diff --git a/pytential/__init__.py b/pytential/__init__.py
index 9be87e7899189300353e901f462e3d1aabcb7ee4..5d8c61fce75f2b9c1fdcdadd6eac2ef2188dcd1a 100644
--- a/pytential/__init__.py
+++ b/pytential/__init__.py
@@ -30,6 +30,26 @@ from pytential.symbolic.execution import bind
 
 from pytools import memoize_on_first_arg
 
+import os
+
+
+PYTENTIAL_LOG_DEBUG = os.environ.get("PYTENTIAL_LOG_DEBUG")
+
+
+if PYTENTIAL_LOG_DEBUG is not None:
+    import logging
+    from pytential.log import set_up_logging
+    set_up_logging(PYTENTIAL_LOG_DEBUG.split(":"), level=logging.DEBUG)
+
+
+PYTENTIAL_LOG_INFO = os.environ.get("PYTENTIAL_LOG_INFO")
+
+
+if PYTENTIAL_LOG_INFO is not None:
+    import logging
+    from pytential.log import set_up_logging
+    set_up_logging(PYTENTIAL_LOG_INFO.split(":"), level=logging.INFO)
+
 
 @memoize_on_first_arg
 def _integral_op(discr):
diff --git a/pytential/log.py b/pytential/log.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..651afb4b5e3f6c50d0f85e7639dc333ae43dd4d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pytential/log.py
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+__copyright__ = "Copyright (C) 2017 Matt Wala"
+
+__license__ = """
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+THE SOFTWARE.
+"""
+
+import logging
+
+#
+# This file is based heavily on
+# http://stackoverflow.com/questions/384076/how-can-i-color-python-logging-output
+#
+
+
+# {{{ constants
+
+class colors:  # noqa
+    BLACK, RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE, MAGENTA, CYAN, WHITE = range(8)
+
+
+class term_seq:  # noqa
+    RESET_SEQ = "\033[0m"
+    COLOR_SEQ = "\033[1;%dm"
+    BOLD_SEQ = "\033[1m"
+
+
+LEVEL_TO_COLOR = {
+    'WARNING': colors.YELLOW,
+    'INFO': colors.CYAN,
+    'DEBUG': colors.WHITE,
+    'CRITICAL': colors.YELLOW,
+    'ERROR': colors.RED
+}
+
+
+PYTENTIAL_LOG_FORMAT = (
+        "[$BOLD%(name)s$RESET][%(levelname)s]  %(message)s "
+        "($BOLD%(filename)s$RESET:%(lineno)d)"
+)
+
+# }}}
+
+
+# {{{ formatting
+
+class ColoredFormatter(logging.Formatter):
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def make_formatter_message(message, use_color):
+        if use_color:
+            message = (message
+                    .replace("$RESET", term_seq.RESET_SEQ)
+                    .replace("$BOLD", term_seq.BOLD_SEQ))
+        else:
+            message = message.replace("$RESET", "").replace("$BOLD", "")
+        return message
+
+    def __init__(self, use_color=True):
+        logging.Formatter.__init__(
+                self, self.make_formatter_message(PYTENTIAL_LOG_FORMAT, use_color))
+        self.use_color = use_color
+
+    def format(self, record):
+        levelname = record.levelname
+        if self.use_color and levelname in LEVEL_TO_COLOR:
+            levelname_color = (
+                    (term_seq.COLOR_SEQ % (30 + LEVEL_TO_COLOR[levelname]))
+                    + levelname + term_seq.RESET_SEQ)
+            record.levelname = levelname_color
+        return logging.Formatter.format(self, record)
+
+# }}}
+
+
+def set_up_logging(modules, level, use_color=True):
+    """
+    :arg modules: A list of modules for which logging output should be enabled
+    """
+
+    color_formatter = ColoredFormatter(use_color)
+
+    handler = logging.StreamHandler()
+    handler.setFormatter(color_formatter)
+
+    for module in modules:
+        logger = logging.getLogger(module)
+        logger.addHandler(handler)
+        logger.setLevel(level)