This Environmental Diary gives you a look back at the key environmental events, opinions, facts, conspiracy theories, and advances during the Obama years (2010-2015). I do not blame our lack of progress on environmental issues on President Obama. His administration was obstructed so often and so stubbornly by a party that consistently denies that climate change exists, and yet we made more progress in these matters than you might think. If you can suspend your skepticism, or if you are a believer, there is much in this diary to give us hope that we can take good care of our planet. Or you can...

If you look at the policies of the Republican Party individually they are not at all unusual stands for the party to take. But if you look at the intensity with which the GOP is pursuing its agenda, and the number of changes they want to make to the way the US Constitution functions right now then clearly the Conservatives are up to something. The Republicans are dissatisfied with everything that they see as Liberal about our laws, and the size of our government, and the over-regulation by government. But they are not willing to patiently correct each policy piece by piece. They think America...

Hello, Zoe Taylor here. The things that I did and the things that happened to me can only be traced to my cigarette addiction. Perhaps there were tiny seeds and character flaws from my childhood that made me prone to my addiction, or maybe it can be traced to a chemical imbalance, fluctuating serotonin levels. Maybe it was a little glitch in my DNA, dormant until that first inhalation of hazy, gray smoke. You can judge for yourself. But there is no doubt in my mind that the weaknesses in my character steeped in smoke, tar, CO2, and nicotine led to events through which I degraded myself and...