Climate

10 Most Important Environmental Stories of 2014

10 Most Important Environmental Stories of 2014

The calendar is about to flip over once again, meaning it’s time for the obligatory roundup of the most important environmental stories of the past year. This list is mostly subjective—my own personal picks, filtered through my own lens. But I did reach out to a several dozen environmental activists and thinkers to tap into […]

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    Revolutionary Poop-Powered Bus Hits UK Roads

    Revolutionary Poop-Powered Bus Hits UK Roads

    A new frontier in biofuel has been attained in the UK. Wessex Water in southern England announced that it is supplying fuel for a 40-seat “Bio-Bus,” owned by the Bath Bus Company, that will be running regular trips from Bath in southwest England to the Bristol Airport. The city of Bath launched the bus to […]

    Investigation Exposes Revolving Door Between Fossil Fuel Lobbyists and Politicians

    Investigation Exposes Revolving Door Between Fossil Fuel Lobbyists and Politicians

    There was much speculation about Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu‘s motivation for pushing the first full Senate vote this week on approving the Keystone XL pipeline. Some revolved around her trying to improve her chances in the Dec. 6 Senate runoff against Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy (neither candidate got a majority on Nov. 4). Others say she’s […]

    New Study Finds Tar Sands Oil Calculations Out of Whack

    New Study Finds Tar Sands Oil Calculations Out of Whack

    By Ted Auch Now that we as a nation have weathered another silly season’s worth of campaign ads, lawn signs and less than insightful debates between the country’s two—and in the case of Vermont’s gubernatorial election, seven—parties; it is time to get down to the job of governing this fine country and finding potential legislation […]

    Water Wars of the 21st Century

    Water Wars of the 21st Century

    “Its been said that the wars of the 21st century may well be fought over water. The Earth’s population has more than doubled over the last a 50 years and the demand for fresh water—to drink and to grow food—has surged along with it. But sources of water like rainfall, rivers, streams, reservoirs certainly haven’t […]

    Interactive Map: Find Out How Your State Ranks on Renewable Energy

    Interactive Map: Find Out How Your State Ranks on Renewable Energy

    What states are moving ahead on clean energy and what states are lagging behind? A new interactive map released by Earthjustice lets you see at a glance. This map lets you find out where any state stands on clean energy. Image credit: Earthjustice The map is part of an Earthjustice report Coming Clean: The State of […]

    Extraordinary Photos From Inside the Siberian Methane Blowhole

    Extraordinary Photos From Inside the Siberian Methane Blowhole

    Remember those mysterious blowholes that appeared last summer in the Siberian tundra? The ones with the high methane content that some observers said signaled Armageddon for the climate, a sign of runaway climate change? Scientists from the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration and other scientific institutes descended into the largest of the three craters to […]

    Disappearing Islands: How Sea Level Rise Impacts Communities

    Disappearing Islands: How Sea Level Rise Impacts Communities

    Scientists predict that Kiribati—a remote Island Republic in the Central Pacific—could be lost to rising sea levels in the next 50 years. A recent study by researchers at the University of California Irvine and NASA finds that six massive glaciers in the Amundsen Sea sector “have passed the point of no return,” clearly showing how melting glaciers greatly impact low-lying islands like Kiribati. […]

    Pope Francis: ‘Unbridled Consumerism’ Is Destroying Our Planet

    Pope Francis: ‘Unbridled Consumerism’ Is Destroying Our Planet

    In what has become an annual tradition, Pope Francis wrote a letter to Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia and this year’s leader of the G20 Summit, which will take place Nov. 15-16 in Brisbane, Australia. On the heels of a report by the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International, which is the first detailed breakdown of […]