Cash for Clunkers winding down

AFP

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday that after a wildly successful run, the cash for clunkers program will come to a close on Monday, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m. EDT. “This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work,”…

Earth Talk | Rooftop gardens

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: I’m sure there are many good environmental reasons to build a rooftop garden. Can you enlighten? And also I’d like to know how to go about creating one and whether or not some municipalities might offer incentives to do so. – Linda, via e-mail Indeed there are many good reasons to build a…

Earth Talk | Oil spills

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: I haven’t heard much of late about big oil spills like the infamous Exxon Valdez. Has the industry cleaned up its act, or do the media just not report them? – Olivia G., via e-mail In the wake of 1989’s massive Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, when 11 million…

Paul Fleisher | Stepping back from nuclear terror

AFP

President Obama recently reached a tentative agreement with the Russian leadership to reduce our two nations’ nuclear arsenals by up to 25 percent. In his April address to NATO, the president described several additional steps to address the nuclear danger. Reducing the risk of an accidental or intentional nuclear holocaust somewhere on our planet should…