Latest Articles
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Umbra advises on tuna and mercury
Dear Umbra, Big, mature tuna have a lot of mercury in their bodies and are often caught with longlines that snag endangered sea turtles and sea birds; smaller juvenile tuna have less mercury, swim near the surface so they can be caught with less destructive fishing gear, but they have not had the chance to […]
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A plea to West Virginia’s legendary Senator to stop mountaintop removal
With daily ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosions from mountaintop removal operations rocking his home and dismantling the mountain above his community, Bo Webb, a Vietnam vet, recently penned an appeal to his West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd to co-sponsor the Appalachian Mountain Restoration Act to stop mountaintop removal and launch a green jobs initiative in Appalachia. […]
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Heirloom tomato debate
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that George Will keeps repeating his half truths to deny the degraded state of the climate, but what exactly Scientific American was thinking with this article about how heirloom tomatoes are “hardly diverse and are no more “natural” than grocery-store varieties” is a mystery to me. Except that sacred cows make the best hamburger, […]
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Climate policy question #1 is simple: “Are we in?”
It’s all about the cap Photo: ne* via Flickr Climate and energy policy touches everything. So it’s no surprise that as Congress finally sets to work on a national climate policy, it confronts a blizzard of complexities. But at the end of the day, Congress will face some stark questions. Will they step up to […]
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Q: How much can West Antarctica plausibly contribute to sea-level rise by 2100?
U.K. Telegraph: “Antarctic ice bridge collapse hailed as new sign of global warming.” A. 3 to 5 feet — contributing to an increasingly likely total sea-level rise of more than 5 feet by 2100, a rise that will be all but impossible to stop if we don’t sharply reverse CO2 emissions trends within a decade […]
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Providing the tools to get a strong international climate agreement
People always ask me: how do we get a strong international commitment to solve global warming pollution? What “tools” do U.S. negotiators (and others) have to secure an equitable commitment from all major emitters to reduce global warming pollution? How do we support the most vulnerable developing countries in adapting to the impacts of global […]
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Power Down for the Planet video contest issues challenge for greener computing
As an online-only publication using tree-free pencils (also known as “computers”), Grist is familiar with the energy-sucking pitfalls of internet technology. Which is why we think it’s so swell that the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) is ganging up with the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for some new-fashioned video contest fun a la Power Down […]
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CDC study finds rocket fuel chemical in baby formula
This story was originally published at ProPublica.org. Perchlorate, a hazardous chemical in rocket fuel, has been found at potentially dangerous levels in powdered infant formula, according to a study [PDF] by a group of Centers for Disease Control scientists. The study, published last month by The Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, has intensified […]
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In India, leading a lavatory revolution
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak displays a beaker of colorless, odorless, pathogen-free liquid manure distilled from human excreta. The fertilizer is created using a low-tech, five-step process that includes sand and charcoal filtering and exposure to ultraviolet rays. Methane is captured and burned as cooking fuel. Kevin Ferguson DELHI, India — Ah, the Sulabh International Museum of […]
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Reid backs away from funding health care via cap-and-trade
Remember how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week opened the door to the possibility of using cap-and-trade revenues to fund a new health-care system? He’s now sounding less enthused about the idea, saying he has “no big plot” to pay for health care with cap-and-trade. Meanwhile, it’s become clear that Congress will have […]
