Latest Articles
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Heat and Drought Ravage U.S. Crop Prospects—Global Stocks Suffer
By Janet Larsen September estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show 2012 U.S. corn yields at 123 bushels per acre, down by a fourth from the 2009 high of 165 bushels per acre. Yields are the lowest since 1995 and well below the average of the last 30 years. The summer heat and […]
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Scientists are using new technology to identify zombie bees
Some of the scientists investigating the mysterious honeybee die-offs suspect zombie bees, bees that are being mind-controlled by parasitic scuttle fly maggots. Unlike human zombies, bee zombies (or, inevitably, “zombees”) do not have telltale tattered clothes or dark eye makeup. So in order to tell whether they’re dealing with bees or zombees, researchers are affixing […]
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Apple’s massive solar farm looks kind of awesome from the air
Apple is building a giant solar farm to power a data center in North Carolina, and GigaOM has aerial shots that show just how huge it is. The pictures were taken by North Carolina television station WCNC-TV. At 100 acres, this is going to be the world’s largest privately owned solar panel farm — you […]
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America’s 20th largest bus system is a semi-legal network of vans in NYC
In New York City's outer boroughs, there's an official bus system and a shadow bus system.
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Artist slices delicate, beautiful nature scenes out of leaves
Lorenzo Durán's cut-away leaf art is both mindblowing and a thoughtful meditation on ecology.
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Slovenians house their bees in works of art
Slovenes provide gorgeous painted beehives for their colonies
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An open letter to people who don’t like cheeseburgers, by a cheeseburger
Cheeseburgers have a lot of feelings, and those feelings are LIES.
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Knope and change: A tribute to the women of urban sustainability, inspired by Parks and Rec
In the first of our series about the women who are leading the fight to make cities more green, Minneapolis Sustainability Director Gayle Prest talks about putting beehives on city hall, the Asian carp invasion, and her Spandex-free approach to biking.
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Umbra’s second helpings: Back-to-school advice for the eco-minded student
Readers write in search of green fundraising ideas and tips for eco-friendly dorm living. Umbra fills their backpacks with great ideas.
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Drought-tolerant seeds: Insurance policy for farmers or a big gamble?
Companies like Monsanto and Syngenta want farmers to think of drought-tolerant seeds as an insurance policy against hot, dry weather. But for farmers who don't take care of the soil, these seeds look like a gamble.
