Burning issue: 'Waste-to-energy' plants take off in bid to cut garbage, fuel use

My first piece for The Daily Climate/Environmental Health News was published last week while I was in the hospital awaiting the birth of my son Leo, so it's taken me a week to post it here. Some things are worth waiting for. I've received a good response to the story so far, and since, to my knowledge, no one else has written a comprehensive piece on this massive new wave of incinerator proposals, I'd like to spread this far and wide. It's a complicated issue, and it takes a primer like this to begin to wrap your mind around the issue (and the technologies) and the implications for zero waste, waste management, recycling, human health, public subsidy of renewable energy, and more. So dive in.