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How Do You Solve a Problem Like Dependence on Foreign Energy Sources?

Austria embraces renewable energy Austria is yodeling up a new tree: the biofuels tree (oh, what are you, the metaphor police?). Like other hip countries, Austria is giving renewable energy a big bear hug — nearly 70 percent of its domestic power production came from renewables in 2003. Taking advantage of what is readily available […]

Girl Juneau It’s True

Alaska guv wants to hire PR firm to burnish state’s freeloading image Alaskans are widely perceived as freeloaders who suck tax money off the federal teat and plunder wild lands for profit, but that could all change if they hired the right PR person. Ha ha … oh, wait, really? “Alaska does not just take. […]

Dick, Get Yer Gun!

Bald eagle may soon leave the Endangered Species List Remember when John Ashcroft sang that hymn he wrote, “Let the Eagle Soar”? That was something, wasn’t it? Anyhoo! Speaking of the bald eagle, it may soon leave the Endangered Species List, thanks to its strong recovery in parts of the U.S. In an unusual joint […]

Last run

I ran into an interesting news bit this morning while perusing the headlines. Actually, I didn't run. Not much of a runner, me. But I hear it's a great way to get healthy. Does wonders for the heart and the lungs and that fat roll hanging over your jeans (you know what I'm talking about). And marathon runners? You gotta admire them. Imagine how healthy those lungs are after running 26.2 miles! Unless, of course, you run those 26.2 miles in Hong Kong on a day with very high air pollution levels and then die. Yeah, not so much with the healthy, then.

Another zero-carbon power plant experiment contemplated

"$1 billion hydrogen power plant in works" reads the headline on MSNBC this morning. My headline, though more accurate, is somehow less exciting. Let me summarize the article for you. It is essentially your run-of-the-mill zero-carbon coal plant experiment, where you burn gases released from pressurized coal, except they are substituting petroleum coke for coal, like a lot of power plants already do. They are counting on government assistance, are planning on using this pressurized CO2 to force more oil out of nearby wells, won't know if they can do it until 2008, and should be making electricity by 2011 if they decide to go through with it.

I heart …

This morning Grist received this wonderful valentine from reader Bo B.:

Our affair's been strung across eleven months -- wherein we've shared bellied-laughs, melancholic sighs, and the blooming of recommitance and fresh passion. I owe much of my current-outlook's levity to y'all and yours. On this day it struck me that it was time I said as much.

SO: I heart you, Grist. Happy Valentine's Day.

Likewise, Bo. Likewise.

So, on this Valentine's Day, feel free to use this space to let us know of other deserving organizations, people, ecosystems, etc. that you'd like to express your feelings toward.

Love is in the air. Can you feel it?

Nano a nano

Can nanotechnology be environmentally friendly? Joel Makower (cautiously) thinks so, and since his post is well-reasoned and full of good links, I'll forgive him this: "When it comes to the environment, nanotechnology is no small matter." Ouch!

Also on the nano tip, check out Treehugger's interview with George Whitesides, a Harvard professor who's done lots of nanotech research of late.

So 2003

Reason magazine discovers that environmentalists and corporations are working more and more frequently as partners rather than adversaries.

Peak oil: Dec. 16, 2005

Noted oil analyst Kenneth Deffeyes has put a new date on peak oil: "we passed the peak on December 16, 2005."

That's it. I can now refer to the world oil peak in the past tense. My career as a prophet is over. I'm now an historian.

Read the whole post for details.

So where were you on Dec. 16?

(via Oil Drum)

Poverty in a civilized world

Poverty is a by-product of civilization. We cannot eradicate it by spending more, organizing more, analyzing more, developing more technology, or curbing consumption. We can only make limited, short-term improvements. This does not mean we should not make the effort to address specific concerns. What else would the action-minded have to do? We do need to be realistic that we are treating a symptom of a human condition. A true solution would require a radical change in our nature. When was the last time there was a truly lasting shift in the way of being human?