Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Late last month, we moved fast and became one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who trashed a clunker as part of the government's Cash for Clunkers program. Thanks to the government subsidy, we received more than $4,500 for...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment
During last year's election campaign, I often turned to FiveThirtyEight.com and its lead blogger Nate Silver for the best analysis of the electoral numbers and polling trends. Since then, I've seen Nate repeatedly on various MSNBC shows and he continues...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
A few days ago, a tanker truck worked its way up my driveway and plugged into my propane tank. About a thousand dollars later, it pulled away and slipped off to make its next delivery. Nothing newsworthy there. That’s typically...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Call me a masochist. I've been doing some reading of Jimmy Carter's speeches lately and I'm struck by two points: he called for all the right stuff when it came to energy policy, but, and most importantly, he fell completely...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
A few days ago, a bunch of us left NRDC's office and walked a few blocks downtown after work to hear a talk by Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. The event -- organized by NRDC Trustee Wendy Schmidt --...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Maybe it's the start of the holiday season, which has long been recognized to increase stress. Or perhaps it was the news from India where terrorists killed almost 200 people and injured hundreds more. Whatever the cause, I've found myself...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
On the same day that congressional leaders threw in the towel on a bailout for the auto industry, three Bay Area mayors joined an innovative startup in backing a $1 billion plan to create the modern day Detroit. According to...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
I'm not much of a party guy so my husband, our laptops and assorted dogs spent last night sprawled around our family room watching the election returns. We'd often speak over the drone of the talking heads to blurt out...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
Day two and the feeling of being dunked in oil hasn't lifted. In fact, given the financial news rocking Wall Street and the soaring price of oil futures, I'm left feeling greasier than ever. The latest reports from Washington find the...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
I woke up feeling more than a bit greasy this morning. It was almost as if I someone had snuck into my bedroom and dumped a barrel or two of oil on me. And my shower didn't help all that much....
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Greening China , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment
If your husband is a tennis fanatic like mine then your television is going to be commandeered for much of early September as the world’s tennis superstars slam their way through the U.S. Open. And this year, in addition to...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Last night, as I drove home from the train, an SUV came speeding up behind me and sat on the tail of my hybrid. I was in the mode of seeing how high I could get my gas mileage --...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment
I recently wrote about NRDC's public opinion research program and promised to tell additional tales from the often-humbling land of surveys and focus groups. In the category of humbling, we were recently told that the American public is deeply skeptical...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
Today's Guardian newspaper quotes NASA climate scientist James Hansen calling for the executives of large fossil-fuel companies to be put on trial for crimes against humanity. "When you are in that kind of position, as the CEO of one [of]...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
Public opinion research is part of my responsibilities at NRDC and its a piece of my job that I love. There's nothing quite like watching a group of folks from behind a one-way mirror talk about the issues that NRDC...
