Climate Change

From the Man Who Brought You the Segway: The Next Electric Car?

Remember the Segway? Back in 2000, the self-balancing scooter was hyped as the Second Coming of wheeled transport. Unfortunately for its inventor, eccentric New Yorker Dean Kamen, it hasn't really caught on outside a narrow circle of enthusiasts. But Kamen doesn't care. He's got something better: Conceived in Scotland almost 200 years ago, the Stirling is a marvel of thermodynamics that could help to...

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| Tue Oct. 28, 2008 2:25 PM PDT

Gas Shortage Update: Southeast Still Suffering

The Citizen-Times reports that while Asheville's gas problems are improving, similar shortages throughout the Southeast mean that supplies could decline again over the next few days. In Atlanta things are so bad that Georgia's governor wrote to President Bush to ask him to step in. Even Newt Gingrich has noticed, telling the AP that the Southeast is "like a Third World country." Speaking of...

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| Wed Oct. 1, 2008 11:09 AM PDT

New Study Puts The "Perma" Back In Permafrost

It's not perfect, but it's something: A new study from researchers at the University of Alberta says that Arctic permafrost may be less vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. The study, which will be published tomorrow in the journal Science, found that a permafrost ice wedge in Canada's Yukon Territory is more than 700,000 years old, meaning that it withstood two previous cycles...

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| Mon Sep. 22, 2008 3:38 PM PDT

Polar Peril, Continued

More scary, unheralded new scientific findings on polar melting.

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| Wed Sep. 17, 2008 12:00 AM PDT

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Carbon Offsets: Laughing off Climate Change?

From the Wall Street Journal, here's the Kyoto Treaty's latest carbon offset scandal.

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| Thu Jul. 24, 2008 11:41 AM PDT

Scientist on Warming: "We're Toast"

James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been warning the US government about global warming for 20 years. Now the CO2 levels in the atmosphere have gotten so high that "we're toast if we don't get on a very different path," he told Congress yesterday. When Hansen first testified to Congress about global warming, it was 1988 and a heat...

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| Tue Jun. 24, 2008 11:03 AM PDT

Energy and Health Care Industries Lobby Hard in Advance of Next Administration

The two areas where we can expect the next administration to usher in massive shifts in domestic policy are health...

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| Tue Jun. 24, 2008 10:24 AM PDT

US Fish and Wildlife: Oil and Gas Extraction Have Nothing - Nothing! - To Do With Arctic Habitat Loss

Loath to go too many days without flouting some kind of law, the Bush administration last week granted permission for seven oil companies to harass and potentially harm polar bears while drilling for oil and gas in Alaska's Chukchi Sea, provided they do so unintentionally. Polar bears were just recently classifed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, an obvious lapse in judgment the...

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| Tue Jun. 17, 2008 1:40 PM PDT

Big Sky Seeks Big Mileage

My parents just bought a Prius in Northern California. They reported incredible difficulties in the process — most dealerships...

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| Mon Jun. 16, 2008 1:37 PM PDT

Heat Waves and Fan Clubs

Photo: Extreme heat kills more Americans annually than any other natural disaster. Here, Noel Lyman cools off.

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| Sun Jun. 1, 2008 12:00 AM PDT

Bizarre Public Opinion Numbers on Global Warming

Roughly 70 percent of Americans believe there is "solid evidence" the earth is warming, according to new Pew poll numbers. Just under half think that warming is caused by human activity. That's disappointing — we've got more work to do, Mother Jones! — but not that surprising. On the other hand, try explaining this: Over the last year and a half, the number of...

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| Thu May. 15, 2008 1:30 PM PDT

Polar Bears Win Protection

After several months of delays, the polar bear has been declared protected under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming. This is the first time in history that global warming has officially "endangered" an animal, and the great white bear is the first species the Bush administration has put on the endangered list in two years. This is the longest gap between new...

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| Wed May. 14, 2008 1:01 PM PDT

McCain Recycles His Green Image...From MoJo?

In the past few days, we've seen John McCain turn green faster than David Banner. Just in case this sudden transformation shreds his clothing, he can now suit up in his campaign's new line of "Go Green" merchandise. Items include 70% bamboo polo shirts, organic cotton baseball caps, and a travel mug made from recycled plastic. All feature a new twist on the...

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| Wed May. 14, 2008 12:25 PM PDT

McCain Portrays Himself as Environmental Champion, but Record Undercuts Credibility

McCain is touting his passion for the environment this week. He has an ad up that portrays his approach to...

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| Mon May. 12, 2008 7:56 AM PDT
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Loaded for Bear

Any day now the polar bear could be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Conservative groups are already plotting their response—and lawsuits are just the tip of the iceberg.

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| Thu May. 8, 2008 12:00 AM PDT

Scrubbing King Coal

How come energy companies are gaga over alternative fuels? First off, define "alternative."

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| Thu May. 1, 2008 12:00 AM PDT
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The Greenback Effect

Greed has helped destroy the planet—maybe now it can help save it.

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| Thu May. 1, 2008 12:00 AM PDT
Illustration of Baby

What's Your Baby's Carbon Footprint?

8 pounds, 21 inches, and 3,800 diapers worth of planet-pummeling joy.

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| Mon Apr. 28, 2008 12:00 AM PDT

Obama a Little Too Slick on Oil

Barack Obama is running an ad in Pennsylvania and Indiana that makes this claim: I don't take money from oil...

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| Tue Apr. 1, 2008 11:10 AM PDT

Google to Launch Storm Surge Maps

Google is partnering with the National Hurricane Center to create a searchable map of areas at risk of storm surges during hurricanes. Users can plug in their address and determine how threatened (if at all) their homes are by surges of water that accompany hurricanes—surges that proved deadly during Hurricane Katrina. Google hopes to have the application online by June 1, just in time...

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| Thu Mar. 20, 2008 1:06 PM PDT