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  • What would a Chernobyl or Fukushima disaster at Indian Point mean?

    Twenty-five years ago, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, sending plumes of radiation around the planet and devastating the area surrounding the plant to this day. The world learned firsthand then about the dangers of nuclear power. Today, the ongoing nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant is a tragic reminder of the threat that […]

  • Earth Day Aftermath – – Hope or Despair?

    On Earth Day last week, I saw a burger wrapper tossed from an old Buick and was stunned that anyone still thought it was OK to use our shared city habitat as a personal dumpster. Later that same day however, I saw a homeless man pick up a Styrofoam cup from the gutter and drop […]

  • One Year After BP Oil Spill: Communities Lead While Congress Fails

    An urban garden in New Orleans.One year ago today, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit exploded in the Gulf of Mexico — a catastrophe that most Americans will never forget. 11 people lost their lives. According to Good, roughly 5 million barrels of oil gushed uncontrollably into the Gulf – eventually covering more than […]

  • Silver Buckshot

    Wars in the Middle East and oil rig blowouts in the Gulf have given us gasoline in the range of $4 to $5/gallon. Growing concerns over asthma-inducing pollution from coal fired power plants, not to mention mercury pollution in food supplies and greenhouse gas emissions, have resulted in the termination of numerous coal projects and […]

  • Five ways to green your marijuana habit

    Happy 4/20! Sorry to harsh your buzz, but indoor pot growing is a major bad trip for the environment. (All right, no more mixed drug metaphors. Maybe a couple.) Let’s be blunt (okay, one more): If marijuana ever becomes legal in the U.S., we'll have to start thinking about how to keep it from bogarting […]

  • This Earth Week: Taking America Back From the Polluters

    Last weekend, I was proud to join the likes of former Vice President Al Gore and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson as a keynote speaker at Power Shift 2011. There was an incredible energy; more than 10,000 young leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to work towards two common goals – a cleaner future and a just […]

  • The China-Europe-America Smackdown

    America, it could be worse. We could be Europe. I mean, we’re still mostly in the race with China – – in the past five years, they improved energy efficiency by nearly 20% and have a new five-year plan for another 20%. I say big deal – – the Empire State Building recently completed an […]

  • Protecting our oceans, one supermarket at a time

    Last month, a group of Greenpeace volunteers in Denver trekked to over 30 Colorado supermarkets to investigate the sustainability of the seafood being sold inside. Armed with an “endangered fish check-list,” what they found–a thousand miles away from the nearest ocean–was shocking. In the freezers, wet cases, and can aisles they discovered nearly every species […]

  • Keep It Fresh: On the Campus Consciousness Tour with Wiz Khalifa

    While you were brushing your teeth this morning, did you ever, for a moment, think that the water coming out of your faucet would make you nauseous or damage your kidneys? Probably not. But, unfortunately, not everyone has that luxury. One in three people lack access to quality water. At least fourteen states are currently […]