Articles by Sarah Laskow

Border fence doesn’t stop humans, just endangered species

The 600 or so miles of fence splitting the U.S. from Mexico hasn't stopped immigrants from moving northward, but the fence has kept a few (non-human) endangered species from crossing the border. According to a new study, some species have had their range cut by 75 percent.

But the affected species, which include the Arroyo toad, California red-legged frog, black-spotted newt, and Pacific pond turtle, aren't the type that tend to incite widespread indignation on their behalf — that is, they’re reptiles and amphibians, which usually aren’t considered cute enough to worry about.

Critical List: Bachmann goes after Pawlenty on cap-and-trade; a bubble shield for wind turbines

At last night's Republican debate, Michelle Bachmann tried to stake Tim Pawlenty on his support for cap-and-trade.

The EPA wised up and banned DuPont from selling Imprelis, the herbicide that was killing trees.

San Francisco could require businesses to let bikers bring their ride inside.

Congress doesn't believe global warming is a security threat

Climate change will shift the equation of global power and craziness, and the intelligence community is trying to place for those situations. But Congress isn't interested in that. Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard gives this example:

In 2008, [Thomas] Fingar, [former chairman of the National Intelligence Council] now a fellow at Stanford University, took the lead in drafting the first national intelligence assessment on the security challenges presented by climate change. It found that global warming will further destabilize already-volatile parts of the world and should be considered in national security planning. But congressional Republicans dismissed the report as "a waste of resources."

Critical List: Energy panel supports fracking disclosure; Walmart's move to wind power

An Energy Department panel wants to require natural gas companies to disclose what chemicals they're using in hydrofracking projects.

Green groups have an idea for how to cut the country's debt: stop subsidies to oil and gas companies.

But (of course!) most of the members of the Super Congress are opposed to regulating greenhouse-gas emissions.