Latest Articles
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Smize! You’re on America’s Next Top Energy Innovator
Sure, we’ve learned to harness the power of the sun and the wind for renewable energy, but have we harnessed the awesome power of reality TV? That may be what Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is going for with “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator.” Okay, you don’t get coaching from Solar Tim Gunn, or critique […]
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I’m coming out — as a farmer
Steph Larsen down on the farm. Or not?Last spring, our sheep had six lambs. Now five of them have taken a one-way trip to the meat locker, bound for not only our freezer but those of five other families, too. The chickens are laying eggs moderately well, and we might actually be turning a small […]
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Chile crisis of 2011 reveals need for more resilience and diversity on the farm
Chile crops just couldn’t take the heat from the February cold snap.Photo: Demetri MouratisWhat a difference a few days of aberrant weather can mean to our food security, our pocket books, and our penchant for hot sauce. The record freeze that hit the U.S. Southwest and Northern Mexico in early February is still affecting vegetable […]
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The omnivore’s other dilemma: expanding access to non-industrial food
Buying sustainable pork shouldn’t involve breaking the piggy bank.A couple of years ago at a farmers market, a woman approached my stall, a little apprehensively. She looked old and beaten down. Her face was weathered and worn. Her hands looked rough and gritty. But, it was clear that she was younger than she looked. Her […]
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Bob Herbert’s savvy advocacy for better infrastructure will be missed
Bob Herbert.Photo: Damon Winter/The New York TimesCross-posted from New Deal 2.0. Dear Mr. Herbert, I was sad to hear that you will no longer be writing for the op-ed page of the New York Times. Your critical perspective on the class war being waged against the middle and working class and the poor, on the waste […]
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Is Germany’s nuke shutdown a Pyrrhic victory for climate hawks?
Germany’s Green party staked its historic win on promises to accelerate the shutdown of the country’s remaining nuclear reactors. But Europe’s energy commissioner says their plans will only lead to more coal-fired power. Guenther Oettinger — who may have his own ax to grind, as he is also a “former premier of the Baden-Wuerttemberg state […]
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Reactor 2 at Japan’s Fukushima plant in full meltdown, says expert
The radioactive core of the second reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant appears to have melted through the its steel casing, and is now pooling on the concrete floor below, Richard Lahey tells The Guardian. (Lahey is former head of safety research for boiling-water nuclear reactors at General Electric, so he would probably know.)
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Americans worry less about climate change than drinking water, rainforests or sprawl
The good news is that 75 percent of Americans are worried about air and water pollution, and a majority are concerned about the extinction of plants and animals. The bad news is that Americans are less worried about all things related to the environment than they were 10 years ago. Oh, and for anyone who's […]
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America falls to third place in global race for clean energy
Globally, clean energy investment and finance reached $243 million in 2010, up 630 percent from 2004 and 30 percent from 2009. Germany experienced a 100 percent increase in investment, to $41.2 billion, trouncing the U.S., which came in at $34 billion despite having nearly four times the population of Germany. China, of course, was number […]
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Einsteinium on the Beach: Japan’s nuke crisis spreads to ocean
Plutonium* has escaped the fuel rods in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and has now been found on the beach adjacent. Workers are struggling to keep radioactive wastewater from reaching the ocean, where radiation has already begun to spread. Rumor has it that the Japanese government is so frustrated with the performance of TEPCO, […]
