Latest Articles

On-demand water heaters rock

It's totally goofy, but I love my water heater. It's an "on demand" (also called tankless) unit, so it only turns on when I need to do the dishes or wash some clothes, or do both at the same time, even. I like that it doesn't heat a big tank of water 24/7 on the off chance that I'll need it at any moment. Thus it's small, and when it does turn on it's efficient. When not in use, it's completely off. Even though it runs on gas, it has no eternally burning pilot light, and I like that, too. It's three years old now and I've never had any issues with it.

Ubiquitous in Europe and elsewhere, tankless water heaters are gaining popularity in the U.S. too. So if you're in the market for a new water heater and don't have the resources for a solar domestic hot water system, have a look: Rinnai seems to be the best manufacturer. These units save space and resources -- and over time, money.

Editorial questions the sequestration promise

The New Republic has a fine, fine editorial about coal today. It calls into question whether spending up to $40 billion on the ten-years-hence promise of carbon sequestration in order to save the coal industry from obsolescence is the best investment we could make to fight global warming. The weak link in the argument is […]

Environmental Defense’s climate ads go negative, miss the mark

There's no shortage of messaging on climate change these days, but the latest ad I came across concerned me in the same way that Greenpeace's pissy kid ad did. I just heard the radio version of Environmental Defense's two TV ads (which this hard-rock station was repeating back-to-back, for extra negative impact), which tear a page from the same playbook: "The Gift" features kids reading off a list of lousy things that adults are giving them, like droughts, stronger hurricanes, etc. And then there's the one about time running out alongside a long list of bad things to come called "Tick," and one of a girl about to be hit by train thrown in for fun.

Sure, it's the kids whose future will be most impacted, but messaging with fear and guilt is not the way to win the hearts and minds of adults, as Gristmillers discussed here and in many other threads recently. The big green groups really need to get on the positive bus as much as possible, or we're going to see the public ignoring the "threats" of climate change and risk missing the opportunities inherent in getting off of fossil fuels.

An illustration and explanation of today’s tainted toys

Seems you can’t turn around these days without hearing about some trusted toy being yanked from the shelves. (Dora, we hardly knew ya!) If you want to keep on top of the latest recalls, check out the Consumer Product Safety Commission database or BabyCenter’s product recall finder. Meanwhile, we offer a graphic cheat sheet below, […]

A remarkable bit of radio on Democracy Now

I agree with Joseph Romm that Alan Greenspan is way overrated. Sure, he declares in his new book that "I’m saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows — the Iraq war is largely about oil." But he adds in his very next sentence, to paraphrase: And that’s a good thing. Yes, […]

Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump moves structures to account for fault line

If falsified quality-assurance documents and vehement opposition from locals (among other things) aren’t enough to put Nevada’s Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump on your list of Bad Places to Dump Nuclear Waste, may we offer you an inconveniently located underground fault line?

A clean tech firm accuses a carbon credit nonprofit of forcing kids to do fieldwork

You might blame a leading carbon-offset provider of forcing poor kids to work, according to The Times of London. Or not.

Carbon credit firm Climate Care pays families in India to use human-powered treadle pumps to get water out of the ground for drinking and farming. As a result, half a million foot pumps have replaced diesel ones, which pollute and cost a lot to fuel. Unfortunately, Climate Care doesn't ensure the diesel pumps are retired instead of finding new life with other owners.

Nor does it stick around to make sure that kids aren't doing all the pumping. It probably never crossed the minds at the British nonprofit that this would come into question. Children have done backbreaking farm work for eons in regions where sustaining an income in the field is a family necessity. And the foot pumps are supposed to be easier to operate than hand pumps.

British prime minister aims to build even more eco-towns

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to build 10 “eco-towns,” doubling his original vision of five. We like a man with ambition!

Icy creature populations to deplete as temperatures rise

Reports are all over the headlines recently of creatures, particularly Arctic and Antarctic marine creatures, being threatened by extinction because the Earth is warming too fast for them or their icy environments to be able to sustain themselves.

A colony of Antarctic penguins, for one, could be extinct in as little as eight years, according to one researcher who's been documenting their population since the mid-1970s. Upward of two-thirds of the Arctic polar bears could be wiped out by 2050 because their habitat is melting, according to one study.

Sounds a little like the Science report released last fall that said commercial fisheries will effectively collapse by mid-century at the rate we fish our oceans. There's definitely a pattern here -- is anyone else noticing this dismal trend?

Where to turn when you’re sick of disposable doodads

Block to basics. Photo: iStockphoto Keeping up with Ken and Barbie got you down? Check out these companies invested in making eco-friendlier playthings for your little ones. (And read about one mother’s no-crap crusade.) Dwelling These soft, handmade toys are created by a women’s knitting collective in Kenya, under the guidance of a nonprofit that […]