Latest Articles
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From top-down to bottom-up: New directions for climate at Rio+20
Climate change is global; climate change impacts and adaptation are local. We can look to locally appropriate solutions to inform a global response.
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Lame it on Rio: Youth stage Earth Summit walkout
The listless conference in Rio came spontaneously alive for a few hours Thursday, when a youth-led demonstration turned into a mass walkout.
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The New York Times’ unwarranted attack on my air conditioner
I'm sorry if I took this a little personally.
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Fight poverty. End fossil fuel subsidies
Our leaders in Rio must agree to stop propping up polluting industries, and instead invest in the kind of green economy that creates a pathway out of poverty.
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In Rio, disappointment, discontent — and a few silver linings
The final Earth Summit agreement, to be signed by world leaders on Friday, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, according to many critics. But that doesn’t mean it was a waste of time.
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The farm bill passes the Senate — and it’s not all bad news
A quick recap of what's in the version of the bill that the Senate passed -- including the amendments we suggested keeping an eye on.
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Giant fish made of plastic bottles make Rio+20 look like Burning Man
What does the Rio+20 conference have in common with Burning Man? Apparently, the fact that you might encounter weird, large-scale art made of recycled materials. These fish, made from discarded bottles, grace the Botafogo beach near the conference. From certain angles, they look like they’re humping, but we’re sure that’s not artistic commentary on the […]
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Got $60 worth of coal-in-the-ground? BLM will give you a buck and change for it
Dave Roberts and others have been talking about leaving coal in the ground. That got me thinking: What’s it worth there? The question looms large in light of recent and imminent federal leases to extract a bazillion tons of coal from public land in the Powder River Basin (PRB). Critics of the practice note that […]
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Loud, grumpy parrot is back from the brink of extinction, and it wants to have sex with your head
The kakapo is probably the best parrot. It has the face and personality of Walter Matthau and regularly tries to get it on with human heads. What's not to like?
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Some like it hot (or cold): How weather affects carbon emissions
We need more nuanced ways of figuring out which countries are doing well on carbon. A new paper offers emissions rankings that take local climate into account.
