Latest Articles
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SYMPATHY RAGE: Watch Henry Blodget yell about this country’s complete lack of an energy plan
Feeling angry that America’s economy is about to fall apart because oil and gas industries have a stranglehold on our political landscape, sprawl rules your city and no one seems willing to move toward a more rational energy and transportation future? You’re welcome. [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011893&w=425&h=350&fv=%26embedCode%3D5lazQyMjq5ZjGRnzX_QW6DBdaOnH2VrM]
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Ask Umbra on turning plastic garbage into gasoline at home
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Not long ago, I saw a video of a Japanese scientist who had created a small machine that converted discarded plastics back into fuel. He was demonstrating it to schoolchildren. Is something happening with this technology? If it is true it could certainly help to save us […]
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Despite its Horizon brand, dairy giant Dean Foods really doesn’t get organic
Dean Foods is by far the largest U.S. dairy processor. According to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Dean processes 40 percent of fluid milk consumed in the U.S., which it distrubutes in a dizzying array of brands. Its dominance extends to organic milk, too — Dean’s Horizon brand is the largest supplier of organic milk. Dean’s […]
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How good is Obama on Western environmental issues?
“Fly fishing in Montana, the President and his guide react after both thought he had hooked a fish; unfortunately, he hadn’t.” We leave it to you, the reader, to decide whether this shall serve as a metaphor for the president’s environmental policies.Photo: The White HouseIn the late fall of 2008, the staff of the nonprofit […]
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As if the Gulf Coast hasn’t had enough to deal with, now there are dead baby dolphins
Swim, little guy! Swim away as fast as you can!Photo: Mark LeeWell HERE’S some cheerful news for your Friday afternoon: Dozens of dead baby dolphins have been washing ashore in the Gulf of Mexico, along Mississippi and Alabama coastlines. Crap. The timing seems pretty suspicious — the BP oil spill happened around the time these […]
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Chicago to build electric car charging network
An electric car charging station next to a gas station in Lake Oswego, Ore.Photo: Todd MecklemFirst Chicago gets Rahm Emanuel, now electric cars. Well, at least an electric car infrastructure. In a move that indicates electric cars won’t just be a phenomenon of Greater Portlandia, utility Exelon and the city will roll out 280 charging […]
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Flies and cockroaches carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria from factory farms, study finds
A fly’s paradise: Near a giant hog factory in North Carolina, downed pigs fester while sprayers spread untreated manure onto fields. Photo: Steve WingWhat sort of antibiotic-resistant pathogens are growing on factory farms, along with all the cheap pork chops and chicken wings? And what level of threat do they pose to our health? Well, […]
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Fighting Back for Clean Air and Water
During the past week we’ve seen people across the country standing up to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s safeguards for public health. Many polluters and public officials don’t want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address threats such as air toxics, soot and smog, coal ash, global warming, and water pollution. Thankfully, that didn’t stop […]
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Costco agrees to stop ravaging the oceans
Photo: Sharon MollerusIt only took eight months for pressure from Greenpeace to make food-hoard purveyor Costco stop selling threatened fish. Twelve species that appear on Greenpeace’s “red list” were also appearing on Costco’s shelves. Activists finally made the wholesale giant revise its seafood policies, but first they had to open up economy-sized whoop@ss: Over 100,000 […]
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Google-backed startup claims energy efficiency breakthrough
Photo: Marcin WicharyOn Wednesday I joined a cadre of other reporters who had been summoned to the Googleplex in Silicon Valley for what was billed as the launch of a clean tech startup that has developed a revolutionary new technology. The big reveal came as we sat around a conference table at Google Ventures, the […]