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Captive pandas survive China earthquake

With 12,000 people dead from the earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province on Monday — and the death toll expected to climb significantly — the survival of 144 endangered pandas is small comfort. But survive they did: all of the pandas living in three research centers in the earthquake zone have been reported safe. Three-quarters […]

Bush DOE says wind can be 20 percent of U.S. power by 2030 — with no breakthroughs

The Bush administration has signed off on a stunning new report [PDF], "20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply."

I am working on a big wind article for midweek, but here are the key conclusions of what is easily the most comprehensive and credible report released on wind power in a decade:

Prez candidates spar over green issues, U.S. uranium-mining bonanza in full swing, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: A Friend Indeed The Hair Up There It’s Like a Glow-in-the-Dark Gold Rush If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Tropics Bad News, Bees Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Smart(ish) Cities Flex and Effects Do Me a […]

What Phoenix, the poster child for environmental ills, is doing right

Can Phoenix remake its desert-gobbling ways?In order for Phoenix to truly be a green city, it would have to be brown. Or not brown, exactly, but the sandy shade of the mountains that surround it: the jagged peaks and parched hills that enclose the Valley of the Sun. These days, though, Phoenix is a less-natural […]

Higher food prices likely mean more health problems for low-income folks

I doubt if many people really believe that the recent spike in food prices will, as a New York Times piece put it, “make organic food more accessible” and force people into healthier eating patterns. (I wrote about this topic in a recent Victual Reality column.) For those who do, I offer this remark from […]

U.S. could get 20 percent of energy from wind by 2030, says DOE

Wind power could meet 20 percent of U.S. energy demand by 2030, according to Energy Department calculations, even though currents currently provide a mere 1 percent of U.S. electricity. Making the leap would be “ambitious” but “feasible,” says the report: it wouldn’t require technological breakthroughs, but would necessitate the construction of 75,000 new and improved […]

Add Grist’s green living widget and win free green living starter kits from Seventh Generation

So another Earth Day has come and gone, along with many good ‘n’ green intentions made around the globe. Haven’t figured out a way to turn dirty laundry and that ring around the tub into a way to save the planet yet? Don’t worry; Grist is here to help — namely, by giving you the […]

What would the use of carbon offsets mean for McCain’s climate policy?

To me the most striking element of McCain’s just-released carbon cap-and-trade plan is that it would, at least at the outset, allow regulated entities to achieve 100 percent of their emission reductions through the purchase of domestic or international offsets. By way of comparison, the Lieberman-Warner climate bill headed for the floor of the Senate […]

Particulate pollution linked to blood clots in legs, study says

Exposure to small particulate pollution can increase the risk of blood clots forming in the legs, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. “It is well-established that air pollution causes myocardial infarction [heart attack] and stroke,” said Andrea Baccarelli, who led the study. “This is the first time that anyone […]

McCain waters down language on climate dealings with China & India

The original text of John McCain’s Monday climate speech raised the specter of economic penalties for developing countries if they don’t join international climate efforts, but the candidate dropped that reference when actually delivering the address. As the Associated Press puts it: The GOP presidential contender … prodded China and India — two major emitters […]