Environmental advocates and allies have achieved plenty since the first Earth Day forty years ago: the creation of the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, are just a few of the legislative highlights that come to mind. But, as John Kerry warned today, the U.S. has yet to confront the biggest environmental problem of today: climate change. In......read more
Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman finally released their 987-page climate bill, which they hope will be passed as a means to slow down pollution and global warming. The bill was amended in light of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly scaling back the planned expansion of new offshore drilling sites. Despite the support of some utilities and energy companies, it seems unlikely that......read more
In a widely distributed article in The New Yorker this week, Ryan Lizza documents the rise and fall of the climate bill introduced in the Senate by the “tripartisan†trio of John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham ("KLG"). In it, Lizza provides a fascinating and troubling account of the messy legislative process that killed the bill. Entitled "As the World......read more
No one can question John Kerry's ambition. Already in the process of destroying Syria's chemical weapons, crafting a nuclear agreement with Iran and brokering a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, the Secretary of State announced last week that he aims to pursue a global climate treaty in 2015. The New York Times reports: His goal is to become the lead broker of a global climate......read more
NRDC's Susan Casey-Lefkowitz for the Huffington Post: Secretary Kerry got it right when he identified climate change as one of the most urgent issues facing the world in a February 16 speech in Jakarta. Kerry got it right on the science, the urgency, and the opportunity to be found in clean energy solutions. He ranked climate change right up there with “terrorism, epidemics,......read more
Jake Schmidt for the Huffington Post: Secretary Kerry has just issued his first “Policy Directive” as U.S. secretary of state. This new directive outlines that climate change is a central issue for the State Department and directs an “all hands on deck” approach to this issue. He rightly recognized that this will require strong action in the U.S., while helping spur......read more
It's hard to imagine a Los Angeles without the daring modernism of John Lautner. The Michigan-born, Frank Lloyd Wright-trained architect created iconic buildings — such as the visionary Chemosphere Residence (1960) and the panoramic Silvertop Residence (1963-67) — that have helped define the city's built environment. Futuristic, cinematic, and sexy......read more
If you are among the terrible people considering going to Antarctica, John Oliver has a message for you: Don’t! And stop being so terrible! Actually, Antarctica sounds pretty cool, what with those cute penguins and that fresh water and that untouched la–wait, no. No, going to Antarctica is a bad, bad idea. Consider the environment. Or consider this PSA. Look, just go to Alaska,......read more
In 1977, John Pfahl pushed the field of landscape photography forward with his landmark series "Altered Landscapes." For the collection, Pfahl physically intervened in landscapes before shooting them, dishing up some poignant environmental commentary in the process. Over thirty years later, Pfahl echoes those works with “Métamorphoses de la Terre," only this time the......read more
While driving from his home in Buffalo to Washington D.C., legendary landscape photographer John Pfahl became captivated by the constantly changing views of the Susquehanna River, which runs along the highway for fifty miles. Inspired, he later set out on an ambitious project to document the entire length of the river. The resulting photo series, called Luminous River, pays homage to 19th......read more