Latest Articles

More shenanigans from the EPA on the Cali waiver

Thurday will be an interesting test of the ability of Congress to crack a Bush administration coverup of a rotten and likely illegal action: its decision to reject California's effort to enforce its greenhouse-gas standards for motor vehicles.

Sen. Barbara Boxer will put EPA Administrator Steve Johnson in the box to explore not only his indefensible decision, but his efforts to withhold information from Congress and cover up the truth about his pro-car company action.

You will recall that right before Christmas, Johnson nixed the California request in a hastily called news conference where he tried, dishonestly, to spin his way out of a looming Washington Post exclusive.

The lies continued last week as the EPA -- on the Friday of a holiday weekend, in an effort to minimize attention -- sent Boxer a letter and portions of various materials she sought. Boxer noted much of the relevant information was "whited out," as EPA Associate Administrator Christopher Bliley literally invoked the Nixon Watergate coverup as justification.

European Union unveils detailed plans to cut GHG emissions

European Union leaders today unveiled detailed draft plans to reduce E.U.-wide emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The plans would require utilities to buy all of their greenhouse-gas emissions permits beginning in 2013, as opposed to the current practice of allocating nearly all of them for free, which companies can then sell at […]

Green films premiering at Sundance Film Festival

If you’re a super-hip journalist with awesome connections and a sweet gig, you’re spending a cush week writing about the Sundance Film Festival from snow- and celeb-covered Park City, Utah. If you’re me, you’re sitting in front of a computer screen in an office building in Seattle reading about all the super-hip journalists with the […]

Israel to build national electric car infrastructure

Project Better Place, in partnership with Renault/Nissan and the Israeli government, will build a national electric car infrastructure.

A major manufacturer developing new electric vehicles with swappable batteries, and a plan to develop 500,000 battery recharging sites across the country? It's still January, and I'm ready to call this the most important environmental news story of 2008.

I'm going to write more about this later, but do yourself a favor and read all about it here.

This, friends, is the road to Middle-East peace. And it was announced on MLK day. How appropriate.

Van et al

A good if unoriginal roundup of socially conscious environmentalism. Seems to me this isn’t an either-or, but a both-and. We need the "corporate sellers of hybrid cars and organic Levis jeans" and we also need organizers in low-income communities. We don’t have to decide which represents Real Environmentalism, or what the green movement Really Is.

Aw shucks

Wait ’til they see my new ‘stache!

China will close thousands of small coal mines

China plans to close more than 5,000 small coal mines, accounting for about 8 percent of the country’s coal output, for safety reasons. Some 4,750 people died in China’s mines in 2006.

Erosion is as big a problem as climate change, say experts

Planet Earth loses some 1 percent of its topsoil to erosion every year — and that’s an environmental threat on par with global warming, say experts. “Globally, it’s pretty clear we’re running out of dirt,” says geologist David Montgomery, who identifies agriculture as the main culprit for “soil mining.” In the U.S., cropland is estimated […]

All the sudden, Pete Domenici supports renewable energy

Wow. You don’t see gall this unmitigated every day. Here’s Pete Domenici, with a “Statement on Renewable Energy Tax Credits in Economic Stimulus Package”: Over the last several years, it is apparent that America’s renewable energy industry has shown great promise. Much of the growth of these industries, such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal, […]

The real story behind the world’s favorite scolding of the U.S.

Last month, Kevin Conrad became somewhat famous representing Papua New Guinea at the Bali climate talks. Confronted yet again with U.S. intransigence, Conrad said: I would ask the United States, we ask for your leadership. But if for some reason you’re not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out […]