Living Green - All about saving energy, money, and the planet

Researching your vote

Where to start:

Grist's Election 2008 Candidate Chart — See where the presidential candidates stand on climate and energy issues.
League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard — Search for your Congressional reps and see how they've voted on green issues.
Natural Resources Defense Council: U.S. Law & Policy — Get fact sheets on current environmental legislation and more info. about the big picture.
Why environmentalists should vote — From Grist's Ask Umbra, hear what to do even if you don't agree with the system but care about the planet.
We Can Solve It — Learn how to be an advocate for change with these simple tips.
U.S. House of Representatives — Find your reps and contact them about what matters to you.
U.S. Senate — Tell your senators how you feel about environmental legislation.

More about: Researching your vote

When we vote for a candidate who supports renewable energy, conservation, and environmental protection, we're doing our part to help the planet. And it doesn't matter if you prefer Democrats, Republicans, third parties, or none of the above — climate change affects everyone, so people setting public policy should be aware of the issues.

Cash for clunkers: A bailout for SUV drivers?

Congress may pay SUV and truck owners $4,500 to trade in their gas guzzlers. Is it fair?

EPA likely to regulate emissions for first time

President Obama promised change when he was elected, and now it appears that he has enabled a big one.

We hardly new ye: On resolutions for 2009

Resolve to make your environmental concerns known to the people in charge this year. This still matters!

Obama starts social questions site

Considering how long they've had to do this, it's pretty freaking amazing...the Obama administration, at Change.gov, has just put up an online question asking and rating system that is, really, quite robust and useful. ...

Obama vows to green the White House

He hopes to show the American people that gaining greater energy efficiency in your home is "not that hard."

President Obama: What this means for the environment

President-elect Obama has plenty of free advice to turn to from environmentalists.

Carpool to the polls with Facebook

Need a ride to go vote? Combine the power of social networks with exercising your civic duty, thanks to a nifty Facebook application.

U.S. Senate passes renewable energy bill: House is next

America is one step closer to guaranteeing solar tax credits for the next decade. Let's hope the House of Representatives takes action to support green energy too.

Green presidential picks, part III: Third parties

Research your vote by familiarizing yourself with the energy platforms of the independent candidates you're most likely to see on the ballot.

Green presidential picks - part II, Republican

How many green themes were touched on at the GOP convention? Our blogger was keeping score.

Sarah Palin's green veepstakes; Obama's ethanol support

Sizing up Sarah Palin's green cred takes some legwork. Here's where to look.

Green presidential picks - part I, Democrat

Green themes were in the air at the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver.

Joe Biden's green veepstakes, McCain houses' carbon footprint

Environmentalists praise the Democrats' vice presidential pick but criticize the GOP presidential candidate's energy-hogging homes.

San Jose leading the U.S. in sustainable city living

The capital of Silicon Valley aims to reduce, reuse, and recycle its way to green living.

Senate nixes solar tax credits

Congress drops the ball, and America will lose green-collar jobs.

Friedman is back and fighting for solar

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman takes on the McCain-Clinton gas holiday and supports green energy.

We've come a long way, baby

Taking a moment to reflect on how far we've come in the past 12 months.

Could the solar power bill pass?

A 30% tax break on solar panels might just get extended by Congress for another eight years.

Top NASA scientist says oil lobby controls the government

An government employee says what the rest of us already knew. But hey, nice for the confirmation.

Al Gore's new slideshow is even more awesome

The Nobel Prize winner's tells a few more inconvenient truths -- this time, about the leadership we need to fight climate change.