Latest Articles
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Could transparency make up for a lack of a carbon cap?
If we can’t yet require companies to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants, can we shame them into doing it? The Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress have not so far succeeded in forcing big polluters to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. But the U.S. EPA is about to force them to […]
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What might Sen. Evan Bayh’s retirement mean for the clean-energy bill?
Sen. Evan Bayh Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country. “After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned,” Bayh […]
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Climate and political tipping points
There’s a famous quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” However, according to Wikipedia, it may be that this concept was first expressed by a U.S. labor leader, Nicholas Klein of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, in 1914. According to a report […]
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Me, babbling on the radio about ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’
You read the first post; then you read the second post. But admit it: you still haven’t heard enough about why I think you should see Fantastic Mr. Fox, and why the esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the academy were putzes for stiffing it on a best picture nomination. So now you will listen to […]
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Can Michelle Obama make the math work for better school food?
Launching her anti-obesity campaign — “Let’s Move” — last week, First Lady Michelle Obama vowed to add 1 million kids to the 31 million already being served daily by federal reimbursable meal programs while cutting back on the foods kids like most — refined grains, potatoes, sugar, salt — and adding things kids like least — vegetables and […]
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Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 5
Now we come to the fun part. If you could build a dream spouse, what would he or she look like? Describe their personality, sense of humor, and relative similarity to Kelly LeBrock. It’s fun to think about, and utterly unrealistic. So too with the question we now build to. If you were king, had […]
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Ask Umbra on political activism, donating light bulbs, and BPA in canned food
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, A while back, you said that political activism was really important. I think I can tear myself away from my new(ish) organic garden long enough to do a little, but I’m not sure what to do. How can I be politically active with my busy schedule? Jon […]
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Friday music blogging: Midlake
With their beguiling 2006 album The Trials of Van Occupanther, Texas band Midlake were at the leading edge of a wave of beard music (Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes), but their sound was idiosyncratic, mixing Fleetwood Mac and Fairport Convention, ’70s California hippie rock and mystical ’60s English folk harmonies, in a way that sounded […]
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USDA releases strict new pasture rules for organic dairy
In October 2008, the USDA proposed changes to the standards that govern organic dairy farming. Before, organic certification required farmers to give their cows “access to pasture,” which some large dairies chose to interpret, well, rather loosely. How now, organic cow? On Friday, the agency released its final rules on the matter. Pasture standards for […]
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Cantwell’s climate bill gathers steam
There’s an interesting insurgency that may give lie to recent predictions of federal failure on cap and trade. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has a modified “cap and dividend” bill, called the CLEAR Act, that’s slowly but surely picking up momentum. On Wednesday, the Washington Post gave it a nod: Is there no alternative between simple do-nothingism […]
