Poison ivy is getting more poisonous, and climate change is to blame. What’s the connection? Climate change is occurring because burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels releases gases like carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 builds up in the atmosphere, trapping heat that causes temperatures on the ground to rise, creating a “greenhouse” effect on the […]
It sounds like it could be a new dance (“Let’s do the frack!”). Or maybe it’s a cool way to clean your house (“I really fracked my floor this week; it looks great now!”) But it’s not. Fracking is short for “hydraulic fracturing,” explains Chris Bolgiano in this Bay Journal article. “It involves drilling a […]
Sure you can. Here’s how: 1) Scope out possible planting locations. Trees need room for both branches and roots to spread out, so adequate space is key. So is good soil. Is yours loose and loamy, or dense and full of clay? And what about water? Is your spot high and dry or low and prone […]
Can a simple stove help solve something as complex as climate change? The United Nations Foundation and its partners at the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other institutions and organizations think so – at least, in part, which is why they’ve launched the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. This new partnership between […]
My apologies to any of you who are elated with the results of yesterday’s elections. And my condolences to any of you who think that the world has come to an end. I’m in neither camp. Though I still canvas, and phone bank, and vote for candidates I support, I’ve come to terms with the limitations […]
4kviewsDid you get a drink or throw in a load of laundry before starting to read this blog? You probably could have, given the easy access most of us who live in developed countries have to clean water. One person of every three on the planet today isn’t nearly so fortunate, according to the International Water Management […]
When are we going to stop pretending we can live with the consequences of drilling and burning oil? Why don’t we ask the eleven people who were killed when the oil rig they were working on exploded last week in the Gulf of Mexico? Or the fishermen whose livelihoods are about to be destroyed by […]
Solutions to climate change are usually discussed in terms of what’s best for business or politics. But what about what’s best for those who have the most to lose as climate change worsens: namely, women, especially those living in the poorest regions of the world? A report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and […]
