Latest Articles

Nuclear proponents are, like, totally John Galt

A few days ago, NYT’s John Tierney wrote a column making what is by now a tediously familiar argument: fears about nuclear are overblown, public sentiment is shifting, and we should build a bunch of nuclear plants. There’s some absurdly tendentious material about California’s electricity situation, but in effect the entire argument hinges on a […]

Town hall again reveals just an anti-science, out-of-touch McCain

Few qualities are more dangerous in a national politician than a lack of interest in — or understanding of — science. It represents a genuine risk to the health and well-being of the nation and the world. We get to see something close to the real John McCain only when he lets down his guard […]

Municipal property assessment financing for solar and energy efficiency

The implosion of credit markets could mean severe problems for people looking to finance an investment in energy efficiency or solar. Frankly, financial innovation is as important as technological innovation when it comes to bringing solar into the mainstream. But now you don’t have to take some guy on a blog’s word for it — […]

Snippets from the news

• Will the economic crisis cause E.U. countries to ditch climate commitments? • “Superworms” can eat toxic waste. • Could more renewable energy mean lower power prices? • Defense lawyers threaten to stop Ivory Coast pollution trial. • Prince Charles skeptical of green buildings.

Deal reached to halt deforestation on Sumatra

Indonesian authorities have agreed to halt deforestation on the island of Sumatra, which has lost about half of its forest cover to logging since 1985. Conservationists joined Sumatran tigers, orangutans, rhinos, and elephants in applauding the deal, launched at the World Conservation Congress being held this week. Deforestation has increased the impact of flooding and […]

Inhofe digs deeper

“I think I was right on that … It’s not whether or not we’re going into a global warming period. We were. We’re not now. You know, God’s still up there. We’re now going through a cooling spell.” — Sen. James Inhofe, in an Oct. 7 debate with Democratic challenger Andrew Rice, defending his notorious […]

A price on carbon will not tackle transportation pollution

A new study [PDF, via WSJ] from the Congressional Budget Office “discovers” something I guess I kind of thought was common knowledge: realistically, no price on carbon will ever be high enough to substantially curtail driving in the U.S. Even $200/ton carbon — wildly outside the range of anything Americans will accept — would only […]

As GM goes …

GM stock is down 30 percent today — the lowest GM stock price since 1950. Ford dropped by almost a quarter before a slight uptick — lowest since 1983. S&P may downgrade their credit rating (again). Witness: Stocks, which had opened higher, dived into the close, with the S&P 500 index ending down 7.6 per […]

Recipes for a classic, unfussy Southern meal built around field peas and history

It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Photos: April McGreger Growing up in a rural Mississippi farming community, I learned to value connectedness to the land, to the people who grow our food, to those who cook it, to those who gather at the table, and to the memories of all who have enjoyed this […]

Financial shock and awe

“Not only have individual financial institutions become less vulnerable to shocks from underlying risk factors, but also the financial system as a whole has become more resilient.” — former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, in 2004