Latest Articles

Stating the Case

States with strong records on protecting the environment also offer good job opportunities and climates for economic development, according to a new study by the Institute for Southern Studies. States getting high marks for both economic and environmental health include Vermont, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Colorado, Maryland, Maine, and Wisconsin. Many states in the South were […]

Way Cool

The U.S. could significantly cut its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the chief heat-trapping greenhouse gas, by making a few fairly simple and inexpensive changes to its energy policies, according to a study released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Energy. The study suggests that the U.S. could get three-quarters of the way to meeting […]

Soul Train

Representatives of 11 major world religions pledged this week to work together to help combat climate change, deforestation, and other environmental ills. At a first-of-its-kind conference in Nepal organized by the World Wildlife Fund, leaders representing Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims, among other religious groups, highlighted the environmental teachings of their faiths. One conference […]

Go Ahead, Make My Bay

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is moving its headquarters to one of the greenest buildings in the U.S., a new facility constructed near Annapolis, Md., on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Built to fit the footprint of an inn and swimming pool that once occupied the site, the building is intended to minimize its impact […]

Good Things Come in Littleton Packages

Littleton, N.H., a town of 5,965 in the White Mountains, is being touted by some urban planners as a model of cutting-edge smart-growth practices. For starters, the town requires that every existing building be filled up before new ones are built. And citizens are invited to participate in town hall-style meetings to pore over blueprints, […]

Getting in Chip Shape

IBM has launched a new computer recycling program, just in time for America Recycles Day today. Computer equipment moves rapidly from state-of-the-art to obsolete, leaving many individuals and businesses stuck with machines that can be difficult to dispose of because they contain hazardous chemicals that don’t belong in regular landfills. For a $30 fee, IBM […]

Retail-iation

Environmental activists around the U.S. are marking America Recycles Day today by protesting in front of Staples stores, criticizing the office-supply chain for selling paper and wood products made from old-growth trees and for not stocking enough products with high recycled content. With this campaign, the Coastal Rainforest Coalition, Rainforest Action Network, and other green […]

A Hague-y Shade of Winter

The European Union is unhappy with two proposals being pushed by the U.S. at the international climate change talks underway in The Hague, Netherlands. One would allow countries to count the ability of their forests and farmlands to absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide toward their targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Another would allow […]

Thunder, the Circumstances

Against the backdrop of the international talks on climate change occurring in The Hague, Netherlands, scientists said yesterday that January through October in the U.S. this year saw the highest average temperature on record. The country averaged 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit over those months, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the top temperature since records […]

Greening From Ear to Ear

Although Ralph Nader came up short in his bid to get 5 percent of the vote in the presidential election, 18 other Green Party candidates around the U.S. won their races last week. Greens now hold a total of 72 elected offices in the country, mostly on city councils, school boards, and commissions in California, […]