Energy and Environment
March 27, 2007 -
Alternative fuels such as ethanol and bio-diesel are popular stump speech material for politicians in the rural South and Midwest. It's good for farmers who grow the crops used to make bio-fuels, and everyone agrees anything that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and also provides beneficial side-effects for the environment can't be all bad.
March 8, 2007 -
Does your state lack the money to vigorously enforce air pollution laws? That may be because it's letting polluters off the hook financially.
March 7, 2007 -
When we consider pollution associated with burning coal for electricity, we typically think about the gases and particulate matter that go up the smokestacks and into the air we breathe. And it's true that air pollution from burning fossil fuels is an enormous problem for the United States, with the process emitting about 17 million tons of pollutants annually, according to federal data.
March 1, 2007 -
Neighborhoods around New Orleans and elsewhere across Louisiana -- many in predominantly minority communities -- are facing toxic threats from dumpsites that have cropped up or expanded in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
February 27, 2007 -
In what some environmentalists are hailing as a big victory in the fight to curb global warming pollution, the board of TXU Corp. this week accepted an offer to sell the Dallas-based energy giant to private investors and cancel plans to build eight of 11 proposed coal-fired power plants across Texas.
February 15, 2007 -
A coalition of environmentally concerned investors is targeting 10 companies that it's identified as lagging behind industry peers in responding to climate change -- and half of them are South-based energy giants.
February 5, 2007 -
Global warming is happening. It's caused by human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels. And its consequences are severe and unavoidable. At this point, the best humankind can hope for is to stave off the worst-case scenario while preparing for the changes already underway.