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Half-naked college students protest coal
Oh, college students.They'll use just about anything as an excuse to take off their clothes. We'll give them this one, though, because this bunch of barely-legals is stripping down for a good cause: Raising awareness about the harm coal mining — and coal-powered universities — can do to the environment. The anti-coal undies were designed […]
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Now you’re cooking with gas: Ask Umbra on energy-efficient stoves
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, My wife would like to remodel the kitchen. This frightens me, personally, but I look it as an opportunity to buy some more energy-efficient appliances. Right now we have an ancient electric stove. Would replacing it with a natural gas stove be more efficient, or should we […]
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Mitch Daniels has quacky climate views a la Michael Crichton
Mitch Daniels takes on the “climate change theocracy”Photo: Indiana Public MediaIndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he’ll decide by April 29 whether to run for the Republican presidential nomination. While he’s pondering his prospects, let us ponder his views on climate change. Turns out they’re a lot weirder than you thought. It’s well-known that Daniels has […]
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House Republicans attack life-saving mercury and air toxics standards
It would be irresponsible to deny clean air to the American people.Photo: BronxCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. And so it begins. Long a rumored dirty secret, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) confirmed today that House Republicans plan to introduce legislation to delay mercury and air toxics standards that will save up to 26,000 lives […]
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What bean-counting ‘contrarians’ miss about the local-food movement
Start counting, pal.Photo: Travis K. WittRoughly 10 years ago, the long history of alternative agriculture entered a new phase. Sometime between the founding of Slow Food in 1986 and the publication of The Omnivore’s Dilemma in 2006, what might be called the “local food movement” took shape. Despite the fixation on locality, the movement’s goals […]
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The Fukushima nuclear disaster just keeps getting messier and scarier
An anti-nuclear protestor in Japan gets creative.Photo: Matthias LambrechtThis post was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. Last Monday, Yukio Edano, chief cabinet secretary, defended the Japanese government’s response to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, insisting that the plant complex is in “a stable situation, relatively speaking.” That’s somewhat […]
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Major victory for clean air
Earlier today the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) voted to approve a settlement that provides for the single largest coal retirement announcement in the nation’s history. The settlement requires the permanent retirement of 18 coal units, totaling 2,700-megawatts of TVA’s coal fleet. In addition, it requires the retirement or clean up of an […]
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Australia announces big solar project — at a coal plant
The Kogan Creek Power Station.Photo: Kogan Solar BoostAustralian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday appeared at giant coal-fired power plant to announce that the Southern Hemisphere’s largest solar project would be built in Queensland. Why, you may be wondering, would the PM travel to a remote 750-megawatt coal power station to make a big renewable […]
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Ranchers struggle against giant meatpackers and economic troubles
All cattle, no hats.Photo: Rob CrowA sea of cream-colored cowboy hats, the kind ranchers wear on their days off, fills a sterile conference room at the Fort Collins Marriott. Banners from groups like the Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund and the Western Organization of Resource Councils add bright slashes of color, and warn that JBS, the […]
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Lobster golf balls: Possibly the most bourgeois green solution ever
Finally, researchers have come up with a biodegradable golf ball for use on cruise ships! So when you knock your ball off your GIANT ENERGY HOG FLOATING CITY, it will only brain a dolphin, not collect on the bottom of the ocean. Earth: saved! The balls are made out of lobster shells, so that after […]
