nothing’s wrong with post-bipartisanship, but it’s worth noting that one important task […]

Alliance for Climate Protection ramps up calls for renewable-energy plan

Following up on Wednesday’s “Now what?” ads, the Alliance for Climate Protection has launched a new website, RepowerAmerica.org, calling for 100 percent of U.S. electricity to be drawn from renewable sources within the next 10 years. The group also has a new television ad by the same name, which will run through Saturday on CNN, […]

Current climate warming trend hottest since human civilization began, study says

The current climate warming trend the Earth is experiencing is the most dramatic climate change since human civilization began some 5,000 years ago, according to a new Cornell University study published in the journal Ecology. Researchers also studied ecosystem changes caused by warming and glacial melt in the Arctic and North Atlantic and found major […]

Bush admin recommends expanding Yucca Mountain nuke-waste dump

The Bush administration is poised to recommend that Congress expand the controversial, costly, and still nonexistent Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in Nevada instead of looking for a new dump site in the Eastern U.S. to handle additional nuke waste. Yucca Mountain’s maximum waste capacity of 70,000 tons is likely to be exceeded by 2010 […]

Sustainable food and ag folks offer their elevator pitches for Obama

We asked a number of leaders in sustainable food and agriculture to imagine they found themselves in an elevator with the president-elect — giving them one minute of his undivided attention. Here are their messages to Obama about how he should approach environment, energy, climate, and food policy. (For more perspectives, check out Part 1, […]

Obama, Pelosi, wonks, and enviros call for green economic stimulus

There’s a growing push in Washington for a green economic-stimulus package, and enviros have reason to hope President-elect Barack Obama will lead the charge. “Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. There’s no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy,” Obama told Time‘s […]