Latest Articles
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Obama campaign’s attempts to get gas ads at the pump foiled
Barack Obama’s campaign wanted to bring the energy ad wars directly to the pump, but their attempts have been foiled. The campaign wanted to run an ad on the mini TV screens that appear on some gas pumps, pointing out that John McCain voted against higher fuel-economy standards and renewable energy, and that Obama is […]
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Colleges, high schools move to be more bike- and pedestrian-friendly
High gasoline costs as well as concerns about the environment have been prompting schools across the country to make their campuses more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. Pressure from parents and students is one big factor in the shift, but another key seems to be a growing awareness about sustainability. A number of colleges are launching bike-sharing […]
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Drilling more in the U.S. won’t avert any environmental damage from drilling overseas
I was planning on ignoring this column from Charles Krauthammer — always a good idea — but two or three people have asked me about it now, so I guess it’s worth saying something. Krauthammer’s thesis is that when we put areas in the U.S. off limits to oil drilling, we push drilling into countries […]
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Globalization failed, cheap oil is gone, local production is the only way forward
Bigger is always better, isn’t it? Big cars, big houses, big businesses, big farms. If you were big, you made more money. Clearly, that is the way of the world. When Europeans colonized the Americas, they wanted more land — not some of it; all of it. Napoleon wanted more land. Nothing stopped him until […]
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Wal-Mart urges Federal Trade Commission not to define ‘carbon offsets’
In comments to the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year, Wal-Mart asked the agency not to define the terms “carbon offsets” or “renewable energy certificates” in order to keep the terms flexible and to retain their “less tangible nature.” The Federal Trade Commission has been in the process of updating its green-marketing guidelines and asked […]
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Two coal plants given go-ahead by green groups after concessions negotiated
Environmental groups dropped their opposition to two different coal-fired power plant expansion projects in Wisconsin and Texas this week after the utilities agreed to a range of concessions designed to limit the environmental impacts of the plants. In Texas, power company NRG reached an agreement with Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition and the Environmental Defense […]
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Hansen’s trip report finds ‘sobering degree of self-deception’ in Germany, U.K., Japan
The nation’s top climate scientist has visited some of “countries that are among the best-educated on climate change” and come away disappointed. For real disappointment, though, imagine what happens when climate scientists from those countries visit America. The whole report [PDF] is worth reading, with many fascinating nuggets. Hansen joins the cavalcade of experts who […]
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Toxin-laden e-waste dumped in West Africa
European Union laws prohibiting the export of hazardous materials aren’t keeping shipments of electronic waste out of West Africa, according to a new Greenpeace report. Traders obtain e-waste in the E.U. and ship it off “under the false label of ‘second-hand goods,'” says the report, adding, “Sending old electronic equipment to developing countries is often […]
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McCain now agrees that inflating your tires saves gasoline
John McCain and his campaign have been ribbing Barack Obama for his statement last week that if Americans made sure their tires were properly inflated it could save as much oil as would be found in offshore areas. The McCain team went so far as to hand out tire gauges at the Democratic candidates’s events. […]
