Green Options

A new study shows that pollution from automobiles and coal-fired power plants is contributing to the melting of mountain snowpacks up to a month early, thereby exacerbating water shortages and other problems across the arid western United States.

Of course I knew when I left San Francisco early yesterday morning that I was one of many - thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions - coming to Washington to bear witness to history. But once the journey is begun, I am myself swept up in its tide.

Two small wind turbines, the type that would power individual homes, farms, or businesses are currently on display at the National Mall and contributing to the Washington, D.C. power grid.

Environmentally-friendly initiatives such as green jobs are at the center of his economic stimulus plan. So it’s no surprise that Obama’s inauguration will have the smallest “footprint” of any president in history.

Whether entertaining high-powered guests or for personal enjoyment, American presidents and their families have a long tradition of recreating on the grounds of the White House. When the ability to find simple seclusion in the outside world is nearly impossible, these seven White House facilities offer respite from the pressures presented by the job.

Try your hand at editorial humor. Enter a caption for this cartoon in the comments section below. A winner will be chosen and their caption will be published next week. Good luck!

Campaign politics dominated the headlines in 2008, making it a banner year for the armchair pundit. 2008 was also a year that issues like energy use, climate change and carbon footprints came to the forefront of popular culture and political reality. Put all of that together and you have 2008’s top environmental politics stories.

There was no shortage of fodder for thoughtful political discussion in 2008. Not surprisingly, the majority of the posts receiving the most comments were directly related to the presidential election. We’ve compiled the nine most-discussed posts of 2008 so you can take a little walk down memory lane at Red, Green, and Blue.

A new collaboration between NASA and the DOE called the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) will hopefully clarify the properties of properties of dark energy, fundamentally advancing physics and astronomy.

In an executive order signed on Monday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger committed to getting a third of California’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

I’ve been reading all week about Bush’s desire for a smooth transition–a “seamless handoff” to the Obama administration.