Mainstream environmental groups have struggled to find the right line on shale natural gas and the hydraulic fracturing or fracking process. Gas has a much smaller carbon footprint than coal—according to most scientists—and …
A Nuke Scare in San Diego Shakes an Already Nervous Public
If you’ve felt jumpy since Fukushima, you’re not alone. Even the tiniest burp from a nuclear power plant gets people fearing the worst, so it was scary news indeed when the San Onofre plant in San Diego County announced at 6:30 PM (PST) on Tuesday night that one of it’s reactors might have begun leaking radioactive steam. The alarm was …
Invaders: How Burmese Pythons Are Devouring the Everglades
Burmese pythons are eating machines. An adult snake can grow to nearly 20 ft., and it can eat everything from raccoons to bobcats to deer to alligators, killing its prey by constriction and then swallowing them whole. On the …
Paying for Nature: Dow’s Environmental Bottom Line
A year ago I traveled to Detroit to moderate a discussion between Mark Tercek, the head of the Nature Conservancy (TNC)—one of the biggest green groups in the U.S.—and Andrew Liveris, the CEO of Dow Chemical. They were in …
LEED From Behind: Why We Should Focus on Greening Existing Buildings
In an era of LEED-certified construction and growing concern for sustainability, it comes as a surprise that constructing new, energy-efficient buildings can be less eco-friendly than renovating old ones. A study by the …
State of the Union: From Climate to Clean Energy to…Fracking?
Well, he mentioned the ‘c’ word this year. Last year President Obama raised more than a few eyebrows when he failed to talk about climate change during his State of the Union—something even his Republican predecessor George W. …
Political Pollution: How Bad Air is Slowly Changing China
China confirmed this week that the number of its citizens living in cities has surpassed the rural population for the first time in its history. That massive urbanization — 690.79 million people are now city-dwellers according …
Fracked: The Debate Over Shale Gas Deepens
Is shale gas good for us or not? Most of that argument has been over the potential risks that hydrofracking for shale gas might pose to water supplies—risks that were highlighted again this week when the Environmental …
The Global Energy Supply Is Getting Greener. It’s Just Not Happening Fast Enough
With President Obama’s rejection (for now) of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline fresh in everyone’s mind—and conservatives and the oil industry already hammering him, even as greens sing his praises—you can be sure
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Pipeline Politics: Keystone Is Dead (For Now). What Happens Next?
Chalk a win up for the environmentalists. On Wednesday, the White House announced that it was rejecting—on the recommendation of the State Department—the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would have brought 700,000 barrels a …