Latest Articles
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International youth call out Merkel and Tusk in Warsaw
On the day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly announced that she would block needed reforms to the European Union’s climate package, a crowd of 200 people from more than 20 countries loudly called her and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to task outside the prime minister’s residence in Warsaw. The rally began less than […]
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My father installed a solar system and radiant-heat floor in his barn
A couple of years ago, my folks retired. Pops ripped out the bottom of the barn on the old family farm, set up a woodshop, and got to work. Check out his stuff here. Nice, eh? I’m pleased to say that Pops’s pots are now solar heated. With no urging from yours truly, he installed […]
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Transit ridership up; everyone agrees it should be funded
This week the Washington Post reported that mass transit ridership is rocketing upward — "the largest quarterly increase in public transportation ridership in 25 years" — even in the face of falling gas prices. This correction that now sits atop the story is amusing: This article about an increase in mass-transit ridership incorrectly said transit […]
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Where does your food come from?
I wanted to recommend a story on Emmett Duffy’s Natural Patriot blog about where fast food comes from. This is not a topic I normally post on (or actually know that much about), but I loved this post because it’s a profound message combined with some interesting science.
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Bob Lutz: Fuel-efficient cars, like global warming, a crock of sh*t
“At $1.50 per gallon, the American public wants sport utilities and large pickup trucks.” — GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, going off-message from his boss Rick Wagoner’s pledge before Congress to implement “a dramatic shift in the company’s U.S. portfolio” toward “more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers”
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Obama likely to tap Nobel Laureate physicist Steven Chu to head DOE
Steven Chu. Photo: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory CNN is reporting (and others are following suit) that the Obama team has officially tapped Nobel laureate and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory director Steven Chu to be secretary of energy. Chu (whom Joe Romm just touted below) shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics, has advocated for scientific […]
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Join us March 2 as we protest a coal-fired power plant near Capitol Hill
There are moments in a nation’s — and a planet’s — history when it may be necessary for some to break the law in order to bear witness to an evil, bring it to wider attention, and push for its correction. We think such a time has arrived, and we are writing to say that […]
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D.C. buzzes about Stephen Chu, Nobel laureate and head of Lawrence Berkeley, for DOE
Steven Chu. No, I’m not talking Al Gore. The big buzz is about Dr. Steven Chu, the Nobel-laureate director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He would be a terrific choice for many reasons, as the Wonk Room has already noted, see “Energy Secretary Contender Dr. Steven Chu: Transform The Energy Landscape To Save ‘A […]
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Senate and House divided over state emission standards in auto bailout plan
It seems the House and Senate have reached an impasse on the automaker bailout bill, and it focuses on whether to force automakers to abide by state emissions regulations. The disagreement over the rules on doling out the $15 billion in loans centers on a single word — “federal.” The Senate bill says in order […]