Latest Articles

Pelosi and Gingrich unite for climate protection

… T-A-L-K-I-N-G about climate change in a new TV spot for the me We Can Solve It campaign. Check it out:

Umbra on energy-hog roommates

Dear Umbra, My roommate takes 45-minute showers, does 10 loads of laundry a day, and spends her days watching show after show on TV. What is a nice or subtle way to get her to “cool down” (she didn’t like us secretly turning down the water heater)? Thanks, Tested Tom Belmont, Calif. Dearest Tom, Obviously […]

Da yoots!

Cute! We’re now hearing from Avery Hairston, founder of an NGO called RelightNY — oh, and a 16 year old high school sophomore. He’s all rumpled and nervous and brainy. I want to go muss his hair. RelightNY raises money to buy and distribute CFLs — 20,000 so far, 50,000 more planned for this year. […]

Lots of amphibians ending up as roadkill, says research

Need a new reason to hate cars? You’re in luck! Death by vehicle could be a major contributing factor in declining numbers of amphibians, according to new research published in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. (Hee hee, they said “herpetological.”) Intrepid road-kill researchers from Purdue University spent 17 months schlepping up 10,500 animals flattened […]

A conversation with McCain policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Opinions differ on the quality of John McCain’s domestic policy agenda, but you’d have trouble finding anyone in Washington who would disparage the man he’s chosen as one of his top advisers. Douglas Holtz-Eakin has a dauntingly long resume and a reputation among policy wonks on both sides of the aisle for fair-minded number crunching. […]

A discussion of climate policy downplays cap-and-trade

Now we’re getting into the nuts and bolts climate policy, with the following folks: The Hon. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. Attorney General State of California John E. Bryson Chairman and CEO Edison International Alexander "Andy" Karsner Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy U.S. Department of Energy Jonathan Lash President World Resources […]

Baltimore baker takes on great quacking menace

Last week, The New York Times' David Streitfeld told the story of one J.R. Paterakis, a Baltimore "baker" who opposes the Conservation Reserve Program, which provides incentives to farmers to set aside their land for wildlife, clean water, and (incidentally) massive carbon sequestration. Seemed like an opportunity to deploy my rye wit.

The program has been a huge success -- protecting 35 million acres of land and partially restoring the "duck factory" of the upper Midwest that fills the skies of North America with quacks and hunting opportunities -- so why has Mr. Paterakis put this great environmental success story in his sights?

McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin opens up on climate and energy

Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Opinions differ on the quality of John McCain‘s domestic policy agenda, but you’d have trouble finding anyone in Washington who would disparage the man he’s chosen as one of his top advisers. Douglas Holtz-Eakin has a dauntingly long resume and a reputation among policy wonks on both sides of the aisle for fair-minded […]

Think all-electric vehicles coming to the U.S.

Ray Lane, the managing partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is about to announce some news. (He’s up on stage with Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global AS, and Wilber James, managing general partner of RockPort Capital Partners.) Ah. He’s launching Think North America — bringing Think vehicles to the U.S. Hundreds of the […]

Shai Agassi talks electric cars in Israel

I’m watching Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Project Better Place, talk about the scheme he put together to fill Israel with electrical cars and recharging stations, with the ultimate goal of eliminating oil as a transportation fuel in the country. (He’s going to do it in Denmark as well.) (A side note: this meeting […]