Latest Articles

Umbra on finding solar-power stats

Dear Umbra, Are there any statistics that show what percentage of solar power is generated state by state, and which states are more solar-friendly? Also, do power companies give out any figures on how much energy they buy back from home solar producers? Thanks from Los Angeles, Calif. Dearest Los Angeles, Life is great. As […]

Boilerplate Tectonics

Bush and Kerry discuss their positions on science In the latest issue of the journal Nature, President Bush and John Kerry each respond to 15 questions about science and related topics. Because the responses are written, neither candidate sounds like himself — there are no Bushian malapropisms or Kerryan layered qualifiers — and for the […]

A Bridger-Teton Over Troubled Water

Chalk up a win for Wyoming wildlands Here’s a rare victory for the wilderness crowd: The U.S. Forest Service announced this week that it will suspend plans to open 157,000 acres of Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest — much of it roadless — to oil and gas drilling. Enviros say the forest is one of the […]

All in the Family

Kerry draws on family and Clinton admin folks for environmental advice Check out MSNBC for a handy roster of John Kerry’s top advisers on the environment. At the center of his advisory circle is family, namely wife Teresa and stepson Andre Heinz. Teresa — who first met Kerry at an Earth Day rally — serves […]

Saleem Ali sends dispatches from a sustainable peace and development gathering

Saleem Ali is assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Vermont and on the adjunct faculty of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He is attending the Wilton Park Conference on Environment, Development, and Sustainable Peace. Thursday, 16 Sep 2004 STEYNING, U.K. A quiet English estate, renowned for its roster […]

Environment serving as a measure of character in presidential race

At a time when the man commonly derided by greens as the worst environmental president in U.S. history is up for reelection, it’s perplexing that the most publicly discussed environmental issue of the campaign right now is Yucca Mountain — a molehill in the grand scheme of America’s environmental problems. Yucca Mountain. Photo: WhiteHouse.gov Of […]

The Joy of Sachs

Exotic South American forest set aside as wilderness by … bankers? When New York investment banking and management firm Goldman Sachs acquired a logging operation in Tierra del Fuego, on an island off the southernmost tip of Chile, it did something unusual: Rather than “seek to maximize its economic value, which is what we would […]

Lava Actually

Philippines turn to volcanoes and wind for energy The Philippines is positioned to become a significant producer of renewable energy — which is a good thing, as the country is currently saddled with a $61 billion national debt, a growing oil-importation bill, and an increasing appetite for energy. Currently, geothermal and hydropower provide a third […]

I Like Mike

New York City mayor signs long-term recycling contract The debate over whether recycling is economically “worth it” continues, but one famously tight-fisted municipal leader has made up his mind. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) announced that the city will sign a 20-year contract with one of the nation’s largest recycling companies, Hugo Neu […]

Labor Pains

Slave labor used to clear Brazilian rainforest The Amazon rainforest is disappearing at a precipitous pace, and as is too often the case, this environmental catastrophe is connected to equally dire human-rights abuses. To wit: Thousands of poor, illiterate Brazilian peasants work every year chopping down the forest in conditions Brazil’s Labor Ministry delicately refers […]