Latest Articles
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What we have and haven’t learned from ‘Climategate’
I wrote about the “Climategate” controversy (over emails stolen from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit) once, which is about what it warranted. My silent protest had no effect whatsoever, of course, and the story followed a depressingly familiar trajectory: hyped relentlessly by right-wing media, bullied into the mainstream press as he-said she-said, […]
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New EPA regulations better but not good enough
The regulations will require the installation of scrubbers at plants like this one.Photo: Duke EnergyEPA released revised regulations for industrial and commercial boilers and incinerators this week. Implemented under the Clean Air Act, the move is a step in the right direction for reducing air pollution. But it misses out on opportunities to maximize net […]
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For once in its miserable life, is Koch Industries being unfairly attacked?
Photo: Fibonacci BlueHacker hivemind Anonymous took some potshots at the Koch-fueled Americans for Prosperity website yesterday, taking the site down intermittently and disrupting the late-night propaganda snacking of insomniac right-wingers. It’s always fun to see Anonymous spank people, at least the ones who deserve it, but this time they may have misfired. The grievances that […]
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Car plows through Critical Mass ride in Brazil
“It was not an accident!”Graphic: Massa CríticaLast week I wrote a post asking the question, “Why do people in cars hate people on bikes so much?” On Friday night in Porto Alegre, Brazil, there was a horrific manifestation of the type of rage I was referring to. During a peaceful Critical Mass ride on the […]
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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 […]
