Latest Articles

Earth bites SUV

A water main break beneath 73rd Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood opened up a 12-foot-wide sinkhole that literally swallowed an SUV. You bite the earth, she bites back. (The driver was not seriously injured.) On the other hand, maybe bad eco-karma isn't at fault: the water also flooded into a subway tunnel, disrupting thousands of eco-friendly commutes on the R train.

Photos available from Newsday.

Stockholm syndrome II

A while back I mentioned that Stockholm, Sweden was starting a short-term trial of congestion pricing -- essentially, making drivers pay to enter downtown. London instituted a similar system in 2003, which has proven unexpectedly popular: It's reduced traffic levels by 15 percent, while boosting downtown driving speeds considerably. Stockholm's experiment seemed like it was off to a rockier start -- the city was far less congested than London, and the charges were, if anything, even less popular with commuters.

So it may come as something of a surprise that Stockholm's trial has been greeted with less opposition than predicted:

Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, InterActivates

Low-income households are often the most gravely affected by energy crises, says Jason Edens of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, yet they are the least able to afford renewable-energy alternatives. As InterActivist this week, Edens chats about installing solar-heating systems in rural areas of Minnesota and empowering families to warm themselves (but not the earth!). Send Edens a question of your own by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, answers questions

Jason Edens. Where do you work? I work at the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit organization whose mission is to make solar power accessible to people of all income levels. What does your organization do? At RREAL, we install solar heating systems onto the homes of low-income families qualifying for energy assistance. In […]

What’s really disturbing about the new coal-fired ethanol plants.

David's post about ethanol and coal inspired me to do a bit of research on just how much coal goes into producing G.W. Bush's favorite "renewable," "clean-burning" fuel source.

What I found is ... disturbing.

Bait and Switchgrass

New coal-powered ethanol plant a sign of things to come Greens leery about jumping on the biofuels bandwagon have new reason for trepidation: An ethanol plant that opened last December in Iowa is burning 300 tons of coal a day to transform corn into ethanol … in order to beat global warming. Mmm, taste the […]

E-Waste Not, E-Want Not

Washington Gov. Gregoire signs far-reaching e-recycling law On Friday, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) signed into law the toughest electronic-waste recycling measure in the U.S. — good news for a state brimming with Microsoft techies who upgrade their systems once a quarter. The bill will require TV and computer makers to collect, transport, and dispose […]

Oh Say, Can You, Seattle?

Seattle commission unveils recommendations for meeting Kyoto goals Ex-VP Al Gore and environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert were in Seattle last week (both gave PowerPoint presentations, the chic new environmental look for ’06) for a series of events Mayor Greg Nickels jokingly dubbed “climatepalooza.” Capping the ‘palooza was the unveiling of recommendations from the 18-member commission […]

Tiiiiiime Is on Our Side, Yes It Is

Time cover story propels global warming into the mainstream “Be worried. Be very worried.” So warns the latest issue of Time magazine, which focuses on every Johnny-come-lately’s favorite topic: global warming. The cover story — the contents of which will be old news for devotees of scrappy nonprofit environmental magazines that need and deserve your […]

Umbra on measuring ocean temperatures

Dear Umbra, I’ve been hearing about rising ocean temperatures more and more. My question is, what are the criteria for measuring the temperature of the ocean? Wouldn’t probe location, probe depth, water depth, prevailing current, time of day, and ambient temperature all potentially affect the result? Have the criteria remained constant for the recorded history? […]