Latest Articles

Tell us when green bursts from the screen

For the second time in two nights, I was innocently watching bad TV when a green theme popped up. A gal can’t get a break from her day job these days with so many producers rushing to prove their eco-cred. So how far-reaching is this trend? Figuring that out will either require me to watch […]

‘Flower Confidential’ has the dirt on the floral industry

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, garden columnist Amy Stewart digs up the truth about the floral industry in her new book Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. The behind-the-scenes look at the multi-billion-dollar industry took Stewart across the globe to track down geneticists and breeders, visit […]

McCain and Lieberman have it

McCain and Lieberman have an op-ed on global warming in The Boston Globe today. It’s good enough, but this bit — no one will be surprised to hear — rubs me the wrong way: How can Congress close the deal to prevent catastrophic global warming while it still has the chance? In the same way […]

Czech pres. isn’t on board with the climate change thing

Václav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, thinks the whole global warming thing is a hoax: Global warming is a myth and I think that every serious person and scientist says so. It is unfair to refer to the United Nations panel. IPCC is not a scientific body: it’s a political institution, a kind […]

A new green blog

Joel Makower wrote to let me know about an intriguing new blog on Greenbiz: "Turning the Ship." It’s about greening the U.S. economy, and features posts from smarty-pants types from Yale, Harvard, Pew, and other smarty-pant hotbeds. Check it out. (Hopefully I can convince Joel to kill the frame. Didn’t frames in web pages die […]

Less grift, more grist?

Charles Komanoff's refutation of Bill Chameides's tirade against carbon taxes does not require repetition by me. However, there is one point I can add detail to -- that a carbon tax is more transparent than emissions trading.

This is not just an abstract point. Consider in the Kyoto carbon trading scheme how most carbon credits were given at no cost to major polluters. That is not a necessary part of emissions trading. You could auction off 100 percent of the credits. For that matter, you could rebate carbon taxes to major polluters if you want. The difference lies in how obvious it is -- how transparent such schemes are.

Damn I hate that show

For the first few seasons of 24, I kept trying to get into it — I’d watch the first three or four episodes and give up. I dropped by for an episode or two this season, and it confirmed my initial impression, which is: 24 reflects a warped, adolescent view of violence and human nature. […]

New Belgium beermakers to brew algae-based biodiesel

New Belgium Brewing Co. is known for its Fat Tire Amber Ale and a number of other bubbly bevvies. But you’ll want to think twice before chugging the company’s latest concoction: the ecofriendly microbrewery is teaming up with energy startup Solix Biofuels to brew biodiesel from algae. (Yeah, I pirated the headline — arrr … […]

How a conservative think tank’s foray into climate policy stirred up a media hornet’s nest

A conservative think tank attempted to engage the debate over climate policy recently, only to see that attempt explode in its face. The tangled episode, with its combustible mix of sensationalist journalism, public outrage, and the threatened intervention of the federal government, is rich with lessons about the current state of climate politics — lessons […]

More buzz about the Live Earth concerts

Buzz about the global-warming-focused concert series expected to “dwarf” Live Aid is continuing to, well, buzz. Speculation about who will perform has begun — with U2, Coldplay, Madonna, and Kylie Minogue topping the list. (There are even rumors of a Spice Girls reunion.) Though most sources are calling the series “Live Earth,” one whisper site […]