Latest Articles

Advice on natural fabrics vs. polyester

Dear Umbra, I’ve never appreciated human-made fabrics — polyester and its cousins invariably feel less comfortable to me than cotton or wool. Until recently, I thought this personal preference also had the happy side effect of making me a greener clothes shopper, since producing natural fibers doesn’t involve long chains of polymers. A friend recently […]

News Happens

Interesting Stuff That Transpired During Our Publishing Break We’re back, rested, and raring to go! While we were gone: The public comment period on the U.S. EPA’s proposed new mercury regulations ended, with a record of nearly 540,000 comments received, overwhelmingly supporting tougher rules. In other EPA news, the agency promised to reconsider its controversial […]

Tigris, Tigris, Burning Blight

Iraq’s Once-Mighty Tigris River in Sad Shape Iraq’s Tigris River is horrendously polluted and may be poisoning Iraqis, but no one is sure just how bad the problem is — the near-total lack of security is preventing environmental researchers from properly testing the water. The decline of the once-mighty Tigris, which flows through the so-called […]

A debate on water privatization, part one

Everyone knows that water is the stuff of life. But is it best viewed as a commodity or as part of the commons? Should providing safe, affordable water be the role of governments, corporations, or partnerships between the two? On Tuesday, July 13 (dates may vary for local stations), the PBS show P.O.V. is airing […]

Guns and Butterflies

Mexican Butterfly Forest Site of Battle Over Deforestation Mexico’s most famous national park, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, is home to a 10,000-year-old evergreen forest where huge clouds of orange and gold Monarch butterflies migrate each year from the U.S. and Canada. The forest is also the site of rampant crime, deforestation, and armed battles […]

Readers sound off on eco-jobs, old growth, and more

  Kicking Peterson’s Tongass Re: Shake Dat Tongass Dear Editor: U.S. Representative John Peterson (R-Penn.), who commented that old-growth forests don’t support the kind of wildlife he and his fellow hunters like, is right. That’s because they live in Pennsylvania where (presumably) their prey is the White-tailed deer, a species that thrives on the edges […]

An abandoned Brooklyn warehouse heralds the onset of hipster environmentalism

Thinking outside the loft. Catch the aboveground S train in Brooklyn and you’ll whiz through the neighborhood of Crown Heights, an industrial pocket of warehouses and factories that once stored and manufactured everything from artillery to pickle jars. These days, the buildings you pass appear to be abandoned relics in a bleak concrete landscape. But […]

Public Disservice Announcement

New EPA Ad Mocks Car Energy Efficiency Automobile fuel efficiency is for losers! This message brought to you by, believe it or not, the U.S. EPA. A new series of public service announcements from the agency feature a woman, Suzanne, praising the benefits of energy-efficient home furnishings and appliances. So far, so good. However, the […]

Japan-Ease

Japan Weathers High Oil Prices With Energy Efficiency The high price of oil has many countries — including the U.S. — casting about for ways to lower the cost, increase domestic production, or find alternative energy sources, lest economic ruin ensue. But according to some analysts, one country that’s almost entirely dependent on foreign oil […]

Dispensing With the Peasantries

Electricity Comes to Rural China China’s economy is exploding, with consequences that may only be understood decades from now. In addition to massive hydropower ventures — like the $25 billion Three Gorges Dam — the government is encouraging smaller hydro projects, which are bringing electricity to southwestern rural villages where life has scarcely changed for […]