Latest Articles
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Four things you can do to defend organic against the GMO alfalfa threat
Members of the sustainable food movement are furious and, frankly, we have a right to be. Last month’s decision by the USDA to fully deregulate GE alfalfa isn’t just a minor skirmish in a long and exhausting battle. It threatens the existence of organic farming and organic food, and flies in the face of USDA’s […]
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How a lie enters the political bloodstream
Pants on fire …I get the Energy IssueWatch Newsletter from Congress rag The Hill. In last Friday’s edition, reporter Ben Geman wrote, “Advocates of limiting emissions say it’s inaccurate to compare EPA rules to cap-and-trade proposals that collapsed on Capitol Hill last year.” This is, I suppose, progress. It’s a “she said” to the “he […]
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Why sustainable design sucks
Recycling gone awry.Photo: Rosenfeld MediaEverything you think you know about sustainable design is wrong. That’s the message of one of the most compelling and potentially disruptive essays on the subject since Buckminster Fuller unleashed his special brand of crazy on a world that was just waking up to design as a weapon in the war […]
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Keep the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall!
The Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in 2009.Photo: NREL Solar DecathlonThe National Mall has long served as the nation’s front yard, a place where citizens can gather and display what’s important to them — whether it’s a protest to end wars, a rally to restore sanity, or even a celebration of mid-Atlantic maritime communities. […]
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Industry-funded Super Bowl ad rails against the (non-existent) soda tax
Maybe it’s just Monday-morning grumpiness, but I hate the media fixation with Super Bowl ads. Corporations and industry lobby groups drop millions on 30-second spots, and then bloggers scramble to come up with something fresh to say about them — and in the process, amplify their message. Who benefits? The bloggers generate some on-the-cheap page […]
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Solar gets big and cheap in California
A San Francisco solar installation. Photo: Gavin NewsomEarlier this week, I wrote about the green evolution in California regarding electric cars. Well, when it comes to solar energy, it’s starting to look more like a revolution. This week, utility Southern California Edison asked regulators to approve 20-year contracts to buy 250 megawatts of electricity from […]
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Georgia congressman wants everyone behind the wheel, whether or not they can drive
Look at him. Could you deny him his God-given rights?Photo: Steven YehGeorgia representative and proven nut Bobby Franklin wants you to know that driver’s licenses are eroding your freedom as we speak, because they impinge on your Constitutional rights. From his Right to Travel Act: Free people have a common law and constitutional right to […]
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Ask Umbra’s 5 surprising things to make you a lover like no other
Send your question to Umbra! Dearest readers, It is said that only amateurs wait for Valentine’s Day to express their love. Readers of this column, I know that you are not in that category. That said, we could all stand to add a few tricks to the sometimes dusty lusty repertoire. So I created this […]
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6 things you didn’t know about condoms
Rock and unroll.Photo: OhMiBod It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and you know what that means: time to gird your loins. Here are some wacky prophylactic facts to get you excited (ahem) about condoms, if the whole “prevent kids and the spread of disease” thing isn’t sexy enough for you. 6. Valentine’s Day is also National Condom […]
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USDA ‘partially deregulates’ GM sugar beets, defying court order
Big Ag — can’t beet ’em.A week ago, the USDA shocked the organic-farming community by “fully deregulating” genetically modified alfalfa, after acknowledging that organic farmers had legitimate concerns about the move and hinting they’d be taken into account. On Friday, the agency didn’t simply skulk away from its own words in an apparent attempt to […]
