Latest Articles

$13 billion Amtrak bill heads to Bush’s desk

The Senate this week voted 74-24 to approve the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which would boost funding for Amtrak. With high gas prices and tough economic times pushing more Americans to ride the rails, Congress is aiming to improve rail infrastructure. The five-year, $13 billion bill would fund new safety measures for trains, like […]

152 reps call for future climate bills to be strong and fair

In late April, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the House Select Committee for Energy Independence, joined with Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) to put out a statement of principles for climate legislation. Their framework for future climate bills calls for emissions reductions of 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, the establishment […]

Vice presidential candidates spar on energy and climate issues

Thursday night’s vice presidential debate produced several rows on climate and energy policy, with both candidates making somewhat unexpected claims on their own policy positions. Notably, however, both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin acknowledged that climate change is real and must be addressed — though they clearly didn’t agree fully on what’s causing it or […]

Rate the energy and climate quotes on Ameritocracy

As Ashley Braun noted in an earlier post, Grist recommends checking out Ameritocracy.com and participating in their unique approach to rating the debate. Grist recommends the climate and energy questions in particular. Here’s one on climate change:

Fact-check sound-bites from tonight’s VP debate with Ameritocracy

Call us optimists, but we’re expecting tonight’s much-anticipated vice presidential debate to be littered with sound bites on energy and the environment. After all, Sarah Palin, who “knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America,” will be making her national debut against debate heavyweight Joe Biden. But politicians are […]

Snippets from the news

• GAO skeptical of claims that clean coal will soon be ready for the big-time. • Houston and Los Angeles deemed to have “severe” smog. • L.A., Long Beach ports inaugurate new anti-smog plan. • Ships can keep dumping coal and other residues into Great Lakes. • Head of NOAA announces resignation.

Australia’s Garnaut Report gets usual reactions from usual suspects

The final, 700-page Garnaut Report is out. (More about the report — Australia’s version of the U.K.’s Stern Report — here.) Says Wiki: The report recommended that Australia push internationally for a carbon dioxide equivalent concentrations of 450 ppm, which would commit Australia to reductions of 25% on 2000 levels by 2020, and 90% by […]

All-electric version of tiny Smart car unveiled at Paris Auto Show

Automaker Daimler unveiled an all-electric version of its tiny Smart car at the Paris Auto Show this week, dubbed the Smart ED for its electric drive. Diesel-powered versions of the ultra-cute, ultra-compact Smart Fortwo went on sale in the United States just this January to wide acclaim. Company spokespeople said the all-electric Smart Fortwo will […]

How to turn black walnuts into a delicious dish

When I was growing up in central Ohio, school began right after Labor Day. This was advantageous compared to today’s August start, and not just because of the longer summer break. The extra time also allowed the black walnuts to ripen just in time to give us something to hurl at each other as we […]

We’re headed out on the town — join us

We’re in Chicago touring green roofs and green biz ventures, but tonight we want to share all our adventures with you — live and in person — at a Chicago pub near our hotel. Meet us at O’Callaghan’s — 29 W. Hubbard St. between Dearborn St. and State St. We’ll head over there around 9 […]