Latest Articles

In Toilets Is the Preservation of the World

U.N. study illuminates deadly global water and sanitation situation Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice — but it’s more likely to be lack of access to clean water that does us in. A U.N. report says dirty water is the second-leading cause of death among children around the world, […]

Bio Partisan

President Bush promotes energy independence, snuggles up to Democrats Word is President Bush will unveil an “energy independence” initiative to support ethanol and other biofuels — and to show the world that he’s, you know, down with the progressive agenda. (Which would be a lot more convincing if major ethanol investors didn’t include oil giants […]

A Dingell Ate My Maybe

Congressional Democrats’ energy priorities are a mixed bag Not so fast with the celebrating. The soon-to-be head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D), has declared no interest in raising U.S. fuel-efficiency standards — he’s from Michigan, natch — and he’s a nuclear-power booster. The Dems’ rise could also lead to […]

‘Sea level in the Arctic is falling’–Sea level is a surprisingly complicated thing

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: According to the latest state-of-the-art satellite measurements from over the Arctic, sea levels are falling! Guess all that ice isn't melting after all.

Answer: Yes, a new study using Europe's Space Agency's ERS-2 satellite has determined that over the last 10 years, sea level in the Arctic Ocean has been falling at an average rate of about 2 mm/year. This is very new and very interesting news, though it is preliminary and not published in any peer-reviewed journals yet. But even if these results hold up to time and scrutiny, it is not evidence that globally sea levels are not rising, because they are.

An interview with Renate Künast, Germany’s Green Party chair

As the U.N. climate-change conference heats up this week in Nairobi, Kenya, strategies to promote clean energy and slow global warming top the agenda for many nations — not least of all Germany, which is Europe’s biggest economy, a global leader in green technology, and the country set to take over the 12-month presidency of […]

Ethanol subsidies, that is

Oh great. The White House needs to recapture some political momentum after its party got shellacked this week. It also needs to make good on its laughable promise to "change the tone" and start working with Democrats to "get things done."

So where does it turn? What issue can unite politicians across the fractious partisan divide?

You guessed it: ethanol subsidies energy independence!

The Bush administration will soon launch a big "energy independence" initiative, likely to include renewed emphasis on biofuels, as part of an attempt to regain the political initiative following the midterm elections.

Ugh. The question, as always, is whether this momentum toward biofuels will serve as a kind of kickstart to a broader conversation about energy and climate, or whether it will be a diversion and a dead end. I go back and forth.

Let me just pick on one thing from this article. Look at this:

Activists say environmental issues helped push green candidates through tough races

Fist-pumping, chest-thumping, and hallelujahs abounded yesterday at a press conference of top environmental strategists responding to the results of the Tuesday elections, which ushered in a Democratic Congress after 12 years of near-total GOP control. Jon Tester, one of the greener senators-to-be. “Let me be clear: The environment won last night!” Sierra Club Political Director […]

Public should think twice about biofuels

The annual forest and biodiversity clearing exercise in Indonesia is drawing to a close. Here's an article telling us that a thousand or so orangutans were burned to death this time around.

Every year, year after year, like a broken record or a slow motion horror movie, we sit around reading articles describing the extinction of the wild orangutan and other unique lifeforms. We human beings have just got to scratch that itch, that insatiable urge to increase one's wealth, position, rank, standing, station, prestige, fame, prominence, distinction, importance, renown, influence, eclat, celebrity, esteem, glory, status, whatever.

Early indication: Agribiz still rules the Hill

There's no denying the joy of seeing such confirmed villains as Pombo, Santorum, and Rumsfeld on ice. (It will be interesting to see which energy/military conglomerate beckons home the latter after his brave tour of duty.) But having delivered a decisive boot to the hindquarters of the GOP-controlled Congress, it's time to turn a critical eye on the new leadership.

What does it all mean for the future?

Reading the polls is a perilous business for an enviro in this country, because Americans who talk to pollsters say they rate protecting the environment highly, but frequently fail to back up that concern with their votes. According to a recent CBS/NY Times poll, nearly three-quarters of the country believes in global warming, and respondents told the pollsters that "environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost." But this year, when it came to voting, voters almost always put the planet at the bottom of their list of priorities. In many polls taken last month, the environment didn't make the list at all, and topped out at at a mere 2 percent, far below the percentages concerned about the war in Iraq, terrorism, Social Security, or even same-sex marriage.

But when it comes to puzzling out the motivations of the American voter, the polls still offer the best available clues ... and some of these clues look promising for enviros this year.