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EPA lowers ozone limit, but ignores scientific advisers’ calls to lower it more

Photo: iStockphoto In an effort to clear up smog, the U.S. EPA on Wednesday lowered the permissible amount of ozone in the air, a move that will require 345 counties around the country to clamp down on pollution over the coming years. But the agency ignored the calls of its own scientific advisers for a […]

If we want to create jobs, why aren’t we spending on mass transit?

The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities (PDF): Number of jobs created by spending $1 billion on defense: 8,555 Number of jobs created by spending $1 billion on health care: 10,779 Number of jobs created by spending $1 billion on education: 17,687 Number of jobs created by spending $1 billion on mass […]

Lots of important news on climate policy, hastily summarized

I’m at the airport, using a painfully slow wi-fi connection, boarding in about 20 min., and the “c” key on my keyboard is on the fritz and works about once every three times I hit it. (Just what you want before a liveblogging weekend!) However, there are a few key pieces of news I need […]

Wal-Mart discontinues selling green PC in stores

Remember the gPC? It's Everex's $199 "green" Linux computer, the one Wal-Mart stocked up on during the last holiday season. Well, it seems the "experiment" is over, with an unsatisfied Wal-Mart putting those famous price-cutting scissors on their plan to sell the cheap PC in their stores.

According to the AP, Wal-Mart concluded that their middle-American consumer base was not hip to the gPC's Linux-based operating system. However, seeing the appeal of the computer to a more geeky clientele, Wal-Mart will continue to sell it on their website.

Why should anyone care? Far as I know, this was the first mass production of consumer electronics with some green features (low power consumption -- not enough to make it completely green, but a start).

I know what you're thinking: "If it's just the OS they didn't like, why not slap Microsoft Windows on it?" Trust me on this: putting Windows on a green computer is not a good idea.

Are solar incentives a subsidy for the rich?

The following is a guest essay by Tom Konrad, a financial analyst specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency companies, a freelance writer, and a contributor to AltEnergyStocks.com.

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One of the most common arguments against incentives to help people buy solar panels for their homes is that they are a subsidy for the rich, paid for by everyone. The argument is that only the rich can buy a photovoltaic system, which, even with subsidies, costs thousands of dollars. Why should everyone chip in to help rich people buy new toys?

On the surface, this argument is persuasive. Why should everyone pay if only the rich get the benefit?

Basic fairness dictates that society should only subsidize activities which create societal (rather than individual) benefit. On closer examination, however, we see that the bulk of the benefit for solar goes to society rather than the homeowner/installer.

Let's look at the benefits of a photovoltaic system. Numbers are for a 4-kW system, installed for $8 per peak watt with the rebates currently available in to me in Colorado, plus the federal tax credit.

Mining claims encroaching on Western population centers

Mining claims on federal land in the West are coming increasingly close to urban areas, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. Thanks to a spike in the value of many minerals — and antiquated U.S. mining law, which is highly prospector-friendly — there are now 51,600 hardrock claims within five miles […]

This is what happens when Hollywood saves the whales

50 Cent. A motley crew of Hollywood homeboys may be banding together for a benefit concert to free Lolita, a killer whale who’s lived in captivity for four decades performing at the Miami Seaquarium. Efforts to return Lolita to her Pacific Northwest home have been underway for years, but it hasn’t gotten much press until […]

Wear blue for Earth Day 2008 to vote for no coal!

(high-res version here; free for distribution)

Earth Day 2008 is going to be historic. We, along with numerous other groups around the nation, are calling on everyone to wear blue during Earth Day 2008 to signify a vote for no coal. Events will be happening around the world from April 19-22, so ...

Umbra on tap water

Umbra, I was wondering where the H2O from the tap comes from, and where it goes to. Beth Swarthmore, Pa. Dearest Beth, It comes from and goes back to the water cycle, which I’ve been reading a lot about in Richard Scarry’s classic work What Do People Do All Day? The book answers the “where […]

Thoughts on the NODPA/Stonyfield debate over organic dairy

About four years ago, I attended a workshop by Jonathan White, the maverick New York State cheese maker/baker/dairy farmer of Bobolink Dairy. Photo: iStockphoto Like a Southern Baptist preacher thundering from the pulpit — only with a Northeastern accent and lots of good humor — White had a message to deliver. He exhorted conventional dairy […]