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Indonesian mud volcano caused by well explosion, geologists say

A faulty natural-gas well was the cause of the Lusi mud volcano in Indonesia that began erupting in May 2006 and hasn’t stopped yet, burbling up hundreds of gallons of mud each day and so far burying four towns and 25 factories, a meeting of geologists has concluded.

A look at House races with hot eco-angles

With all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives up for reelection every two years, it can be hard to keep track of which races will have much of an environmental impact. Here’s a cheat sheet on some of the contests enviros are following most closely, based on the greenest (and least-green) candidates in […]

FDA advisory panel says agency should redo BPA risk assessment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should redo its flawed risk assessment that found the chemical bisphenol A is harmless, an FDA advisory panel said on Friday. The advisory panel’s finding is an amen to an independent assessment of the FDA’s findings released last week.

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 […]