Currents

The company Pattern Energy Group—a wind and transmission developer—is planning to build a 400-mile transmission line in West Texas to bring Texas" wind power to the rest of the Southeast U.S.

High-speed rail, long seen as the missing element in the U.S. transportation picture, has finally begun in earnest. On September 17, the first significant high-speed rail project began construction in Illinois, using $98 million in funds from the Obama Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Most chlorine plants in the U.S. have turned from old manufacturing processes requiring mercury to newer ones that don"t. But four chlorine plants still use the outdated process, releasing mercury emissions that later settle in the water and contaminate fish.

While it may be fashionable for politicians to acknowledge that our environment is in serious trouble, and many do work diligently to pass legislation to improve environmental protections, it’s nearly impossible to imagine any one of them saying to the public that there are—or will soon be—too many of us.

In his book Twelve by Twelve: A One Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream (New World Library), author and aid worker William Powers recounts his life without modern entrapments. His solo adventure shines a revealing light on our busy lifestyles.

Coal ash hearings are underway across the U.S. related to more than three dozen unaccounted for coal-ash dump sites in 21 states that are contaminating drinking water.

States are taking the lead when it comes to chemical reform.

Cars that use diesel fuel get great mileage. Is it better for the environment to use diesel or unleaded gasoline? Dear EarthTalk: I’ve been hearing about the great gas mileage for Volkswagens that use diesel fuel. But is it better for the environment to use diesel or unleaded gasoline? —K. Cronk, Bay City, MI In […]

After a whole lot of hype and hope, California will not ban plastic shopping bags state-wide. After a whole lot of hype and hope on the part of environmentalists, it turns out that California will not ban plastic shopping bags state-wide. At least not now. The bag ban bill, which failed in the California Senate […]