Latest Articles

Journalists need to evaluate strength of scientific consensus

One of the biggest problems in the climate change debate is the fact that many people out there fail to understand the finer points of “scientific consensus.” For an example of this misunderstanding, see Ron Rosenbaum’s recent article in Slate. (h/t Dot Earth.) His article trots out one of the staples of the denial industry: […]

Greens and Navy reach compromise over low-frequency sonar

The U.S. Navy and environmental groups have reached a compromise in a long-running dispute over the Navy’s use of low-frequency sonar, which greens say can befuddle whales and sometimes cause them to beach and die. The Navy on Tuesday agreed to restrict use of low-frequency active sonar in areas known to be whale breeding grounds […]

Boulder, Colo. to join other cities in single stream recycling and composting

“Single stream” isn’t a euphemism for some new and detrimental Army Corps of Engineers water management program. It’s a recycling system being deployed all over the continent in cities like San Francisco, Toronto, Denver, Tucson, San Jose, Philadelphia, and Dallas. Most new recycling facilities are being built with this in mind, and Boulder, Colo. is […]

Yao Ming to serve as UNEP ‘environmental champion’

Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player extraordinaire and eco-activist green Olympian, recently agreed to be the United Nations Environmental Program’s first-ever “Environmental Champion.” Yao accepted the UNEP’s invitation the day after the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. Said Yao, “In my role as ‘Environmental Champion,’ I will work with governments, the private sector, and the public […]

Clean energy comes to the coalfields

The name says it all. Carbon County, Pennsylvania is a county of 58,000 located in the heart of the Keystone State’s famed anthracite coalfields. The county was famous not just for its coal, but also the notorious Molly Maguires that exemplified the kind of organized violence between workers and bosses that marked 19th century American […]

Leaking underground storage tanks make fun acronym, pose health threat

Hundreds of underground fuel tanks owned by the federal government could be leaking hazardous materials into drinking water, according to an Associated Press investigation. Of particular concern are steel tanks buried in the Cold War era, which are highly likely to have rusted and be leaking. One million gallons of water can be contaminated by […]

VBS travels to the most polluted city in the world

VBS.tv travels to the most polluted city on earth, the coal mining town of Linfen, China: It’s a five-part series — check out the rest on VBS.tv.

Feds axe acreage of spotted owl habitat

The amount of old-growth forest designated as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl was slashed 23 percent, or 1.6 million acres, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday. One might think that means that spotted owls are doing well for themselves, but no: the spotted owl population is dropping by 4 percent […]

Boucher and Dingell biggest players in climate policy, biggest recipients of coal money

Drop what you’re doing and get thee to Follow the Coal Money, a new project from Appalachian Voices and Oil Change International. Modeled on Follow the Oil Money, it allows you to determine exactly how much coal money is going to your legislator (either by name or by zip code). I wouldn’t exactly call the […]

Two-thirds of corporations operating in the U.S. pay no income tax

Here’s a little something to keep in mind the next time corporations profess horror at the very idea of a carbon tax: Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress. The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said […]