Climate Climate & Energy
All Stories
-
Sprawl Together Now
A new culprit has been named in the drought that has plagued more than a third of the U.S. this summer: urban sprawl. A report released yesterday by American Rivers, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Smart Growth America found that the rapid expansion of pavement and developed land in metropolitan areas amounts to a […]
-
Think of New England
While tens of thousands of people from all over the world gather in South Africa to wrangle over global environmental issues, a far smaller coalition is meeting quietly this week to ensure that New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers follow through on their promise to combat climate change. The Connecticut Climate Action Group, a […]
-
Is biodiesel the fuel of the future?
The Granola Ayatollah of Canola, aka Charris Ford, slides behind the wheel of his 1980 International Scout truck and turns the key. The truck burbles to life and off we go, cruising down the gravel roads that divide the aspen groves of southwestern Colorado’s Horsefly Mesa. It would be just a standard evening joyride, except […]
-
Tempura’s Rising
Global warming has come to Tokyo with a vengeance: While the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last century, the average temperature in the Japanese capital has risen by more than five times that. Like most large cities, Tokyo is an island of heat. Concrete, cars, and rooftops absorb sunlight […]
-
Canada Drier
Global warming could spell big trouble for Canada’s freshwater supply, according to a report from the government agency Natural Resources Canada. The predicted global surface-air temperature increase of between 2.5 and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century would sap some of the country’s hydroelectric power potential, lower lake levels, and pave the way for […]
-
The Big Uneasy
In Louisiana, the sea-level rises caused by global warming aren’t the stuff of dry scientific reports; they’re already a local reality. Up to 35 square miles of the state’s wetlands get a little too wet every year — they disappear into the Gulf of Mexico. To date, Louisiana has lost an area the size of […]
-
Coal Shoulder
Interior Secretary Gale Norton was snubbed today by seven West Virginia environmental groups, which declined an invitation to meet with her to discuss statewide mining issues. Norton initially offered to set aside a half-hour with the groups, coinciding with her visit to the state on the 25th anniversary of the Federal Surface Mining Control and […]
-
Links related to “Power Shift,” a special edition of Grist
Looking for more info on global climate change? Look no farther. The links below can help you find what you need. General Climate Change Information The Smithsonian Institution offers one of the slickest websites around when it comes to climate change (after Grist’s, of course). This online exhibition on global warming, developed in partnership with […]
-
Aspen, Colo., taxes its way to a healthier climate
Randy Udall charges more for a ton of carbon dioxide than anybody else in the world. Udall runs a unique, two-and-a-half-year-old program in Aspen and surrounding Pitkin County, Colo., that charges new homeowners up to $100,000 if they exceed the “energy budget” allotted to their property by the local building code. The money collected under […]
-
Universities combat climate change
“Do it in the dark!” That’s the rallying cry at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where an ambitious campaign is under way to cut greenhouse gases. Sure, climate change activism — conserving energy, using renewable fuels, and constructing eco-friendly buildings — isn’t as sexy as marching against Vietnam or burning bras. But in an increasingly […]
