Latest Articles
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Forget farmers markets — I want to sell my pastured meat at Price Chopper
This pastured piggy went to Price Chopper.Photo: Kevin SteeleIt is time to make local passe. It is time to make regional the new local. Enough of farmers markets, CSAs, and direct on-farm sales. Yes, they are exciting — they feel like they are getting us somewhere. And, to be honest and give them their due, […]
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Cities with the most energy efficient buildings: L.A., Houston, Detroit, Dallas
It’s that time of year, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency releases its list of the top 10 American cities [PDF] with the most energy efficient buildings. In this case, that means commercial buildings that have earned an Energy Star rating that signifies they consume 35 percent less energy and release 35 percent less […]
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Japan’s 200 mph trains sail through earthquake with flying colors
Train, to earthquake: “Suck it!”Photo: kiyoshi.beThe tsunami that struck Japan had a devastating effect on at least four trains closest to the epicenter of the quake, washing them away completely. But in the rest of the country, it appears that the earthquake and its aftershocks only derailed a single passenger train, even through the entire main […]
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Renewables or nuclear: maybe we do have to choose
Can we have it all?Debates over nuclear power in the U.S. tend to follow a certain course. The left says, No Nukes, Just Renewables! The right says, Screw Renewables, A Gajillion Nukes! Then the sensible centrist nods sagely and says, We’ll Need Both. Everyone who doesn’t want to be branded a (gasp) partisan ends up […]
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How to deck your bike out like a Victorian gentleman
Photo: Walnut StudioloYou may not rock a velocipede, but that’s no reason why you shouldn’t be tooling around town looking like Sherlock Holmes. Step one: handsome vintagey leather bike accessories. Step 2: tweed helmet hat. Grow, purchase, or rent a handlebar mustache and get ready to pretend the last 200 years never happened. Photo: bitchcakesny […]
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Little does this Libyan rebel know he’s fighting for our right to cheap gas
At the request of Libya’s resistance forces, the U.S. and its NATO allies have just promised to shoot down anything Ghaddafi puts into the sky. Which means that rebels like the one in the video above may think they’re fighting a war of liberation, but now that we’re on the scene, it’s about oil, as usual: This […]
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Dairy cows frolic in meadow to celebrate spring [VIDEO]
Still trying to keep it positive! One thing that that makes it easier is that spring really has arrived up here in the North Carolina mountains — it must be 70 degrees, and the arugula we planted a few weeks ago in cold frames is taking off. Evidently, it’s spring-time in England, too. I dare […]
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Bahraini government tries to destroy a place that inspired its people
Protesters gathered at Bahrain’s Pearl Monument in February.Photo: Mahmoud Al-YousifThe Bahraini government is apparently hoping that by destroying the monument that gave the Pearl Roundabout its “placeness,” it will diffuse the energy of protesters who have been gathering there since Feb. 14. Some have died there. From CNN: Security forces in Bahrain on Friday demolished […]
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How plastic could help save the environment
Plastic isn’t the problem, you are, says science writer Susan Freinkel. Freinkel argues that plastic could actually help save the environment — it takes less energy to produce than many other materials, it makes a lot of green tech possible, and it replaces materials that are “sustainable” only because they come from destroying animals or […]
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Is your area solar-ready? Check out this gorgeous map
Chart: National Renewable Energy Laboratory The places you would go to get some sun aren’t necessarily the places with the most potential for solar energy. The Southwest is a giant hotspot; Florida and Hawaii are only okay. Check out this map to find the solar potential where you live. Read more: “Good Sun,” Xcel Energy
