Latest Articles

Umbra on diet soda

Dear Umbra, My name’s Jon and I’m a diet pop addict. My diet right now is 70-80 percent local, organic, or both, but I just can’t help myself when it comes to getting my fix. I drink several 20-ouncers a day of diet and just can’t seem to stop. Is my habit hurting the earth? […]

Leading indicators

When the conservative Washington Post editorial board is stumping for smart growth and transit-oriented development, you know the tide is turning!

Virginia refuses to compel AEP’s customers to share in new coal plant’s construction costs

From Energy Central comes this gem of double speak from AEP Chairman Michael Morris, who, as the article notes … … has staked AEP’s plans for future generating capacity on Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle or IGCC technology. Morris’ concern is that coal isn’t sufficiently loved. Why? Because regulators need more lobbying education” “Collectively we have […]

We campaign continues to shoot itself, and climate movement, in the foot

So as to start by saying nice things, I think this new ad from the We campaign is a vast improvement over the sitting-on-a-couch, lending-credibility-to-scumbags ads they ran earlier this year: That said, I got an email from the campaign on Friday that about made my head explode. Here’s a bit: Last week, the U.S. […]

Cleanup funding inadequate for Bush-designated marine monument

Remember when President Bush designated the world’s largest protected marine area in Hawaii in 2006? Environmentalists cheered, fish clapped their fins, and Bush aides crossed “burnish green reputation” off the presidential to-do list — but the aftermath has been underwhelming. Tons of debris drift into the 140,000-square-mile Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument each year, posing a […]

Obama campaign targets McCain’s support of dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released a new ad over the weekend in Nevada, targeting Republican rival John McCain’s support for dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. “Imagine trucks hauling the nation’s nuclear waste on our highways to Yucca Mountain,” the ad says. “John McCain supports opening Yucca. He’s not worried about nuclear waste in […]

Polling on drilling

Over on Washington Monthly, former Gallup VP David Moore offers some interesting thoughts on polls about oil drilling, suggesting the public might not favor it quite so much as the media has led you to believe.

Alaska claims protecting wildlife would hurt tourism

Somehow this one went under my radar last week, but I couldn’t let it slip by: WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The state of Alaska has sued the U.S. government, arguing that listing polar bears as a threatened species will hurt Alaskan oil and gas exploration, fisheries and tourism. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court […]

U.S. cities will report greenhouse-gas emissions

Twenty-one U.S. cities have agreed to measure and report greenhouse-gas emissions in partnership with Local Governments for Sustainability and the influential London-based Carbon Disclosure Project. “Over 70 percent of total global emissions are generated from cities, and if you don’t measure these emissions, you cannot manage them,” explains CDP CEO Paul Dickinson. Cities signed on […]

Democratic and Republican conventions pledge to be greener than ever before

Can you find the green in this picture? Photo: Vidiot Both the Democratic and Republican national conventions have pledged to go greener this year. And they’ve drawn mockery for their efforts — particularly the Democrats, who say they’ll be putting on “the most sustainable political convention in modern American history.” A Wall Street Journal article […]