Climate Climate & Energy

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  • New reports show successes and failures of Energy Star

    The media has been taking the Department of Energy (DOE) to task over a recently released audit by the Inspector General (IG) which highlighted some well known shortcomings in the Energy Star program. The conclusions were not surprising — there needs to be more testing of products to ensure compliance with Energy Star requirements and […]

    Lane Burt Climate & Energy

  • Google Earth salutes Appalachian heroes

    Google Earth just released this wonderful series of videos on citizens groups and environmental heroes who are using Google Earth tools in their campaigns. Check out this clip on Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, and other Appalachian coalfield activists in their I Love Mountains anti-mountaintop removal campaign:

    Jeff Biggers Climate & Energy

  • How green is Chicago?

    On the same streets in the Windy City, where a young liberal Democratic activist named Francis Peabody peddled “smoke-free clean coal” in the 1890s, an estimated 400 Chicago residents marched to the infamous Fisk Generating Station coal-fired plant for the Chicago 350 Climate Action last week. Eight activists were arrested for blockading Cermak Road, in […]

    Jeff Biggers Climate & Energy

  • The hidden cost of coal

    This post originally appeared at Sightline’s Daily Score blog. Last week, Dave Roberts blogged about a recent — and very important — study by the National Research Council on the enormous hidden costs of energy consumption. I’m surprised that the study hasn’t gotten more press coverage.  It’s fact-rich, sober, and completely non-ideological — and, at […]

    Clark Williams-Derry Climate & Energy

  • Global civil society starts to take up the climate challenge

    Environmentalists have been looking forward to the Copenhagen climate talks this December with a mixture of dread and expectation, as it may be the last opportunity to craft a global climate treaty as we barrel towards dangerous tipping points pointed out by leading scientists. Yet, as environmental organizations started to prepare to mobilize their members, send out their lobbyists, and make their arguments for climate action, there is new momentum from both ordinary citizens and unusual partners.

    Richard Graves Climate & Energy

  • Climate Citizens

    The Climate Citizens Story At Grist we have a clear bias: The science of climate change is sound and the world must act. The global community must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases being pumped into the atmosphere, and the U.S. government must enact a comprehensive program to help achieve this […]

    Grist staff Climate & Energy

  • “Global cooling” scam debunked yet again

    You’ve probably heard the conservative argument that the globe is actually cooling, not warming. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard it 58 gazillion times. You may have even read it in the craptacular new book Superfreakonomics. Associated Press’s Seth Borenstein decided to test it out, and he came up with a […]

    David Roberts Climate & Energy

  • Battle at Coal River Mountain explodes

    The Battle at Coal River Mountain has officially begun. At the same time President Obama invoked the “legacy of daring men and women” in our nation’s quest for renewable energy initiatives, and as millions of concerned citizens rallied in support of 350.org climate change events around the world this weekend, Big Coal bulldozers reportedly clear […]

    Jeff Biggers Climate & Energy

  • Coal River Mountain, a symbol of hope, is slated for destruction

    Coal River Mountain may be flashing the world topless without your help.Reports are coming in from residents of West Virginia’s Coal River Valley that Massey Energy has begun mountaintop removal mining operations on Coal River Mountain. Sprawling across thousands of acres of diverse and pristine hardwood forests, this mountain is home to the tallest peaks […]

    MattWasson Climate & Energy

  • Toward the language of excitement, opportunity, and potential

    Two phrases you don’t hear every day: “Can I film your breasts?” “Are you, like, a coccyx?” The first was from a guy holding a large video camera, and was prompted by the fact I was wearing a t-shirt with the numbers “350” emblazoned across the front in bold type. “I’m not a pervert or […]

    Roz Savage Climate & Energy