Images that capture the challenges facing our environment and the reforms needed to save it.
As Earth Day approaches, it’s dusk on planet Earth. Read about the 350 parts (per million) of carbon dioxide threatening our atmosphere in Bill McKibben’s recent Nation piece here. (Reuters Pictures)
Two pro-drilling delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. The transfer of jobs and resources from the fossil fuel-based economy to renewable energy will likely provoke the ire of entrenched energy interests. Robert Pollin explores this possibility in “Doing the Recovery Right.” (Reuters Pictures)
The aftermath of a December 2008 retention pond wall collapse at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tenn. New evidence shows that water contamination may have been downplayed after the spill. Kelly Hearn reports here. (AP Images)
Polar bears paid the price of Bush administration environmental practices. Mark Hertsgaard investigates the role 2008 vice-presidential nominee and possible 2012 GOP candidate for president Sarah Palin played in the effort to ditch the Endangered Species Act here. (AP Images)
Biofuel critics often frame the problem as a choice between feeding people and feeding SUVs; they blame rising food prices for diverting food crops to fuel production. Frances Cerra Whittelsey refutes that claim here. (AP Images)
Wise, compassionate forces from civil society must join green business to change our politics. Read all about Van Jones’s vision of a “Green New Deal” here. (AP Images)
Wind farm enterprises across the country are transforming energy systems while helping small business owners in rural areas. Liza Featherstone sheds light on this development in “Help Wanted for Green Jobs.” (AP Images)
Volunteers construct an environmentally friendly home for Central Valley Habitat for Humanity in Harrisonburg, Va. Job training in “green construction” addresses economic and environmental concerns according to J. Lester Feder’s article “Newark’s Great Green Hope.” (AP Images)
High-voltage transmission lines are silhouetted in the foreground as they run through a wind farm near Spearville, Kan. Replacing old electrical grid systems with renewable energy sources will revitalize America. Craig D. Rose writes about this essential transition in “Here Comes the Sun.” (AP Images)
Distributing energy resources between solar panels, wind and existing energy sources saves the huge cost of overhauling the system all at one. Craig D. Rose has more here. (Reuters Pictures)
Riders wait as a Manhattan-bound N train enters Queensborough Plaza Station in New York City. Ben Adler argues that investments in existing mass transit works and their expansion would strengthen one of the original sources of green jobs. His article, “Ticket to Ride,” appears in the February 16, 2009 issue of The Nation. (AP Images)
A university student plants a sapling during “Clean Up the World” campaign in Hatillo neighborhood near San Jose. Kristina Rizga profiles youth-initiated environmentalism in her Nation article, “Good Work–If Youth Can Find It.” (Reuters Pictures)
