Nary a mention of the environment came up during the first two debates, despite the fact that American citizens are finally ready to talk about the issue after our long, hot summer.
Sarah Laskow
Sarah Laskow is a journalist based in New York.
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Corn, Corn Everywhere, But Not a Bite to Eat
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture released a report on the state of the country’s corn, and the verdict is not good. The report-the first that estimates production based on surveying the fields of U.S. farmers-shows that farmers are on track to produce 10.8 billion bushels of corn this year, a 17 percent […]
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Keystone XL’s Beetlemania
How an endangered species barely an inch long could be a big barrier to TransCanada’s pipeline dreams.
Posted inBooks
Giving Local Food the Raspberry
The Locavore’s Dilemma takes aim at the sustainability movement, ignoring the broader problems plaguing our food system.
Posted inLaw and Justice
Judges Take On Climate Skeptics
The D.C. Court of Appeals released an opinion last week that protects the EPA’s greenhouse-gas regulation from the scorn of those who protest climate-change prevention.
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Exxon Ain’t Cryin’ Yet
The victory against Keystone XL is an essential—but insufficient—step to building a powerful climate movement.
Posted inArticle
If a Law Chops Down a Forest, Does Anyone Care?
Republicans aren’t just against cap-and-trade. They’re going after long-standing environmental laws, too.
Posted inArticle
Nonsensical Natural Gas Policies
In Washington, the conventional wisdom [for awhile now](http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=an_unnatural_alliance) has been that natural gas should serve as a “bridge fuel” to renewable energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower. But people who live in states from which natural gas will be extracted are less psyched about the possibility of having a new extraction industry with […]
Posted inArticle
The New Revolving Door
Stephen Colbert will be able to set up a super PAC that receives financial support from Viacom, The Colbert Show‘s parent company. Campaign-finance groups fought against this decision because it opens the possibility of actual politicians employed by TV networks running campaigns with undisclosed funding from those media companies. In this brave new world of […]
Posted inArticle
Rethinking Points of Departure
New York City is [planning to erect street signs](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/nyregion/signs-to-help-pedestrians-new-yorkers-or-not.html) that will help pedestrians get around the city. The Department of Transportation says the signs are meant to promote walking, but that strikes me as a rather limited goal. The sign project reminds me of [a session I went to](http://www.thirteen.org/stateroom/festival-of-ideas-talking-new-york-at-the-world-cafe/) at the Festival of Ideas for […]