Latest Articles

Over global warming, of all things

As you’re probably aware, the old guard of the conservative evangelical movement has lashed out against the new guard over the subject of global warming. James Dobson, Gary Bauer, and Tony Perkins — has America ever puked up a more loathsome triumvirate? — are trying to pressure the National Association of Evangelicals to fire its […]

A chat with Inconvenient Truth co-producer and Hollywood bigwig Lawrence Bender

Meet Lawrence Bender, the Hollywood producer who lent his big-screen savoir faire to the success of the Oscar-winning sensation An Inconvenient Truth. Lawrence Bender. It’s not Bender’s first brush with Oscar fame. He produced Academy Award best-picture nominees Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction, as well as Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, and other Quentin Tarantino […]

A must-read

Let me most enthusiastically recommend this article in American Scientist on plug-in hybrids. It’s by an engineer named Andrew Frank that’s been working on hybrids in various incarnations since the early ’70s. You green techno-geeks will love it. It’s one of the most accessible pieces I’ve ever read on the history, technology, and challenges of […]

Oh, great

Look what the Twin Cities Pioneer Press discovered: The latest trend in the green world of ethanol is a surprising one: coal. Minnesota’s first coal-fired ethanol plant soon will begin operation in Heron Lake, and it won’t be the last. The high price of natural gas is enticing new plant owners to embrace coal power. […]

It’s for more than just leprechauns

No, not the nasty March 17th green beer, nor the greenwashed Budweiser variety: I mean Green Drinks, the green social hour phenomenon now in 197 cities worldwide...

Come gaze at your navel for a while

Should we focus our efforts on slowing future climate warming (mitigation) or preparing for future climate warming (adaptation), or both? The question is rife with political and practical complexities. I’m sure we’ll have many occasions to discuss them soon. But I want to try to put the politics and practicalities aside for a moment and […]

Cloudy, With a Chance of Powers

As Asian economies grow, increased pollution affecting world’s weather Scientists say smog from Asia is drifting east, seeding storm clouds, and intensifying weather in the Pacific. On a typical spring or summer day, they say, nearly a third of the air high above the U.S. West Coast comes from Asia. And according to a report […]

Creation Careless

Evangelical policy director chastised for speaking out on climate change Rev. Richard Cizik, policy director for the National Association of Evangelicals, says global warming is human-caused and the God-fearing should take it seriously. Science-based belief? Quelle horreur! Last week, a group of conservative Christian leaders unaffiliated with NAE wrote a letter urging the NAE board […]

The Knights Who Say NIH

Health agency reviews bisphenol A safety as controversy swirls Ignoring the news about bisphenol A? Time to pay attention, cuz the plastic resin is used in everyday products from baby bottles to canned goods and linked to a host of health problems. And with the National Institutes of Health reviewing the safety of BPA this […]

The Hill Is Alive With the Sound of Musing

Pelosi and Boxer aim to green Capitol Hill Tired of talking the energy-efficiency talk in an eco-unfriendly setting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer (both D-Calif.) are aiming to green Capitol Hill. On Friday, Pelosi wrote a letter directing the House chief administrative officer to look into implementing “the most up-to-date industry and […]