As we conclude the hottest decade since 1850 , polls of Americans show that the percentage of those who believe global warming is caused by humans is decreasing. A decreasing minority of Americans believe it is a serious problem. The Copenhagen talks proceed with the...

How to confront future rising sea levels, droughts, intense heat waves, and other catastrophes stemming from continued global warming? There are really just three options on our menu. We can: 1) try to reduce future fossil fuel use to prevent catastrophic warming; 2) allow the planet's climate to worsen and...

First, let's connect the dots between population and global warming. It's not just how much energy each of us uses, but our total numbers as well, that determine the atmospheric greenhouse emissions causing our climate crisis. Some argue that population is not a factor because the poorest, most rapidly...

It's great that U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu promotes energy efficiency. But what about clean energy? "Its abundant, it's there, we know how to get it, and so we have to learn how to use it cleanly," he opined to Steve Inskeep of National Public Radio recently....

Whoever wins the race to a clean energy future will lead politically and economically on this planet. So, it is frustrating to see the US administration dreaming so senselessly about it. Department of Energy (DOE) chief scientist Steve Koonin was so right when he noted recently that we have limited...

The results of the latest G8 meeting on climate change are as exciting as flat beer. So, before any of the G8 countries start patting themselves on the back for agreeing to set limits on global warming, let's get something straight. Their arrows are pointed at the wrong target --...

The rapid and messy evolution in communications is leaving many worried. People are dropping newspaper subscriptions and flocking to the Internet commons for their "free" news, not realizing that newspapers continue to pay for the production of news. This is resulting in bankruptcy for many, if not most newspapers.

Nobel Laureate and Energy Secretary Steven Chu noted recently that we need "Nobel-level breakthroughs" to address our climate crisis in the areas of solar power, electric batteries, and the development of new crops to turn into fuel. Is it really that difficult? A look at the developments already...

Money's tight, you're in deep debt, and you need a new car -- so are you going to buy the gas-guzzling hummer that costs a mint, or choose something much cheaper and more efficient?

To any intelligent person, the answer's obvious -- but this isn't a person we're talking about...

As the last bits of confetti settle to the earth, the real, much more sober party begins: a convening conversation on one of the most important problems confronting humanity. President Obama has vowed to address climate change, but how we do so will determine our success. And this is where...

A recent article1 noted that the United States Geological Service (USGS) had recently concluded that climate change was accelerating faster than first predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. What seemed to be the unlikely silver lining of this latest cloud was the USGS conclusion in its report "Abrupt...

Writing for the Yale School of Forestry website a few weeks ago, award winning journalist Susan Stranahan interviewed a Norwegian scientist, who noted that methane is beginning to seep up from the melting submarine permafrost of the shallow Arctic continental shelf. What little data exists - methane levels hundreds...

A top U.S. government climatologist, Jim Hansen, recently argued in a special edition of Scientific American that there was no knowing whether humanity had already passed a tipping point, pushing the planet towards greatly accelerating global warming. Because our planet represents a complex interconnected system of physical, ecological, and human...

The San Francisco Chronicle recently declared that John McCain and Barack Obama are "like peas in a pod" on a major issue. The newspaper was talking about their energy platforms. It's time to debunk this: there are real differences in priorities. Yes, both John McCain and Barack Obama agree that...