Articles by David Roberts

Read it

Don't miss this week's op-ed in The New Yorker from Elizabeth Kolbert (Grist interview here; Field Notes from a Catastrophe review here). It's about transformers ... sorta.

It begins by looking at the president's and Congress' failure to push for stringent energy-efficiency standards for distribution transformers, the little boxes that convert current from the grid into usable juice for households:

Short and sweet

I've taken issue with plenty that Roger Pielke Jr. has written, but this interview in the Daily Camera strikes me as wholly sensible. (Try here if you prefer to listen.)

Optimistic

There's a new report out from the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress: "American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security" (PDF). I haven't read it yet, but according to Worldwatch's new Eye on Earth blog, it's a bullish take on renewable energy. You can read more about it at AmericanEnergyNow.org. I'll peruse it and perhaps post more.

Make a parking space into an impromptu public park

Late last year there was a bit of blogospheric hubbub about Park(ing), a nifty public art/activism/event/thingy whereby a parking space is colonized and made into a temporary, impromptu public park, with grass, a potted tree, and a park bench. (It stays that way as long as passer-bys are willing to keep feeding the meter.) I love the idea, but I never got around to posting about it.

And look, I blew it again! Yesterday was Park(ing) Day, and NPR did a nice little story about it, and me, well, I slept on it. Next year!