Latest Articles

White House knew about breach of levees

So yeah, I know you've got scandal fatigue, but if you can squeeze just one more in, here you go.

Media Shower: The inauguration

What do you get when a significant number of your posts are about the same topic? You're asked to write a weekly column! Thus, I introduce "Media Shower," whereby I'll shower you (ha ha) with musings on the intersection of media and the environment. While I'll focus on television, film, video games, and the internets, no medium will be off-limits. Specifically, I'll be exploring ways that TV shows, movies, etc. are being used to help the cause. To that end, I give you Jeff Skoll.

Kicking Toyota out of the country

Let's say you're threatened by hybrids. Let's say you're particularly threatened by hybrids coming into the U.S. from another country, and proving mighty popular. What might be a creative way to fix the problem?

Oh, how about suing for patent infringement? "If the International Trade Commission agrees with Solomon, [Toyota] could be banned from importing the systems and the Prius and Highlander hybrid models that they power." Stay tuned.

Gets national reforms on the basis of local violations

Can somebody with more knowledge and experience tell me if something extraordinary is going on in the office of Kevin J. O'Connor, the U.S. Attorney for the Connecticut district? It certainly seems extraordinary to me -- and deserving of wider notice and praise.

From Dreams to Desert

Girls. Crushing cars. We had a dream: Automobiles, being recycled. But first being crushed, slowly, by heavy machinery. All the while surrounded by skeezy dancing girls in bikinis. Well, we bring good news, brothers and sisters. The dream is real. The dream is real. Photo: Aachen Auto/Keith Bragg. Redressage in a bottle A lovelorn sailor […]

Readers talk back about ethanol, cell phones, home renovations, and more

  Re: Kernel Ganders Dear Editor: Thanks for covering the ethanol issue and our paper in Science. David Pimentel erroneously claims we didn’t include energy for farm machinery in our analysis, and unfortunately his claim, though false, has been repeated several times in the media. Your article also attributes to our study the claim that […]

Win Some, Luge Some

WWF gives Turin Olympics mixed grade for eco-impacts For the next few weeks the world will be glued to its TVs for a spectacle of heartbreak and triumph called … American Idol. But some folks might also watch the Olympic Winter Games. Are they green? WWF has given the Turin Games a mixed score, noting […]

And You Were Worried!

Expert panel backs Energy Department nuke-waste transport plan An expert panel organized by the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that it’s likely safe to ship tens of thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel to Nevada for disposal. After all, what could go wrong? [Spends a moment in terrified contemplation.] The panel reviewed the […]

Have They Asked the Conservative Think Tanks About This?

Climate change really screwing things up, say scientists around the world Global warming, neither a far-off abstraction nor the myth some (still!) claim it to be, is already causing mayhem worldwide, according to the latest rash of studies on the topic. In the late 20th century, the Northern Hemisphere experienced its most sustained warm stretch […]

The Bear Necessitates

Feds to consider listing polar bears as threatened Congressional Republicans waging jihad against the Endangered Species Act may soon have a new reason to hate it: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering giving polar bears federal endangered-species protections because climate change is melting their Arctic sea-ice habitat. If the feds are compelled to […]