Forget the Amazon Fires. State-Sanctioned Deforestation Is the Bigger Problem.
Environmental commons like the Amazon rain forest are vulnerable to shifts in the fickle winds of politics.
Energy & Environment
The Price of an Erratic President
Even if Trump doesn’t follow through on his bad ideas, the uncertainty is still a drag.
Don't Panic: Amazon Burning Is Mostly Farms, Not Forests
Problematic deforestation continues, but the "lungs of the earth" are still breathing.
Banned Microplastics Pose No Risk to Human Health, Says World Health Organization
Plus: More on the 1619 Project, a chart shows how crazy U.S. military spending is, and more...
How California Environmental Law Makes It Easy For Labor Unions To Shake Down Developers
“Greenmailing” drives up construction costs and wait times, making the state’s already expensive housing even less affordable.
Extreme Climate Change Has Arrived in America, Says The Washington Post
Rising temperatures are mostly happening in the winter and at night.
Man Fights City Hall for Ability To Keep 'Emotional Support' Pigs
Larry Johnson's pet pigs have run afoul of Minneapolis' ban on city swine.
New Endangered Species Policy Will Protect Both Property Rights and Rare Frogs
There’s no need to pit property owners against imperiled species.
No, Scientists Didn't Find That Men Are Afraid to Carry Reusable Bags for Fear of Appearing Gay
The media are misreporting this one wildly.
No Jail Time for 79-Year-Old Woman Who Fed Stray Cats
But Nancy Segula will still need to rein in her "compassion for cats."
A 79-Year-Old Woman Receives a Jail Sentence for Feeding Stray Cats
"I'm an animal lover, and I feel guilty that they're wandering around out there and they have nothing to eat."
The Perils of Zero-Sum Worldviews Revisited
The El Paso shooter's combination of anti-capitalism, bigotry, and xenophobic nationalism highlights the dangers of zero-sum thinking on left and right. His worldview resembles that of the perpetrator of a similar attack in New Zealand earlier this year. Sadly, these ideas are not confined to a few extremists.
Impending Defeat for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Pestilence, war, famine, and death are all on the decline.
The Trade Deficit Keeps Growing. And Here's 3 More Data Points Showing Trump Is Losing His Trade War
Investment in American businesses has fallen sharply since the start of the trade war, and American exports are way down too.
Despite What Democrats Said at Their Debate, We're Not Heading Toward Climate Apocalypse
Climate change is a problem, but the end of the world is not scheduled for 2030.
Why Giving Up Meat Won't Have Much of an Effect on Climate Change
Going vegetarian would reduce a person's greenhouse gas emissions by around 2 percent
Trump Criticizes Straw Bans, While His Campaign Sells Trump-Themed Straws for $15
The once noble symbol of resistance to government tyranny is now being used to help get Donald Trump re-elected.
The New York Times Says Heat Waves Are Getting Worse. The National Climate Assessment Disagrees.
At least in the lower 48 states.
How 'Ag-Gag' Laws Stifle Free Speech
The government shouldn't pass special laws that prevent people from revealing what's true.
Peak Farmland Helps Solve Climate Change
It also protects and restores imperiled biodiversity.
Stossel: No Filming on Farms
Farm groups get politicians to pass laws against secret filming on farms.
No 'Bee-Apocalypse,' Thanks to Free Markets
A new study finds no dramatic and widespread economic effects from colony collapse disorder.
Is Climate Change Loading Tropical Storm Barry Up With Extra Rain?
Research suggests that inundations are increasing because climate change makes hurricanes linger longer. The good news is that normalized losses from hurricanes aren't increasing.
As Tropical Storm Barry Approaches, the GAO Highlights FEMA's Past Failings
Unclear and contradictory procedure guidelines slowed down relief efforts in Puerto Rico in 2017. Will it happen again this year? Probably.
Trump Tries On the Mantle of Environmental Leadership. Does He Deserve It?
"We're working hard, maybe harder than all previous administrations, maybe almost all of them."
'Temporary' Solar Tax Credits Have Persisted For Decades. Now Senate Dems Can't Let Them Go.
There's nothing more permanent than a temporary solar investment tax credit.
Massachusetts Regulators Get Tough on LaCroix
LaCroix's parent company failed to get the special permission slip required by Massachusetts regulators.
HBO's Chernobyl Highlighted Government Malfeasance and Administrative Evil
The show wasn't about a nuclear disaster per se, but about how a government—and individuals—reacted in the face of disaster.
Anti-Plastic Bag Activists Have a New Weapon: Shame
A Canadian grocery store tried to shame its customers with embarrassing plastic bags.
Bayer to Waste $5.6 Billion Trying to Appease Anti-Pesticide Activists
This will fail and more pressing problems will be neglected
City of Miami Beach Wants To Spend $100,000 on 'Instagrammable' Recycling Can
The artsy new waste receptacle is intended to make recycling "fun and cool."
You Can Get a Year in Jail for Feeding Garbage to a Pig
Attorney Mike Chase, behind the popular @CrimeADay Twitter feed, talks about his new book, How to Become a Federal Criminal.
Justin Trudeau Uses 9-Year-Old's Straw Stats To Sell Ban on Single-Use Plastics
A press release announcing the Canadian government's intention to ban straws and other single-use plastics cites a long debunked statistic.
You Can Get 5 Years in Prison for Selling Llama Poop, and Other Ludicrous Laws
Mike Chase, the man behind the popular @CrimeADay Twitter feed, on his new book, How to Become a Federal Criminal
Union Sues Over Approval of 1,000-Unit Silicon Valley Housing Project, Arguing Building's Shiny Windows Will Kill Too Many Birds
An environmental lawsuit holds up yet another residential development in housing-starved California.
We're All Gonna Die: Climate Change Apocalypse by 2050
Worst-case scenarios mislead far more than they enlighten.
Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren Unveil Dueling Trillion-Dollar Climate Policies
The two Democrats' climate action plans reveal a near limitless faith in the ability of government to reorganize the economy.
Confessions of a Former Climate Skeptic
Jerry Taylor on why he now considers climate change a serious problem.
Chernobyl Is About What Happens When Citizens Believe Telling the Truth Is Futile
The HBO series is a powerful portrait of the political and social rot that occurs in authoritarian regimes.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Is a Reminder That Eco-Terrorists Make Effective Movie Villains
The eternal battle between man and megalizard continues.
Backers of California's Paper Receipt Crackdown Overhype 'Skip the Slip'
A California bill to crack down on paper receipts relies on scare tactics and misinformation.
Trump Says China Is Paying for His $16 Billion Tariff Bailout to Farmers. That's Simply Not True.
This might seem like nothing more than a snooze-worthy debate over semantics or economic theory or government P.R. strategies. But it matters a lot.
This Environmentalist Says Only Nuclear Power Can Save Us Now
Michael Shellenberger believes the Green New Deal’s focus on wind and solar is a waste of time and money.
Trump Doubles Down on Ineffective Tariffs, Further Harming U.S. Farmers and Consumers
As messy as things are, they could get uglier still.
