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Obama to meet with swing Dems on climate and energy bill
President Barack Obama is inviting key House Democrats to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, as well as health care and other issues. Obama is expected to encourage the Democrats — many of whom have expressed concerns about the climate bill — to come to consensus around it. […]
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Ethanol waste: it’s what’s for … breakfast?
It’s food, no fuel, no food…For the ethanol industry, much depends on distillers grains, the stuff that’s left over after corn has been fermeneted and distilled to make alcohol. Corn ethanol’s energy balance (net energy produced minus energy consumed in production) is razor thin; it only goes positive when you factor in generous credits for […]
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Climate bill is now a longer shot than ‘Mine That Bird’
It looks like President Obama, the horse whisperer of American politics, is finally going to weigh neigh in to get the mudders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee galloping to the finish line. For people who haven’t been paying close attention, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) keeps dropping bigger and bigger hints that […]
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Ask Umbra on flag flying
Q. Dear Umbra, Like any proud American, I want to fly our flag 24 hours a day to show my reverence for this awesome country. I am torn, though, because section 6a of the Flag Code requires the flag to be lit up during hours of darkness and this conflicts with my desire to cut […]
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Another win for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Photo: Scott RobertsonOver the past week, much attention has been focused on the “B” part of that classic U.S. sandwich, the BLT. The swine flu outbreak has quite rightly raised questions about the environemtal/public health implications of modern industrial hog production. Almost lost amid the furor was much happier news about the “T” part of […]
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Undecided reps on House panel hold key to climate bill
The authors of the House climate and energy bill will be courting undecideds over the next couple of weeks as they try to get their legislation passed by the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) want to make these potential swing voters happy while preserving the integrity of […]
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The wolf and the polar bear
Photo illustration by Tom Twigg / Grist Next week brings two milestones in wildlife protection that serve as a lesson in contrasts — examples of what the environmental movement has been and what it’s becoming. On Monday, gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, and parts of other northern states leave the endangered species list, designated as […]
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Friday music blogging: Avishai Cohen
FMB is back! Usually I blog on music that’s come out in the same year, but today I make an exception. I’ve been out of the country for two weeks and it’s nice to be back in Seattle, so what better to celebrate than a song called “Seattle”? This is from the Avishai Cohen Trio, […]
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Smithfield brings home McDonald’s corporate responsibility prize
Larry Pope“Oh, my goodness. I think I’m extremely proud of — of how we are from a corporate social responsibility standpoint. And, in fact, McDonald’s just gave us their first award as the most — for their corporate social responsibility. The fist time they’ve given that, they gave it to us.” –Larry Pope, CEO of […]
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Now is not the time for timidity
I agree with the calls for some amount of caution in the search for a smoking gun in the swine flu pandemic. There’s always the danger of over-reaching and turning your target into an object of sympathy. But really, the science IS behind us on this one. The head virologist of the CDC has indeed […]
