Latest Articles

Everything you need to know about Berkeley’s innovative rooftop solar program

Many of us could make money by investing in energy efficiency improvements and solar systems for our homes. Yet we stubbornly resist making these improvements. Why? Buying power from your utility is a simple, pay-as-you-go service. Solar and energy efficiency projects, on the other hand, require tens of thousands of dollars up front and a […]

Where Slow Food Nation rejected bottled water, Terra Madre embraced it

Turin, Italy — At Slow Food Nation in San Francisco back in August, drinking bottled water was simply not done. At several points, the event’s organizers had installed dispensers that proudly poured filtered city water. Socially, clutching a plastic water bottle was tantamount to digging into a greasy McDonald’s bag for a handful of fries. […]

Green jobs are breathing life into Midwest states’ economies

Renewable energy has become a crucial source of good jobs for laid-off manufacturing workers in Rust Belt states, reports The New York Times.

The AP tries to figure out where the candidates stand on mountaintop removal mining

The Associated Press attempts to figure out where the presidential candidates stand on mountaintop-removal coal mining. They talked to campaign surrogates about what the candidates think, and here’s what they got: Mountaintop removal mining “irreversibly alters our natural treasures and poses potential threats to water sources,” and the Republican McCain believes the industry doesn’t need […]

Economic woes lead to slower growth for organic market

The decade-long boom in sales of organic products in the U.S. may be coming to an end, thanks to the economic slowdown. The market is still growing, but at about 4 percent annually, not the 20 percent seen in recent years. It means hard times for Whole Foods and good times for McDonald’s.

Schwarzenegger for Obama Energy Secretary?

Until this weekend, the The Great Mentioner had Schwarzenegger on the shortlist for Obama Energy Secretary. That was the buzz in the Politico’s "Dems sketch Obama staff, Cabinet," and on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, where Arnold said of Obama: I would take his call now, I will take his call when he’s president […]

Dueling NYT op-eds

David Brooks: The lesson here is that we have a right to be skeptical of so-called stimulus packages. The Federal Reserve can effectively stimulate the economy. There are certain automatic government programs, like unemployment insurance, which also do it. But the history of the past century suggests that politically designed, ad hoc stimulus packages rarely […]

Via video, Italian official announces Slow Food will have a G8 audience

Turin, Italy — Perhaps the most surreal — and newsworthy — moment of Terra Madre came during the closing ceremony last Sunday, with some 7,000 to 8,000 people packed into an Olympic stadium. As with other large-scale gatherings during Terra Madre, the speeches were translated into eight languages on the fly, into little headsets. That’s […]

The environmental take on this year’s gubernatorial races

In the absence of federal action on climate change, governors have become the real leaders on the issue. Eleven governors will be elected on Tuesday, and a number of gubernatorial candidates have put forward very green plans –- as well as some not-so-green ideas. Here’s the rundown on guv races to watch this year. —– […]

The first commercial solar-powered radio station goes online

This is kind of cool, in a dorky way: More on KGO’s solar project.