Biden doesn't support China's one-child policy, and neither does any other American with power

Gaffe-prone Joe Biden put foot firmly in mouth last week while talking about China's one-child policy. Top Republicans jumped all over his goof, but they were just grandstanding.

As Durban deadline draws near, big carbon emitters should cut a deal

It's not clear when we'll get another chance to put all the world's major carbon emitters on the road to a common effort.

World population could just keep on expanding, says expert

"Leading demographers, including those at the United Nations and the U.S. Census Bureau, are projecting that world population will peak at 9.5 billion to 10 billion later this century and then gradually decline as poorer countries develop. But what if those projections are too optimistic?"

Separating fact from fiction on the Keystone XL

Both sides of the oil sands debate exaggerate their arguments. The oil sands are neither a climate catastrophe nor an energy security bonanza.

U.S. government gives food speculators the thumbs up

Since the housing crash, food prices have been at the center of Wall Street speculator's games. Can government regulation make a difference?

Red states, green jobs

It's too bad conservative lawmakers want to shut the South's booming clean economy down, since green jobs fight poverty in the region.

Eaters, beware: Walmart is taking over our food system

Aubretia Edick has worked at a Walmart store in upstate New York for 11 years, but she won’t buy fresh...

Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox and Polio

Smallpox plagued humanity for thousands of years. In the 18th century, smallpox killed one out of every ten children in...

Wind power breakthrough: Carbon nanotubes make strongest, lightest blades ever

Bigger wind turbines can harvest more wind energy, but they're also heavier, which makes them less efficient. But a scientist at Case Western Reserve University figures he can solve this fundamental dilemma by throwing carbon nanotubes at it.