Latest Articles

The financial crisis, the bailout, and green investment

Over the weekend I tossed out some thoughts about how energy efficiency might serve as one response to the housing/credit crisis. As it happens, many other folk have tied the financial crisis to green(ish) considerations. Here’s a roundup. First, the inimitable Tom Friedman turns his Mustache of Understanding on the bailout, agreeing with yours truly […]

Judge puts Great Lakes wolves back on endangered-species list

The Bush administration misread the law when it removed endangered-species protections from a population of some 4,000 gray wolves in the Great Lakes region, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman reinstated the wolves onto the endangered-species list, agreeing with green groups that Great Lakes wolves are not a “distinct population segment” […]

Living off-grid in a reclaimed gravel pit

      As sustainably minded folk, we tend to curse the environmental disruption that occurs when new roads are built through beautiful wilderness areas. But for a number of residents living just north of Taos, New Mexico, it was the creation of a nearby highway that actually helped pave the way for their unique […]

Bill to ban U.S. mercury exports passes Congress

A bill to ban mercury exports from the United States after 2013 passed Congress on Monday and now awaits President Bush’s signature to become law. The bill, sponsored by Barack Obama and Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), aims to reduce the amount of elemental mercury on the global market, which is often used for gold mining […]

How to find a green job

Tune in to greener occupational pastures. You love the idea of making the world a cleaner, greener place. Wouldn’t you also love to get paid for it? You just might be in luck: Green jobs are growing at an impressive clip. In fact, the very definition of a green job has changed dramatically. Once the […]

Wired passes along conventional wisdom on climate policy

Andrew Sullivan approvingly cites this piece from Steve Rayner, a letter to the next president about what to do on climate change. It seems Wired has made it company policy to publish only stuff that drives me up the wall. First, it says "cap and trade won’t work" on the basis of the fact that […]

Debate part 2: Obama stays on energy independence message

Some people worry that Obama seemed to put energy independence on the “back burner” by suggesting his clean energy plan was the “first thing” he would cut to make room for the $700 billion bailout rescue deal. Significantly, that isn’t the message heard by at least one group of crucial voters — undecideds. During the […]

Bridging architecture and ecology at Arcosanti

    To get to Arcosanti, you must drive 70 miles north of Phoenix — one of the fastest growing (read: sprawling) areas of the country, through gorgeous saguaro-covered desert hills to a 2.5 mile dirt road in the middle of the Arizona wilderness. At the end of that road, you’ll find what has been […]

Debate part 1: McCain tells the truth and lies at the same time

Let me briefly hit the big picture on the debate. The two insta polls out, from CBS and CNN, show that McCain lost by a large margin, by 13 percent or so. That large a gap means independents in particular didn’t like his performance (by 22 percent in this poll). And that is no big […]

A roundup of news on the presidential election

• Barack Obama visited Nevada, where he assured voters that he loves the mining industry. • Locals in Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasila, Alaska, say that she “fouled her own nest” by promoting rampant development during her tenure as mayor. “Sarah’s legacy as mayor was big-box stores and runaway growth,” said one resident. One of […]