News

summertime and the system is wheezing

In wake of Gulf spill, should this be the summer of energy reform?
Posted 24 May 2010 4:58 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
Is there any good reason why President Obama, Congress, and the nation shouldn't spend the summer figuring out an energy-reform plan that would get us started in replacing oil and coal with clean, sustainable energy sources? The Gulf leak could continue gushing all summer. Cleaning up Gulf marshlands, beaches, fisheries, and underwater habitats will certainly continue long past the summer-and may be impossible to finish completely. Read More
finers keepers

U.N. study calls for economic changes to save biodiversity
Posted 24 May 2010 11:33 AM by Agence France-Presse
A key U.N. report on biodiversity will recommend massive economic changes like company fines to help save species and protect the natural world, the Guardian reports. Read More
Debunking the 'we're stuck with it' line

10 ways to kick the offshore-oil habit 16
Posted 24 May 2010 2:00 AM by Jonathan Hiskes
Political leaders tell us we've got no choice but to rely on offshore drilling and choke down the occasional catastrophe. If you're tired of dead sea turtles, oil-coated marshlands, destroyed fisheries, disputes over leak rates, political cop-outs, terms like tar balls and junk shots (OK, those are amusing), these 10 solutions are for you. Read More

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shock me like an electric deal

Electric-car company Tesla gets infusion of cash from Toyota
Posted 24 May 2010 11:00 AM by Agence France-Presse
U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors is firing on all cylinders and gearing up for greater things after partnering with top carmaker Toyota. Read More
Now that's rich

Palin accuses Obama of being in bed with Big Oil 4
Posted 23 May 2010 10:33 PM by Agence France-Presse
Right-wing darling Sarah Palin accused President Barack Obama on Sunday of being lax in his response to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and suggested this was because he is too close to Big Oil. Read More
we can roll with this

Four House Republicans give a nod to biking, walking 1
Posted 21 May 2010 2:58 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
Are Congressional Republicans moving beyond blanket obstructionism of the Obama administration? Here's an interesting signal: Four GOP House members signed a letter praising Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for putting bikers and walkers on equal footing with autos in transportation planning. Read More
Woo capitalism!

Oil gusher forces State Dept. into awkward diplomacy with Cuba 5
Posted 21 May 2010 12:59 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
The State Department has sent diplomatic notice about the spreading oil threat to Mexico, the Bahamas, the Marshall Islands, and even Cuba, a nation with which we do not have formal diplomatic relations: Read More
The Don Has Spoken

Safety ‘#1 priority,’ coal chief Blankenship assures Congress 4
Posted 21 May 2010 11:33 AM by Randy Rieland
Poor Don Blankenship. The Massey Energy CEO had to sit quietly through a Senate hearing yesterday while the head of the United Mine Workers called his company's safety performance "deplorable," and West Virginia's finger-wagging, Democratic senator, Robert Byrd cried "shame" on Massey's "alarming record." Read More
The big greasy

Where are the oil protests? In New Orleans, they’ve finally begun 47
Posted 21 May 2010 10:38 AM by Jonathan Hiskes
One month in, with oil washing into fragile Louisiana marshlands, anger over the spill is on the rise. Read More
Nip and truck

Obama calls for better fuel economy for big trucks 18
Posted 21 May 2010 9:35 AM by Agence France-Presse
President Barack Obama on Friday mandated a new national policy on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing fuel efficiency for pollution-spewing trucks. Read More
Eeeww

Louisiana marshes hit by Gulf oil slick; wildlife threatened 4
Posted 20 May 2010 4:30 PM by Agence France-Presse
Crude has oozed into Gulf Coast wetlands, prompting furious Louisiana officials to accuse BP of destroying fragile marshes beyond repair and leaving coastal fishing communities in ruin. Read More
Talking Tough

Top U.S. scientists to Congress: No more ‘business as usual’ on climate change 2
Posted 20 May 2010 12:26 PM by Randy Rieland
A group of the country's top scientists say that the Earth definitely is getting hotter, that human activity is driving it, and that, unless dramatic measures are taken, the planet's water supply, sea levels, coral reefs, etc. will be changed forever. So what else is new? Well, actually, this time the National Academy of Sciences is talking tough. Read More
an exit for corexit?

BP told to use less-toxic dispersant in oil spill
Posted 20 May 2010 12:08 PM by Agence France-Presse
U.S. officials have given BP 24 hours to adopt a less-toxic dispersant to break up the Gulf of Mexico oil slick amid concerns about spewing chemicals into the sea, a report said Thursday. Read More
California scheming

Oil companies fund initiative to repeal California’s landmark climate law 7
Posted 20 May 2010 1:00 AM by Jonathan Hiskes
While BP works to protect its tattered reputation in the Gulf, two Texas refinery companies are on the attack in California. They hope to repeal Gov. Schwarzenegger's signature environmental accomplishment, the most ambitious cap-and-trade climate plan in the nation. Read More
split personnelity

Obama admin overhauls MMS, the agency in charge of offshore drilling 1
Posted 19 May 2010 4:31 PM by Agence France-Presse
The U.S. agency that regulates offshore drilling was broken up into three separate agencies Wednesday as part of a move to end cozy industry relationships exposed by the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, officials said. Read More
Rand Paul’s Copenhagen rant and other election notes 4
Posted 19 May 2010 2:39 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
Robert Redford and green groups tell Obama to step up on Gulf oil leak 2
Posted 19 May 2010 11:12 AM by Jonathan Hiskes
Friedman nails Obama for his timid response to the “environmental 9/11” 29
Posted 19 May 2010 9:38 AM by David Roberts
Big Oil’s friends on Capitol Hill block spill liability increase 2
Posted 19 May 2010 10:18 AM by Randy Rieland
U.S. doubts global emission targets in climate deal 2
Posted 19 May 2010 8:31 AM by Agence France-Presse
David Brooks to old folks: cities are better now 8
Posted 18 May 2010 4:48 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
U.S. bans more Gulf fishing as oil fears grow for Florida
Posted 18 May 2010 4:35 PM by Agence France-Presse
10 ways MMS makes FEMA look good
Posted 18 May 2010 2:17 PM by Randy Rieland
Big Green and little green clash over the American Power Act 40
Posted 18 May 2010 1:34 PM by Jonathan Hiskes
Canadian forestry firms agree to curb boreal forest logging 14
Posted 18 May 2010 7:01 AM by Agence France-Presse