AlterNet

What We Really Need to Learn from Las Vegas

Las Vegas has always epitomized American excess. But with its water supply running out and its constant illumination warming the planet, it also represents the extent of our economic and ecological unsustainability.

December 29, 2008 - AlterNet

Getting Off Oil Without the 'C' Word

Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman of Rocky Mountain Institute, believes that governments and the private sector need to identify and remove barriers to energy efficiency, rather than simply promoting "conservation."

December 6, 2008 - AlterNet

'Right to Rent' as Way out of Foreclosure Crisis

The way out of the foreclosure crisis may not be as difficult or as complex as it has been made out to be, argues Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

November 20, 2008 - AlterNet

President-Elect Obama's Top Eco-Priorities

David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Maude Barlow, Chair of the Board of Food and Water Watch lay out key priorities for an Obama Administration in terms of transportation and water policy.

November 7, 2008 - AlterNet

Rays of Hope

Solar energy initiatives are taking off all across the country, despite some reservations over the impacts of large-scale installations.

October 31, 2008 - AlterNet

Lights Out for Renewable Energy?

David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance wonders if the economic crisis will see alternative energy fall off the political agenda, or if the next president will recognize the economic benefits of renewable energy investments.

October 30, 2008 - AlterNet

A Way Out of the Housing Mess?

Joseph Nocera reports on a proposal to rescue homeowners that lets people live in their homes, and doesn't require any government money.

October 20, 2008 - AlterNet

Time Running out to Save Gulf Coast Communities?

The wetlands and barrier islands of Louisiana -- nature's way of absorbing tidal surges during tropical storms -- are almost gone. We may not be able to restore them.

October 13, 2008 - AlterNet

L.A. Facing Drought

Los Angelenos have long forgotten that they live in a desert, but the coming drought will mean water consumption patterns will need to change on a massive scale writes Scott Thill.

October 7, 2008 - AlterNet

The Future of Urban Agriculture

Whether through community gardening or high-tech "vertical farms" interest is growing in urban agriculture.

October 3, 2008 - AlterNet

Dams Threaten Future Water Supplies

Humanity has over-engineered the world's hydrology through dam-building, writes Rachel Olivieri.

September 20, 2008 - AlterNet

Fannie Mae Nationalized...Again

Most of the news coverage concerning the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has failed to note the history: Until 1968, FNMA had always been nationalized.

September 11, 2008 - AlterNet

California Draining

Decades of massive hydrologic engineering have altered California's ecology out of equilibrium and will be unable to support present demands, warns Rachel Olivieri.

September 9, 2008 - AlterNet

Shipping Sickness

The enormous traffic in imported goods is generating a huge amount of disease-causing pollution in and around ports, and along trade routes.

September 6, 2008 - AlterNet

How U.S. Infrastructure Crumbled

With America facing a $1.6 trillion infrastructure deficit, Joanna Guldi of the Commonweal Institute laments for the era the "infrastructure state."

August 19, 2008 - AlterNet

Are Eco-Restrictive HOA Rules Being Hung Out to Dry?

Homeowner Associations have traditionally frowned on eco-friendly additions such as clotheslines. Recent legal challenges may change the rules.

August 18, 2008 - AlterNet

Ending Our Love Affair with SUV Burgers

We shouldn't be blaming biofuel production for rising food prices and environmental degradation while ignoring the immense harm of industrial meat production, writes Frances Cerra Whittelsey.

August 6, 2008 - AlterNet

America's Dying Middle Class

Rolling Stone pundit Matt Taibbi writes that the media are missing the real story: that millions of Americans are financially drowning under home heating costs, gas prices and debt, and the middle class is disappearing.

July 24, 2008 - AlterNet

Erie's Tire Incinerator: Renewable Energy or 'Something out of The Simpsons'?

A proposal to annually burn tens of millions of car tires to produce electricity at a facility in Erie, Pennsylvania is raising concerns among environmentalists and regional residents over mercury and other emissions.

July 14, 2008 - AlterNet

U.S. Cities Going off the Bottle

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has resolved to phase out purchasing bottled water, not only for environmental reasons, but as a way of encouraging more financial support for municipal water systems.

June 26, 2008 - AlterNet

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