Archive: May 2012

Dinosaur farts caused early global warming

More than a quarter of the world’s human-related methane emissions come from livestock burps and farts, which is bad enough — but imagine what the climate would look like if cows weighed 25 tons. Back in dinosaur days, we had some seriously outsize herbivores roaming the planet, making some seriously outsize butt music. A team […]

Do the feds care about antibiotics in animal feed?

Did you know ethanol producers use antibiotics to control the fermentation process? Then those drugs end up in the grain by-products we're feeding to livestock and dairy cows? We asked the FDA if they have any plans to put a stop to that pattern. Their answer: not any time soon.

Critical List: Peru’s mysterious animal deaths; wolf puppies

Pelicans and dolphins are dying in droves in Peru — 1,200 birds and 800 dolphins have washed up dead on the coast — and the government is warning people away from the beaches until it figures out why. Dinosaurs might have passed enough gas (i.e. methane) to match current levels of greenhouse-gas emissions. The Crawford […]

Re-Whiting history: Richard White on managing our un-pristine planet

The award-winning environmental historian says humans have had a massive impact on the environment for centuries. Is it different now, in the "Anthropocene"? Yes and no.

‘Bitter Seeds’ documentary reveals tragic toll of GMOs in India

A new film offers an intimate look at the lives of farmers who become so mired in debt growing genetically modified seed they take their own lives.

‘Hug the monster’: Downplaying the climate threat won’t work as a survival strategy

When it comes to climate change, we should take a cue from Air Force trainers and "hug the monster": embrace our fear and turn its energy into action.

What car should my family buy?

It's time to retire the trusty Roberts family minivan. What should replace it? A Prius v? The Ford C-Max hybrid?

Heartland Institute’s BS ad campaign is causing it all kinds of problems

OK, I’m working on a joke, tell me if you think this works: How is the Heartland Institute like a professional burlesque dancer? It just can’t stop showing its ass! Eh? Eh? All right, maybe not, but the point is it’s been a hard year for poor Heartland, which just can’t seem to not look […]

Ontario feed-in tariff prices drop, Germans pay much less

A version of this post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Ontario just completed a revision of their landmark feed-in tariff program and rates for renewable electricity generation and prices fell sharply: 30 percent for solar and 15 percent for wind power. This continues a trend of […]