Latest Articles
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Solar PV market doubled to 6 Gigawatts in 2008
After growing 19 percent in 2006 and 62 percent in 2007, world solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations exploded by 110 percent last year to a staggering 5.95 GW, according to Solarbuzz’s Annual Report, Marketbuzz 2009: Europe accounted for 82% of world demand in 2008. Spain’s 285% growth pushed Germany into second place in the market […]
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Grist board member appointed to Obama administration
On Wednesday, the Obama administration officially announced that Grist board member and Ford Foundation program officer Michelle DePass has been nominated to serve as the assistant administrator for international affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency. Michelle currently manages the Ford Foundation’s initiative on Environmental Justice and Healthy Communities, concentrating on the intersections of environmental and […]
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DOE has nuclear energy in its bloodstream
Stephanie Cooke shares an inconvenient truth about the Energy Department: Given the department’s origins, it is not surprising that nuclear programs have won out over other energy technologies. Of the $135.4 billion spent on energy research and development from 1948 to 2005 (in constant 2004 dollars), more than half, or $74 billion, went to nuclear […]
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Nuclear technology tracks Carribbean pollution
PANAMA (AFP) – A UN agency is using nuclear material and technologies to study coastal pollution in a dozen Caribbean countries caused mainly by oil refineries, its officials said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is focusing on marine pollution in this project because the sea is vital to the region, accounting for up to […]
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Following USDA dietary guidelines can be hazardous to your health
Jill Richardson flagged this op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle co-authored by a nutritional biochemist and a doctor. In their commentary, they indicate that current government dietary guidelines might be an eensy bit flawed: Here is a daily diet that meets those nutrition guidelines: Breakfast: 1 cup Fruit Loops; 1 cup skim milk; 1 package […]
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Salmon czar could coordinate better protection, rule over peasant salmon
Because nothing signals a democracy on the mend like a profusion of czars, salmon defenders are now calling for a federal salmon czar. According to Wikipedia my deep and nuanced understanding of Russian history, we can expect a salmon czar to quickly go drunk with power, lord over peasant salmon, and assassinate political rivals in […]
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Farmers markets need rules if we want them to help the food system
Daniel Duane in Mother Jones warns you about farmers markets becoming “farmers markets”: In 1994, there were 1,755 farmers markets in the United States; by 2008, there were 4,685. In the big scheme of things, this is terrific news; it means Americans are learning to feed themselves properly. But not all parts of the country […]
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Time to get charged up about advances in smaller, faster lithium-ion batteries
Battery advances seems to be flowing as fast as electrons these days — and super fast charging batteries may hit the market in as little as 2 to 3 years. And that’s critical because the car of the very near future, plug in hybrids, are a core climate solution (see here). And electricity is the […]
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How would rebating carbon revenue to taxpayers give anyone incentive to reduce emissions?
There are lots of people who want to return money raised by a carbon program back to taxpayers via rebates. (A “revenue neutral carbon tax” is one way to do this; “cap and dividend” is another; Obama’s proposal is to auction pollution permits and return roughly 80 percent of the revenue via payroll tax rebates.) […]
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Washington legislature gives green bills thumbs down
Looks like blue is the new green around here — blue as in sad, that is. In the last week or so, Washington state legislature failed to pass the Transit Oriented Communities bill, “mortally wounded” the cap-and-trade bill, and is seriously considering altering the voter-approved Initiative 937 that would require utilities to seek out more […]
