Latest Articles

Al Gore, Wangari Maathai urge U.N. to tackle deforestation in next climate treaty

Nobel Peace Prize winners Al Gore and Wangari Maathai urged United Nations countries on Monday to pay special attention to tropical deforestation in their next international climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Preserving forests, they said, will help local communities, fight poverty, and may substantially slow global warming since deforestation accounts for about one-fifth […]

The financial sector and the ‘real economy’ aren’t that far removed

Sean has done an estimable job knocking down some of the more piqued reactions to the financial bailout in comments, but this really is a topic that deserves above-the-fold treatment. The crisis raises a host of big-picture questions about the proper role of oversight in the financial industry, but wherever the blame for the current […]

Milwaukee’s Growing Power founder snags a much-deserved MacArthur

Fifteen years ago, a former professional basketball player named Will Allen made a most unlikely career move: he decided to launch a farm in a low-income neighborhood in Milwaukee. His farmhands would be un- or ill-employed neighborhood teens. Will Allen. At the time, brutal economic conditions were pushing the nation’s few remaining African-American farmers into […]

Many of world’s common birds are taking a population dive

Some of the world’s most common bird species have suffered big population declines in the last few decades due to habitat loss, invasive species, industrial agriculture, and logging, says a new report from BirdLife International. The report found that in the last 25 years, some 45 percent of Europe’s common bird species have been in […]

A review of non-clay cat litters

It’s time to let the cat out of the bag about the icky stuff in your cat’s litter box. (No, not that stuff.) If you’re using clay-based kitty litter, you could be making a mess of the environment — and your health. Most conventional cat litter is made from natural clay, or sodium bentonite, which […]

Chrysler, Mazda, Hyundai, and Nissan announce plug-in hybrids — but not Honda

The number of companies planning plug-in hybrids is growing steadily. Some recent announcements can be found here. Calcars maintains an excellent update on “How carmakers are responding to the plug-in hybrid opportunity.” As for Honda, last year, The Wall Street Journal reported: Honda Motor Co. Chief Executive Takeo Fukui said so-called plug-in hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles […]

Urban farmer awarded ‘genius’ grant

Will Allen. Urban farmer Will Allen has been named one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious “genius” grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The grant recognizes Allen’s work bringing affordable fresh produce and quality grass-fed meats to the urban poor and educating communities about sustainable farming. Allen co-founded the group […]

Production and ecosystems are more important than the financial sector

Over the past eight years or so, the so-called “masters of the universe” in the financial sector seem to have swallowed their own hype. Arguing that money equals wealth and the freer the market the better, they have led the charge to offshore our manufacturing base while hopping on the biggest bubble in history, the […]

Chevy Volt not so revolutionary

For those of you who missed it, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz hit the talk show circuit last week to talk up the latest incarnation of the Chevy Volt (more on his boneheaded climate change comments here and here). The marketing goal is to create the public perception that the Volt is an electric car […]

Friends of the Earth says anti-regulation approach causes environmental destruction

Friends of the Earth issued a statement today arguing against the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of the troubled U.S. financial system. “This financial crisis has exposed the right wing’s anti-regulation philosophy as an abject failure,” said Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder. “This hands-off approach to managing the economy has resulted in […]