The Retro Silliness of Our Green Trade War With China
A new tariff on Chinese-made wind towers will not aid domestic industry. In fact, it is likely to do the opposite. More »
Lisa Margonelli is a writer on energy and environment. She spent four years and traveled 100,000 miles to write her book, "Oil On the Brain: Petroleum's Long Strange Trip to Your Tank." More
Lisa Margonelli directs the New America Foundation's Energy Productivity Initiative, which works to promote energy efficiency as a way of ensuring energy security, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and economic security for American families. She spent roughly four years and traveled 100,000 miles to report her book about the oil supply chain, Oil On the Brain: Petroleum's Long Strange Trip to Your Tank, which the American Library Association named one of the 25 Notable Books of 2007. She spent her childhood in Maine where, during the energy crisis of the 1970s, her family heated the house with wood hauled by a horse. Later, fortunately, they got a tractor. The experience instilled a strong appreciation for the convenience of fossil fuels.
A new tariff on Chinese-made wind towers will not aid domestic industry. In fact, it is likely to do the opposite. More »
At most, it's a symbolic victory. To ensure the end of tar sands oil, the government will have to enact measures make high-carbon fuel unprofitable. More »
Rather than giving an energy-guzzling device this holiday season, here are three ways to stuff a stocking with the gift of fuel efficiency More »
Brooklyn's dollar van fleet is a tantalizing demonstration of how we might supplement mass transit with privately-owned mini-transit entrepreneurs More »
There's no need to make energy promises you can keep: The key is getting people to listen to pledges you won't fulfill. More »
What problem are releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve trying to solve? More »
$4 gasoline and 9 percent unemployment may lead to increased fuel efficiency of commercial vehicles and help businesses grow.The two biggest numbers in American politics are gas prices, which remain over $3.79 for a gallon of regular in 19 states, and unemployment, which stands over 9 percent nationwide. Those numbers are obviously related. If we changed the politics of how we respond, we could actually begin to use one to solve the other. Last month saw a… More »
An exurban office park in California shows that we don't have to spend long commutes alone in our cars if we don't want to More »
Jeff Grant works two jobs but can barely pay his truck's gas bills—and it's begun to affect how he lives his life More »
With our notorious dependence on cheap gas, have we been the beneficiaries of an authoritarian markdown at the pump? More »
A former Shell CEO has everybody spooked over high gas prices come 2012, but what about the already too high prices right now? More »
As prices rise, having a heavily gasoline dependent economy sucks money directly out of American pockets More »
When the government allows safety violations on such a high scale it is rewarding companies who court danger More »
All the right interest groups love it, but how does the policy benefit American consumers? More »
If the casing of the spewing oil well is deteriorating, the flow of oil could increase and the situation could become much worse More »
The oil spill sparked a heated debate on oil policy, but rhetoric may not turn into action More »
The oil spill is starting to look a lot like the financial meltdown -- the product of unrealistic expectations, ridiculous risk, and lax regulation More »
The Gulf oil spill has Congress scrambling to tighten offshore drilling regulation. Here are 7 suggestions for how to start. More »
Unlike other disasters that could be blamed on a clear villain, the Gulf spill was the result of technology, individuals, companies, and circumstance. Which may make offshore drilling harder to justify in the future. More »
A case for using the political will generated by the Gulf oil spill to stop business as usual—by reducing our dependence on oil More »
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