Latest Articles

Electronics makers lament E.U. phaseout of lead

Electronics makers are lamenting the European Union’s phaseout of lead from electronics, claiming that the heavy metal is the best-known defense against “whiskers,” splinters that sprout off of tin solder. Tin whiskers can cause short circuits, which some estimate have caused as much as $10 billion in damage since they were first noticed in the […]

Walt Patterson argues that electricity cost comparisons are political, not economic

Comparisons of electricity generation costs from various sources are a ubiquitous feature of energy discussions. Virtually everyone accepts as fact that coal is the cheapest source of electricity, that natural gas is the next cheapest, that solar PV is the most expensive, that wind is competitive in some states and not others, etc. Sometimes the […]

Not pedaling can kill you

My youngest son had a bike wreck this summer: a driver cut him off on a steep downhill. Peter managed to avoid the car by tumbling over the curb, but the fall inflicted some nasty road rash. It also inspired me to dig into the question of bicycle safety more rigorously than before: Is it safe for Peter to be biking so much?

Here's what I learned: Biking is safer than it used to be. It's safer than you might think. It does incur the risk of collision, but its other health benefits massively outweigh these risks. And it can be made much safer. What's more, making streets truly safe for cyclists may be the best way to reverse Bicycle Neglect: it may be among communities' best options for countering obesity, climate disruption, rising economic inequality, and oil addiction.

The alternative -- inaction -- perpetuates these ills. It also ensures the continued victimization of cyclists and pedestrians. It means the proliferation of GhostBikes. (Pictured here, photo by Paul Takamoto.) GhostBikes are guerrilla memorials to car-on-bike crashes that artists place at the scenes of injuries and deaths in, for example, Seattle, Portland, and New York. (View striking GhostBike photos from Portland and the whole world on Flickr (choose "view slide show").)

Let's take these lessons in turn.

Big-biz coalition will pressure suppliers to report emissions

At least six of the world’s largest companies have banded together to urge their suppliers to report and mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions. Joining together as the Supply Chain Leadership Coalition and partnering with the Carbon Disclosure Project — which is also working with Wal-Mart — companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Tesco, Nestlé, Imperial Tobacco, and […]

A recap of Seattle’s Green Fashion Week runway show

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." — Coco Chanel Upon arriving at the runway show capping off Seattle’s Green Fashion Week, the first thing I noticed was the green carpet. Then […]

Utility company AEP to pay billions in acid-rain settlement

The utility company American Electric Power has agreed to pay some $4.6 billion to reduce acid-rain-causing emissions from some of its power plants in the U.S. Northeast, as well as $60 million to clean up specific waterways and parks, and $15 million in civil penalties, all to settle a long-running lawsuit brought by the U.S. […]

What should I ask a carbon offset expert?

Sorry for the late notice, but tomorrow at 1pm (Pacific) I’m interviewing Dan Kalafatas, president and COO of 3 Degrees, a new outfit that delivers "customized, global climate change solutions to U.S. businesses, utilities and institutions." In English, that means they sell offsets and RECs to businesses, work with utilities to establish green power pricing […]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s voluntary emission reduction reporting program worthless

Some disturbing findings on the U.S. DOE’s voluntary climate registry program, at least as regards electric utilities: A new study by Lyon and U-M doctoral student Eun-Hee Kim shows that about 60 percent of companies that voluntarily participate in the Department of Energy program show increases in greenhouse gas emissions rather than decreases. Surprisingly, the […]

Rocky rocks against coal

Consider the following: Rocky Anderson, maverick mayor of Salt Lake City, is awesome. The Beatles are awesome. Coal is the enemy of the human race. Consider, further, whether this might be the greatest story you’ve ever read in your entire life.

GAO doubts efficacy of Energy Star label

You know the U.S. government’s Energy Star label, meant to direct consumers to energy-efficient electronics and appliances? The Government Accountability Office does not think it means what you think it means. In a new report, the GAO notes that, for example, TVs are tested in standby mode, because the latest available standards for testing tellies’ […]