Latest Articles

The moral argument for curbing climate change

Robert Farley has a point I would like all environmentalists to have seared to the insides of our eyelids: Simply because something must happen does not mean that it will happen … It’s not that people are stupid (although many are) or dishonest (although many are); its that the institutions make certain outcomes difficult to […]

Umbra on driveways

Dear Umbra, What is the most eco-friendly driveway material? Jean K.Newington, Conn. Dearest Jean, Other than “no driveway because no car,” dunno. I can tell you all the characteristics possessed by a good eco-friendly driveway material, but no single material pulled ahead of the rest and parked itself in first place. Since I don’t know […]

Missourians to vote on renewable energy ballot initiative in November

Renewable things are happening in the heartland. Ohio passed a renewable portfolio standard in the spring, and Michigan did the same a few weeks ago. Renewable activists in Missouri recently qualified a renewable energy standard — Proposition C — for the ballot, and this week the Kansas City Star endorsed the effort. The measure calls […]

Bailout no reason to delay needed public investment

I have been making the point (here, here, here) that we should resist the emerging Very Serious D.C. conventional wisdom that the financial bailout will constrain our ability to make other much-needed public investments. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong. Obama was a little wishy-washy on the subject in the debate, but as Kate noted, in a […]

Is a 40-mile all-electric range too much?

I have an article in today’s Guardian online, “Is the Chevy Volt just hype?” I argue that the key to the near-term success for plug-ins in this country is government incentives and mandates, which in turn will critically depend on the outcome of the presidential election. But that should not be a surprise, since no […]

Bush signs off on $25 billion loan to Big Auto

President Bush on Tuesday signed a $630 billion spending bill that includes a $25 billion loan to the struggling auto industry. (Bush’s sign-off also marks the expiration of the offshore-drilling ban and keeps the federal government funded through Mar. 6, 2009.) The loan package — the biggest federal subsidy for Big Auto since the feds […]

Colbert parodies Big Oil greenwashing

Last night, The Colbert Report marked the expiration of the moratorium on offshore drilling with this brilliant parody of Big Oil greenwashing. “A lot of people talk about loving the earth. But how many of them actually penetrate it?” asked Colbert. Watch the Colbert sketch: Now compare it to a real ad from Chevron:

Who’s the ultimate climate-denying, Anti-Gore superstar?

The excerpt below originally appeared on The Center for Public Integrity blog Paper Trail under the title, “Auditioning to be the Anti-Gore,” by Nikola Horejs. —– Climate change deniers in search of their own, Al Gore-like figurehead have an unlikely candidate: Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, who is touring the United States this […]

An excellent report on energy efficiency

The American Physical Society has released a major study on the crucial role that energy efficiency must play to achieving energy security and reducing global warming. According to the APS, Energy Future: Think Efficiency “differs from other energy efficiency reports in its emphasis on scientific and technological options and analysis.” The report has three overarching […]

The Environment Report naively pushes Monsanto-related study praising rBGH

I don’t know much about Environment Report, a non-profit producer of radio reports about, uh, the environment. But I can’t say I’m impressed by its recent piece on recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), the genetically modified "feed enhancer" for dairy cows that Monsanto recently sold to Eli Lilly. In it (transcript here), reporter Shawn Allee […]