One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily. After all, soil erosion from chemical-free tilled fields undermined the Roman Empire and other ancient societies around the … Continue reading
Sustainability has always been a game of catch up. The current energy production and construction trends mean that sustainability researchers have to come up with clever ways to lower emissions. Researchers at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona have … Continue reading
How to solve the political paradox of climate change? While most Americans accept that man-made climate change is real, they are divided about what to do in response to it and how urgently to take action. Recent polling from the … Continue reading
Capitalism has often been identified as the underlying cause of the climate crisis. A leading voice on the subject is Naomi Klein, one of the climate movements most influential thinkers, whose seminal book on climate change was subtitled Capitalism vs. … Continue reading
Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report. The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) “pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may … Continue reading
A curious thing recently happened in Southern California. One of the largest utilities in the country scrapped a proposal to build a new peaker plant, opting instead to build a battery system that could store excess electricity from solar and … Continue reading
In humanity’s battle against man-made climate change, the Earth itself provides one of the most important weapons, a natural system that breathes in Earth-warming CO2 and exhales oxygen. Yes, I’m talking about plants, engineered by nature itself over the course … Continue reading
Texas, home to the world’s largest oil reserve and America’s biggest source of coal-fired power, is on the verge of a clean-energy boom. Wind already supplies about 15 percent of Texas’s electricity, and now developers are about to quadruple the … Continue reading
The US Army is not particularly shy about adopting the latest high-tech gadgets, and renewable energy is a case in point. Despite all the fossil friendly rhetoric emanating from the White House, the Army is still pursuing microgrids with renewable … Continue reading
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which manages $1tn (£770bn) of Norway’s assets, is to dump investments in firms that explore for oil and gas, but will still hold stakes in firms such as BP and Shell that have renewable … Continue reading
Whale blubber and buggy whips were once fine industries, but progress moved us away. And today we know the days are over of a false choice between environmental protection and economic growth. Since when did the simple concept of leaving … Continue reading
A Capitalist System for the Future The perverse incentives inherent in a largely unconstrained capitalist system still exist. These incentives drive behaviors that increase inequality, reduce social mobility, devalue communities, deplete soils, acidify oceans, destroy biodiversity, trigger mass migrations and … Continue reading
In rural communities struggling with limited job growth and a roughly 40 percent net decline in farm incomes since 2011, wind and solar royalties have dramatically boosted economic development. In 2017 alone, farmers and ranchers received $267 million in wind … Continue reading
Forty-five top economists from across the political spectrum are calling for the United States to put a tax on carbon, saying it is by far the best way for the nation to address climate change. Does this plan include exempting … Continue reading
What did Exxon know and when did they know it, will it be like the tobacco industry's debacle of deniability? Massachusetts' attorney general is trying to force Exxon to turn over decades of records involving what it knew about climate … Continue reading
A small San Antonio family business is trying to combat the dangers of decaying banana peels and the gaseous gore of yesterday’s lunch scraps. Betsy Gruy and daughter Kate Gruy Jaceldo started Compost Queens to keep food waste out of … Continue reading
Companies committed to 100% renewable electricity are more profitable than their peers – a new report by the RE100 draws on financial data from 3,500 businesses underlining the business case for putting sustainability at the heart of corporate growth strategies. … Continue reading
Will our addiction to oil drain every last drop? "Having taken oil for granted for decades, the global economy has failed to prepare for its absence. A bleak future awaits . . . …Today's energy supplies provide the equivalent of … Continue reading
Despite aspen’s ability to grow from the northernmost reaches of Canada to the highest altitudes in Mexico, the tree is on the run. The southern part of the aspen’s range is drying up, while the northern edges are warming up … Continue reading
The San Antonio chapters of the Citizens Climate Lobby, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance held a panel discussion on June 9, 2018 about how fossil fuel dependence affects national security — and how the military … Continue reading