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Arctic sea ice declines sharply in August

The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported Monday that in the first 10 days of August, Arctic sea ice extent declined one million kilometers. Sea ice is now disappearing on a daily basis nearly 50 percent faster than it typically does this time of year. So the race is on again to see whether […]

Snippets from the news

• Jewish groups voice green concerns. • T. Boone Pickens invests in natural-gas-fueled taxis. • Invasive snake causes problems in Guam. • “Off-road rage” a problem on public lands. • Australia may get world’s largest solar plant. • Technology could make wind turbines quieter.

Green groups and Dems outraged by Bush admin’s plan to loosen species protections

The Bush administration on Monday proposed major changes to the way the Endangered Species Act is enforced, asserting that federal agencies should be able to decide on their own whether projects like highways and dams would be harmful to endangered species, rather than having independent reviewers make the assessments. Here’s a roundup of reactions, from […]

House Speaker says she’s open to compromise on offshore drilling

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on “Larry King Live” Monday night that she would consider allowing a vote on offshore drilling, but only if it were part of an energy package that included renewable-energy investment and release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Pelosi has refused to allow a vote on offshore drilling […]

EEStor founder says things are on track for commercial production in 2009

Those of you have have been following the EEStor saga will want to check out this new article in Technology Review and this blog post, both by Tyler Hamilton. Seems EEStor founder and CEO Dick Weir is finally starting to open up to the press, and he reports that things are on schedule for commercial […]

Annals of demand response

“Fleet plans are made months and months in advance. We’re going to work to get our fleet more in line with what consumers are demanding. But the shift is so quick and revolutionary that we weren’t able to respond quickly.” — Chris Payne, spokesman for rental agency Dollar Thrifty Automotive, commenting on the sudden surge […]

U.S. scouts out territory in Arctic; ice-cover loss could be worst ever

U.S. scientists will head to the Arctic this week on a quest to map the ocean floor, and will collaborate with Canada on a surveying trip in September. The two nations — and their Arctic-bordering compatriots Russia, Denmark, and Norway — are scrambling to measure their respective continental shelves, with an eye to claiming as […]

Homeowner associations restrict eco-friendly practices in favor of aesthetics

This post comes to us via the Land Institute’s Prairie Writers Circle. —– Susana Tregobov dries clothes on a line behind her Maryland townhouse, saving energy and money. But now her homeowners association has ordered her to bring in the laundry. The crackdown came after a neighbor complained that the clothesline “makes our community look […]

Making a stink about green(ish) deodorants

Choosing a deodorant can be the pits. Upon moving to Washington, D.C., about a year ago, I quickly realized two things: Our Nation’s Capitol was built on a swamp and The Hill is called that for a reason. So biking — my chief form of transit in the city — can be quite the damp, […]

The public’s attention, for the first time in ages, is focused on energy policy

This article by the AP’s Tina Lam is generally awful in terms of contrasting the candidates on energy. There is exactly one paragraph about what Obama is for, and the rest is a recitation of McCain proposals Obama has opposed. It’s designed, on purpose or by tacit acceptance of right-wing conventional wisdom, to make Obama […]