Articles by Sarah Laskow
Sarah Laskow is a reporter based in New York City who covers environment, energy, and sustainability issues, among other things.
All Articles
-
![]()
![]()
Study: Earth losing its climate change defenses
Like your body, the planet can heal itself a little bit. Some places, like forests and oceans, are carbon sinks -- they absorb carbon from the atmosphere, slowing down the rate at which everything goes to hell. But climate change is no papercut, and as it gets worse, it’s actually breaking the planet’s immune system. Two new studies in Nature argue that two types of carbon sinks -- oceans and soil -- are becoming less effective as climate change advances.
-
Critical List: Yellowstone pipe could have carried tar-sands oil; L.A. survived Carmageddon
The Yellowstone River spill could have included heavier, more corrosive tar-sands oil, federal officials said. This type of oil eats through pipes more quickly, and if ExxonMobiil was using those pipes to transport tar-sands oil, that decision could have contributed to the spill.
Carmageddon = over. And it turns out that, given the choice to avoid the freeway by plane or bike, it’s faster to bike.
It's not the best idea to buy meat from Japan right now. Just saying.
Your fish oil tablets are destroying marine ecosystems. -
![]()
![]()
2011 natural disasters cost a record $265 billion
Politicians might not believe in climate change, but insurance companies do. They track disasters, and it turns out that disasters just in the first six months of this year already cost the world more than any other year of disasters on record.
The price tag for 2011 disasters reached $265 billion. -
Critical List: Carmageddon is a waste of money; Napa winegrowers aren't afraid of climate change
Carmageddon: L.A.'s shutting down a major highway to add a carpool lane, which is probably a waste of $1 billion in transit funding.
Say it ain't so, Sandra Lee! The Food Network star spoke to a petroleum industry group and won't say why. Maybe she just wants to use crude oil as an ingredient -- it’s not edible, but when has that ever stopped her?
Napa Valley can totally take climate change: Wine growers say, "We'll be able to adapt." Bacon panic: Still on.
