Heather Smith
Why Americans love to hate the train — and always have
A cross-country train trip serves as a reminder that Big Rail once called all the shots, until we pushed back against its reshaping of the U.S. landscape.
Is necessity the mother of climate protest?
Massachusetts coal-barge civil disobedience settlement means that the "necessity defense" for climate protest remains tantalizingly untested in court.
The insect-eating revolution will not be bro-ified
A study finds marginally more enthusiasm for eating bugs among the testosterone set. But, truly, entomophagy does not bow to gender.
Nevada wins Tesla’s gigafactory sweepstakes
The Silver State gets a super-hyped electric car battery factory. Tesla gets subsidies totaling $1.25 billion.
Amtrak wait? Blame the freight
Rail is a great way to ship your stuff and yourself for a cross-country move. If only we hadn't built a system that gives slow freight the right of way.
The cynical money person’s guide to our renewable energy future
Banks looking into trends in renewable energy investment like what they see -- for reasons that have almost nothing to do with the, you know, planet.
Four reasons that ice bucket challenge went crazy viral
Everybody on the internet these days wants to create the next viral sensation. How did ALS's ubiquitous ice bucket challenge pull it off?
Energy companies in Texas are setting money on fire
How can natural gas be a "bridge fuel" if its low price means drillers would rather burn it than sell it? Here's an illustrative case.
After Ferguson, what next?
The protests may be winding down for now, but if the history of activism tells us anything, it's that this is precisely when the longer-term changes start to unfold.
