Latest Articles

Vast untapped oil reserve discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

Yesterday, Chevron Corp. announced the finding of a vast untapped oil reserve in the Gulf of Mexico, after Jack2, its test well, hit the biggest jackpot in a generation. It comes as a relief for some, but could be a headache for environmentalists.

It’s time to get serious about reforming school lunches

Playground bullies aren’t the only ones shaking down kids for their milk money. Despite lots of recent fuss about the poor quality of school-cafeteria fare — and mounting evidence of widespread diet-related maladies among kids — corporate interests are still lining up for their cut of the cash the federal government and families spend on […]

A new group that’s not afraid to get its, um, shirts dirty

Things I loved as a kid, and not-so-secretly still love: rubber duckies, bubbles, and dirt.

My love for the latter is apparently shared by the founders of More Dirt. Why More Dirt? Glad you asked:

National efforts to cut GHG emissions will suffer

Everyone is justifiably excited about the good news out of California, but a much more representative microcosm of the climate debate can be found in the great state of Texas.

Texas leads the nation in GHG emissions -- it spews more than Canada or the U.K. It has no plan for reducing those emissions. It has rejected legislative efforts to reduce them for years. In essence, Governor Rick Perry has said that he won't do anything until the feds do, which we all know is never.

Now it seems Texas is set to dramatically increase its emissions.

The state may soon approve the construction of 16 old-school coal-fired power plants:

The approval of 16 new power plants that burn coal, by far the most carbon-intensive fuel for making electricity, would add an estimated 117 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, more than the individual emissions from 33 other states and 177 countries.

The power companies say cleaner-burning coal technologies aren't "proven." The business lobby and the governor's office say curbs on GHG gases would hurt the economy.

MTV and Campus Climate Challenge team up to get students greening

So I mentioned last week that mtvU and GE are teaming up on an ecomagination Challenge asking college students to come up with ideas for greening their campuses. Today, I found out about another partnership -- this one between MTV proper (or rather, thinkMTV? So many MTVs, so little interest in figuring out which is which) and the Campus Climate Challenge kids.

The Break the Addiction Challenge gives students (both high school and college) three assignments aimed at promoting models of climate responsibility on campus. From the press release:

What’s up with Bush’s nominee for Transportation Secretary?

OK, that headline is horrible. But does anyone have the green goods on Mary Peters, the administration's nominee for Transportation secretary?

Check out the trailer for the biggest food politics movie, well, ever

Eric Schlosser is serious about raising maximum hell with the fast-food industry. He's got a new book aimed at deprogramming kids from their burger, fries, and a Coke fetish (reviewed here).

And now he's somehow managed to get a big-studio fictional movie made based on his classic book Fast Food Nation. Check out the trailer:

Linking up nature areas boosts species

In an effort to test the effectiveness of landscape corridors, scientists down in South Carolina have been surveying forest plots either connected by greenways or not. The result, reported in the current issue of Science as well as in today's Science Times, was a 20% increase in species biodiversity in the connected patches.

Not too astounding, except when you consider that the survey has been going for just six years. Said Dr. Ellen Damschen, lead author of the study:

It is surprising that we would see such a dramatic change over a short time scale ... plants can change relatively quickly through their interactions with the landscape and the animals that interact with them.

Biodiversity, it appears, thrives with connectivity. Just another reason for neighborhoods to have sidewalks. That is, unless your neighbors happen to be the human equivalent of praying mantises -- then you best watch your back, uh, head.

Steve Irwin dies in freak occurrence

Irony, from the Latin ironia: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result; example: earning fame and fortune wrestling crocodiles and being killed by a basically inoffensive marine creature.

As David pointed out, beloved naturalist Steve Irwin, aka "the crocodile hunter," was killed by a stingray during a diving expedition off the Australian coast on Sunday. The stingray's barb had pierced the TV personality's heart and he died within moments.

Republican War on Science boasts new preface and expanded chapters

Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science has come out in paperback, with a lengthy new preface and lots of updated material. See the book's website for more details.

I interviewed Chris about a year ago, and the story ended up with one of my favorite headlines.