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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 […]

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 […]

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

Representative warns against ‘overreacting’ to tsunami by saving lives or whatever

Shorter Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.): “If the GOP cuts tsunami monitoring, people will die.” If you cut on detection of tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, severe weather events, weather buoys, satellite observation and weather patterns, those sorts of things, people will die. Shorter Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa): “Come on, let’s not overreact to a few thousand people dying […]

Japan’s wind farms save its ass while nuclear plants founder

Wind turbine in Yokohama, JapanPhoto: shibuya246If Japan’s wind turbines were to get a new theme song, it would be Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries“, and it would ring out from the hills upon which they stand triumphantly, unscathed by the the country’s earthquake/tsunami double whammy, lifting their skinny, still-turning blades like antennas to heaven. While Japan’s […]

Get freaked about hydrofracking: now!

Like the sign says.Photo: Not an AlternativeBabydolls, behold the obvious: The situation in Japan is horrendous. Indeed, it trumps anything else that might previously have fallen under the aegis of horrendous. Having said that, there is another horrendous environmental threat that is gearing up to gush out of our collective faucets right here in the […]

Here’s why you can’t afford food anymore

Food prices jumped 3.9 percent in February, the largest one-month increase since November 1974. It’s turtles all the way down: Grocery prices are up, wholesale food prices are up, prices for staples like corn and grain are up. Here’s a few things you won’t be affording in the future: Bacon. The retail price for bacon […]

Japanese video explains nuke disaster with poo

“If he poops and it leaks from his diaper, it still won’t be as bad as Chernobyl.”

No one can agree whether or not Cali is due for a Japan-style shakedown

Submitted without comment: Special report: Big California quake likely to devastate state ReutersJapan-style earthquake and tsunami unlikely to hit Southern California, experts say Los Angeles Times

Can peer-to-peer sharing green the planet?

It’s all about the connections.Photo: Côte d’AzurBy the third day of any conference, one’s eyes begin to glaze over. But Lisa Gansky provided an intellectual jolt on the final morning of the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco this week when she appeared on stage to talk about “the Mesh.” That’s what Gansky, a veteran Internet […]