Latest Articles
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Republicans refuse bailout; Obama wants auto czar
Looks like there will be no auto bailout with this Congress and this president. The NYT reports today: The prospects of a government rescue for the foundering American automakers dwindled Thursday as Democratic Congressional leaders conceded that they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition during a lame-duck session next week. Nor does it appear that […]
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Nix fuel-efficiency requirement from Big Auto loan, says White House
To avoid “partisan gridlock” and give U.S. automakers quicker access to a $25 billion loan, Congress should drop the requirement that the money be used to improve vehicle fuel efficiency, the White House said Friday. We’d argue that Detroit is partially in this mess precisely because it dragged its feet on improving vehicle fuel efficiency […]
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From Backseat to Front Seat
Honk if you’re lovemaking Think a small, fuel-efficient car will get in the way of your, um, backseat driving? Fear not, sez this guide: size doesn’t matter. Photo: Marisa Harris Reduce, reuse, ridiculous Tomorrow is America Recycles Day, so you can finally get rid of all that paper you’ve been stockpiling. And thanks to this […]
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Droughts and desalination in Australia — another amplifying feedback
Our never-ending quest to identify all the amplifying climate feedbacks takes us back to Australia: The worst drought in a century, especially in Australia’s most populated and fastest growing regions, has forced state governments to make expensive, and in some quarters unpopular, decisions to secure water supply. As rainfall dwindles, new dams are a less-than-promising […]
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Killing the myth of the 1970s global cooling scientific consensus
There was no scientific consensus in the 1970s that the Earth was headed into an imminent ice age. Indeed, the possibility of anthropogenic warming dominated the peer-reviewed literature even then. So begins an excellent review article [PDF] in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society by Thomas Peterson, William Connolley, and John Fleck. I had […]
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Times Square billboard will be powered by renewables
A billboard powered entirely by the wind and sun is coming to New York City’s Times Square. And when the wind don’t blow and the sun don’t shine? The billboard, advertising office-equipment giant Ricoh, will just go dark.
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Vote early, vote often to help Grist win $10K in the MySpace Impact Awards for Environmentalism
You (and all your MySpace friends) can help land Grist a cool $10,000 just by exercising your right to vote (again), which is way better than us searching for loose change in our couch. Grist is one of three finalists in the MySpace Impact Awards for Environmentalism, which gives props (and moolah) to organizations and […]
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Heritage blog blasts green jobs on the basis of misattributed quotes and misled analysis
Executive summary: Don’t waste your time on the Heritage Foundation’s energy blog, a source of misleading headlines and general conservative disinformation, but little original analysis and even less (unintentional) humor. Bloggers and print editors look for headlines that fulfill two competing goals: It needs to grab readers’ attention and make them want to read more. […]
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E.U. may label tires with efficiency ratings
The European Union may soon require tires to be labeled with a rating of their efficiency, grip, and noise. “A”-rated, high-efficiency tires could cut fuel bills by up to 10 percent over “G”-rated, low-efficiency tires, according to the E.U. The European Tire and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association opposes the proposal, saying it “will not have the […]
