China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, could peak in emissions by 2030 or earlier, says a study from U.S. researchers who foresee Chinese demand for appliances, buildings and much industry reaching “saturation” around then. The study by energy and emissions experts... 

Landfill gas recovery is becoming a familiar fixture in the alternative energy scene, and now New York City has added a new dimension to the idea of extracting valuable resources from seemingly useless parcels of land. The city plans to build utility-scale solar installations on its old landfills, to... 

by Christopher Mims. Solar power produces only a tiny fraction of America's energy, but that hasn't stopped greens — who are always up for expending at least as much energy fighting each other as fighting fossil fuels — from commencing a debate that we'll probably be having for... 

by Christopher Mims. Did you hear? The science around BPA — a substance that the government of Canada has declared “toxic” and has banned in baby bottles — “just isn't there,” according to the CEO of Coca-Cola. If this kind of through-the-looking glass denial... 

by Christopher Mims. We're all about high-speed rail , but not if it's going to bankrupt the world's second largest economy. Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University and a longtime critic of high-speed rail, said he worries that the cost of [the country's high speed rail]... 

Last week, Virginia passed yet another extension of its hybrid HOV law, which gives drivers of “clean fuel” vehicles access to the commonwealth’s carpool lanes. The law has been extended annually since its original expiration date in 2006—even as the state’s HOV lanes (and hybrid... 

A lake ecosystem is made up of living and nonliving parts that all interact with each other to form a stable system. These interactions assure the lake ecosystem’s health and sustainability. It is a fine balance of production and decomposition, made possible by the biodiversity that occurs in a... 

by Christopher Mims. What's Exxon going to do with this years' record-breaking profits ? If you said “buy a 60 percent stake in America's largest solar panel manufacturing company,” you have wildly underestimated the degree to which its CEO would find that profoundly emasculating.... 

by Christopher Mims. Holy hickory-smoked pole beans, did you just see that? That's what happens when the messaging on climate shifts from scare tactics — which studies show only work on about 10 percent of the population — to a totally honest, positive but not Pollyanna-ish attempt to... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Just as U.S. emissions are sneaking back up to 2005 levels, greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage in China could be on their way back down, says a new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. This analysis shows Chinese emissions peaking between 2025 and 2030, and energy... 

by Jess Zimmerman. We're learning a lot about space spiders and space bacteria from the nerd horde at the NASA tweetup , but somehow this one from Rachel Maddow writer Tricia McKinney is the most chilling. (She's citing astronaut Leland Melvin .) It's true: See the original post: Environmental... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Former Green presidential candidate — and former presumed Democratic spoiler — Ralph Nader doesn't plan to run again this time around. But that isn't keeping him from political machinations. Nader's plan for 2012: Obama's gonna win anyway, so why not put... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Three's a trend,  Read More →

Six of WWF’s biggest accomplishments, commemorating its 50th anniversary. Read this article: Happy 50th Birthday, WWF  Read More →

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. Adults range in length from 39–52 feet and weigh approximately 79,000 pounds. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Due to over-hunting, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a whaling moratorium... 

The battle of the sexes has just heated up—in dogs. A new study finds that when a ball appears to magically change size in front of their eyes, female dogs notice but males don’t. The researchers aren’t sure what’s behind the disparity, but experts say the finding supports the idea... 

Olmsted is remembered most for his designs of Central Park and other great American landscapes. But he was also a spoiled brat. See the rest here: Book Review: Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted  Read More →

What is a wake? It is small island in the Pacific. However, in this case it is the region of recirculating air flow immediately behind a moving solid body, caused by the air flow of surrounding air around the wind turbine. The air turbines not only produce power, they produce wakes — similar to... 

The nation’s 25 most smoggy cities improved air quality over the last year, but half the nation’s residents still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an American Lung Association report released on Wednesday. Weighing the pluses and minuses in U.S. air quality over the... 

The salt marshes that rim the shores of Massachusetts’s Plum Island estuary, which provide nesting grounds for numerous waterfowl and extremely productive spawning grounds for striped bass and soft-shell clams, have grown by 300 hectares in the last 300 years. That growth, according to a new study,...