Latest Articles
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Student Governments Urge Congress to Support Clean Energy Education
A group of more than 100 university and college student government presidents submitted a letter (PDF download) last week urging Congress to launch a national program for clean energy science and engineering education. The presidents – representing more than one million American students – warned Congress that advanced energy education is critical for U.S. leadership in the […]
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10 underestimated spring fruits and vegetables to sink your teeth in now
Fiddleheads: Underrated and deliciousPhoto courtesy Glenn Fleishman via FlickrAhh, spring. After months of eating from your stores of winter vegetables, canned relishes, and frozen fruit, nothing tastes as good as the bounty of a spring garden. From the first ramps of April to the flavor-packed punch of morels, pile these fruits and vegetables on your […]
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Message from America’s heartland: We’re ready for oil independence
Biobutanol, anaerobic digestors, hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel-cell, and plug-in electric vehicles — there’s a seemingly endless list of alternative power sources at all stages of development … in Ohio. Yes, Ohio, where images of rust belts, factory closings, and rising unemployment too often come to mind. The Pew Charitable Trusts have recognized the state as […]
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Voters want less government, but more from the FDA
I’m tired of the government interfering in my life. I want less government. I want smaller government. Oh yeah, and I’d like someone to oversee the use of words like “natural” on processed food labels and limit the amount of sodium in them. That’s the schizophrenic message being sent by the average American, new food-industry […]
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Ask Umbra on wasps, researching your own eco-questions, and energy vampires
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Every time the weather gets warmer, it’s the same: the wasps! They insist on trying to make their home in my balcony! I tried many different things, like citronella candles, but some of them apparently attract instead of repelling wasps. I don’t want to kill them; I […]
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One thing Graham is right about: Obama
One aspect of the Graham-Reid flustercluck has gone underappreciated. Atrios, Digby, David Dayen, and other lefties think that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is just being a giant douchebag. His intention was always to string Democrats along, water down the climate bill, and bail at the last minute. I’ve heard from some folks in the green […]
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What are conservatives saying about the Gulf oil disaster?
The ongoing oil eruption off the Gulf Coast is shaping up to be one of the worst environmental disasters in American history. It’s now clear that BP had no credible plan in place to deal with a spill of this magnitude at this depth. They thought it couldn’t happen and now they don’t know how […]
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Friday music blogging: Dr. Dog again
I’ve written about Dr. Dog before, which violates a self-imposed FBM rule, but I’m feeling lazy and they’re great and they just came out with a new album. And it’s good. So. Last time around I said they sound like “the Beatles meets doo-wop meets blue-eyed soul, played in a dingy garage after a six […]
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What a Difference a Spill Makes
There are so many questions the spill in the Gulf now raises. What will be the impact on offshore drilling — which has been one of the few growth sectors of US domestic oil production? What kind of political backlash will it produce? Already President Obama and the administration are in damage control mode. How […]
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Wake up, Obama. The Gulf spill is our big chance
President Barack Obama so far has said nothing about the screamingly obvious connection between the spoils of fossil-fuel dependency and the vision of a clean-energy economy that he’s been sporadically promoting. Instead he had this tepid statement on the Gulf oil spill Friday morning: “I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important […]
