Latest Articles
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The frog and the polar bear: The real reasons Americans aren’t buying climate change
As international leaders trek home from Durban, South Africa, after a week of plotting the world’s response to global warming, the debate rages here at home — over whether Americans even care. The New York Times ran a story in October headlined, “Where did global warming go?” that cited polls suggesting that Americans had lost […]
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Ask Umbra: How can I de-stink secondhand clothes?
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I strive to reduce/reuse/recycle, but as someone who is sensitive to chemicals, purchasing used clothing presents problems. Sometimes soaking the clothes in borax or vinegar, and washing as much as a dozen times (in less toxic, unscented detergent) fails to remove the ferocious stink of the previous […]
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2C or not 2C: That is the question about the Durban deal
Also: Rommgelina doesn’t have the same ring.Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo Cross-posted from Climate Progress. We don’t get to marry Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. We’re not going to be as successful as Oprah Winfrey or Steve Jobs. So we generally grade ourselves on the basis of what we think was plausibly achievable, not what is theoretically […]
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Is climate change hitting the world’s coral reef epicenter?
Joanne Wilson surveying coral reefs in Raja Ampat Cross-posted from Cool Green Science. You’ve probably heard about coral bleaching — the mass die-off of coral reefs because of warming sea temperatures, a dynamic that can be attributed at least indirectly to climate change. It’s a problem of growing concern to the hundreds of millions of people […]
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Group purchase gets residential solar to grid parity in Los Angeles
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Back for a second round, the Open Neighborhoods organization in Los Angeles has organized another group purchase of residential and commercial solar PV, bringing the lifetime cost of solar well under the cost of grid electricity […]
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Occupy COP 17: Portraits from the movement
The Occupy movement grips people from all over the world. At COP 17 in Durban, South Africa, it appeared in the form of general assemblies held outside the sanctioned conference to discuss alternative solutions for the Earth’s collapsing systems. We spent some time speaking with participants to learn why they occupied Durban, and what motivates […]
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As Durban deadline draws near, big carbon emitters should cut a deal
It's not clear when we'll get another chance to put all the world's major carbon emitters on the road to a common effort.
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Food Studies: Creating historical records for the future
Anna Zeide is embarking on a project to record the daily interactions of everyday people with the food they consume.
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Top eight climate disasters during the Durban climate talks
Cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. During the two weeks of the international climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, millions of people have been affected by extreme weather disasters. Our poisoned climate is fueling more extreme and dangerous weather, as the super-heated atmosphere brings heavier rains, harder droughts, and fiercer storms. These eight climate disasters that took […]
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Apple HQ could have the country’s biggest solar installation, and it still won’t be enough
The current plan for the new Apple headquarters calls for 500,000 or more square feet of solar panels, generating at least 5MW of power. That could make it the biggest corporate solar panel installation in the U.S. — but Apple operations take so much power that this will just be supplemental. The proposed building, which […]
