EarthTalk answers: What really has the biggest impact on climate change? And is oil shale a potential source of energy?

Our weekly environmental column focuses on the population of gorillas and the spread of solar power.

EarthTalk discusses two bedroom topics.

Dear EarthTalk: With plug-in hybrid and electric cars due to hit the roads sometime soon, will there be places to plug them in besides at home? And if so, how much will it cost to re-charge?
– Nicole Koslowsky, Pompano Beach, FL
Gasoline-electric hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, are all the rage due to their fuel [...]

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that military sonar exercises actually kill marine wildlife?  – John Slocum, Newport, RI 
Unfortunately for many whales, dolphins and other marine life, the use of underwater sonar (short for sound navigation and ranging) can lead to injury and even death. Sonar systems-first developed by the U.S. Navy to detect enemy submarines-generate slow-rolling [...]

Across most of Major League Baseball (MLB), teams are turning greener than the outfield grass, reports the June 2009 issue of E – The Environmental Magazine (now posted at www.emagazine.com/view/?4664). They’re reducing energy consumption, extending recycling efforts, and taking the first steps into renewable energy. So far, four parks, including Fenway Park in Boston, [...]

Obama abruptly changes his tone in his selling of the stimulus. Watch him lay the smack down.

Obama seeks biggest nuclear weapons cut with Russia in a generation.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) — U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking to slash the nuclear stockpiles of the United States and Russia by as much as 80 percent, [...]

Dear EarthTalk: This winter is shaping up to be one of the coldest in recent memory where I live. What can I do to reduce my home heating bill now and in the future? — Eric Lenz, Seattle, WA
Whether global warming is somehow to blame or not, much of the [...]

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has issued a challenge to businesses: reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent over the next three years.  And a prominent group of Massachusetts businesses said they will accept his challenge.
The Governor’s Clean Energy Challenge, developed by the New England Clean Energy Council and the Massachusetts High Technology Council in [...]

Dear EarthTalk: My body doesn’t tolerate cheese well. Are there dairy-free cheeses that will be easier on my constitution and better for the environment, too? — Steve Sullivan, Seattle, WA

With some 30 to 50 million Americans suffering from various degrees of lactose intolerance, and an estimated three million of us now eating animal-free (vegan) [...]

Dear EarthTalk: I need to replace my old TV. Can you tell me which of the latest models is the greenest? I was told that the flat-screen/plasmas are real energy hogs. What do you recommend? — Angela Montague, via e-mail
According to The Wall Street Journal’s Rebecca Smith, a 42-inch plasma TV [...]

Martin Schubert is going to change the way you see the world [...]