Blog
26 Senators urge EPA to reduce the corn ethanol mandate
Today a bipartisan group of 26 senators urged EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to use her authority to reduce the corn ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard. With record droughts spreading across the country, corn harvests are shrinking and food prices are spiking. In 2012 the RFS requires… Read More
A ruse of Olympic proportions: BP’s carbon offsets
My husband is a self-described Olympics junkie, and our television has been on nonstop since the opening ceremonies. As a result, I have been barraged by the full spectrum of TV commercials — all of them attempts to bathe corporate logos in the warm flame of Olympic glory. The irony… Read More
Severe drought shows stupidity of corn ethanol mandate
If you haven’t noticed from the frostbite-inducing air conditioning in your office yet, it’s been hot this summer. Really really hot–and dry. In fact, more than half of the counties in the country have now been labeled “disaster areas” by the Department of Agriculture. James Hansen, a… Read More
Remember Kalamazoo — and fight for a tar sands-free future
Last Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the start of the Kalamazoo River disaster where Canadian oil corporation Enbridge spilled over a million gallons of tar sands oil into waters near Marshall, Michigan. The following piece is cross-posted from the Huffington Post. Since last week, another pipeline operated… Read More
Congress and the ethanol lobby square off on the corn ethanol mandate
As the drought continues to wreak havoc on our corn crops, the Renewable Fuel Standard – our federal mandate for corn ethanol and other biofuels – has come under fire. Due to the mandate, we’re currently using 40% of our corn in the U.S. for fuel instead of… Read More
Colbert Report thinks corn ethanol is laughable
This past Tuesday, Steven Colbert of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report discussed how the current drought — the worst in 50 years– will raise food prices around the country and destabilize the corn ethanol market. Colbert and his guest, Iowa State professor Bruce Babcock, highlighted that because… Read More
World Bank, coal, India and Einstein
World Bank Group loans for coal.Subsidizes multinational industry on backs of the poor.Devastates local livelihoods.Degrades air, land and water. Sound familiar? You could be forgiven if you thought we were talking about the Medupi coal-fired power plant in South Africa, built and operated by the Eskom… Read More
Cruise industry aims to water down environmental safeguards
Nearly two years after the International Maritime Organization approved an Emission Control Area for ships in the waters around North America, the first phase is finally set to begin on August 1. This ECA designation brings the ocean waters of North America into an international control program which controls… Read More
Green energy on trial at World Trade Organization
“There is little doubt that current WTO negotiations do not fully address the real problems confronting the world and the trading system itself. The threat of global climate change and the catastrophic consequences for the natural environment—and for the world’s poorest citizens—ought to focus the minds of our leaders.” C. Read More
Looking past the smoke and mirrors
Exposing the truth behind the San Onofre AIT report On July 18, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Augmented Inspection Team released its final report regarding the newly replaced, crippled steam generators in the San Onofre nuclear reactors. Both reactors at this Southern California Edison run nuclear plant — located between… Read More