Latest Articles

EPA refuses to warn homeowners about asbestos exposure from insulation

If you happen to be reading through the U.S. EPA website — which you no doubt do every day — you might come across a warning that some 35 million homes nationwide contain insulation processed with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from infamous Libby, Mont. If you ask the agency about it, they’d be happy to send you […]

Fred Thompson half-heartedly justifies flip-flop on ethanol

Ol’ Fred Thompson has decided that ethanol’s great after all, even though he voted against subsidies as an allegedly-small-government conservative in the Senate. Why, Fred? We know it can’t be a craven pander to Iowa voters, so what’s the explanation? “I have voted against subsidies in the Senate,” said Thompson. “But I think it’s a […]

More toys recalled due to lead, including Boy Scout badges

Over 1.5 million more children’s toys and accessories were recalled in the U.S. on Thursday due to high lead levels. We had put our money on toy cars being among the next items recalled, but we stand corrected. Whoever said blocks, squeeze lights, wagons, Frankenstein cups, key chains, journals, water bottles, or lead-painted Boy Scout […]

Climate campaigners could have a shot at winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Word around the campfire is that climate campaigners Al Gore and Sheila Watt-Cloutier may be on the short list of nominees with a shot at landing this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The prestigious award — to be announced Oct. 12 — has traditionally been awarded to human-rights activists and peace advocates (except for that whole […]

What will Sen. Pete Domenici’s retirement mean for the environment?

The last post I wrote evaluating the environmental impact of a supposedly done-for senator was about Larry Craig. So much for that. But while Sen. Wide Stance (R-Idaho) is sticking around for now, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) will certainly be retiring at the end of the 110th Congress — so it behooves us to look […]

EPA not up to par on environmental justice, GAO finds

Charged with the minor task of informing minority and low-income populations about toxic facilities in their neighborhoods, do you think the U.S. EPA has:

a). Done a thorough, admirable job, or

b). Not

For the correct answer, read this new GAO report [PDF].

Hillary lays out science proposals

Today, in an address to the Carnegie Institution for Science (timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Sputnik), Hillary rolled out her science agenda. After some strong rebukes to the Bush administration for its "war on science," she offered this course of action:

Expand human and robotic space exploration and speed development of vehicles to would replace the space shuttle.

Launch a space-based climate change initiative to combat global warming.

Create a $50-billion strategic energy fund to research ways to boost energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Comply with a legal requirement that the executive branch issue a national assessment on climate change every four years. She would also expand the assessment to reflect how U.S. regions and economic sectors are responding to the challenges posed by climate change.

Name an assistant to the president for science and technology, a position that was eliminated in the Bush White House.

Re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment.

Sounds pretty good, even if it's disconcerting that the space-based climate change initiative appears higher up than boosting energy efficiency. Let's hope that was just a hat tip to Sputnik.

New energy proposal in California

California -- already a leader in intelligent utility regulations -- is taking aggressive steps to stay the leader. The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) made the following remarkable proposal last month:

• All new residential construction in California will be zero net energy by 2020
• All new commercial construction in California will be zero net energy by 2030

In addition, the PUC established "a new system of incentives and penalties to drive investor-owned utilities above and beyond California's aggressive energy savings goals." Under this framework:

Earnings to shareholders accrue only when a utility produces positive net benefits (savings minus costs) for ratepayers. The shareholder "reward" side of the incentive mechanism is balanced by the risk of financial penalties for substandard performance in achieving the PUC's per-kilowatt, kilowatt-hour, and therm savings goals.

Kudos to the PUC for its aggressive strategy, which "puts energy efficiency on an equal footing with utility generation," as Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon put it. "It will align utility corporate culture with California's environmental values."

Even though utility regulations seem mundane, they are a core climate strategy, so here are some more details of the PUC's ground-breaking decision:

Notable quotable

“At the risk of oversimplifying, our current energy policy in the United States involves shooting bearded people. It’s not hard to imagine better ideas coming out of a reality TV show.” — Scott Adams (thanks Kate!)

Could Domenici be succeeded by a green builder?

Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) has announced he won’t run for reelection. Could he be replaced by already-declared Democratic candidate Don Wiviott, a builder known for energy-efficient properties?