Latest Articles

The price is right

I suppose it was bound to happen sometime: the Olympia, Washington Olympian is reporting that biodiesel is now cheaper than regular diesel.

Until now, biodiesel consumers have had to pay a premium at the pump; making highway fuel from vegetable oil was more costly than pumping it out of the ground. But thanks to rapidly rising crude prices, that's no longer true.

Against hope

Derrick Jensen weighs in on the ongoing proper-level-of-hope debate with a bold anti-hope argument.

Free as a jailbird

When I spoke to Jeff Luers by phone from Oregon State Prison, our wide-ranging talk covered more than just his political views. Having never spent time in prison -- and hoping never to do so -- I was curious about what his day-to-day life is like there.

Here's part of that discussion ...

Kempthorne’s contributors

The confirmation hearings of Bush Interior Secretary nominee Dirk Kempthorne start today. To get yourself in the mood, check out this story in the Idaho Statesman. It takes a look at where Kempthorne's gotten the bulk of his contributions over his career -- nothing that will surprise you -- but does so in a more measured and sophisticated way than most articles of this nature.

Can You Fear Me Now?

Scientists plot to warn future generations about dangers of nuclear site A thousand or so years from now, a huge underground salt mine in Carlsbad, N.M., will collapse and bury the tons of radioactive, plutonium-covered detritus from nuclear-weapons production that are stored within. But the plutonium will be exceedingly toxic for another 249,000 years. How […]

A Patch Made in Heaven

Ozone layer is recovering, a little Remember the ozone layer? It’s doing better, thanks for asking. A report in Nature indicates that our layer of protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays has stabilized or increased slightly in the past decade. Thanks to human use of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in aerosols and refrigerants, scientists found in […]

Another Flail in the Coffin

House flails about wildly and ineffectually over higher gas prices House Republicans, who face a bruising battle to retain their majority status this November, are growing increasingly desperate over high gas prices. Since there’s nothing they can actually do to reduce them, this translates into furious political maneuvering. With two fast-tracked bills this week, they […]

Andes Are Dandy

Grist continues to hype Great Peru Giveaway So you’ve been reading about Brangelina’s impending Namibian nativity, and you’re thinking you wouldn’t mind heading south of the equator yourself — but without all the labor pains and paparazzi? Boy, are you in luck! Grist is giving away an eco-trip for two to Peru, and you could […]

It’s Like We Peed in the Entire World’s Snow

Pesticide traces found in snow on high mountains in national parks Snowfall in high-elevation parks in the Western U.S. is not, um, pure as the driven snow. A recent study found traces of agricultural pesticides in the snowfall at six national parks studied: Sequoia (California), Mount Rainier (Washington), Rocky Mountain (Colorado), Glacier (Montana), Denali (Alaska), […]

Who Can Plame Them?

U.S. leaks IPCC report confirming climate change is happening A confidential draft of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been posted on the internet by U.S. officials, months before its scheduled publish date. The posting of the draft, which expresses increased confidence that global warming is human-caused and likely to […]