Washington's bitter political climate, the one thing everyone can agree on is energy efficiency, whether that means longer lasting light bulbs or cars that go further on a gallon of gas. But our passion for cheap energy is likely to have some unsavory...

"Hybrid cars, fast trains, compact florescent light bulbs, solar panels, carbon offsets: Everything you've been told about living green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100 mpg car are dangerous fantasies. We are consumers, and we...

Drive a more fuel-efficient car, eat locally, seek energy-efficient light fixtures, and vote “yes!” And thus they’ve become the nuts-and-bolts of modern environmentalism. David Owen sees the matter differently. In his incisive and doggedly...

David Owen of the New Yorker and the author of The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse argues that most of the ways we’re fighting global warming (more efficient...

About this week's guest: About ideas and people mentioned in this podcast: Intro. [Recording date: February 1, 2012.] Russ: This is a fascinating, short, engaging book on the topic of saving the planet and the environment generally; and you've called...

For Sport, claimed the last words of John Major’s trapeze artist father were “oops” and at a State Opening as Black Rod thumped the door he yelled: “I bet he drinks Carling Black Label.” He’s been thrown out of the House 10 times, once famously for...