Van Jones is a true leader in the cause for transitioning to a green economy. His work is pivotal in helping advocate for and envision a sustainable energy future. As admirable as his tireless advocacy is, Jones displayed a surprising lack of awareness on the issue of population stabilization while speaking on a conference call […]
Van Jones Misses the Boat on Population Read More 👉
What is essential to daily life and breaks 850 times every day: a water main somewhere in the United States. In the time it took me to write that sentence one just broke – well, make that two – according to the “Water Main Break Clock” at WatermainbreakClock.com. Since 2000, more than 3,793,942 water mains have
World Water Day: Valuing Water by Fixing the Leaks Read More 👉
There has never been any doubt where Rick Santorum stands on global warming. While he may call himself a “skeptic”, he is unworthy of the term. Santorum is a demagogue and a denier. But that’s what he’s always been so it was no surprise when he uttered this gem of denialist drivel while stumping this week
Rick Santorum Talks to Plants (a lesson on climate skeptic vs. climate denier) Read More 👉
In a surprise move on Friday, President Obama ordered the EPA to withdraw its proposed regulation to tighten ground level ozone standards. Seen as yet another retreat from the president, the decision brought claims of victory from his GOP and industry rivals, and quick rebuke from his supporters and environmental watchdog groups.
Obama Reverses Course on Smog Rule Read More 👉
The US State Department released today its finalized environmental review of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does little more than affirm the State Department’s preliminary findings that the 1700-mile-long pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Texas will pose “limited adverse impacts” on the environment. The finding comes in spite of the fact that a branch of the Keystone pipeline already in operation has been riddled with leaks just in its first year of operation.
State Department Finds "Few Environmental Risks" in Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline Read More 👉
Symphony of Science is a remix project designed to combine science knowledge and philosophy through music. “We Are All Related” is an inspiring example.
We Are All Connected – Inspiring Video Remix of Sagan, Degrassi Tyson, Feynman, Nye Read More 👉
Former conservative Bob Inglis calls on conservatives to return to their conservative roots and take action on climate change. He plans on forming a coalition this fall of fellow Republicans to do just that.
Is Rick Santorum qualified for the presidency? He’s passed the right-wing litmus test on “global warming is junk science.”
Rick Santorum: Does His Ignorance Qualify Him to be President? Read More 👉
In the quiet town of Putney Vermont, the Putney school teaches the value of sustainability. The new field house is the first net-zero, LEED Platinum certified school building in the country.
First Net-Zero School Building Helps Teach Students Value of Sustainability Read More 👉
Photo of Galapagos penguin off Isabela Island in the Galapagos
Galapagos Penguin off Isabela Island Read More 👉
Ross McKitrick abhors Earth Hour. Claiming the grassroots event “demonizes electricity” he accuses organizers of the Earth Hour of attempting to “shame” people into “going back to nature.” McKitrick’s argument is ludicrous.
Does Earth Hour Demonize Electricity? Read More 👉
It won’t save the world, but reducing your consumption of “standby power” in your electronic devices will save both money and resources.
Will Reducing Standby Power Save the World? Read More 👉
This post has been entered in the Tck Tck Tck Rio+20 Blogger Prize. If you like it, take a second to “like” it on the Tck Tck Tck Facebook page When two German scientists figured out how to how to turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, in what is now known as the Haber-Bosch process, human
Perennial Crops, Sustainable Agriculture: A 21st Century Green Revolution Read More 👉
Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is dogged in his pursuit to expose global warming as the “largest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind” – even if he has to perpetrate a few hoaxes of his own to prove it. You’ve got to admire a man with such determination, to a point. And that point is where his
Climategate: One More Investigation, Still No Basis for Accusations of Misconduct Read More 👉
As the world’s economies continue to dig themselves out of the “Great Recession of ’08“, some are now looking to a rising stock market, a sputtering of new jobs, and an uptick in corporate profits (much of it from the same corporations that triggered the collapse in the first place) as signs of recovery. As
Prosperity Without Growth: A New Path for a Sustainable Future Read More 👉
Pyrite has dashed the dreams of many a prospector pinning their dreams of riches on finding gold. Alas, more often than not what glistened in the hopeful prospector’s pan was only fool’s gold – pyrite. Despite its look of the “real thing,” pyrite has long been considered little more than a worthless mineral. But it
Fool's Gold May Help Obama's Vision of a Clean Energy Economy Read More 👉
You may be freezing your keester off in the American Southeast, where snow rarely comes; or perhaps you’re surviving the devastating floods now hammering Queensland Australia. Perhaps you’re a Russian firefighter who will forever have etched in your memory the hellish and other-worldly forest fires and heat wave of last summer; or the killer floods
Shifting Climate Requires New Weather "Normals" Read More 👉
Sarah Palin had a few words for conservationists in a recent episode of her reality TV show Sarah Palin’s Alaska. Palin had just shown her solidarity with the logging industry by cutting down a Sitka Spruce with a chain saw (“reality” indeed). Taking umbrage with those she claims have written her to complain of her
Palin Schools Conservationists: Pencils Come from Trees Read More 👉
Scientists have divided elephants into two distinct species: the African and Asian elephant. But, for nearly a decade, suspicions have persisted that the forest and savannah elephant are two separate species, and not two populations of a single species of African elephant. New research has confirmed those suspicions. Planet Ark reported this week on a
African Elephant Two Separate Species Read More 👉
Tens of thousands protestors braved the bone-chilling cold and took to the streets of Copenhagen last year to protest the intractable stalemate and posturing that characterized the COP15 climate talks. Of those thousands, nearly 2000 were preemptively arrested and detained by Danish police. A Danish court ruled this week that all mass, preemptive arrests made
Copenhagen Mass Arrests During COP15 Ruled Illegal by Danish Court Read More 👉
The measurement and verification of greenhouse gas emissions underpins any workable solution or enforceable treaty addressing climate change. Accomplishing that task requires a skilled and trustworthy workforce able to accommodate measure and verify emissions data and manage disclosure requirements for organizations ranging from small business to global corporations and governments. Without it, nothing worthwhile can
Small islands nations may have the most to lose by continued inaction to curb climate change – namely the very land under their feet as rising seas threaten to inundate many in the Alliance of Small Island Nations (AOSIS). It was Tuvalu’s Ian Fry that shook the proceedings at last year’s COP15 conference in Copenhagen
Cancun Talks Drowning in an Ocean of Jargon? Read More 👉
Water will become the most contentious and increasingly scarce resource. 3D modeling technology can help manage our most vital resource. This past summer the United Nations issued a declaration proclaiming access to clean water and sanitation as a fundamental human right. The declaration further advised that UN member states provide both financial and technological assistance for developing
Visualizing Sustainable Water Resource Management Read More 👉
Department of Interior sets “critical habitat” area for polar bear along Alaska’s north coast. The Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of Interior, announced today that it plans to set aside more than 187,000 square miles — about 120 million acres — of onshore barrier islands, denning areas and offshore sea ice
Obama Administration Designates Critical Habitat for Polar Bear Read More 👉
Bring it on – time for climate scientists to engage A House Science and Technology subcommittee hearing scheduled for November 17 may be the last time in some time that climate science gets a supportive hearing in the House before Republicans take charge next year. Planned well before the midterm elections, the Hearing, called A
Climate Scientists Ready to Engage Public and Take on "Skeptical" Congress Read More 👉
Too many distractions put the IPCC on the defensive It’s been almost a year since the conveniently-timed hacking of computers at the East Anglia Climate Research Unit on the eve of the COP15 climate conference ushered in what climate deniers breathlessly dubbed “climategate.” Soon after came embarrassing reports of mistaken Himalayan glacier data allowed into
Is it Time for New Leadership on International Climate Panel? Read More 👉
Fight global warming – just don’t mention it Sometimes the best way to fight global warming is to never mention it. And most especially don’t mention Al Gore. The fact is, global warming (and Al Gore) have been very effectively used as a wedge, dividing generally reasonable people across a political divide that ultimately serves
Small-Town Kansas is Skeptical of Global Warming, But Big on Energy Conservation Read More 👉
Gravity power module — a step toward utility-scale energy storage. The grid — that seemingly amorphous structure that delivers power on demand — requires instantly available power to light up our world. Renewable sources of energy are inherently cyclical and intermittent, making energy storage a primary factor for future development of reliable utility-scale renewable energy sources. Of
Gravity Power Module: Turning Conventional Pumped Hydro on It's Head Read More 👉
2010 a record-breaking hurricane season. As meteorologist Jeff Masters reports in his blog Wunderblog, hurricane activity stepped-up into record territory last week with Karl and Julia reaching Category 4, only the second time on record that two Cat 4 storms have been active simultaneously (the last time was in 1926). By 5am on September 15th,
Atlantic Hurricane Season a Bellwether for the Climate Read More 👉
Denying reality: the irony of global warming denial in one simple phrase Climate change (global warming, global climate disruption, it doesn’t matter what you call it) has become such an idealogical and political football that some who claim they “don’t believe in global warming” seem to have lost sight of one immutable fact. Global warming
The Irony of Global Warming Denial Read More 👉
Oceans in the 21st century – overfished, mismanaged, played out The world fishing fleet is now two or three times what is needed to take the available ocean catch and sustainably manage global fisheries. More than 100 million tons of fish are caught in fisherman’s nets every year. Yet researchers say that in the North
Ghost Nets Further Stress Overfished Oceans Read More 👉
Giving “belly up to the bar” a whole new meaning… Bad puns aside, Scottish scientists recently announced a method for converting whiskey-making byproducts into biofuel (no bottled whiskey is harmed in the making of this fuel). Using samples from the Glenkinchie Distillery, researchers at the Biofuel Research Centre at Edinburgh Napier University have developed a process
Scottish Scientists Make Biofuel from Whiskey Read More 👉
One of the most severe and rapid coral bleaching and die-off events ever recorded happens as waters off the Indonesian coast spike to 93 degrees Fahrenheit.
Massive Coral Die-Off From Spike in Ocean Temperatures off Coast of Indonesia Read More 👉
Biologists are concerned of the longterm effects of oil droplets found in blue crab larvae along the Gulf of Mexico.
Oiled Blue Crabs Hint at Tainted Food Chain in Gulf of Mexico Read More 👉
Are energy storage islands the green solution we need? Denmark is a windy place. Windy enough to provide 20 percent of the country’s power generation from both onshore and offshore wind farms. As growth in wind power continues, the problem of large-scale energy storage from wind becomes an increasing challenge. With a focus on the
Green Power Island: A Vision for Renewable Energy Storage Read More 👉
