Latest Articles
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Trees win in California solar panels vs. redwoods dispute
Trees have emerged victorious in a California dispute that pitted redwoods against solar panels. Six months ago, Silicon Valley residents Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett were criminally convicted because their redwoods shaded the 10-kilowatt solar system on neighbor Mark Vargas’ roof. Ultimately, Treanor and Bissett were forced to trim their trees and paid $37,000 in […]
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Feds rush to weaken workplace safety rules on toxics before term ends
The Bush administration is trying to push through a new workplace safety rule to weaken workers’ protections against toxic chemicals before Bush’s term ends, according to The Washington Post. The rule, which has not been made public, would mandate a reevaluation of the methods used to measure risks to workers from toxic exposure in the […]
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Bush admin proposes low royalty rates in push for U.S. oil-shale development
The Bush administration proposed rules [PDF] for U.S. oil shale development Tuesday that include charging lower royalty rates for oil-shale production on public lands than it does for other oil and gas drilling. The lower royalties are meant to encourage oil-shale production since, as it turns out, the energy- and pollution-intensive process of cooking rocks […]
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How to ask hard questions of the people who grow your food
In Checkout Line, Lou Bendrick cooks up answers to reader questions about how to green their food choices and other diet-related quandaries. What to do when it’s not so spelled out for you? Photo: Jennifer Dickert Dear Checkout Line, Any suggestions on how to ask local farmers (or the person selling the goods at […]
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Could lime absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide?
If this pans out, this is a huge idea -- and potentially a reprieve from climate disaster:
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Committee hears testimony from whistleblower on EPA dealings
Jason Burnett, the former associate deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency who resigned last month over the Bush administration’s unwillingness to address greenhouse-gas emissions, provided more details to a Senate panel Tuesday about how top White House officials worked to quash new regulations on greenhouse gases. Appearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works […]
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It’s a 1980 flashback, as energy price spikes make oil shale economical once again
The Bush administration’s latest push to force dirty energy extraction down the throats of Americans living in western states has some historical pedigree. Extracting oil from keragen — somewhat misleadingly known as "oil shale" — by cooking the rock at high temperatures is an environmental, social and economic nightmare that’s been with us since the […]
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Snippets from the news
• British eco-town plan could be illegal. • Climate change could mean more kittens! • Women exposed to high levels of PCBs are less likely to birth boys. • Ford shifting to smaller cars. • Wildfire smoke could ease warming in Arctic. • General Motors and utility group will collaborate for electric-car infrastructure. • California […]
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Bush admin’s effort to spur oil shale production won’t do much for consumers in short run
New regulations proposed by the Bush administration are aimed at tapping the country’s huge reserves of oil shale, steps Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said are intended to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil in the short term. But one man’s short term might feel like eternity to consumers paying $4.50 a gallon, as it would […]
