Original Jan 5, 2012 – change back At this time of year trends always catch my attention and one I am watching has to do with driving patterns. Last week National Public Radio (NPR) quoted an oil industry analyst predicting that gasoline consumption in the US in January 2012 will be lower than in any…

There has been some hand wringing in recent days regarding findings from the National Geographic’s annual Greendex survey. Commentators read the survey and bemoan that Americans are not only more wasteful than their peers around the world, but we also don’t feel guilty about that waste. Reading the survey results I see a slightly different…

Extreme weather—from heat waves to flash floods and severe droughts—is fast becoming the new normal.  The extremes are consistent with climate change models and, per NOAA scientists, consistent with a warming planet.  The New York Times summarized the NOAA findings: Heat waves, in particular, are probably being worsened by global warming, the scientists said. They…