Latest Articles
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Wicked wicks: Ask Umbra on paraffin candle disposal
How to dispose of toxic tapers? Ask Umbra burns the candle at both ends to find out.
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Jevons paradox: When doing more with less isn't enough
The 19th-century theory that increased energy efficiency just leads to increased consumption is experiencing a resurgence. But we shouldn't let Jevons Paradox serve as an excuse for inaction.
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Ozone madness
On Friday, President Obama announced that he had asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the final National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone pollution, which she and her expert agency had sent to the White House for review. The president's announcement is terribly bad news, and terribly bad policy, on several scores.
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North by Northwest [VIDEO]
This Pacific Northwest is home to sea beans, clams called geoducks, and other silly seaside creatures -- all delicious with a dash of homemade salt.
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Ask Umbra at the tar-sands protests and on the radio
Ask Umbra joins the tar-sands protests and gets interviewed by a radio program called Mrs. Green's World.
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Friday music blogging: Adam Hurst and an elegy for hope 'n' change
Today's news of Obama's unforced, unnecessary, unforgivable capitulation on public health has me down in the dumps -- so here's a sad song.
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Separating fact from fiction on the Keystone XL
Both sides of the oil sands debate exaggerate their arguments. The oil sands are neither a climate catastrophe nor an energy security bonanza.
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By giving in to Big Oil, Obama seals his political fate
Obama is directing the EPA to withdraw standards that would have cut smog and asthma attacks, saved lives, and created jobs -- not a smart strategy for reelection.
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Corporate Polluters Need Not Worry, Obama's Doing their Dirty Work
Corporate polluters don't have to worry about dismantling the<a href=”http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/”> <em>Clean Air Act</em>,</a> it appears that President Obama is doing it for them. <p>As Americans prepare for the holiday weekend, President Obama has announced that he doesn’t plan on enforcing a law that would have prevented 12,000 deaths every year by protecting Americans from ozone […]
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How to assess hurricane damage using waffles
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has an idiosyncratic (and tasty) way of determining the damage caused by a hurricane: the Waffle House Index. The iconic Southern chain is so widespread -- and so stalwart -- that you can gauge a storm's severity based on whether the local Waffle Houses closed.
