Latest Articles

Vegetarians Are Ruining the Planet

Cargill pushes soy farming that’s obliterating the Amazon Soy production has overtaken logging and cattle ranching as the main source of Amazon rainforest destruction. In the past three years, nearly 27,000 square miles of the Amazon have been destroyed, nearly three-quarters of it illegally. Much of the acreage was sold to soy producers, financed in […]

Unimpressive at Any Speed

Average fuel economy of U.S. vehicles no better than last year The average fuel economy of 2006 model-year vehicles in the U.S. is a guzzle-rific 21 miles per gallon, the U.S. EPA announced yesterday — the same as in 2005. (And 1994. And 1982.) SUV fuel economy rose from 18.3 to 18.5 mpg from model […]

Home Sweat Home

Heat wave leads to record power use in U.S. Many areas of the U.S. broke record highs for power use yesterday, as a coast-to-coast heat wave caused sweaty citizens to crank up the AC. Power grid operators are calling for conservation, and the utility industry is declaring a national need for more power plants and […]

SoyChlor plant

A reader wrote to ask me to draw attention to it -- it needs a national audience -- so here you go:

A SoyChlor plant in Jefferson, Iowa is alleged to damage property, kill plant and animal life, and make people and even children sick with hydrochloric acid.

You'll be shocked to hear that the plant has not yet faced any fines or repercussions.

A “simple remedy” for global warming

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth has been criticized for not offering enough ideas to solve global warming. But his documentary has not only far exceeded box office expectations, grossing three times the early estimates already; it has also brought in waves of new ideas from well-known thinkers in a variety of fields.

As long as global warming was thought to be a murky scientific controversy, so-called opinion leaders could safely ignore the subject. But now that -- as science reporter Eugene Linden remarked in an interview a couple of months ago -- "the naysayers and deniers are starting to look more and more like idiots," the experts are scrambling for unclaimed ground on which to plant their flag and show their smarts.

The “Four E’s” of environmental improvement

I recently attended a conference on common property resources where the majority of participants were skeptical, if not downright antagonistic, to free market principles.

During one lengthy exchange in which I challenged the presenters to provide clear evidence that common property ownership led to superior environmental and social outcomes than private ownership, the moderator turned to me and asked what recommendations I, as an economist, had for improving the environment.

It was an interesting moment, because the participants had by now realized that I was somewhat of an anomaly at the conference (since I do believe in free market principles) and they were genuinely curious as to what I considered solutions to environmental problems.

Early warning system set up to detect global warming

This sounds cool:

MOUNT ALBION - University of Colorado biologists began installing an alarm system atop this craggy summit Friday, near the Continental Divide west of Boulder.

Like the alarm systems in your car or home, this one is designed to detect intruders.

But in this case, the invaders are tundra plants moving up from lower elevations in response to global warming. The alarm system is a cluster of mountaintop vegetation plots that will be monitored periodically for decades to come.

(Via Digg)

Funny

(from SFGate via Groovy Green)

Brad Pitt talks NOLA green building on Today show

See Brad Pitt on the Today show talking about a competition he's underwriting with Global Green to judge eco-friendly apartment designs for New Orleans.

And watch out for a Gristmill post coming soon from Global Green head Matt Petersen about the sustainable design competition and efforts to rebuild and green a still-devastated New Orleans.

The problem of Superman

Yesterday, EcoGeek addressed one of the pressing issues of our times: inconsistent application of Superman's powers. More needs to be said.

The 'Geek points out that Superman himself is solar powered (as those who have seen Superman Returns know), but has failed to help humanity figure out how he converts sunlight to power -- which might be a handy trick for us.

This is but one instance of a broader point: With Superman's abilities -- and his Fortress of Solitude, which contains all the knowledge of the 28 known galaxies -- it's simply unconscionable that he wastes so much time.