Latest Articles

Much depends on finding a new generation to put dinner on the table

Every time I come in from my farm fields and tune into the news these days, the headline is about food: food prices, food scares, food shortages, food riots. Food has America's attention these days, but folks are overlooking a critical piece of the brewing crisis: a national shortage of farmers.

We farmers make up a mere 1.6 percent of the U.S. population right now. Picture an inverted pyramid balanced precariously on its nose: that's our national food supply, with about 3 million of us feeding three hundred million of you. In food terms, our nation resembles an elephant perched on a pair of stiletto heels.

A dozen men’s shaving creams get put to the blade

The best a man can get? For men, shaving surely ranks as one of our most bizarre daily rituals: We take a razor-sharp blade, scald it hot with water, and scrape the hair off of our faces and necks — even the regions over our jugular veins. Yikes. And to complicate matters yet more, we […]

U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions rising

U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions increased 1.6 percent in 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration. Factors at fault, according to the EIA: wacky weather that increased the need for heating and cooling, and “a higher carbon intensity of electricity supply.” (Our electricity supply is carbon-intensive? Who knew?) The agency was quick to point out that GDP […]

Senate Energy Committee members wring their hands about the cost of climate action

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee held a hearing this morning on the economic effects of global climate change legislation, and as expected, it was largely devoted to stoking fears about the potential costs of meaningful action. “On the extremes, models have been used to show that legislation will have massive disruptions to the […]

USDA considers first-ever organic standards for farmed fish

You may have seen "organic salmon" on the menu in your favorite seafood restaurant or counter. Guess what? It's not organic, according to the USDA. It turns out that some fishmongers have been promoting their fish as organic with definitions of their own.

This week, a USDA advisory panel will consider a key element of the country's first-ever standards for "organic" farmed fish, including salmon. The surprising news is that this standard -- if adopted -- could be a boon for both seafood consumers and conservation.

Green groups sue over polar bear listing

In entirely expected news, green groups have sued over the Interior Department’s listing of the polar bear as a threatened species — or, more accurately, over Interior’s caveats that the listing not be used as a means to fight global warming. The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and NRDC say the bears should be listed […]

CJR panel on climate journalism

The Columbia Journalism Review recently held a roundtable on climate journalism: There were three journalists: Andrew Revkin, the New York Times’s lead climate reporter/blogger; Bill Blakemore, who has spearheaded climate coverage at ABC News for the last four years; and John Rennie, the editor in chief of Scientific American who recently helped craft two issues […]

Sen. Edward Kennedy

Sen. Edward Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Spare him a thought. Here’s a clip from the lovely eulogy he gave for his older brother Bobby, delivered 8 June 1968 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York: It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man […]

Surely there must be some mistake

Branch of U.S. federal government accidentally passes bill that would provide $1.7 billion in grant funding for public transit.

Airline slows down to reduce emissions

Scandinavian airline SAS has found a viable way to cut down on greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel costs: fly slower. The airline has been testing slower speeds since early 2006, and says it has saved some $12 million in fuel costs since then. And have no fear about missing your connection; hitting the brakes adds mere […]