Latest Articles
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Plan B
Oil spill got you down? Worried that Congress seems utterly incapable of rising to the challenge of climate change? Does the steady stream of big problems and limpid solutions have you seriously worried about the future viability of life on Earth? Well, good news, my friend: scientists have discovered Plan B.
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What Is Our "Right" to Opt Out of the Industrial Food System?
Slavery. Women prohibited from voting. No home schooling allowed. No interracial marriage. These were all official government policy at one time in America’s history, and have since been rejected by the courts. Now, the courts should break with another major taboo: restrictions on our access to food, most notably, raw milk. That’s the argument being […]
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Buy Freedom Bonds Now
The BP oil disaster is certainly not the first oil spill in US history, but it could be the last. Nor is this the our worst oil spill – – a Chevron refinery leaked over 250 million gallons of oil and refined product into aquifers beneath Los Angeles for decades before it was discovered in […]
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Obama’s Oval Office address on the BP oil spill
Grist gives you choice excerpts from Obama’s Oval Office address, which took place yesterday night. On the immediate crisis: Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. […]
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Tennessee fines TVA $11.5 million for coal ash spill, but is it enough?
The state of Tennessee has assessed an $11.5 million penalty against the Tennessee Valley Authority for the December 2008 coal ash spill from a holding pond at its Kingston power plant in Roane County. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the state’s environmental regulators — but some affected residents say it’s not enough. […]
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Obama has spoken, now let's act
We applaud President Obama’s plan for the restoration of the Gulf Coast and his commitment to comprehensive climate-change legislation. As the President stated yesterday, we must embrace a clean-energy future. We must unleash American innovation and position our country at the global forefront of a clean-energy economy. We must create millions of good, green jobs […]
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How many energy-efficient light bulbs does it take to close 705 coal plants?
The lighting sector is on the edge of a spectacular revolution, a shift from the century-old, inefficient incandescent light bulb to far more efficient technologies. Perhaps the quickest, most profitable way to reduce electricity use worldwide -- thus cut
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Obama signals need for new energy agenda
The biggest news from President Obama’s Oval Office address is that cap-and-trade legislation is probably dead for the foreseeable future, and the administration is seeking new ideas. Instead of using last night’s prime-time opportunity to push cap-and-trade in the form of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act — as many climate advocates saw as their last […]
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The unfinished tale of climate legislation: Eric Pooley’s ‘The Climate War’
The pursuit of U.S. legislation to address the threat of climate change has been going on for more than 20 years. It has pit entrenched industries against scientists and campaigners, political appointees against agency staff, American diplomats against UN officials, propagandists against journalists, red states against blue states, and John McCain 2010 against John McCain […]
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A mildly contrarian take on Obama’s Oval Office speech
Reaction to Obama’s Tuesday evening speech was swift and brutal. “JUNK SHOT,” blared Huffington Post’s homepage. “What was the point?” asked Jason Linkins. “What a terrible speech,” said Kevin Drum. Having gone back and watched it a second time, I think these reactions may be a touch overwrought. Whenever Obama speaks, there’s always some set […]
