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Déjà nuke

This lede made me laugh out loud: As concerns about greenhouse gases and global warming mount, nuclear energy is getting a second look in California, with supporters ranging from the governor to at least one environmental activist. Oh goodie! Who’s the token "at least one environmental activist" this time? Is it Patrick Moore, 20-year industry […]

From Comeback to Cocktails

How I met your popster This week, Britney stripped for charity after a TV appearance, Jon Bon Jovi offset his world tour, and Amy Wino agreed to “say no, no, no” at a new human-powered club. It’s official: Green is the new comeback. Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com Bad to the bone saw We’re all about the […]

Shara chats about animals, organics, and recycling

Check out this video of indie artist Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond at South by Southwest as she chats about her love for animals, organic foods, and recycling: My Brightest Diamond at SXSWUploaded by NRDC

Trash likely the source of dioxin tainting Italy’s mozzarella

Some batches of Italy’s famous buffalo mozzarella cheese have been tainted with dioxin, leading to alarm in the nation’s $500 million mozzarella industry. The source of the contamination? Buffalo near Naples are likely grazing in soil tainted with dioxin from piles of toxic garbage that the mafia-controlled trash business can’t, or won’t, get under control.

The burrito giant buys pork from celebrity farmer Joel Salatin

Chipotle Mexican Grill used to be, but no longer is, partly owned by McDonald’s. It runs 700 restaurants nationwide — with plans to roll out 125 more this year — and is considered one of the nation’s fastest-growing “casual dining” chains. And it seems earnestly interested in sourcing ingredients from small- and mid-sized farmers near […]

Catching up with our favorite European eco-porn activists

Nearly four years ago, Lissa Harris wrote a titillating Grist profile of two European activists who were, as she put it, “raising cash to save the rainforest, one money shot at a time.” That story, “Norwegian Wood,” became one of Grist’s all-time greatest hits. Recently, while researching another story, I discovered that the dynamic duo […]

William Chandler’s recommendations on how we can cooperate to lower emissions

William Chandler, director of the Carnegie Energy and Climate Program, has borrowed my phrase for the title of his new study: "Breaking the Suicide Pact: U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change." It begins:

Together, China and the United States produce 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Their actions to curb or expand energy consumption will determine whether efforts to stop global climate change succeed or fail. If these two nations act to curb emissions, the rest of the world can more easily coalesce on a global plan. If either fails to act, the mitigation strategies adopted by the rest of the world will fall far short of averting disaster for large parts of the earth.

These two nations are now joined in what energy analyst Joe Romm has aptly called "a mutual suicide pact." American leaders point to emissions growth in China and demand that Chinese leaders take responsibility for climate change. Chinese leaders counter that American per capita greenhouse gas emissions are five times theirs and say, "You created this problem, you do something about it."

Navajo Nation will develop wind-power project

Today we present the good, the bad, and the ugly of energy sources on Navajo land. The good: The Navajo Nation has formed a joint venture with Boston-based Citizens Energy Corp for a wind-power project on its vast Western reservation. The bad: The tribe continues to try to push through a controversial coal plant as […]

Vegan strip club closes after one month

Ah, Casa Diablo, we hardly knew ye … Two things that you can find a lot of in Portland, Ore., are vegans and strip clubs. Johnny Diablo decided to open a business to combine both. At his Casa Diablo Gentlemen’s Club, soy protein replaces beef in the tacos and chimichangas; the dancers wear pleather, not […]

Carbon taxes vs. carbon trading

This is the third post in a series about details we are still getting wrong in the climate policy discussion. See also part one and part two.

There is no shortage of economic analysis and policy discourse that shows that carbon tax and cap-and-trade methodologies can deliver economically equivalent outcomes. The general consensus -- at least today -- seems to be that since they're equivalent, it really comes down to politics, and it's politically difficult to do anything with the word "tax" in it, so we'll do cap-and-trade. I like the conclusion, but the rationale is pure bunkum.

To understand why, we need only go back to my simple test of any climate policy proposal: the degree to which it encourages investment in capital that lowers atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

Cap-and-trade and carbon taxes do not pass the test equally.