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Editing is really a good thing for the blogosphere

There is a kerfuffle in the blogosphere because Matt Yglesias’ employer forced a post into the blog Matt writes that disclaims something Matt said about a group called Third Way. And there are good reasons for raised eyebrows. It’s the wrong way to make such a disclaimer. The Center for American Progress could have asked […]

Evidence that Antarctica has warmed significantly over past 50 years

Scientists know the Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass “100 years ahead of schedule” (see here and here). Now, as Nature‘s climate blog reports, two studies presented last week at the AGU meeting document what should not be a surprise, but still is. New research suggests “the entire Antarctic continent may have warmed significantly over […]

The VC models are to blame, not the green technologies

It’s worth reviewing this great presentation from the folks at @Ventures: [vodpod id=Video.16097730&w=425&h=350&fv=] If they’re right — as I believe they are — we are soon going to see lots of greentech venture capital funds lose money. Given the potential for that loss to be skewed as “green technologies aren’t profitable” rather than “greentech VCs […]

Grist predicted the ass-fat trend that could land one Beverly Hills doc in the slammer

Back when I was a Grist underling intern, I wrote a piece about the world’s strangest biofuel sources, including, ahem, ass fat. Now it appears that using that trunk junk to power your car is not only gag-worthy, but also illegal. Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner is under investigation for using his patients’ flab […]

Giant pond of coal ash escapes, floods Tennessee homes

A giant flood of coal ash — the toxic sludge left over after coal burning — broke through an earthen retaining wall at a plant in Harriman, Tenn., Monday. Five hundred million gallons of nastiness flowed into tributaries of the Tennessee River and inundated a dozen nearby homes. Either Santa has it out for Harriman […]

TVA coal disaster is toxic wake-up call

An estimated 500 million gallons of coal-ash sludge are seeping along the I-40 Knoxville-Nashville corridor in eastern Tennessee, after an earthen wall gave way on Dec. 22 at the TVA Harriman coal-fired plant. While no casualties were reported, the coal-ash spill — the refuse left over after the plant burns the coal — should be […]

Politico lets shill get away with the basic dodge at the center of the ‘clean coal’ campaign

The "clean coal" PR people are running a scam. Thing is, it’s an obvious scam — easily exposed, easily debunked. Just because it’s obvious, though, doesn’t mean the media won’t fall for it. Indeed, the entire "clean coal" propaganda push is premised on the media’s gullibility. Here’s the scam: They leave the definition of "clean […]

Gingrich summarizes the state-of-the-art delayer line

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to respond to this interview with Newt Gingrich, but to be honest, Gingrich’s sociopathic dishonesty fills me with such revulsion that I am rendered inarticulate. I guess that makes me a failure as a blogger. The one thing I’d say is: the move here is to jump […]

The economy is an ecosystem, and industrial policy will help that ecosystem

Back in the 1980s, writers such as Robert Reich were advocating what was called an “industrial policy” — that is, the government should intervene in the economy and explicitly help a particular industry or set of industries in order to make them more competitive. Yes, I know this sounds like “picking winners,” except that governments […]

What U.S. leaders could learn from a 13-year-old

Under the blunt title “Ethanol is Stupid,” a letter in the Concord Monitor makes a cogent case against corn-based ethanol: Most ethanol is made from corn. However, that corn must be supplied in enormous quantities, and corn is used in much food for humans and animals. If we use corn for fuel, more will need […]