Articles by Christopher Mims

Passive house mini-boom in NYC heralds furnace-free future

New York City and the rest of the tri-state area are getting their first wave of "passive houses," a type of construction in which a building is so well-insulated that it doesn't require heating in the winter.

The true cost of gasoline? $13 a gallon

What's the true cost of the emissions from every gallon of gasoline, when you add up all the negative environmental impacts they'll lead to, from poor air quality to catastrophic climate change? Nine dollars a gallon. Add that to what you're typically paying at the pump right now, and it means that the real cost of a gallon of gas to the planet and our future is easily into double digits.

Five things Al Gore will reveal at the upcoming Climate Reality event

On Sept. 14, The Climate Reality Project, spearheaded by Al Gore, will bring us, "24 hours of reality … An event that that will focus the world's attention on the full truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis." Its goals: "To remove the doubt, reveal the deniers, and catalyze urgency around an issue that affects every one of us."

Tepco bulldozed hill that could have prevented Fukushima disaster

When engineers first assessed the future home of the Fukushima nuclear power plant that would eventually melt down in response to a tsunami, the site featured a striking, 82-feet-high bluff that overlooked the ocean below.

It was more than high enough to have withstood the tsunami that struck the site in March.