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Snippets from the news

• Potent greenhouse gas more prevalent than thought. • Environmental activists were “suspected of involvement in terrorism.” • Toys containing banned substances are still on the market. • Asian beetle threatens three New England industries. • India shops for coal in Appalachia. • Must-see green American landmarks. • Many mass transit systems plagued by too […]

Small change

“It’s not insignificant, but it’s the cost of a paint shop in an auto factory.” — David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan, on John McCain’s $300 million prize for a new electric car battery

What I would like to say in the New York Times

I’m going to pretend that instead of a silly article diagnosing a pretend disease in The New York Times, I was given a chance to speak on the op-ed pages of the Times. Ignoring for a moment how unlikely that is, here’s what I would have said. —– Last weekend my family and I appeared […]

Electric-car infrastructure coming to Australia

In just a few years, Aussies will be driving to and fro in electric vehicles, plugging in to a grid powered entirely by renewable energy. At least, that’s the goal of California-based startup Better Place, which is heading Down Under to put its ambitious vision for an electric-car future into action. Some $671 million, raised […]

A review of disposable eco-diapers

We got you covered. After having my first child this summer, I learned one thing right off the bat: The only thing I craved more than a good, long nap was a good, strong nappy. I had heard tales from other parents of astronomical blowouts, but not until I was faced with my own filial […]

Day one at the foodie blowout in Italy

Turin, Italy — On the one hand, I’m exhausted and jetlagged after a day of meeting people, listening to speeches, walking the streets of Turin, and noshing on lots of cured meat, cheese, olives, and other pungent goodies. On the other hand, I’m sipping a glass of Barolo — a celebrated red wine named after […]

Coal-power producer will disclose climate-change risks to shareholders

Coal power could be a risky investment — according to none other than giant coal-power producer Dynegy Inc. After being subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last year, Dynegy agreed Thursday to be forthcoming to shareholders about the risks that climate change could pose to their investment. Said Cuomo in announcing the deal, […]

Why renewable advocates oppose Proposition 7

This post is crossposted at Vote Solar’s blog. —– Proposition 7 [PDF] is a California ballot initiative that would dramatically increase the state’s renewable energy requirement to 50 percent renewably sourced by 2025. Yet most environmental groups and almost all renewable energy companies and trade associations oppose it. Why? The problem is not with the […]

Global recession? Must be time for the media’s alternative-energy backlash

My father used to say of his profession that newspaper editors are the people who come down from the mountaintop at the end of the battle and shoot the wounded. A massive credit crunch and a drop in the price of fossil fuels can mean only one thing to the editors of the traditional media […]

Global warming is an important issue for undecided voters

So says a poll [PDF] done by Yale and George Mason Universities. Some highlights: Nearly two out of three undecided voters say that the presidential candidates’ positions on global warming will influence their vote in the upcoming election, according to a new national survey released jointly today by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry […]