The Case for Cap and Trade

The cover story of this week's New York Times Magazine is a piece by Paul Krugman on the economics of climate change. In it, the Nobel Prize-winning economist makes a compelling case for the use of market-based tools to limit greenhouse emissions. Crucially, Krugman addresses the economic effects of installing a cap and trade model, presenting a persuasive argument against the idea that......read more

No on Prop. 23

Four years ago, California passed a clean air law (AB 32) that holds polluters accountable and requires them to reduce air pollution that threatens human health and contributes to climate change. AB 23 has launched California to the forefront of the clean-tech industry, sparking innovation and clean energy businesses that are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now, a coalition of......read more

Opportunity Lost

Passed four years ago, California's landmark clean air law (AB 32) is designed to reduce air pollution that threatens human health and contributes to climate change. The law has launched California to the forefront of the clean-tech industry, sparking innovation and clean energy businesses that are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now, a coalition of out-of-state oil refiners are......read more

Men in Yellow

California's landmark clean air law (AB 32) is designed to reduce air pollution that threatens human health and contributes to climate change. The law has launched California to the forefront of the clean-tech industry, sparking innovation and clean energy businesses that are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now, a coalition of out-of-state oil refiners are spending millions to push......read more

Clean Economy Jobs: 2.7 Million and Growing

Green jobs are as aspirational as they are enigmatic. We know we want them, we know they hold the key to the clean economy of the future, but no one can agree on what they are.  A new report from Brookings Institute attempts to offer a standard definition of clean jobs ("establishments that directly produce goods and services with environmental benefits, or produce uniquely tailored goods......read more

Sustainability, Politics, and Consumerism

As 2011 ends and we find some time for reflection, I am thinking a lot about the issue of material consumption and sustainability. Many of my students believe that a key answer to the crisis of planetary sustainability is for individuals to reduce their material consumption. When they say this, they are not thinking of the planet's poorest people, but the planet's richest people. There is a case......read more

Green Jobs: What's Really Going On

Green jobs are one of America's best-kept secrets, but they shouldn't be. When you consider the fact that at least 3.1 million Americans already work in green jobs, and that green industries and businesses can help solve some of our country's biggest problems -- from pollution to poverty and economic stagnation -- you'd think we'd be hearing our leaders talk about green jobs all the time. A new......read more

Countries Get Eco Report Cards

The 2010 Environmental Performance Index, which ranks the world's nations according to environmental policy and performance, was released last week at the World Economic Forum. The index is compiled every two years by Yale and Columbia University researchers. Leading the rankings is Iceland, which is powered almost entirely by renewable energy sources. Rounding out the top 5 are Switzerland,......read more

This Is Our Moment

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Earth Day: Our Acidic Oceans

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Actress Sigourney Weaver testified before the Senate, warning that without climate legislation limiting CO2 emissions, the impacts on our oceans will be monumental. “The oceans are 30 percent more acidic than they were during pre-industrial times and if we continue burning fossil fuels as we are now, we will double the ocean’s acidity by the end of the......read more