Climate Technology

You’re Turning Into a Real Ditch

Panama Canal threatened by denuded forest watershed Here’s how the Panama Canal works: Torrential downpours batter the country’s forests during rainy season; the water is absorbed into the watershed and feeds steadily into massive, human-made Gatun Lake; the lake then feeds water into the canal. The shipping route thus provided is responsible for some 40 […]

Beleaguered automaker finally starts touting fuel economy

GM -- stung by declining sales of SUVs and subsequently shamed by having its credit ratings lowered to junk status -- is trying a new marketing approach: touting its more fuel-efficient models (such as they are).

A new full-page newspaper ad cries "Meet the 30 and Up Crowd" and showcases "19 cars that have EPA highway estimates of at least 30 miles per gallon."

Too bad it doesn't have a single consumer hybrid model that it can tout on the page. (Its two hybrid trucks top out at 22 mpg.) Sucks to be GM.

Oh What a Feeling!

Toyota to build Camry hybrids at U.S. plant Toyota announced plans yesterday to begin production of a new hybrid Camry model at a Kentucky plant, marking the Japanese automaker’s first foray into hybrid production in North America. With Camry sales tops in the U.S. last year and the company’s hybrid Prius selling used for higher […]

U.S. Companies: Working to Keep Europeans Safe

American firms conforming to E.U. chemical regs Though the U.S. was once a global leader in environmental regulation, that is, to put it mildly, no longer true. Now, the real challenge for many U.S. companies is complying with the stringent standards that govern the European Union market — if they want to reach its 460 […]

Friends With Benefits

Saudi-owned company set to profit from proposed MTBE liability shield OK, kids, follow the bouncing red ball: The Republican energy bill, pending in the Senate, is advertised as a way to gain independence from Saudi Arabian oil (boing!). Part of the energy bill, included at the insistence of Texas Rep. Tom DeLay (R), is a […]

Whole Foods tries to trick greens into praising a big corporation

Whole Foods, Inc., the natural-foods market, has recently announced that it will attempt to "reduce its waste to zero," mainly through increased composting. (Via Nick and Jeff)

But wait!

Whole Foods has consistently attempted to prevent its workers from unionizing! And they sell meat!

For these heresies, I assume our readers will rise with a unified voice and condemn this heinous attempt at greenwashing.

Nice try, Whole Foods!

Neva Goodwin, ecological economist, answers questions

Neva Goodwin. What work do you do? I’m an economist, and codirector of the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University. How does it relate to the environment? My overall goal is to affect what people are taught when they take economics courses, and to change the kind of economics that’s subsequently in people’s […]

Umbra on letter-writing campaigns

Dear Umbra, I just switched to all-natural cleaning products (Seventh Generation, it’s great!) and I wanted my switch to have the most impact possible. I was thinking about sending emails to the companies whose cleaning products I had previously used, telling them why I switched, describing the nasty effects of their products, and encouraging them […]

Better Latte Than Never

Eco-friendly coffee could save El Salvador’s dwindling wildlife Environmental groups are working to help El Salvador’s coffee farmers achieve green certification so that they can survive in a volatile worldwide market — and the wildlife that finds refuge on their farms can survive as well. The country’s native ecosystems have been almost entirely wiped out, […]

Emily Gertz sends a dispatch from a summit on climate change and investing

Emily Gertz is a regular contributor to WorldChanging.com, and an internet content and strategy consultant for nonprofits. She has written on environmental policy for BushGreenwatch, and on the intersections of environment, culture, art, and activism for The Bear Deluxe and other independent alternative publications. Wednesday, 11 May 2005 NEW YORK, N.Y. Yesterday, nearly 400 people […]