Latest Articles

There Once Was a Man From … Alaska?

Nantucket Sound wind farm could be doomed by Don Young amendment There’s plenty of local opposition to the controversial Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, but the final blow (ha!) may come from an Alaskan. After the House and Senate passed versions of a Coast Guard budget bill, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced an amendment […]

Shell Shocked

Nigerian court orders Shell to pay $1.5 billion for pollution A Nigerian court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell to ante up $1.5 billion in damages to communities in the Niger Delta, citing oil spills that polluted regional rivers, spoiled crops, and poisoned fish. The Friday ruling is a major victory for the region’s Ijaw people, […]

Is This the “Safe, Clean” Nuclear Power We Hear So Much About?

Illinois nuke-power operator criticized for leaks and “incidents” Quantity doesn’t equal quality with Chicago-based Exelon Corp., which runs all six nuclear plants and 11 nuclear reactors in Illinois. There were at least four “incidents” at Exelon plants last week, including a false alarm at one generating station that initiated the first “site-area emergency” at a […]

Rumblings in the Bronx

A virtual walking tour of the South Bronx New York’s South Bronx was once a getaway for the rich; now the defining landmarks of the community are power plants, landfills, and parking lots. Where some might see hopelessness, though, resident Omar Freilla sees opportunity. Freilla founded Green Worker Cooperatives to salvage reusable materials from trash […]

Jurassic beavers and hairless skunks.

So, how do you tie a story about a Jurassic beaver in with one about a hairless skunk? Looks more like a shaved weasel to me, by the way (maybe that's because skunks are in the weasel family). Random genetic mutations like that seen in the skunk are what drive evolution. Given enough global warming, we may start to see more of them. The same mutation imparted an evolutionary advantage to naked mole rats. In fact, a similar mutation happened in our past, which eventually lead to the evolution of clothing (via a December post on Biopolitical).

Which brings me to an analogy. Periods of rapid change in an environment spark bursts of evolution where new designs are tested out; similarly, global warming, combined with peak oil, is creating a frenzy of new technology designs in human cultures, all being tested in the crucible of the free market. It will be interesting to see what shakes out.

A virtual walking tour of the South Bronx with Omar Freilla of Green Worker Cooperatives

New York’s South Bronx was once a getaway for the rich; now the defining landmarks of the community are power plants, landfills, and parking lots. Where some might see hopelessness, though, resident Omar Freilla sees opportunity. Freilla founded Green Worker Cooperatives to salvage reusable materials from trash and demolition waste, creating a neighborhood that is […]

Planning and development books

Interested in land use and urban planning? Like to read? If so, you'll want to check out the Planetizen Top 10 Books of 2005 list.

Grist vs. The Wall Street Journal

I kicked off the "Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale" on Friday, and now Treehugger gives us the "Slaughterhouse Smackdown," wherein Grist and The Wall Street Journal go head-to-head over differing perspectives on the impacts slaughterhouses have on American life. Grist is currently leading 76 to 10.

Interviewing Rabbi Michael Lerner

Later today (Monday), I'll be sitting down for a chat with Rabbi Michael Lerner, who -- among his many accomplishments -- is the founder and editor of Tikkun.

What should I ask him?

Decentralized energy generation

I am increasingly fascinated by the twin subjects of decentralized energy generation and smart grids. On the first, Enviropundit has a handy collection of links.