Latest Articles

Tigers and elephants applaud expansion of Sumatra park

Sumatra’s Tesso Nilo National Park will be doubled in size in an effort to help out the endangered elephants and tigers that live there. Riau province, which contains the park, houses some 210 elephants (down from 1,250 just a quarter-century ago) and 192 tigers (down from 650 in that same time period). Sixty to 80 […]

Must-have slide No. 1: The narrow temperature window that gave us modern human civilization

I am starting a new feature and a new category for must-have PowerPoint slides. I’ll begin with my favorite new slide, which shows just how stable the climate has been over the 10,000-year period that allowed modern human civilization to develop and flourish (click figure for larger version): The slide is a must-have because it […]

Kansas conversations on utilities and efficiency

Check out this article from Energy Central. A workshop in Topeka, Kansas has been trying to figure out how to incentivize Kansas utilities to embrace conservation. The local regulated utility summarizes the problem: “We are totally committed to energy efficiency,” said Chris Giles of Kansas City Power and Light, “as long as we can have […]

In landmark deal, utility will disclose climate-change risks

In a first-of-its-kind deal, utility Xcel Energy has agreed to give its investors detailed information about the risks that climate change poses to business. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Xcel and four other utilities in September, asking them to determine whether their plans to build new coal plants posed undisclosed risks to investors […]

With berries and bread, you can make a delectable summer pudding

For years, I’ve drooled over photos of summer pudding — a traditional British dessert that’s the same deep blue and purple color as a serious bruise. Summer pudding features a little bread and a lot of berries, and Massachusetts, where I live, is known for its delicious late-summer harvests of raspberries, blueberries, etc. One of […]

Showcase offers electric vehicle test-drives at DNC; review of an eBox

In the midst of the mayhem that is the Democratic National Convention in Denver, 10 electric vehicles can be found zipping along the streets of Denver or idling at the corner of Speer and Champa. Boulder County, Colo. delegate Nate Vanderschaaf brought them to Denver as part of the Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase — a […]

Right for 27 years: 1981 Hansen study finds warming trend that could raise sea levels

“After all, just 20 years ago scientists were worried about the new Ice Age.” This myth is so potent for deniers from Michael Crichton to George Will to Senator James Inhofe that even word guru and strategist Frank “death tax” Luntz made it a recommended line of attack in his super-slimy 2002 memo to conservatives […]

New York teenagers identify weak link in seafood chain

For anyone who missed it there was a good post in the blog two weeks ago on how to choose sustainable seafood. However, this article from The New York Times (hat tip CC) suggests that about one out of every four fish you eat isn’t the kind of fish you thought it was. It could […]

California to offer pay-as-you-drive insurance plan

Californians who minimize their driving could shell out less for insurance under a pay-as-you-go plan proposed Wednesday by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Under the voluntary plan, annual insurance rates would be based on miles driven, incentivizing Golden Staters to stay out of their cars. “As a strong advocate of healthy market competition and a healthy […]

Cycling news from around the world

Recently, I came across a Time magazine article with the pithy title “Electric Bikes Sell as Gas Climbs.” (Apparently, for the first time in my life, I’m helping to set a trend instead of being oblivious to it.) Here’s a close-up of the bike being ridden in the article. It certainly looks cool. I have […]