AltWeeklies Wire
Do Yuppie Hybrid Buyers Really Need a Tax-Break Carrott Anymore?new

Like many states, Oregon has long offered generous tax credits -- on top of existing federal tax credits -- to buyers of new hybrids. But if demand is already high and climbing as fast as the price of gasoline, why keep giving away money?
Willamette Week |
Corey Pein |
06-25-2008 |
Transportation
Baltimore's Sustainability Commission Holds First Meetingnew
The goal of the commission, which was created last year by a City Council bill, is not just to work for a cleaner, greener footprint for the city but also to create a blueprint for meeting the economic and social needs of city residents.
Baltimore City Paper |
Joe Tropea |
06-24-2008 |
Environment
What Will We Use Instead of Oil?new
If we're going to go on driving cars, but we can't afford to fuel them from petroleum (and we can't afford to put all those greenhouse gas emissions in the air either), then what do we do instead?
NOW Magazine |
Gwynne Dyer |
06-23-2008 |
Environment
Tags: oil, environment, transportation, pollution, peak oil, biofuels, automobiles, carbon dioxide, algae, fuel costs, hydrogen
Most Businesses Still Waiting to 'Go Green'new
According to the second annual Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator survey, 72 percent of North American companies report that they are paying more attention to energy efficiency than last year. But the percentage of companies planning to invest in energy-efficiency improvements has not increased.
Shepherd Express |
Ken Reibel |
06-20-2008 |
Environment
Shipwright Brothers Explore the Future of Boat Buildingnew
Boat building is historically not the most environmentally sensitive of practices. In nearly 12 years of honing their craft, Jamison and Ryan Witbeck have learned both the difficulties and possibilities of being sustainable in the industry.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
06-18-2008 |
Business & Labor
From Car Seats to Condoms, Nasty Chemical Compounds Have Invaded Our Livesnew

Chemicals found in computer screens and car seats, shower curtains and shampoo, plastic water bottles and prophylactics are skewing our odds against cancers and causing developmental delays and reproductive roadblocks, including declining sperm counts.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Josh Zaffos |
06-17-2008 |
Environment
'The Carbon-Free Home' Explains How to Really Go Greennew

The Hrens' 320-page book categorizes shows how, on a budget, they stopped contributing to global warming and resource depletion, and also saved money.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
06-16-2008 |
Nonfiction
Philadelphians are Trading in Their Cars for Scootersnew
It's tough to look manly on a scooter: They're small, they're cute, they're popular in Europe. Our car-obsessed cowboy culture should want nothing to do with them, but it's amazing what $4 a gallon will do to cultural identity.
Philadelphia Weekly |
John Steele |
06-16-2008 |
Transportation
Gas Hits $4 a Gallon -- and the End of Oil Isn't Far Down the Roadnew
Suddenly, with $4-per-gallon gas, the public buses fill up, the bike racks are crammed and scooter and hybrid car dealers are looking at enormous back orders.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
06-13-2008 |
Economy
Global Warming Means Sweating it Out This Summernew

"Going green" may be an annoying trendy catch phrase, but there's something to be said for turning down the global thermostat before we all drown in a pool of our own sweat.
Boston Phoenix |
Clif Garboden |
06-12-2008 |
Science
Sustainably Yours in the Desertnew
Rainwater-harvesting expert Brad Lancaster says community and conservation are keys to desert living.
Tucson Weekly |
Mari Herreras |
06-11-2008 |
Environment
The American West at Risknew
When three geologists from Sonoma County set out to examine the environmental challenges of America's 11 arid Western states, they had little idea how much perpetual destruction they would discover had been taking place since wagon wheels first rolled across the great frontier. Ten years in the making, their book is "The American West at Risk." This is a Q&A format.
Pacific Sun |
Samantha Campos |
06-11-2008 |
Environment
Tags: environment
Utility Giant PacifiCorp Blocks Solar Energy Development in Oregonnew
PacifiCorp has asked the Public Utility Commission to clarify whether the solar installations popping up like dandelions around the state are legal, which put all projects on hold.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
06-11-2008 |
Environment
South Carolina's Other Immigration Problem: Non-Native Plants and Animalsnew

Plant and animal species migrate naturally, and competition is the crux of evolutionary theory. But the globalization of shipping and travel have thrown things off balance, dropping hardy species like the emerging threat of cogongrass into situations where they're able to out-compete everything else for resources.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
06-11-2008 |
Environment
Wind Power Makes Great Strides, but Enviros Complainnew

Environmentalists may have spent a generation arguing for the use of wind and solar energy, but if you think they're OK with this, you're dreaming. In California, they're opposing plans for wind-turbine installations in Riverside County east of Los Angeles. And in San Bernardino County they are opposing the power lines that would bring the output of wind and solar installations in the desert to LA.
Boulder Weekly |
Paul Danish |
06-10-2008 |
Environment