Energy—never has a political topic had so many bold words expended on it with so little to show. As Jon Stewart pointed out in his usual skewering fashion last week, the last eight American presidents promised to move America off oil and onto renewable energy, and all we have to show for it is increasing dependence on foreign …
A Supreme Court Tie Goes to Greens on Genetically Modified Crops
Given that it’s World Cup month, even soccer-phobic Americans are getting into football of the non-padded variety. Part and parcel with the World Cup sporting experience—especially in the first round of matches—is an acceptance of ties. Ties are not something we like to do in American sports, especially in baseball, where two …
Meanwhile, Down in the Antarctic…
There’s no body of water on the planet that’s getting more attention—and causing more worry—than the Gulf of Mexico, and rightly so. Until BP’s gushing oil well is capped, that will be central fight in the environment wars. The good news is that even pessimists believe that the relief wells now being drilled will do the job and seal …
Who’s the Climate Expert Here?
If my primary care doctor suspected I had cancer, I’d certainly take it seriously; she’s a great physician. But she’s not an expert on cancer, so I’d go see an oncologist (that’s exactly what she’d tell me to do, of course). And I’d go out of my way to find one with the best possible credentials.
When it comes to …
Is the Political Risk Over the Oil Spill Overrated?
On the mainpage, TIME’s political pro Mark Halperin judges how much the oil spill has damaged Obama’s presidency. Not as much as many of us believe—Halperin argues that dealing with unforeseen catastrophes has become the “new normal” of life on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and that after an initially sluggish response, Obama’s team has …
The Worse Case Scenario Gets Worse for BP as New Documents Come to Light
Representative Edward Markey, the pugnacious Boston Democrat who has emerged as one of the political stars of the oil spill, may have the final word on what caused the accident—philosophically, at least. On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Markey released internal BP documents that showed the company believed that as much as 100,000 …
Daylight Saving—unused solar power?
Today is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere (those looking to party, hurry to Sweden, they do the solstice right up there). In London (today’s weather forecast: sunny; today’s actual weather: gloomy) campaigners are using midsummer to draw attention to what they say is one of the low-hanging fruits in the fight …
The Ever-Growing Human Cost of China’s Coal
China’s coal mining industry saw another disaster today when an mine explosion in the central province of Henan killed 46 miners on the spot. The mine, located in one of China’s biggest coal producing regions, was allegedly operating illegally, according to the government-run Xinhua news agency. Though the cause of the blast is still …
Study Says Arsenic Poisons Millions in Bangladesh—But They’re Not the Only Ones
A new study published Saturday in the British medical journal the Lancet found that tens of millions of people in Bangladesh have been exposed to poisonous levels of arsenic from contaminated groundwater. Bangladesh has struggled with arsenic in its water supply since a disastrous campaign in the 1970s to bring clean water to the county …
Can Congress Break America’s Addiction to Oil?
Pity the British—or at least the English. As if it’s not bad enough that their perpetually disappointing football side could only manage a 0-0 tie with 30th-ranked Algeria—prompting human bulldog Wayne Rooney to complain about being booed by his own fans, because that never happens in sport—certain parts of the British media have …