Latest Articles

Fake Is the New Real

In an effort to conserve water (and perhaps bolster Southern California’s reputation as a showcase for all things fake), the city of Anaheim, Calif., and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California are pilot-testing faux lawns. If water savings meet expectations, residents who replace real grass with fake greenery could soon be eligible for rebates […]

Meghan Houlihan, Greenpeace

Meghan Houlihan is the renewable energy program director for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, based in Greenfield, Mass. She periodically abandons her desk job to work as a web editor aboard Greenpeace vessels. Monday, 2 Feb 2004 PUERTO AISEN, Chile Back in bucolic little Vermont — my homeland — I wouldn’t need an alarm clock […]

Transportation guru Hank Dittmar answers questions

What environmental organization are you affiliated with? What does it do? I work at Reconnecting America, a national organization focused on connecting transportation and communities to improve environmental and economic performance and create economic security for families and communities. We promote an interconnected national transport system, relying more on rail and bus for intercity travel; […]

Cap ‘n’ Trade Cut ‘n’ Paste

If new rules proposed by the Bush administration to cut power-plant mercury emissions sound like they were written by industry lobbyists, it’s only because, well, they kinda were. The proposal, released by the U.S. EPA on Friday for a 60-day public comment period, contains at least 12 paragraphs lifted almost verbatim from memorandums sent to […]

Wet’s It to You?

Goods and services provided by wetlands across the globe are worth some $70 billion, claims a new study released by the World Wildlife Fund, but those wetlands are in danger of being destroyed. Valuable wetland functions range from recreation to water filtration and flood control; however, insufficient knowledge about wetlands leads policy-makers to sanction their […]

State of the Art

One hundred years ago, progressives believed that states were laboratories of democracy, small-scale testing grounds for innovative policies. While the civil-rights struggle cast that view into disfavor, it may be on its way to a renaissance, led by forward-thinking state leaders concerned about the environment. Spurred by the federal government’s failure to tackle many environmental […]

Sore Like an Eagle

The greatest threat to the bald eagle is no longer pesticides, but development and suburban sprawl, say environmental scientists. The bald eagle has starred in one of the most successful species-restoration stories in U.S. history; thanks to the banning of DDT in 1972 and the careful efforts of environmental advocates, the eagle has soared back […]

Swinging Both Ways

Bush Announces Environmental Money for Swing States A recent flurry of announcements from the Bush administration about proposed funding increases for environmental projects — including salmon restoration and brush clearing in the Northwest, Everglades protection in Florida, and cleanup of the Great Lakes — has some enviros suspicious. Not that they aren’t glad to have […]

A Breath of Somewhat Fresher Air

Scientists Recommend Solutions to Coming Air-Quality Challenges Though the past three decades have seen substantial progress, concerted action is needed to prevent air pollution from adversely affecting the environment and human health now and in the future, reported the National Research Council of the National Academies, a nonpartisan scientific panel chartered by Congress to assess […]

Footprint on the Gas

Exxon Responsible for 5 Percent of All Historical CO2 Emissions Since its founding as the Standard Oil Trust in 1882, ExxonMobil and its predecessor companies have been responsible for between 4.7 and 5.3 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. Ever. In the whole world. So claims a report, “Exxon’s Climate Footprint,” drawn from two studies […]