Latest Articles

Circuit Boards Roasting on an Open Fire

Dumped Electronics Poisoning Poor in Asia Computers and other electronics discarded in the West frequently end up in poor villages in China and India, where they are stripped for residues of valuable metals in primitive procedures that poison local communities. Enviro activists report that Chinese villagers cook circuit boards over open charcoal burners to strip […]

Tips for earth-sensitive — and tasty — barbecuing

You know the grill. It’s hot out there: Time to empty the kitchen of cutlery and condiments and wander into the backyard to do what our ancient ancestors did: Barbecue something! Of course, people have been gleefully grilling, giving no thought to the environment, for centuries. Linguists tell us that the word barbecue likely stemmed […]

Up Against the Wall Street

Wall Street Remains Hesitant on Renewable Energy It’s a familiar refrain: Wall Street investors, we are told, are not yet sold on renewable energy. They worry that the technologies are not mature, that massive upfront infrastructure costs are too high a barrier, that despite rosy predictions from socially responsible investors, the price gap between oil […]

Good-Bye, Cool World

Scientist Warns That Decreasing Air Pollution Means Increased Warming Jeez, we really can’t catch a break, can we? A German scientist now warns that air pollution is masking the true extent of global warming — and as air pollution is reduced, warming may accelerate. Addressing the 13th World Clean Air and Environmental Protection Congress in […]

Does My Butt Look Big in This Car?

Toyota’s Hot-Selling Prius Appeals to Drivers’ Vanity Last month, Honda sold 1,963 Civic Hybrids and a meager 34 Insight hybrids in the U.S. — and sales trends for both models are trending downward — while the Toyota Prius fairly flew off lots, with 5,230 sold in the U.S. last month. A Toyota spokesperson said the […]

Whining Is Job One

Ford Battles Hybrid-Friendly Legislation, Destroys Electric Cars Ford Motor Co. CEO Bill Ford’s vocal attempts to position his company as eco-friendly are sounding a little hollow this week. As the California legislative session nears its end, Ford has ramped up lobbying efforts to kill a bill that would allow drivers of fuel-efficient hybrids to drive […]

Biopharming Is Phat!

Behind the Green Door-to-Door

Enviro Groups Go Door-to-Door to Reach Swing Voters Environmental organizations like the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters are mounting get-out-the-vote operations of unprecedented vigor and sophistication this election year. They are targeting what the Sierra Club calls “infrequent environmental voters,” folks concerned about natural resources and environmental degradation who do not typically […]

The Butterfly Effect

Illegal Logging Gangs Threaten Monarch Butterfly Reserve in Mexico A guerilla war is underway in Mexico’s idyllic Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where millions of black-and-orange monarch butterflies alight every year at the end of a migratory journey that begins in Canada and the Great Lakes states. On one side lie conservation groups, government agencies, and […]

Beyond a Shadow of a Drought

Report Warns Businesses to Heed Water Shortages A new report warns that businesses should start preparing for severe water shortages, and warning their shareholders of the risk such shortages pose to their operations. The report — from independent California-based think tank Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security — focused on businesses that […]