Articles from TreeHugger

In the weeks since the clean energy and climate bill died unceremoniously in the Senate, there's been much soul-searching in both green and policy circles alike. Some people blame the bill's failure to pass on intransigent Republicans, others a lack of leadership from Obama, and some have pointed their fingers directly at environmentalists. Charles Komanoff, however, is simply relieved. He argues that the failure of the cap and trade bill is good news, because it clears the way for a fresh start with much better policy: Something that's easier for the American people to rally behind, something that doesn't have so many complicated rules and giveaways to polluters. Something closer to a carbon tax, or what's known as a cap and dividend -- that's what you need to pass a climate bill. He explains: In this video hosted by Grit TV, Komanoff explains why he ... (Read Full Article)

With all the talk about getting the United States off of oil, energy independence, creating a low-carbon future, et cetera, one of the key parts of that is reducing carbon emissions, whether they are from electricity, transportation or wherever they occur. Central to that is setting a price on carbon emissions. What options are there to do this? Cap and trade may be the main option being considered, but both a cap and dividend approach, as well as a carbon tax have their vocal proponents. Let's take a look at each: (Read Full Article)

Greenpeace is all about making companies who talk the talk actually walk the walk, especially when it comes to technology. The activist organization is well known for flinging egg on the face of electronics manufacturers who say they're making moves to green their gadgets, but then backslide on their commitments. It's the same with the IT industry - Greenpeace agrees with IT companies that technology has massive potential to cut our carbon footprints, but when it comes to implementing the solutions these companies are dreaming up, Greenpeace says they're being far too sluggish. That's why they've put out the IT Leaderboard, a ranking system of tech companies, as a way to create "friendly" competition and prod them into action and earn the green clout they're all hoping to have in the marketplace. (Read Full Article)