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Nuclear Power is So 20th Century
When I was born in the 1950s, nuclear power was said to be “too cheap to meter.” Although few and far between, disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl have laid waste to that claim and, for that matter, entire cities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, herself a nuclear physicist, led the charge to eliminate her nation’s nuclear […]
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Patriot Bankruptcy Puts Retired Miners in Life and Death Struggle
In my many years in Appalachia, I’ve worked, traveled, prayed, broken bread, and raised a glass with a good many retired coal miners. I know that, in retirement, they are still paying heavily for their decades of work in the mines – you can hear it in their shortness of breath, you can see it […]
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The coming solar electricity transformation
Solar cells are unusual in that they were cost-competitive from the get-go. From the Apollo space program to highway signs to lighting for buoys, solar could replace highly expensive power from batteries or other sources and eliminate the need for the construction of electric distribution lines. When the Institute for Local Self-Reliance was founded in […]
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United Airline’s Top Customers Call Company Out Over Climate Pollution Misdeeds
Some of United Airline’s most valuable and loyal customers are calling out the company today over its prolonged fight to stop new regulations aimed at reducing global climate pollution emissions from the airline industry. And these aren’t your everyday frequent fliers we’re talking about, twenty are members of United’s Global Services flyer program – a privilege bestowed […]
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A drunk person, a child, and a blind man get into a car. Who’s driving?
Here's what the intersection of car-share programs and driverless cars could look like.
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China’s Growing Hunger for Meat Shown by Move to Buy Smithfield, World’s Leading Pork Producer
By Janet Larsen Half the world’s pigs—more than 470 million of them—live in China, but even that may not be enough to satisfy the growing Chinese appetite for meat. While meat consumption in the United States has fallen more than 5 percent since peaking in 2007, Chinese meat consumption has leapt 18 percent, from 64 […]
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Why Master Limited Partnerships are a Lousy Policy for Solar, Wind, and Taxpayers
If you follow the renewable energy industry and haven’t been sleeping, then you’ve probably heard about one of the few pieces of federal legislation purported to help clean energy that’s actually moving: expanding Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) to cover wind and solar energy. (H.R.1696) This is not a good thing. MLPs originated in 1986, when […]
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One meteorologist’s come-to-Jesus moment on climate change
Like many TV weather forecasters, the Weather Channel's Stu Ostro didn't believe in climate change -- until extreme weather and scientific evidence changed his mind.
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![President Barack Obama]()
![President Barack Obama]()
The Obama climate move that nobody noticed
With a behind-the-scenes accounting change, the Obama administration has justified more government regulation to fight climate change.
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Warming oceans are killing baby puffins
Rising temperatures off the East Coast are driving away herring, which is making it hard for puffins to find food for their young.
