Climate Technology

Van Jones has helped push equity to the center of the green discussion

Back in March of this year, I interviewed Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, Calif. He was excited because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had adopted his "green-collar jobs" language and agreed to craft legislation around it. In August, such legislation was introduced in the House. Now things are taking off like crazy. […]

Inspector general’s report finds problems with royalty-collection program at Interior

A new report by the U.S. Interior Department’s inspector general points to a “profound failure” of the technology that the Minerals Management Service uses to monitor the roughly $10 billion in oil and gas royalty payments from energy companies each year. But it’s not just the technology. Higher-ups in the agency apparently decided that even […]

It’s a hot topic on campus these days

As an undergrad at Brown University and a veteran organizer with the Sierra Student Coalition, Nathan Wyeth has his ear to the ground on campus sustainability issues. In this occasional column for Grist, Wyeth will report on what's afoot at the campus grassroots level and how he and his fellow students are making their voices heard.

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A debate has been swirling on Gristmill for the past few weeks over the role of voluntary actions versus government policy in solving climate change specifically, and environmental problems generally. I'd like to stir this pot further and add another ingredient -- what might be looked at as an in-between of sorts: social entrepreneurship.

Bill Clinton in the Atlantic Monthly touted a reinvention of charity, and Adam Werbach in Fast Company touted a reinvention of Wal-Mart. This whole social entrepreneurship thing is clearly "the new black." For the purpose of discussing it, I'll define social entrepreneurship as business that achieves profit through the delivery of public (social or environmental) goods.

I could tell that this was not just a media phenomenon after only a few days back on campus this fall.

Solar-powered homes a bright spot in California housing market

Take that, housing market: Solar-powered homes in California are outshining the competition.

More companies disclosing and mitigating emissions, says new report

Many corporations are recognizing the impact of climate change on business as usual, and in response are disclosing and working to mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions, says a new report from the nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project. The group’s fifth annual survey of the world’s 500 largest companies boasted a 75 percent response rate; of those, 80 percent […]

New book by Porritt argues that we need to reshape capitalism to deliver a sustainable future

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe.

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We have just published the American paperback version of Capitalism As If the World Matters. The book is written by Jonathon Porritt, one of the foremost environmentalists of his generation and cofounder of my organization, Forum for the Future. The foreword is by Amory Lovins. As well as working with us, Jonathon is chair of the U.K. Government's Sustainable Development Commission. Previously, he was director of Friends of the Earth.

In the book, he tackles the most pressing question of the 21st century: Can capitalism, as the dominant economic system, be reshaped to deliver a sustainable future? He argues that it can be and it must be. He then lays out the framework for a more "sustainable capitalism."

At the heart of the book are two theses: that capitalism is basically the only game in town, with the vast majority of the world's people content for it to remain so for the foreseeable future; and that learning to live sustainably on the planet is a non-negotiable imperative.

Wal-Mart will track some suppliers’ energy efficiency

Unrelenting in its quest for eco-domination, Wal-Mart has announced a plan to keep tabs on some suppliers’ energy efficiency. Through a partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project, Wal-Mart will request emissions data from about 30 companies that collectively supply DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soft drinks. (Sure they’re all commonly used, but […]

A roundup of green financial services

Joel Makower’s got a good round-up of new green financial services — mortgages, loans, etc. The holy grail of green financing tools, far as I know, is "Connie Mae," Al Gore’s proposed carbon-neutral equivalent to Fannie Mae.

Climate policy and its implications for business

Lehman Brothers has just released a terrific report, "The Business of Climate Change II." The theme is, "Policy is accelerating, with major implications for companies and investors"; but the piece has a lot of breadth, with cogent comments on everything from the social/damage cost of carbon, to auctioning vs. grandfathering, to the Stern Report. Here are some extended excerpts:

Greenpeace releases another ranking of tech companies’ environmental records

Greenpeace has released the fifth version of its Guide to Greener Electronics, and lauds the tech industry for making “great improvements” since the first scorecard hit the scene in August 2006. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Dell took the top three spots this time around; Apple, the CEO of which was rankled by his company’s dead-last […]