(Image: D. Bacon/Shutterstock/Economist)

Seize the day

The fall in the price of oil and gas provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix bad energy policies MOST of the time, economic policymaking is about tinkering at the edges. Politicians argue furiously about modest changes to taxes or spending. Once in a while, however, momentous shifts are possible. From Deng Xiaoping’s market opening in

Car exhaust pollution (Image: Wikipedia)

London council brings in parking surcharge for diesel vehicles

Islington Council votes for a £96 additional ‘diesel’ charge for resident parking permits Islington Council in north London is thought to have become the first local authority to put a surcharge on the ownership of diesel-powered vehicles. On 15 January, the 48 members of the council (47 Labour and 1 Green) voted to increase the cost

(Source: NASA, NOAA, NY Times)

2014 Breaks Heat Record, Challenging Global Warming Skeptics

Last year was the hottest on earth since record-keeping began in 1880, scientists reported on Friday, underscoring warnings about the risks of runaway greenhouse gas emissions and undermining claims by climate change contrarians that global warming had somehow stopped. Extreme heat blanketed Alaska and much of the western United States last year. Records were set