A pair of NASA satellite images comparing water flow along the Mississippi River this month with August 2011 illustrates the effects of a severe summer drought along the critical waterway. The recent photo, taken just south of Memphis, Tennessee on Aug. 8, reveals extensive sandbars that are newly exposed or far larger than they were a year ago. (more…)

According to a 2011 survey conducted by The Princeton Review, 65% of students surveyed said they “would value having more information about a college’s commitment to the environment”, and 24% said a college’s commitment to the environment would impact their decision to apply to or attend a school. (more…)

For anyone to accept the premise that social responsibility is a business strategy, we must be able to define and quantify the business benefits that can be derived from adopting this model. This is so that success can be measured, just as with any business strategy. (more…)

My wife and I had dinner last night with fine friends, a married couple who never disappoint us with their conversation; they’re both extremely well-rounded and intelligent people who care deeply about the plight of their fellow travelers here on 21st Century Earth. But sure enough, the guy brought up a topic that I recalled from a previous conversation: wind turbines (more…)

The Canadian company, TransCanada, has begun construction on the U.S. leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, installing segments in east Texas even as the fate of the pipeline’s northern leg remains in question.

Company officials confirmed that work began Aug. 9 (more…)

Two environmental organizations are fighting a Canadian company’s plan to mine a massive reserve of oil sands in eastern Utah, saying the project would tax water supplies in what is already the U.S.’s second-driest state.

In what would be the U.S.’s first large-scale oil sands (more…)

Right now, a bill in Sacramento, SB 843, has the power to allow thousands of California energy consumers to go solar for the first time. Shared solar is a game-changer that could unleash huge new private investment in clean energy. But its fate rests on SB 843 and needs Californians to voice support now to pass. (TAKE ACTION: We’ve made it easy here). (more…)

Levels of some automobile-related pollutants in Los Angeles have plummeted by 98 percent since the 1960s, even as gasoline consumption nearly tripled during the same period, a new study says.

Levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from the tailpipes of cars and are a key (more…)

Electricity produced by wind energy in the U.S. now equals the output of 11 nuclear power plants, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association, a trade organization.

As congressional leaders consider the extension of a tax credit for the emerging wind energy sector, the (more…)

Back in February, Envia Systems made an announcement regarding tests of its electric vehicle battery technology, and said it had achieved an energy density of 400 Watt-hours/kilogram (Wh/g) with battery technology for electric vehicles. Last week, General Motors, (more…)